Wednesday, September 24, 2014

QUEEN MARY 2 NEW YORK TO LONDON AGAIN


                                                                 QUEEN MARY 2




I HAVE SPENT MANY HAPPY HOURS ON "THE QUEEN" THIS YEAR. I'm certainly not happy right now, but off I go again. I have promised myself to try and allow the healing breezes and light as I sail across the ocean to give me some kind of peace and relief.

Taking some trips from London to the Cotswolds and Bath. I want to go back in time and dream.

See you in October when I hope I'll enjoy doing this blog again.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Sue Cameron: THE SHIVA EVENINGS FOR JOAN ARE OVER AND NOW REALI...

Sue Cameron: THE SHIVA EVENINGS FOR JOAN ARE OVER AND NOW REALI...: NO PICTURES OUT OF RESPECT TO PRIVACY I took no pictures at anything, nor will I talk about celebrities and funny or sad quotes. All of...

THE SHIVA EVENINGS FOR JOAN ARE OVER AND NOW REALITY BEGINS


NO PICTURES OUT OF RESPECT TO PRIVACY



I took no pictures at anything, nor will I talk about celebrities and funny or sad quotes. All of that was private. What I will tell you is that there were two evenings in New York and two in Los Angeles. Kathy Griffin went to the evenings on both coasts. So did Giuliana Rancic. George Kotsiopoulous was in NY. Barbara Walters, the Trumps (both past and present) plus Kelly Osbourne were in NY. I'm sure I'm missing names. So what.

In LA, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Lily Tomlin, Don Rickles, Steve Lawrence, Betty Buckley, Lainie Kazan, Kenny Solms, Treva Silverman, George Schlatter, etc. Both homes were also filled with Joan's behind-the-scenes loved ones from the grips at "Fashion Police" to her QVC models, manufacturers, make-up and hair, dressers........all of it was Joan's world...Vegas, TV, NY, LA---one big sad family.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

JOAN RIVERS---MY MEMORIES IN THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER TODAY


  ALL THESE PHOTOS ARE FROM PASSOVER THREE YEARS AGO








I WROTE THE PIECE BELOW FOR THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER ISSUE THIS WEEK.

HERE IT IS IN ITS ENTIRETY. I WAS SO HONORED THAT MY "ALMA MATER" ASKED ME.



In 1975 I was joyously ensconced as a daily columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, thanks to my mentor, Tichi Wilkerson. It created my entire world of lasting friendships. Joan Rivers was my friend for 40 years. While Joan was the funniest human in the world, to her private friends she was a fragile bird with a steel core. Her kindness and generosity happened behind the scenes. She supported so many people financially and emotionally, and the public never knew. Here are personal snippets of our lives together.

The day we met: Joan, Edgar and Melissa moved to Los Angeles and rented a house in Coldwater Canyon Dr. Her publicist, Frank Liberman, asked me to meet her there for lunch. He thought we'd hit it off. I rang the bell....

"Hi, I'm Archie the ice skater. Joan found me at Rockefeller Center and I needed a job. I'm her assistant. She said to meet her in Melissa's room." I think Melissa was nine.
"So nice to meet you," said Joan wearing a witch costume. "Melissa and I are playing Halloween.".........

"Hi, it's Joan. I'm at Ceasar's Palace and I'm taking orders. What do you want? Soap, towels, shampoo?"
"I really need a blanket this time," I said.
"Edgar! screamed Joan. "Pack the blanket!"......


 Joan, a few months  after living on Coldwater Canyon, knew somehow it wasn't in the right place and called me. "Where's the best place to live? I know this isn't it." 
"Bel Air. That's the only place for you," I answered.....

