Party Pictures 11/17/05 - Making a U-Turn on the night

Making a U-Turn on the night

It rained last night in New York. A deluge. The weather forecast even threw in the possibility of tornados according to some. Not likely but enough to stir things up a bit in the old cranium.

The Sked. It was also another busy night on the Manhattan social circuit – all kinds of stuff. Jon Stewart and Neil Young (in person!) were appearing at the American Museum of Natural History’s annual gala with more than 600 attending thanks to the gala chairs: Jurate Kazickas and Roger Altman, Jodie and John Eastman, Kathy and Tom Freston, Alice and Lorne Michaels, and Connie and Ted Roosevelt (whose great-great-great-grandfather sits in bronze on his horse out in front of the main entrance to the museum). Cocktails in the rotunda and a gourmet dinner in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, with Sotheby’s Jamie Niven conducting the fabulous auction. Well, if that wasn’t enough to make me want to go out in the rain ... Sort of ...

Over at the BB King Blues Club, the Jazz Foundation of American was holding their first ever auction benefit with proceeds for the Jazz Musicians Emergency Fund.

Then over at Brunswig & Fils (979 Third Avenue) the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, they were having an auction – the “Holiday Wonders” auction of holiday wreaths crafted by the world’s great decorators (some of them at least) including Mario Buatta, Eric Cohler, Jamie Drake, Larry Laslo, Harry Heissman and Peter Lentz for Albert Hadley, Charles Pavarini III, Beth Martell for Randall Ridless, and Scott Snyder.

Or you could have been (for the price of the ticket of course) at the Broadway Theatre and the new musical “The Color Purple” benefitting The Children’s Storefront (an independent, tuition-free school in Harlem).

Or, at the Copacabana way over on West 34th where the 33rd annual SoBRO Gala was celebrating more than three decades of building a better Bronx with the politicos like Charlie Rangel, Chuck Schumer, etc.

Or, for those where the shoe fits: the First Annual Bubbly Celebrity Shoe Auction advertised as “an evening of feed your shoe obsession” where you could buy shoes at yet another auction from Reese Witherspoon, Jay-Z, Diddy, Carson Kressley, The Game, Russell Simmons, Ivana Trump, Star Jones, Rosario Dawson, Serena Williams not to mention shoes from Jimmy Choo, Diesel, Jill Stuart, Due Farina, and all for City Harvest, the great, blessed City Harvest, the ONLY food rescue organization dedicated to feeding New York’s hungry men women and children.

At the Lexington Avenue Armory on 26th Street they had the Connoisseur’s Antiques Fair Preview Party benefiting the National Design Library at Cooper Hewitt.

And seventy-five blocks north at the NYCA Charter School, the New York Center for Autism were holding a cocktail reception to celebrate the opening of their charter school.

Meanwhile back downtown (Chelsea, honey), Natasha Richardson was hosting the Housing Works 2nd Annual Fashion for Action Benefit – billed as “preview shopping of New York’s finest designers and brands,” with proceeds going to help solve the twin crises of HIV/AIDS.

Wait, there was more: Over at the Lighthouse International, Mimi Sheraton was serving as Honorary Chair of a spectacular silent auction of more than 100 one-of-a-kind items. Accompanied by food and wine, of course. And we mean food and wine (Mimi Sheraton, don’t forget) – from world-renowned vineyards and celebrated chefs around down.

While a few blocks west in the Carnegie tower, Robert A.M. Stern, Arthur Zeckendorf and Will Zeckendorf were celebrating the publication of Mr. Stern’s House And Gardens (Monacelli Press), a gorgeous tome documenting some of the Stern private houses all over the country. The book is beautifully published and almost as big as one of Mr. Stern’s fabulous houses.

Rained In/Rained Out. As I said, it was raining and visions of tornados were doing a chorus line in my head. But your intrepid, indefatigable, eyes-bigger-than-his-stomach reporter thought he’d be selective and hit a few of the aforementioned.

When I got into the cab at 6:30, rain rain rain, I went down to 66th Street where some old friends Averil and Tyler Smith were having a small cocktail party.

Averil and I are old friends. In fact, we started out with her working for me many years ago when I had a retail business in Pound Ridge, New York. This was before I got into this racket (as my father would say). I had a little shop in an old red barn (built in 1839) by the side of the road (which is a short but not so interesting story) and one day Averil, then a “housewife,” as they were called in those days, came in and asked for a job. I hired her because I got the impression she wouldn’t leave until I did. It was good that I did because as the business became more prosperous, I decided if I made a lot of money I’d never follow my dream and become a writer. So after a few years of Averil holding down the fort so much of the time, I sold the business to her and moved to Los Angeles to “become a writer.”

The community. Years went by, she prospered, I finally got a grip on things, got back here to ole Manhattan. She sold the business and moved to Washington, Connecticut where she and Ty live today (the city apartment is a pied-a-terre). And last night they were having this cocktail party, so I thought it would be polite to stop by.

