Party Pictures 10/21/05 - Party pics galore

Wrapping up the week

Outside the Armory for the opening night Preview Party of The International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show. 8:15 PM. Photo: JH.

Last night in New York. Over at the 67th Street Armory, the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center held their 17th Annual Preview Party of the International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show. A very big deal. Especially if you’re an antiques dealer, a connoisseur/collector and/or a member of the SMSKCC. $250 million worth of fine art and antiques. Plus showcases of Graff jewelry filled with millions of dollars of their vivid diamonds including a 40 carat D-flawless diamond.

Co-chairs Susan Bodnar and Lavinia Snyder greeted the 1200 guests at the entrance to this treasure trove of English, Continental, French and Russian antiques. Enough to make you wish you were a millionaire, or better a billionaire. But if not, there were always the hors d’oeuvres and the champagne and the glam crowd including Pat Buckley, Julia and David Koch, Muffie Potter Aston, Anne Bass, Muffie and Donald Miller, Emilia Saint Amand and Fred Krimendahl, Cynthia Frank, Parkin Saunders, Susan Burke, Anka Palitz, John and Martha Glass, Toni Goodale, Eleanora and Michael Kennedy, Somers and Jonathan Farkas, Emilia and Pepe Fanjul, Betsy Bartlett and Jones Yorke, Lee and Jane Gammill, Diane Chapman, Dezia Restivo, Carl and Sabrina Forsythe, Carey Maloney, Grace Hightower De Niro, Michael Vollbracht, Audrey Gruss, Robert Couturier, Grace and Chris Meigher, Evelyn Lauder, Carroll Petrie, Virginia Burke, Karen LeFrak, Betty Sherrill, Marie and Henri Barguirdjian, Blaine Trump, Nina Griscom, Maria Buatta, Hilary Geary and Wilbur Ross.

L. to r.: Robert Couturier; Susan Bodnar, Michael Vollbracht, and Dezia; Daisy Soros.

Mai Harrison, Christopher Walling, and Stephanie Coleman

Billy and Kathy Rayner

Carl and Sabrina Forsythe

About 7:15 I left JH and schmoozing Digital and headed down to the World Financial Center Winter Garden at the tip of Manhattan (right across the street from the site of the World Trade Center) where the American Red Cross of Greater New York were holding their Centennial Celebration Ball.

They honored The Honorable William J. Clinton, and you all know who he is (and if you don’t, maybe they’d could have sold you to the highest bidder up at the Armory). Honorary Chair was Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Co-chairs were Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman and CEO of American Express; Richard S. Fuld Jr., Chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers, Henry M. Paulson Jr., Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs; Shelly Lazarus, Chairman and CEO of Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide, and Michael Stocker MD, President and CEO of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Billl Clinton speaking at the American Red Cross of Greater New York's Centennial Celebration Ball

William Gray, President of the Red Cross opened the evening, introduced the Mayor and then Jon Stewart introduced Bill Clinton. All this was done right after the first course.

The very talented Mr. Stewart, a comedian by profession, is, according to everyone I talk to, the Edward R. Murrow of his age which says more than a little something about the age and a lot (of what I’m not sure) about the audience (who mainly never heard of the great radio and television journalist until George Clooney got into the act). The younger generation evidently gets its news from Jon Stewart. Better that than from some of the jokers who read teleprompters and call themselves journalists.

Bill Clinton, during his speech confirmed Stewart’s pop status by mentioning that his daughter gets her news from Jon Stewart. And, he conceded, sometimes he did too. Mr. Clinton looked very well in his black tie.

He pointed out that there were three phenomenons that had had a tremendous impact on our society today. One was the fact that the greatest number of people in the history of the world were electing their own leaders. This, he said, didn’t necessarily guarantee good leaders but it did give people the opportunity to replace those who weren’t. He pointed out that even in Communist China, communications had opened up to the point where people had the opportunity to make their gripes known. He did a call-in radio show with the mayor of Shanghai that was a special event (a President of the United States available for private audio contact with local citizens). He said, much to his pleasant surprise, more than half the calls were not for him but for the mayor from people who wanted to express their displeasure over things like local traffic management and potholes.

Another phenomenon according to our very bright former president was Non Governmental Organizations or NGOs. He pointed out that we were living in a time when people, like those who volunteer for the Red Cross either with their time and/or their financial contributions, were hallmarks of a people who could be relied on to do what politicians are not so adept at – namely looking after their neighbors and fellow man. He cited many examples including his and former President Bush’s work on tsunami relief, his AIDS medical suppy relief across the world, and the tremendous outpouring of assistance, including that of the Red Cross, after the hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Then, he added, there is the enormous impact of the Internet, which has wrested much political power from the slicked up backroom brokers and returned it to the people (whence it comes according to the principles of our Republic). In the last Presidential election, more money was contributed on the Internet in small sums by the populus to both parties than all other contributions. This bit of information has still eluded most of the political leaders who have been genetically programmed for the old boy/crony world where one hand washes the other and the rest of us can go…well, you know.

