It turns out that in private, they kept in touch. De Havilland went on record with William Stadiem for VF's "Sisters" issue. He writes that Olivia told him the sisters at last reunited "with help from time's winged chariot and their shared religious roots." Specifically, Olivia encouraged Joan to return to the Episcopal faith with which they were raised. Olivia reports that Joan took her up on it, joining Saint Thomas Church in New York.
The current "Sisters" issue of Vanity Fair revisits the feud of Oscar-winning siblings Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine. Nick Harvill Libraries covered the feuding sisters in two blog posts: "A Tale of Two Sisters: Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine" and "A Bed of Roses (One Day Only)." It is a topic that Olivia, age ninety-nine, has avoided for decades. As such, what (if any) relationship the sisters maintained in their geriatric years has remained a private matter. All that was really known was that on the rare occasions when the sisters might meet, such as the Academy Awards, they went out of their way to avoid each other. It turns out that in private, they kept in touch. De Havilland went on record with William Stadiem for VF's "Sisters" issue. He writes that Olivia told him the sisters at last reunited "with help from time's winged chariot and their shared religious roots." Specifically, Olivia encouraged Joan to return to the Episcopal faith with which they were raised. Olivia reports that Joan took her up on it, joining Saint Thomas Church in New York. Image Credit: No Bed of Roses
There is no feud like a Hollywood feud. As such, it was simply an oversight that we failed to mention the contretemps between Sue Mengers and Dominick Dunne in Monday's post "Twinkle, Twinkle Super Star: The Life of Sue Mengers." Dominick Dunne and Sue Mengers should have been great friends. They had so much in common. Both simply adored famous and the celebrate. They had other connections as well. Dunne produced the 1973 Elizabeth Taylor-film Ash Wednesday that was written by Sue Mengers's husband Jean-Claude Tramont. It was actually a comment Dunne made about Jean-Claude that finished off Dunne's faltering career in Hollywood. Mengers became infuriated when the Hollywood Reporter quoted Dunne as implying that nepotism, not talent, was the reason Jean-Claude was hired to write the screenplay for Ash Wednesday. He compounded the insult by referring to Sue's weight problem. Mengers, then at the height of her powers, made certain Dominick Dunne never ate lunch in Hollywood again. Or, so she thought. How was she to know that the end result would be a dazzling new career for Dunne that would enable him to dine out anywhere he damed well pleased. Image Credit: The Way We Lived Then
“If the star is the world's imaginary mistress, a kind of sacred prostitute, the world is an impatient and unfaithful lover.”
Peter Quennell, Time Exposure "To call Sue Mengers a “character” is an understatement, unless the word is written in all caps, followed by an exclamation point and modified by an expletive." Jen Chaney, The Washington Post The 1970s-era agent Sue Mengers referred to her A-list clients and the international celebrities in her glittering circle as "twinklies." For a time, there was only thing more star-studded than her client roster: one of her parties. The pinnacle of which was a celebrity-filled dinner she gave in honor of Princess Margaret; it attracted every twinkly in Hollywood. At one of her soirees, Johnny Carson complained, "God, there are too many stars here, not enough sycophants!" Sue's myopic interest in only the most celebrated cursed her with one of the stereotypical qualities for which Southern California is continually maligned. Yet her devilish sense of humor and refreshing candor shined so brightly that her interest only in celebrities fit Sue like a glove. It was an essential part of her charm. A more open-minded Sue Mengers simply would have not been Sue Mengers. Brian Kellow attempts to make sense of Sue and her extraordinary personality in his 2015 biography, Can I Go Now? The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood's First Superagent. He had little paper trail from Mengers with which to achieve his task. Fortunately, many of those who knew