The first dinner party in the Bel Air House--Vincent Price and Coral Brown, Roddy MacDowell and his friend, and another famous actor and his wife. Joan's table was camera-ready for House Beautiful. We sat down and Roddy's friend realized I was a member of the press. He had just received a bad review on his singing act in the Hollywood Reporter. I knew nothing about it. 
First course: Lobster bisque was served. Joan lifted her spoon and we started to eat. I was next to Edgar. I loved him from the moment I met him. Suddenly the singer jumps up and starts to yell at me. I guess I represented all press. He was drunk and it got louder. Then he lunged across the table to hit me. Joan put down her soup spoon. Edgar blocked the blow. Roddy grabbed the kid, took him outside and locked him in the car.
Second course: Filet mignon with whipped potatoes and glazed carrots. I'm still shaky and go to the ladies room. I open the door and the wife of the unnamed actor is face down on the floor, passed out from some substance. I run back to the dining room and announce it. The woman's husband runs to the bathroom and revives her and they leave. Back to the dinner table. The filets are cold. Joan throws her fork across the room. "F--k it. I'm ordering pizza."

The Bel Air house backed up against the golf course of the Bel Air Country Club. It was a restricted club--no Jews allowed. Joan's great love was her rose garden in her back yard and she tended to them every day. The only problem was that wayward golf balls were constantly coming over the hedge and either hitting her or the roses. I was with her in the backyard one day and a ball went whizzing by. Suddenly a man in full golfing regalia stuck his head over the fence and asked for his ball back. Joan picked up the ball and yelled, "You Nazi! Your balls are mine!"

After Edgar died Joan and I were sitting in the Bel Air kitchen. She was in a robe and slippers crying softly. "No one wants me. All my bookings have been canceled because they think a widow can't be funny. I'm off all the dinner party guest lists because I'm single and the wives think I'll go after their husbands." She paused for a second, Kleenex over her nose and said, "I know. We'll go Jewish Skiing! Go home and pack and come right back."
"What's Jewish skiing? I asked. 
"Don't ask."
In a few hours I found myself on a plane to Deer Valley with Joan and Melissa and a hairdresser (our beloved Max D'Fray), and a masseuse. Shalom Slolom.

My favorite times with Joan were actually us sitting side by side somewhere in the world, no make-up or hair, each quietly reading a book. She looked like she might be a librarian from Anywhere, USA. Thanks to Melissa, Joan's last days in the hospital were spent in a beautiful, huge room, decorated by event planner Preston Bailey, who did Melissa's wedding. Things from her own bedroom were brought there so it looked like home. There were dusty rose roses in vases all over. She had her own lace comforter and all of her European linens. It was Joan's boudoir and it was fit for a Queen. She looked beautiful and peaceful. I held her hand and  talked to her repeatedly. For me, she will never die. I think I'll probably never laugh again, but if I really can't, I'll remember back to the time when another friend of mine was in a coma and I thought if maybe Joan spoke to her it might help. Joan called and I held the phone close to my friend's ear so I could hear Joan's words  of encouragement---"Wake up, you stupid bitch!"








Tuesday, September 9, 2014

JOAN RIVERS--CELEBRITY DEATH--IT'S JUST DIFFERENT
















WHEN WE LOSE A LOVED ONE WE ALL GO THROUGH THE SAME THING--It's awful, sad, you get angry, you have to deal with a funeral, a burial, cremation or no cremation, reception, etc. It's kind of like the opposite of a wedding and has the same problems. BUT WHEN IT'S A CELEBRITY, IT'S SO MUCH MORE DIFFICULT.


With families and close friends of celebrities there is an immediate loss of privacy. You cannot mourn in peace. You need to be somewhere all the time and you need to (in public) have on what I call  the "Fake Face." You can't leave the house without guards. Sometimes you have to hold the real crying for two weeks because there is so much going on. I want to tell you right now that Melissa Rivers has been flawless in running the show and taking care of every detail and every one. She has managed the media, she "produced" Joan's ending at the hospital for all of us. She is facing public judgment of her choices because her mother was beloved by the public. (She's getting raves). And, very importantly, it takes much longer to heal. You are constantly bombarded almost 24 hours a day, and everyone at once seems to depend on you.

And then there's silence. The hoopla goes away and you are left in your house to process and deal with the reality. Trust me, Melissa and Cooper won't be alone.

I have written a remembrance of Joan which will appear in the Hollywood Reporter magazine this week. I will print it here once it has been published. That was a real honor to be asked to do that by my "alma mater."


