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New
York paraphernalia on 48th between 3rd and Lexington.
Photo: JH.
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On
last Saturday, a beautiful Columbus Day weekend, Hilary
Geary and Wilbur Ross were married at the
Dune Church on
the beach next to the Southampton Bathing Corporation before a
small group of friends and family. On Monday night, the newlyweds
had their reception and invited a lot of their friends – maybe
two hundred – to a dinner dance at the Rainbow Room high
above Rockefeller Center. Valerie Romanoff and her Starlight Orchestra
played and entertained – Valerie has all kinds of vocal tricks
up her sequined sleeves including a man who sounds so much like
Frank Sinatra you think you’re listening to the recording,
as well as a couple of white chicks and a couple of black chicks
who show you what the Supremes or the Ronettes or a lot of other
girl groups can do, and even better. So everybody loved that. And
then after dinner, before dessert (no wedding cake this time – banana
splits with cherries on top and chocolate mousses – some
mouse ate mine while I was up photographing) Mr. Bobby
Short sat
down at the Baldwin and serenaded us with a half dozen of his signature
New York tunes.
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Hilary
Geary and Wilbur Ross
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Invitations called for “festive dress” which for the
men always lets them off the black tie hook, and for the women,
a chance to dress up a little. There were even some furs to take
the autumn evening chill of certain bared shoulders. Muffie
Potter Aston was thrilled to announce to friends that she and her husband
Dr. Sherrell Aston are expecting twin girls. They will be the first
children for the hard-working former public relations executive.
Other than the bride and groom, the most talked about couple in
the room were Steve and Christine Schwarzman who recently bought
the Maurice Fatio-designed E.F. Hutton estate, “Four Winds” on
South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach and tore down the landmarked
house.
Coincidentally, the Schwarzmans bought the 18,000-square-foot single
story house from Hilary Geary Ross’ sister and
brother-in-law, Robin and John Pickett (for $20.5 million). This
matter was of interest in the room Monday night especially because
so many attending the party spend so much if not all their time
in Palm Beach and it is/was one of the most famous houses in town.
And Palm Beach is a town, lest we forget. And a small one, which,
just like all the others, loves nothing better than the buzz-buzz-buzz.
The best buzz is of course always a juicy divorce, or maybe a little
marriage mayhem, or even a matrimonial murder (preferably accidental).
So without that, architecture, the throwing of good money after
good, and the throes of demolition will have to suffice. It is
not a new subject although a lot of today’s Palm Beachers
have no knowledge, let alone memory, of all the mansions that have
disappeared with the wrecker’s ball over the past two generations
as fortunes waned and evaporated in a haze of high-living.
Mr. Schwarzman could not add a second floor to
the almost seventy-year-old wooden structure, and so he intends
to start from scratch. He made
a huge fortune on his own as a partner in the Blackstone group,
and already has a beautiful large house in Palm Beach that he bought
a few years ago from Quest magazine publisher Chris
Meigher. He
also has several large residences including what is said to be
the largest house in St. Tropez, a house in East Hampton, another
in Jamaica, and the huge apartment at 740 Park Avenue that was
built for John D. Rockefeller Jr. and more recently
owned by Saul and Gayfryd Steinberg. Last May he was appointed
Chairman of the
Kennedy Center and there are loud whispers about that if George
W. Bush is re-elected President, Mr. Schwarzman will be his new
Secretary of the Treasury.
Big he likes. Although, unlike a lot of tycoons who just bring
in the interior designers by the van-load to do a number, Mr. Schwarzman
takes an active interest in the design and renovation of his properties
and the results are, like his business investments, first rate.
Without doubt, once the now controversial new “Four Winds” project
is completed, the whole town – at least those for whom the
ham is hung out – will flock to see and enjoy the Schwarzmans’ cozy
hospitality. |
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The
Rainbow Room
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Meanwhile back to the wedding couple of the moment. This
is the third marriage for both bride and groom. Each had a long
first marriage, (and children) and a short second marriage. Mr.
Ross’s second wife was the former Lt. Governor of the State
of New York Betsy McCaughey.
The new Mrs. Ross is a very popular and well-liked member of long standing in
Southampton and New York society and part of the now fabled Murray-McDonnell clans
who summered in Southampton on THE family plot of several hundred acres by the
sea for the better part of the last century.