and worked with Sue Mengers agreed to go on record (the author conducted over two hundred interviews--impressive!). They serve this book well and will undoubtedly be of great benefit to future works about her or that era. The reviews for Can I Go Now? were moderately positive, but some critics suggested that Kellow failed to capture just how unique a character Sue Mengers was. Might we suggest the audio version of the book featuring Suzanne Toren's delightful narration? When the book quotes Mengers, which is frequently, Toren gets into character, capturing Menger's distinctive manner of speaking, including the baby-doll affectation that Sue so cleverly used to lighten the mood or lessen the sting of one of her barbs. Much like that of her friend Robert Evans, Sue's career did not survive the more conformist 1980s. Top stars such as Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal were Sue's raison d'etre, and when they signed elsewhere, she lost a bit of her spark. But who says Hollywood only loves you when you are on top? Sue continued to be relevant until her death three decades later. Though above-the-title actors no longer wished to be represented by her, they happily accepted her dinner party invitations. Moreover, even in retirement, Sue was interested only in top talent. As such, her dinners were as exclusive as they were intimate. It was if Vanity Fair hosted an Oscar party for just eight or twelve people. One of the films Mengers arranged for her favorite client Barbra Streisand was the 1976 version of A Star Is Born. There is a reason this film is continually rebooted. It is based upon a truism. The rise of one star is generally accompanied by the fall of another. Such was the case with Sue Mengers. The 1980s proved to be as cruel to her as they were kind to her International Creative Management colleague Ed Limato. Yet, in the early years of that decade, Sue was still the powerhouse agent and Ed Limato the tyro. One day she strolled into the office at full throttle, commanding her underlings, “Get me Barbra [Streisand]! Then get me Ryan [O'Neal]!” Limato's assistant proved Mengers was not the only one at the agency with a sense of humor. He countered, just as loudly, “Ed! Exciting news! Patrice Munsel on line three! She’s calling from that dinner theater in Maine. Call Me Madam has been extended!” According to Kellow, "Sue thought this was hilarious. As she passed by Limato, she purred, 'Don’t keep Patrice waiting, Ed.'” Epilogue/Further ReadingCHARLES MANSON MURDERS Sue Mengers was known for her acerbic wit. Her most famous quip was made to Barbra Streisand. Streisand telephoned Sue in a panic after learning of the brutal murder of Sharon Tate and four others at 10050 Cielo Drive in Beverly Crest. Mengers caustically reassured her, “Don’t worry, honey, they’re not killing stars, only featured players." There is much more to that story, however. But for a roll of the dice, Sue's client Candice Bergen could easily have been the victim (though at this point in her career, she too was no more than a featured player). Bergen had previously lived at 10050 Cielo Drive with her then-boyfriend Terry Melcher (Doris Day's son). In fact, it was through Melcher that Manson first came to know the house, when Beach Boy Dennis Wilson introduced them. Manson hoped would Melcher land him a music contract, but their relationship soured. Manson knew Melcher no longer lived there, but he sent his murderous gang to the home anyway to send Melcher a terrifying message. VANITY FAIR Vanity Fair gave Sue Mengers the full-blown celebrity profile she deserved (and surely relished) in the April 2000 issue. It is available in its entirety at the Vanity Fair website. ANDY WARHOL If any public figure was more influenced by the cult of celebrity than Sue Mengers, it was Andy Warhol. It is no surprise that their worlds frequently collided, and Sue makes appearances in The Andy Warhol Diaries. In April 1977, he recounted a dinner party for Jean Stein held at Stein's sister's apartment in the Dakota. It was just Sue's kind of party, with everyone from Jacqueline Onassis to Norman Mailer in attendance. At the event, Warhol one-upped Mengers in a most amusing and Warholian way (but was not mentioned in Kellow's Sue Mengers biography). From Warhol's