SUZY
Byline: Aileen Mehle
Heard enough about Woody Allen’s just-finished, upcoming period musical? That’s what I thought. But, anyhow, there’s this. Whilst Woody was filming a special flashback dream sequence at the supper club Laura Belle, he was asked which actresses he’d like to work with in future films. Woody opened up long enough to give us the news that: “I’d like to work with Diane Keaton again. But I’ve never been one who particularly wanted to work with anybody. [Columnist’s note: Hello, Mia, are you there?] I cast each film with the best available actor/actress for each role. Keaton is the only person I always look forward to working with because I enjoy her company — and I’ve always been a little awestruck at her talent.”
The luscious Italian actress Valeria Golino — you can see her in “Four Rooms” if you have the heart — has been voted the sexiest European actress of 1995. In fact, she was also voted “the sexiest European actress of all time” — if you leave out Sophia Loren. Gracious Golino declares she’s prouder of the second award than the first. She should be. Who in the world is ever going to measure up to Sofia in that department — even if you forget her bust. No easy feat, considering there’s so much there there.
Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni, lovers once, have been spied dining e deux in Venice. But it’s not a rekindling of the old flame, more’s the pity — even if Marcello’s kidneys are not what they once were. They keep in touch because of their daughter, Chiara, whom they both love dearly.
You’ve probably heard Marcello doesn’t think much of Faye Dunaway’s revelations in her new autobiography regarding their affair. He been heard to sniff, “It was all 30 years ago.” And he says he will never write his memoirs for the reason he’s much too modest. Oh? When did he first notice it?
Whatever one makes of “Restoration,” the new movie starring Robert Downey Jr., Polly Walker, Meg Ryan, Sam Neill, etc., it still remains a spectacular costume saga of 17th century England. Not since Easter Parades of yore have so many silk bonnets, lace chapeaux, satin snoods, flowers and feathers been seen in one fell swoop. And that’s just on the guys…
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Looking dreamy the other midnight at Joe Allen’s Table 31, Bridget Fonda and Eric Stoltz. It’s the same table where Liam Neeson romanced Natasha Richardson, who is now Mrs. Liam Neeson, and Matthew Broderick did ditto with Sarah Jessica Parker, who is still Miss Sarah Jessica Parker.
Interior designer Michael La Rocca is putting the last lovely touches on Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin’s Central Park West apartment. There’s loads of room for the two of them plus their new baby. La Rocca describes the place as having a country look that’s right for the city, and that will have to do until you see for yourself what it looks like in Architectural Digest.
The combination of Betty Knight Scripps as general chairman, Julio Iglesias as guest star and the Countess of Limerick as guest of honor is selling out the International Red Cross Ball which will be held at The Breakers in Palm Beach on January 27. Betty Scripps reports that $350,000 worth of tickets and tables have been sold — and this before the invitations were even out. Van Cleef & Arpels are the grand benefactors of the ball; Saks Fifth Avenue and Merrill Lynch are the dinner benefactors and David Berger is the corporate chairman. Bruce Bent is giving a dinner the night before in honor of Betty and the ambassadors attending the ball at his beautiful house, which was the first Palm Beach residence of Marjorie Merriwether Post before she built Mar-a-Lago. This year, there will be more ambassadors — always a staple at this fEte — than ever before, so, mindful that they won’t go hungry, Anya Begley will give them a lunch the day of the ball at her house, also beautiful. Actually, they really don’t care for ugly houses in Palm Beach.
The marvelous fashion drawings of the late Rene BouchA are on display at the Stubbs Gallery until the end of the month, a must-see exhibit of his illustrations of the famous and beautiful people who were his subjects. Rene was an artist of extraordinary style whose portraits of the haut monde were rendered with such verve and style and with his own unique take on class as to make him one of the most sought-after painters of his genre.
Rene’s widow Denise, now married to San Francisco art collector George Hooper Fitch, flew to New York with Fitch for the show’s opening, including her private collection of Bouche’s work. Among the crowd invited to the viewing (and snapping up the BouchAs like crazy) were Wendy Vanderbilt, Lily Auchincloss, Robin Duke, Judy and Sam Peabody, Al Hirschfeld, Vera and Douglas Fairbanks, Anne Cox Chambers, Tammy Grimes, Camilla and Earl McGrath, Isabel and Freddy Eberstadt, Mimi and Alexander Romanoff, Kenneth Jay Lane, the artist Edwina Sandys and Steven Aronson with Laura de Coppet. Afterwards, Antoinette and Mitia Guerrini-Maraldi of the social swim opened up the doors of their far-flung apartment around the corner and gave a supper for a veritable host, as in mob, of Denise’s friends. Denise, along with her sister, Genevieve St. George, received in a caftan from Afghanistan under her late husband’s portrait of her. It now belongs to Antoinette, who hung it in the foyer for the occasion. La!
Too bad Christmas is past, because Bijan, who purveys to the luxury trade, would love to sell you his set of genuine alligator bags in coffee-bean brown. It goes for a mere $500,000, not including the New York tax of $41,250! He has already sold three sets — to a prince, a sultan and an emperor. And you’ll be thrilled to hear he still has a set (or two) left that has your name on it! But hurry!