Catherine Kinney

Meanwhile, lest I get lost in the miasma of political haranguing, let’s get down to the news of the day and the day before that and the week before that.

Which, speaking of NGOs and good works, over at the Kentshire Galleries, the Partnership with Children held their third annual Autumn Wine Tasting Benefit, called: A Taste of the Good Life, with proceeds benefiting the Partnership, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the emotional, social and cognitive skills of at-risk children.

Founded in 1908 as Big Sisters, Inc., Partnership with Children gives children the skills to help them succeed in school as well as in society. Their Open Heart-Open Mind program integrates teams of full-time social workers into inner city schools, providing comprehensive support to over 7,000 children who are at high risk for academic failure, as well as support to their families, teachers and school staff.

L. to r.: Liz Peek; Michelle Sidrane and Leslie Rahl; Janice Savin Williams.

Tim and Megan Spengler with Melina and Jason Usher

Denise and Larry Wohl

L. to r.: Allison and Jeff Bodenmann; Bill McDaniel; Alan and Janet Ginsberg.

Maria Dreyer and Renee Tozzi

Marcus Samuelsson

Robert Israel and Marcie Imberman

Bebe Broadwater with Adele and George Wailand

Jefferson and Karen Hughes with Thomas and Joanne Gouge

Randy and Margot Takian with Nyire and Craig Melconian

Susan Nicholson, Bebe Broadwater, and Andrew Soussloff

Patricia Soussloff, Thong Nguyen, Simon Western, and Bo Argentino

Francois and Susan de Saint Phalle with Gretchen Grisanti

Thursday, a week, over at Doubles, the private club in the Sherry Netherland, the “juniors” threw their first party of the season. Chaired by the Briliant Young Things, Allison and Jay Aston, Marisa Noel Brown, Nick Coleman, Miguel Duenas, Nicole Hanley, Elizabeth Meigher, Tatiana Papanicolaou, John Royall, Georgina Schaeffer, and Donna Simonelli, they set the mood with soft pink lighting and a rainbow of “bedazzled” red, white, clear and gold balloons over the entrance to the dance floor, which perfectly framed the disco ball.

Wendy Carduner and Georgina Schaeffer

Good crowd: more than 200 met for dancing, talking and the sumptuous buffet of spicy chicken, vegetable mousse, fish and chips, guacamole, tabouleh, mini-hamburgers. Kelley Chapoton and Donald Young were celebrating their engagement; Evan Uhlick, Marisa Arredonto, Patrick Thomas, Lisa Meiland, Troy Kimball Sargent, Teddy Schiff, Katherine Bohamon, Roy Harriss, Susie Sears, Nick DeCroisset, Jessica Adams, Phoebe DeCroisset , Melissa Berkelhammer, Kevin Wilson, Alexandra Wilkis, Brodi Jackson, and Cherie Alcoff.

Nobody avoided the dessert table, lavish with make your own ice cream sundaes, fresh strawberries, chocolate mousse and chocolate sauce that could be drizzled from a silver pitcher, including Blair Keller, Marianne Tsaganos, Gregory Borchardt, Jennifer Pollock, Matt Cassim, Alexandra Morf, Sean McAndrew, Vanessa Rooks, James Adams, Julianne Starbuck, Eris Scuderi, Amy Olsen, Ken Rand, Caroline Burwell, Matt Holt, Alexis Vandermije, Vaughn Massey, Adriana Pidwerbetsky, Brian McCadd, Lida Chaplynsky, John Loverro, Amanda Starbuck, Susie Slattery, Uyoo Jin Kim with Cecilia Bohm, Tom Lester, Elizabeth Kohn, Adam Johnson, Jackie Valos, Trisha Gregory, Taylor Spelman, Susan Hendricks, Suzanne Patyk, Emily Roth, Kirsten Sichler, KC Neill, Olivia Tiernan, and Kendall Morrison.