Mr. Ross, who has been summering in Southampton for quite a few years himself,
although he is not nearly as established there as his new wife, is a soft-spoken
man with a quiet yet jolly laugh. He is known in his business as the best “turnaround
financier” in the country, having been involved in more than $200 billion
of defaulted companies’ assets around the world. Fortune Magazine named
him “the King of Bankruptcy” a few years ago. For 26 years he was
Executive Managing Director of Rothschild, Inc, the US affiliate of the Rothschild
family’s merchant banking group. In 2000 he formed WL Ross & Co. LLC
with offices in New York, Tokyo and Seoul. Since then his company has created
private investment and hedge funds worth more than $2 billion.
Thanks to well-wishes of the couples many friends, and the beautifully decorated
ballroom with its splendid and other-worldly views of the metropolis at nighttime
as far as the eye could see, and the rousing dance music of Valerie Romanoff
as well the sophisticated delivery of Bobby Short’s saloon melodies, it
was a brilliant way for the couple to start a new day. |
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Muffie
Potter Aston and Roger Webster
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Bobby
Short serenading
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Thorunn
Wathne, Hilary Geary, and Wendy Vanderbilt
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Diamonds
are a girl's best friend, but don't forget the emeralds
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Last
week, while I was over at the new One Beach Court where the Municipal Art Society
was paying homage to Agnes Gund, over at the
Waldorf, the Alzheimer’s Association Rita Hayworth Gala, one
of New York City’s most glamorous and eagerly anticipated events,
was celebrating their 20th anniversary in the Grand Ballroom.
The theme of this year’s 20th anniversary gala was “Beauty
Under the Big Top” and they raised more than $1.7 million for
the Alzheimer’s Association. Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, daughter
of the late Rita Hayworth and founder of the Rita Hayworth Galas,
was honored with the Alzheimer’s Association Lifetime Achievement
Award and Maria Shriver was honored with the Alzheimer’s Awareness
Award, presented to her by Barbara Walters.
Adorned with a festive circus chic décor, the ballroom was
filled with a glittering crowd that included Caroline Kennedy
and Edward Schlossberg, Eunice Shriver, Liz Smith, Marie Brenner,
Marty
Richards, Joy and Regis Philbin, Hilary Geary and Wilbur Ross, Joan
Collins, Denise Rich, Tommy Hilfiger, Vera Wang, Joan Rivers, Jamie
Drake, Donna Dixon Aykroyd, Peter Boyle, Cornelia and Marty Bregman,
Margo and John Catsimatidis, Claudia Cohen, Somers and Jonathan Farkas,
Deborah and Allen Grubman, Anne Hearst, Susan and John Hess, Deborah
Norville and Karl Wellner, Prince Michael of Yugoslavia, Felicia
Taylor, Dennis Basso, Michael Cominotto, Bryant and Hilary Gumbel,
Nurit Kahane Haase, Michele and Larry Herbert, Muffie Potter Aston
and Dr. Sherrill Aston, Andrea and John Stark, and Allison
and Leonard Stern. |
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Howard
Solomon, Nancy Corzine, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, Walter Fischer,
and Maria Shriver
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Nancy
Corzine was the Gala Chair, Walter Fischer of Rolex Watch USA,
Inc. was the Corporate Chair and the gala’s Underwriter,
Howard Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Forest Laboratories, Inc.
was Pharmaceutical Chair and the gala’s Official Corporate
Sponsor, Muffie Potter Aston was the Corporate Sponsor Chair,
Claudia Cohen, Susan Hess and Donna
Dixon Aykroyd were the Live
Auction Co-Chairs, Margo Catsimatidis was the Journal Chair,
and Somers Farkas and Darlene Daggett were the Gift Bag Chairs.
There was an exclusive and limited Live Auction of six fabulous
lots and a phenomenal silent auction.
The cocktail reception for this black tie gala started at 6:30 PM., followed
by dinner and dancing at 7:30 PM and a live auction and entertainment at 9:00
PM. Support levels were as follows: Tables at $50,000, $35,000, $25,000, $12,500,
$10,000; Tickets at $5,000, $3,500, $2,500, $1,250 and $1,000.
The annual Rita Hayworth Gala is one of New York City’s most successful
fundraising events. Over the past 20 years, it has raised more than $39 million.
All funds raised through the Rita Hayworth Galas go towards Alzheimer’s
Association research projects. Princess Yasmin Aga Khan established the Gala
in memory of her mother, who suffered from the disease for many years before
her death.
