Well, what can one say except they don’t throw parties like this one any more. The dress code was devilishly or angelically black tie. (Think horns and wings and other heavenly things). I, of course, went as an angel, but my wings snapped off just as I entered the beautiful mansion of Prince Pavlos of Greece. His wife, Princess Marie Chantal, … [Read More]

The Middle East now faces a disaster that goes far wider than Gaza. Above it all stands the disaster of Iraq. The real significance of the Gaza debacle is that America and Britain have lost all influence in the Middle East and both the American and British leaders are totally discredited. Now the West’s worst fears are about to be realized. … [Read More]

I kissed a top FBI agent flush in the mouth while in my cups at Elaine’s last week, and lived to write about it. And it was a stolen kiss, at that. They’re the best kind, now that I’m old enough to see how corny is a prelude to a kiss at my age. I was on my way to the … [Read More]

Kent - To this beautiful New England village near the New York-Connecticut border, home to the great designer Oscar de la Renta and his wife Anette, both very old friends of mine. Two even older friends, Reinaldo and Carolina Herrera, were already there, making it a perfect house party. The de la Renta house is a jewel. Beautifully manicured rolling lawns, … [Read More]

William Buckley writes this week in his syndicated column about the ghosts of Vietnam watching us in Iraq. They sure are. Everyone in Europe seems to be writing about the 1967 Six-Day War, where Israel wiped out the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian armies in six quick days of mayhem. Only a brave few, on the other hand, have mentioned the U.S.S. … [Read More]

Things are looking up in Iraq, according to some, that is. We are talking to the insurgents, which is obviously a good thing, but if one believes what they have to say, one is obviously an idiot—or else, one believed Bill Clinton when he told us he never had sex with that woman. Here’s why we cannot trust the Iraqis: Baghdad … [Read More]

The mother of my children rang me from Deauville and for probably the first time in her life asked me to retract something I had written. It was about Pal Sarkozy’s wife, Christine de Ganay, whom I described last week as the worst of a bad bunch. Well, I’m not exactly pussy-whipped, but Alexandra does have a point. I mixed up … [Read More]

The funny thing about Sarkozy being president of France is not his size, but his family. His father, Pal Sarkozy, used to frequent the same nightclubs I did back in the early Sixties. Of the beau monde he was not. Pal was rather sleazy, a bit of a conman, and something of a playboy. None of us knew what he did, … [Read More]

I’ve already briefly mentioned my recent trip to West Point for the funeral of Timothy J. Vogel, one of America’s greatest warriors. Tim meant a lot to me, so please forgive me if I repeat myself a little. Before I go on, however, a brief and nostalgic look at the soldiers of another war and their representations in celluloid. The film … [Read More]

Ahmet Ertegun was the greatest Turk since Kemal Ataturk, but unlike Mustapha Kemal, he never killed anyone, especially a Greek. In brief, Ertegun was the supreme record man ever, the signer of the most important rhythm & blues, jazz, pop and rock artists of all time, the founder and builder of Atlantic   Records, a company he began with the ten … [Read More]