The Committee: Marisa Noel Brown, John Royall, Georgina Schaeffer, Nick Papanicolaou, Anne and George Baker, Tatiana Papanicolaou, and Leslie Hull

The event committee included Eliza Nordeman, Bryan Johnson, Leslie Hull, Alex Hurst, Joanna Baker, Andrew Black, Belinda Bellas, James Burke, Lara Meiland, Sasha Leviant, Sarah Boardman, Nick Papanicolaou, Liz Walker, Nolan Olson, Daria de Koning, Doug Snyder, Ashley Dodd, Wil Holigan, Alexandra Dwyer, Donny Young, Kate Earls, Justin Farley, Kristen Fisher, Jonathan Gauntt, Adelaide Goldfrank, Ware Sykes, Liz Jeffries, Anne and George Baker, Lily Maddock, Marcie and Jordan Pantzer, Allyson, Ross, Walter Tomenson, Maria Visa, and Andra Winokur.

Nick and Phoebe DeCroisset

Adam Johnson and Julianne Starbuck

Melissa Berkelhammer, Troy Portolance, and Vanessa Rooks

George and Anne Baker

Marisa Arredonto and Patrick Thomas

Teddy Schiff and Amanda Starbuck

Matt Cassim and Susie Slattery

Newly betrothed Kelley Chapoton and Donald Young

Elizabeth Kohn and Sean McAndrew

L. to r.: Marissa Noel Brown and John Loverro; James and Jessica Adams; KC Neill, Olivia Tiernan, and Kendall Morrison.

Susan Hendricks, Tom Lester, and Suzanne Patyk

Averill and Kirsten Fisk

Evan Uhlick

L. to r.: Lisa Meiland; Caroline Burwell, Matt Holt, and Vaughn Massey; Uyoo Jin Kim and Cecilia Bohm.

Two Thursdays ago, down at a Tribute (what, you’ve never been to Tribute?!) at 24 Broadway, the Young Friends of the ASPCA joined Honorary Chair Jamie-Lynn DiScala at “Hollywood Paws of Fame.” This was where New Yorkers supported the stars of the evening, the ASPCA shelter animals. Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction and dancing. This great organization has cultivated a following of young philanthropically minded men and women between ages 21 to 40 who support the ASPCA’s mission to prevent cruelty and alleviate fear, pain and suffering in animals. And if you’ve ever met any of these four legged ones who’ve been rescued and placed by the ASPCA, as I have personally, you know they thank you and thank you and thank you. Good for them and good for us.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Ed Sayres with Lucky

New York Dog cover

Quddus

Dylan's candy for the dogs you ask? We're not sure ourselves.

Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict

Amanda Hearst

Brittny Gastineau and friend

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And then there was the book party over at Chambers Hotel on 15 West 56th Street where they celebrated Donny Deutsch’s new book Often Wrong, Never In Doubt, (what, you know guys like that?) which presumably is Mr. Deutsch’s version of a memoir Noo-Yawk style.

Mr. Deutsch whom New York Magazine has called the “last of the Madison Avenue wild men,” has been so successful and has so much money (200 mill according to New York), has lots of friends, a new wife, works out all the time, now has a talk show and wants to be Mayor. What, no moonwalk? How about a trip to Mars?

“Donny can’t sit still,” according to his wife Stacy, so he’s always going, always doing. Obviously this was a book that couldn’t stop itself from being written. The author had a lot of help from collaborator Peter Knobler. Mr. Deutsch’s secret to success may be printed between the two covers of his book, but I’ll tell you one of the key ingredients: the guy’s a worker, Noo-Yawk style. Don’t stop till you drop (and then it’s off to the gym).

Some of the guests helping the champ celebrate his latest achievement were Bill Randic, Bobby Flay, Bonnie Fuller, Dan Abrams, Eric Villency, Kelli Delaney, Lisa Gastineau, Michael J. Fox, Olivia Chantecaille, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Senator Schumer, Serena Altschul, Tinsley Mortimer, and Victorial Gotti.

Andrew Cuomo and Donny Deutsch

Sessa von Richthofen, David Zinczenko, Donny Deutsch, and Richard Johnson

Ann Jones and Richard Kirshenbaum

Stefani Greenfield

Al Sharpton

Dennis Paul and Olivia Chantecaille

Tinsley Mortimer

Bobby Flay and Donny Deutsch

David Deutsch, Chuck Schumer, and Donny Deutsch

L. to r.: Peter Knobler; Eric Villency and Richard Kirshenbaum; Bill Rancic.

Victoria Gotti

Michael J. Fox

Lisa Gastineau

Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, Somers Farkas, Deborah Norville, Muffie Potter Aston, Andrea Stark, and Cornelia Bregman were among those on hand at Judith Ripka for the kickoff party for this Alzheimer’s Association Rita Hayworth Gala - Meet me at the Stork Club. The gala, which takes place November 1 at the Waldorf-Astoria, is underwritten by Rolex Watch USA. Princess Yasmin Aga Khan is General Chair, Somers Farkas is Gala Chair and this year’s honorees are Dennis Basso and Robert Benmosche. It’s always a big fabulous party.