Diaries: I had the first really nice talk with Jackie O. but I don’t remember too much about what it was about. The Magic of People in the Movies, or something. Sue Mengers was running around this party bragging the same thing she always brags—that she could offer [then] President Carter a three-picture deal at $3 million a picture and that he’d take it, because everybody wants to be in the movies. So I pointed at Jackie [Onassis] and told Sue to go prove it, but she was afraid, she wouldn’t go over to her and make the offer. Mengers also appeared in Andy Warhol's Exposures: Sue's the funniest person in the world. When I first met her a couple of years ago, she wanted to get to know high society and I wanted to get to know Hollywood stars, so we made a deal. I introduced Sue to C.Z. Guest and Maxime de la Falaise. She introduced me to Paul Newman, but I wanted Clint Eastwood. She really wanted Babe Paley. SUNSET BOULEVARD, SUE MENGERS-STYLE When Sue Mengers relocated from New York to Los Angeles, she initially rented a guest cottage at Dawnridge, Tony Duquette's Beverly Hills estate. In her heyday, she owned a grand home on Bel Air Road where she entertained lavishly. Her later years were spent at more modest estate one block north of Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills (check out the listing photos at LA Curbed). EATEN LAST: BARBRA STREISAND AND BETTE MIDLER I'll Eat You Last, John Logan's one-woman show about the life of Sue Mengers, opened on Broadway in 2013 starring Bette Midler. The Divine Miss M followed the show to the West Coast for a limited run at the Geffen Playhouse. Its $400 ticket price broke Geffen box office records. Sue Mengers's favorite client Barbra Streisand attended and enjoyed Midler's interpretation of her friend. "It was a wonderful performance. Bette made me laugh in the same way that Sue did and she touched my heart as Sue did. It isn't the whole story of course. Some of the facts are not true, but it was a very enjoyable evening." No one understood the contradictions of Sue Mengers better than Sue's favorite client. As such, kudos from notorious perfectionist Barbra Streisand is high praise indeed. DAVID GEFFEN, HUMANITARIAN It is fitting that the one-woman show on Mengers ran at the Geffen Playhouse. David Geffen was a longtime friend of Sue Mengers, and he remained steadfast, even though she could be abusive towards him. He went above and beyond. Not only did he give her his heart, he granted her use of his private jet, and this was long after her heyday when she was able to grant favors in return. IMAGE CREDITS: The photograph of Mengers with Ali MacGraw and Candice Bergen is from the Estate of Sue Mengers. The photograph of Mengers and Ryan O'Neal is from the collection of Ryan O'Neal. Sue Mengers selected the photograph of herself attending the Cannes Film Festival for Greybull Press's divine book Height of Fashion, edited by Lisa Eisner and Román Alonso.
“When I suggested to Miss [Jayne] Mansfield that there was a certain superficial resemblance between herself and Miss [Marilyn] Monroe, she felt hurt. ‘How can you say that?’ she asked. ‘I’m forty—Marilyn is only thirty-seven.’ This was not an allusion to age, but to bust measurements.” Thomas Wiseman, 7 Deadly Sins of Hollywood Image Credit: The Tragic Secret Life of Jayne Mansfield
“Youth evaporates in Hollywood like rain on hot California pavement.” Gavin Edwards, Last Night at the Viper Room Image Credit: Hockney on Photography
“The acoustics of the original Hat were unusual and entertaining [for] a man sitting on one side could whisper an amusing story to his pal across the table and on the punch line a group of girls sitting forty feet away would burst into laughter.” Robert H. Cobb, The Brown Derby Cookbook Apparently this cookbook was frequently used, because most copies we have seen lack the dust jacket altogether or, at best, it is in tatters. One exception is the copy currently for sale via the Nick Harvill Libraries kiosk at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood. Its jacket is in pristine condition.
Elizabeth Taylor’s third husband Mike Todd died in an air crash aboard their private plane, The Liz. It was a terrible tragedy, and the only marriage for Taylor that ended in widowhood rather than divorce.
