Long before the word “oligarch” became a substitute for major Russian crooks and fraudsters, and a decade before Tom Wolfe invented “masters of the universe,” we had Wall Street Croesuses posing as gentlemen in Scottish moors. I remember it as if it were yesterday. Clay Felker, my editor at Esquire magazine, assigned me to write …
After their sensational first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the Beatles flew to Miami on February 13, 1964, to prepare for their second appearance on the show. When we landed at the Miami airport, an onslaught of actual beauty queens befittingly dressed in bathing suits and their satin sashes had to be dragged away …
In celebration of Frank Sinatra’s centennial, the Fontainebleau tips its hat to Ol’ Blue Eyes. When the Fontainebleau announced that it would be paying tribute to Frank Sinatra’s centennial this year, the phones started ringing. Hundreds of requests were made. Some people offered stories. Others wanted to donate family photos and old Fontainebleau merchandise. One person …
Porfirio Rubirosa was known by friends as “Rubi,” with his surname saved for when someone wanted the large pepper mill in a restaurant. “Pass the Rubirosa,” was a tribute to Rubi’s natural endowment—a moniker courtesy of an American lady who had described it as such. (She also gave me a nickname, calling me “Theodorable,” but …
During its tenure from 1929 to 1965, The Stork Club was recognized as one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A symbol of café society, aristocrats, movie stars, politicos, and showgirls regularly mixed it up in the VIP Cub Room from dusk ‘till dawn.
American society, as recorded in popular history, began in New York with the Astor family at the end of the 19th century. It started under the faux sovereignty of Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, who was known as Mrs. Astor. Society. The word, itself, always implies money, as in financial fortunes—and, therefore, the men who created …
His Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. To me, he was the best-dressed man in the world, with the possible exception of the flamboyantly attired former King Edward VIII, HRH the Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor. I’ve always said that men’s magazines should emulate Prince Philip in their “how a man should dress …