Lou Marotta, Averil Smith, and Mike Fullwood

As I arrived two men were leaving – Lou Marotta and Mike Fullwood – were leaving. They also live in Washington, Connecticut which, if you didn’t know is one of the chic little towns in chic not-so-little Litchfield County which is both chic and quaint and it helps if you’re filthy rich if you want to buy there nowadays. Mr. Marotta is in the antiques business and is regarded On High by his clientele and decorators everywhere. In fact, he started the local annual Antiques Show which NYSD covered a couple of years ago. Otherwise he’s a rather unassuming and modest fellow who seems like the kind of guy you might take your broken chair to be fixed and have a cup of hot chocolate while you’re waiting.

Then, thinking that whatwith the weather and all, I better get a couple of pictures. I took one of the three of them. I told them before I took the picture that all they had to worry about was keeping their eyes open. You can see who listens and who doesn’t.

I asked them why they were leaving and Mr. Marotta told me he had to get back to Washington (I take it he and Mr. Fullwood are a team) because he was teaching a Nia Class in the morning. I asked him what Nia is. Nia is a kind of dance exercise class. The “N” has something to do with Neuro. The “I” has something to do with intense and the “A,” aerobics.

Averil added that she took the class and that it was fabulous exercise, great for the cardio vascular and that everyone doing it smiles all the way through. I asked Mr. Fullwood if he took the class. He said “sometimes.” But Mr. Marotta added cheerfully that Mr. Fullwood has NEVER taken the class. I asked him why. He told me because he has to shop for fresh produce on Saturday mornings. We can use more than a little of that too. You can learn a lot more about the whole thing by visiting the Nia website: http://nia-nia.com/

Matthew Solomon's ceramics

After Marotta and Fullwood left, Averil insisted on showing me her son-in-law’s ceramics which she said are selling as fast as he can make them. Averil and Ty have two children – a son and a daughter. The last time I saw them, they were little kids. The boy, Tony was a tyke. She showed me portraits of them today. It’s about twenty-five years later. I didn’t recognize them.

Both portraits included their mates and Hilary, their daughter, has a child and the husband, the ceramicist. His name is Matthew Solomon. He graduated from Alfred with a degree in ceramics but then decided to go to law school. He was a very successful lawyer for about seven years but then decided to go back to his first love. He and Hilary sold their house in Norwalk and moved to the Catskills where he established a ceramics studio. It was a very good idea. Lou Marotta got Matthew into the show at the Park Avenue Armory in March. This pleases mother-in-law Averil very much for, as she put it, Matthew “will be able to buy her little granddaughter all the shoes she wants.”

It was still pouring when I left the party, with the intention of going on to the next – a cocktail up at the Arader Gallery on 78th and Madison (for what I can’t remember). There was a couple who came out of the building right after me. The man asked where I was going. He told me they were going to 76th and Madison. So they joined me when we finally got a cab (it wasn’t easy). The lady had a Southern accent (Alabama). Her husband was from New Mexico but they live here in New York.

Ten minutes later I dropped them off. It was past eight o’clock so I bagged the Arader Gallery intentions. I thought of Neil Young and Jon Stewart who I knew would be going on over at the AMNH about 9:30. Should I or shouldn’t I cross the Park. I love Neil Young and Jon Stewart, what little I’ve seen of him. It was still pouring. Ahh, the hell with it, I thought. I told the cabbie to take me home. I booted up Neil Young on my iTunes. A Man Needs a Maid, he was singing. Sometimes it’s a good idea to get rained out.

Doug and Monique Morris, Eduardo and Gillian Mestre, James Watson, Grace and Bruce Stillman at Cold Spring Harbor's Benefit for the Brain II

At Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Benefit for the Brain II in the FOTA Pavilion at Planting Fields Arboretum last week, Smokey Robinson and his 17-piece orchestra played many of his Motown hits for a sold-out crowd of nearly 400.

The was co-chaired by Sandy and Howard Tytel and Monique and Doug Morris. Earlier in the evening, there was a rousing auction, led by sports caster Al Trautwig, which brought in an additional $58,000 for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s neuroscience program.

In 1991, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory solidified its long-standing interest in neurobiology by opening a Neuroscience Center. Recognizing that this is one of the great problems facing biological scientists in the next 100 years, the Laboratory’s neurobiology program has molecular, cellular, physiological, and behavioral aspects that surround a unifying theme of neuronal plasticity underlying learning and memory processes and neurodegenerative disease. This effort now includes more than 60 neuroscientists researching the causes of non-dementia age-related memory loss; Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases; fragile X syndrome; neurofibromatosis, autism and more.