Todd was not the only passenger who perished in the crash. Art Cohn, who was writing an authorized biography of Todd, was also aboard. He was a screenwriter but not an A-List player, with just a few credits for “Additional Dialogue” to his name. It is a credit that no longer exists. The Writer’s Guild long ago did away with it. The day after the mishap, Ivan Moffat was dining at Charlie Feldman’s, and of course, Topic A was the tragic air crash. One woman remarked, “What an awful thing for Art Cohn’s widow, that almost every account of the crash, the press hardly mentioned his name.” Billy Wilder, also in attendance, deadpanned, “Yes, at least they should have given credit for Additional Dying.” Via The Ivan Moffat File by Gavin Lambert. “Good sex is all about how much is too much, how little is too little, about that thin dividing line between consistency and variety, between meeting the expected and surprising with the unexpected.” Scotty Bowers Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Live of the Stars is one of the most extraordinary Hollywood tell-alls ever released. Its publication was like a nuclear bomb detonation, but because every victim was already deceased, there were no fatalities (and not even that much attention from the tabloids). That is actually just as the author Scotty Bowers intended. By all accounts, he is a kind person and loyal friend. He steadfastly resisted all attempts to write about his four-decade career as an A-List hustler and sex-broker until those he would incriminate were long gone. Bowers’ incredible story begins in 1946 when he pumped gas into an automobile driven by character actor Walter Pidgeon. Pidgeon propositioned him, paying Bowers twenty dollars for a sexual encounter. More such on-the-job shenanigans followed, and soon the Richfield gasoline station on Hollywood Boulevard where Bowers worked became the most unlikely of brothels. [Leave it to car-centric midcentury Los Angeles to combine the world's oldest profession with its newest mode of transportation.] Just about every personality in Hollywood except Shirley Temple and Lassie eventually found need of Bower’s services: either via an assignation with Bowers himself or a male or female companion arranged by him. His client list included Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Errol Flynn, Edith Piaf, Noel Coward, Tyrone Power, Anthony Perkins, George Cukor, and many, many others. One of those others was Charles Laughton, and the chapter concerning him is so disturbing that it is best to skip it altogether. It is a truth-is-stranger than fiction book, and one cannot help but wonder if Bowers embellished his story. Did the Duke and Duchess of Windsor really participate in a tawdry Pacific Palisades sex party? Gore Vidal, a longtime close friend and client of Bowers, vouched for Scotty’s veracity. It was Vidal who publicly encouraged Bowers to break his code of silence and write his memoirs. Vidal lived to see that come to fruition, but just barely. In fact, the February 8, 2012 launch party for the book, held at the Chateau Marmont, was Vidal's last public appearance. He died later that year. Another corroborating witness was Cecil Beaton. In the early 1960s, Beaton was billeted in Los Angeles for an extended period—a miserable one for him—working on the costumes and sets for My Fair Lady. During production, he famously fell out with his friend George Cukor, My Fair Lady’s director. As Bowers relates in his book, Beaton required much encouragement and compassion, which Bowers provided during paid sexual encounters at Beaton’s private bungalow on the grounds of the Hotel Bel-Air. Beaton himself confirmed his association with Bowers in his diaries from the period, posthumously published as Beaton in the Sixties. Referring to an assignation several years after the wrap of My Fair Lady, Beaton wrote, “Scotty is a phenomenon. I heard several years ago that the police had caught up with him ... I only had a telephone number, now surely in disrepair. But no. Although I woke him early, his voice was as cheerful as ever. It is five years since I’ve seen him ... I asked him how much I owed him and he suggested a sum much smaller than I knew was customary.” The Paul Cadmus sketches for the ballet Filling Station are in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art. The photo of Cecil Beaton was included in John Moran Auctioneer's sale of property belonging to Beaton's 1960s-era romantic interest Kin Hoitsma.
When super agent Ed Limato passed away in 2010, one of Oscar Week’s most glittering, highly anticipated parties came to end as well. At Heather House, his grand Beverly Hills estate, Limato hosted an annual soiree on the Friday evening before the ceremony. It was attended by not only his A-List clients but by the biggest box office stars in town. Vanity Fair’s Graydon Carter considered Limato “the most glamorous agent in Hollywood.” He was also one of the most literate. One of Heather House’s coziest rooms was its library, which was stocked with Easton Press books Limato had meticulously collected for many years. Alas, if only those books could talk … Ed Limato was a treasured client of Nick Harvill Libraries, and NHL is handling the sale of his book collection for his estate. Many Easton Press titles have sold, but some great ones remain, including a beautiful set of Ernest Hemingway. Peruse all the Easton Press sets and take 20% off by entering EASTONPRESSDEC15 at checkout.
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