Ghost of a Chance, Signed Presentation by Peter Duchin
[Signed Presentation by Peter Duchin] Duchin, Peter. Ghost of a Chance: A Memoir. First Edition. 1996. Book and dust jacket are both in very good condition. Book is inscribed, “To *** + Virginia, With much love--this will bring back a few memories! Peter Duchin, 7/10/96)." Co-written by Charles Michener.
Jacqueline Onassis once remarked to her good friend Peter Duchin that they had something in common. In the “world of Wasps and old money and society,” they were both outsiders. That comes off as absurd to those outside the social whirl. To them, Onassis and Duchin must have seemed like consummate insiders. In any case, Mrs. Onassis found half in, half out was “not a bad place to be,” and this, the first of Duchin’s two memoirs, makes a good case for him as well. Duchin was well positioned to interact the rich and the powerful without being trapped in that world. This juxtaposition began early. When his mother died shortly after his birth, he was taken in by the fabulously wealthy Averell and Marie Harriman, becoming their de facto son (though not heir). With his talent and that connection, he moved effortlessly into the role of society bandleader, landing prestigious gigs like Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball. Boldfaced named cameos abound, but Duchin does more than namedrop, he writes fascinatingly about those people. The villain of the story, Pam Churchill Harriman, arrives to liven things up in the final chapters (much like she did for the 20th Century, in general). She enters harmlessly enough as a Westchester neighbor of Peter’s, but in the blink of an eye, she marries Averell, becoming Duchin’s quasi stepmother. Complicating matters, she was also the erstwhile stepmother of Peter’s second wife, Brooke Hayward. (Some couples have bridge or golf in common; others, evil stepmothers.)
“I wasn’t surprised that Ave had left virtually his entire fortune, including all the houses and art, to his widow. People like Pam don’t settle for half.”
--Peter Duchin