Memory Lane..............Please note: I'm deliberately keeping these descriptions short. I'm saving the details for "the book."


Bobby Darin died in 1973. He was in the hospital for a dental infection and died. I was not prepared for it was was on my way to the hospital to say hello. A press release was issued and there was a reception for his friends. It was a simpler time.



Cass Elliot died in 1974. I'd had dinner with her the night before she left to do her London engagement. We went to Mr. Chow. I'd never seen her happier, and she asked me to go with her. I told her that the notice was too short and I'd see her when she got back. Well, two days later I was in the "city room" of the Hollywood Reporter and an assistant said, "You're Cass Elliot's friend. Does she spell Elliot with one t or two?" I asked why. He told me she was dead. In a state of shock I called her rental apartment in London and her manager, Allan Carr, answered the phone. He begged me to issue a story in the Reporter that she died because she choked on a ham sandwich. I knew it wasn't true, but I did it any for my friend. A celebrity can't just die. Things need to be "managed."




When Rick Nelson died on New Year's Eve, 1985, I was the one who went to the airport to pick up his daughter, Tracy Nelson, who flew in right away from a ski trip. I sat at Rick's house with a dazed and devastated mother (Harriet) and the rest of the family. They were in no shape to take care of anything--deal with press, funeral, etc. There is no way to describe the burden on the family of a celebrity decedent. They can't mourn. It goes right to business.




With Phoebe Snow, I had a year-and-a-half to prepare for a death, but prepare you have to do. Guests lists, visitors, press releases, family, rumors, websites, etc. It's never simple.



Dusty Springfield's passing was a mess of people trying to control everything. I just stepped away from the insanity. It was too much.


Monday, September 8, 2014

JOAN RIVERS VS. JOHNNY CARSON---THE REAL TRUTH NOW CAN BE TOLD



MY OPINION: JOHNNY CARSON WAS A LYING RAT.

"ALLEGEDLY"--- according to the most reliable source on the planet (you can figure it out)

Joan was beyond grateful to Johnny for giving her a shot on the "Tonight Show" and she credits him with making her a star. He liked her so much, that he gave the orders to NBC to put her on as a permanent guest host on Monday nights. It went great for years---BUT THEN JOAN'S RATINGS WERE HIGHER THAN JOHNNY'S. Remember that info. It's key.

Joan's husband, Edgar Rosenberg, called NBC at the usual time he did each year, to renew Joan's contract. NBC didn't return his call. And they didn't return his call. And they didn't return his call.
One day he did get a call back and the NBC negotiator, who has now died, couldn't really give him a straight answer. Time went by. Joan's contract was about to expire. The handwriting was clearly on the wall.

Joan got a a call from Barry Diller who was starting up the Fox Network. He wanted Joan to do their late night show. It was a brilliant idea, because Barry knew that Joan would bring his little network affiliates and really help him build.

Edgar called NBC one last time. No answer. So he and Joan took the deal.

WELL, THE WHOLE TIME EDGAR KEPT TRYING TO GET AN ANSWER FROM NBC, JOHNNY CARSON WAS ISSUING A DECREE THAT HE WANTED JOAN OUT. HE WAS JEALOUS HER RATINGS WERE BETTER.

JOAN TRIED TO CALL JOHNNY BEFORE THE FOX DEAL WAS ANNOUNCED. HE WOULDN'T TAKE HER CALL.

The announcement was made, Johnny took Joan's next call and accused her of lying and betraying him. He told her she was dead to him. IT WAS ALL A CAREFULLY-CRAFTED ACT BY JOHNNY.

I'm sick and tired of people believing he was wronged. My opinion--what a bastard. He hurt Joan deeply. He banned her from all late night talk shows. Jay Leno followed Johnny's ban. It wasn't until Jimmy Fallon got the "Tonight Show" that Joan was back on NBC....some 30 years later.

AND NOW THE REAL TRUTH IS OUT. I MIGHT JUST HAVE TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON A FEW MORE ISSUES, SHOULD THEY COME UP. JOAN CAN'T FIGHT FOR HERSELF ANYMORE, BUT I CAN AND I WILL.