Smokey Robinson with Grace and Bruce Stillman

Howard and Sandy Tytel with Monique and Doug Morris

Sandy Tytel and Bill Robinson

Diane Fagiola, Joe Ammella, Lola and John Grace, and Maize Grace

Edmond Nouri and Cecily Pennoyer

Ed and Pat Travaglianti with Smokey Robinson

Cathy Soref, Marjorie Van de Stouwe, and Scott Ratner

Lynn Tone, Jeff Picarello, and Pat Tone

Ed Travaglianti and Rita Castagna

Eduardo and Gillian Mestre with Sandy and Howard Tytel

The Hon. Desmond Guinness and his late wife, Mariga, founded the Irish Georgian Society in 1958 to protect what was left of Georgian architecture in Ireland and to stimulate an interest in Irish art, silver and furniture of the Georgian period. In recent years, that scope has expanded to include distinguished examples of architecture and the allied arts of all periods in Ireland. Numerous private houses, gardens, gateways, columns, obelisks and mausolea throughout the Irish countryside have been preserved. The Kindel Furniture Company, Scalamandre, Inc, and Chelsea House have given generous royalties.

KK Auchincloss

Olda FitzGerald

Liz Fondaras

Jacquelin and Anya Robertson

Jeffrey Locker and Jennifer Olshin

Linda Mortimer and Desmond Guinness with a friend

Claudia Aranow, Chantal O'Sullivan, Niall Smith, Olda FitzGerald, and Marcy Masterson

Safe Horizon, the leading provider of services for victims of violence in New York City, held its 7th annual Fall Fundraiser at the BB King Blues Club over on 237 West 42nd Street last week.

Gordon Campbell and Wanda Sykes

The night’s event was called “In Our Own Words: No Laughing Matter.” And among the attendees were SNL’s Colin Quinn, Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Wanda Sykes, Last Comic Standing’s Rich Vos and Bonnie McFarland; How to Boil Water’s Lynne Koplitz, Caroline in the City’s Adam Ferrera, The Chris Rock Show’s Emmy winning writer Nick DiPaolo and the Chris Rock Show’s Sherrod Small.

Event co-chairs were Mallak Compton-Rock, Stephanie March and Bobby Flay, Jose Raul Perez, Allison and Neil Rubler. Dinner Chairs were Brooke McMurray and John Fowler, Steve and Diane Parrish. Honorary Comic’s Circle was Joy Behar, Cedric the Entertainer, Margaret Cho, Ellen DeGeneres, Whoopi Goldberg, Joan Rivers, Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Adam Sandeler, Garry Shandling, David Spade, and Karen Williams. The evening was sponsored by Bloomberg (the company). And a good time was had by all.

Safe Horizon is there “when you need us” in the courts, in the community and at the other end of a telephone at any hour of the day or night. You can find them also at www.safehorizon.org.

Allison Aston, Luigi Tadini, and Ashley Stark

Brooke McMurray. Colin Quinn, and Lynne Koplitz

Malaak Compton-Rock, Wanda Sykes, and Chris Rock

Steve Parrish, Jennifer Goodale, and Gordon Campbell

J. Feldman and Linda Fairstein

Neil Rubler, Lynne Koplitz, and Gordon Campbell

Ben Cosgrove and Jim Watkins

Stephanie March, Malaak Compton-Rock, and Jane Randel

Eliza Nordeman and Luigi Tadini

Sherrod Small, Ava Harell, and Colin Quinn

Wanda Sykes and Denise Richards

Estee Elkayam and Sharon Elkayam

L. to r.: Jose Perez and Colin Quinn; The comedians table.

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The British Consul General Sir Phillip Thomas was present to honor Anne Armstrong and painter, photographer and filmmaker Ed Ruscha at the American Associates of the Royal Academy Trust 18th Annual Dinner Dance with guests like Broadway star Jim Dale and his wife Judy, actor Roger Rees, Frances Hayward and Lord Rufus Albemarle at the Rainbow Room. Katherine Armstrong was there to represent her mother.

Among the crowd: Patricia, Kluge and William Moses, Coco and Arie Kopelman, Frederick Whittemore, Donald Best, Mildred Brinn, Elizabeth Ballard and Jonathan Farkas, Anabelle and Alberto Mariaca, Barbara and Bernard Shapiro, Elizabeth Kramer and Madison Spencer, art consultant Michel Witmer, Terry Thatcher, Suzette Smith, Frances Scaife and Tom McCarter, General Rick Lessey, Michael Lynch and Susan Baker, Paul Cronson, Susie and Paul Huxley, Cathy Grier, Sandra Warshawsky, Kate Wickham, Katherina and Dr. Yorck Schmidt. Guests dined on Cipriani Vegetable Napoleon Tower with eggplant, roasted red and yellow peppers, zucchini and silver coast goat cheese.

The Bob Hardwick Sound provided the dance classics that had everyone out on the revolving floor. The night’s raffle included a five-day trip for two in an oceanfront suite at the Curtain Bluff Resort on the island of Antigua.

The American Associates of the Royal Academy Trust Annual Gala Dinner Dance is the organization’s fundraiser and one of the most glamorous social events of the season - celebrating the strong relationship between America and the Royal Academy of Arts.