For information about Alzheimer's disease, contact the Alzheimer's Association
at 1-800-272-3900. |
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Susan
Hess, Claudia Cohen, and Ellin Delsener
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Anne
Hearst and Peter Boyle
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Princess
Yasmin Aga Khan
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Barbara
Walters
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Joan
Rivers
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Vera
Wang
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Andrea
Stark and Margo Catsimatidis
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Les
Moonves, Julie Chen, and Lois and Buzz Aldrin
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Cornelia
and Martin Bregman
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L.
to r.: Donna Dixon Aykroyd and Susan Hess; Princess
Yasmin Aga Khan, Eunice Shriver, and Maria Shriver;
Princess Yasmin Aga Khan and Maria Shriver.
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Princess
Yasmin Aga Khan and Michele Herbert
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Kristin
Gallipoli and Tommy Hilfiger
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Somers
Farkas and Joanne de Guardiola
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Deborah
Norville and Karl Wellner
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Sale
Johnson and John Steele
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Mark
Locks and Nancy Corzine
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L.
to r.: Walter Fischer, Nancy Corzine, and Howard
Solomon; Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg and Edward Schlossberg;
Darlene Daggett and Nurit Kahane Haase.
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Regis
Philbin and Donna Dixon Aykroyd seeing red
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The
live auction
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Ethan
Stiefel, Gillian Murphy, Jesus Pastor, and Carlos
Lopez
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A
few week ago the Junior Council of American Ballet Theatre held
"A Magical Evening" aboard the Forbes Yacht, The
Highlander, with
Co-Chairs Blair
Husain and Amanda Meigher, ABT Dancers Ethan
Stiefel, Carlos Lopez, Gillian Murphy, and Jesus Pastor, and guests such as Susan
Fales-Hill, Elizabeth Pyne, Merrill Hanley, Fazle Husain, and John
Royall.
Cruising the New York Harbor with young arts patrons and ABT
dancers, guests enjoyed dinner under the stars, toasting
ABT’s
exciting upcoming gala season at
City Center, which commences with the annual fall gala on Wednesday, October
20th, 2004.
Countrywide Financial is the National Sponsor
of American Ballet Theatre and Cole Haan is a Leading Benefactor.
Graff Jewelers is
the 2004 season sponsor of ABT at City Center. ABT’s 2004
Fall season at City Center is made possible with public funds from
the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the
National Endowment for the Arts.
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Susan
Fales-Hill, Peter Lyden, and Anka Palitz
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Sloan
and Sara McClure with Blair Husain
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Ashton
Crosby, Phil Bartow, and Bill Marino
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Fazle
and Blair Husain
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Bagpiping
on The Highlander
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L.
to r.: Susan Fales-Hill, Fred Seegal, Kevin McKenzie,
Blair Husain,
and Sara McClure; Susan
Fales-Hill, Blair Husain, and Amanda Meigher.
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Julia
Wallace, Honorary Co-Chair, hosted the kickoff lunch for the
Lenox Hill Neighborhood House 17th Annual Holiday Bazaar at Doubles
on Thursday, September 23rd. Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Meigher and
Quest Magazine were honored as long time supporters of the Bazaar.
The Bazaar, held at Sotheby's, 72nd & York, opens with the Preview
Party on Wednesday, November 17th from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM; followed
by shopping days, Thursday, November 18th through Saturday, November
20th. All funds raised are for children's programs at the Neighborhood
House.
Preview party tickets: Friends $125, Stars’ $300, Super Stars’ $500
(“Super Star & Star ticket buyers may begin shopping and
bidding one hour before Preview opens.)
Holiday Bazaar hours – November 18th, 19th and 20th from 10
a.m. to 5 PM (free admission).
For tickets and information please call 212-744-5022 x 1355. |
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Mark
Gilbertson, Teresa Grimm, Nancy Baker, John Rosselli,
Chris Meigher, Blakely
Griggs, Diana Quasha, Eva Dillon, Sydney Shuman, Bunny
Williams, Grace Meigher, and Julia Wallace
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Mireya
D'Angelo and Eva Dillon
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L.
to r.: Julia Wallace and Diana Quasha; Blakely
Griggs, Nancy Wekselbaum, and Nancy Baker; Teresa Grimm
and John Rosselli.
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