CELEBRITY WATCH

Health, Butlers & Voracious Gossips

by George Christy

     Let’s hope that sooner rather than later, an enterprising San Francisco movie lover will launch a successful Cinema Club, as New Yorker Andrew Saffir has in Manhattan with his Cinema Society for these past two years. A former Ralph Lauren executive in his early 40s, Andrew’s cleverly aligned himself with such sponsors as Hugo Boss, Chanel, Vanity Fair magazine, the Wall Street Journal, to pick up the tab for his coveted evening screenings.
   He invites the filmmakers and stars to preview their movie as it’s about to be released, for intimate pre-premieres, and they mingle with the social flock and the culturati, and later chat about the movie over his hosted dinners at a nearby restaurant.
   The selective guest lists change, are smallish, with influentials, and my hunch is that sponsors would likewise appreciate being associated with the Bay Area “in” crowd. Maybe a handful of films a year to start, with celebrities on hand. Since San Francisco’s only an hour’s flight from Hollywood, filmmakers and stars would be accessible, and who wouldn’t enjoy a weekend in San Francisco? Studios most likely would pick up some of the tab.

Diane Lane and Josh Brolin

   Independent movies nowadays are prestigious and popular, with major stars, from Diane Lane, to her mate, Josh Brolin, who’s playing Supervisor Dan White, who assassinated Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, in Gus Van Sant’s Milk; Bruce Willis, Julianne Moore, Robert De Niro and others coming aboard. Distributors look for ways to promote them and creating buzz for audiences and upcoming awards, which a Cinema Club with Bay Area cognoscenti would do.
   The Wall Street Journal reports that Andrew Saffir hosted 23 events last year, and Manhattan’s empress of “the tastemaker screenings” is Peggy Siegal, who for decades, with her burgeoning Rolodex, has planned cozy screenings with dinner afterward for 100 celebrities and journalists (she charges the studios a fee). The producers love them, as Miramax VP Meryl Katz told the Journal — “All we need to do is show up.”
   Peggy’s known for attracting such high-profilers as NBC anchor Brian Williams, Nora Ephron with husband Nick Pileggi, columnist Liz Smith, and Academy voters. Hollywood publicist Dale Olson says he’s always sought the Oscar votes from the sizeable number of Academy members in San Francisco, Ray Dolby among them.
  
FOLLOWING THE SPECTRUM
   “I’ve been following Dr. Dean Ornish’s program for more than a decade, and I feel younger now than I did 10 years ago — his style of eating and living is always delicious and never boring,” says Clint Eastwood. Cardiothoracic surgeon Mehmet Oz, a regular on Oprah Winfrey’s show, praises Dr. Ornish for his “revolutionary” work in “reversing heart disease.” Dr. Deepak Chopra adds that Dr. Ornish has “broken well-established myths in the field of biology that certain types of cancer are not preventable.” Dr. Ornish consults for McDonald’s, Safeway, Pepsico, and has advised the White House chefs on recipes and menus.
   Fortunately for all, Ballantine Books has published Dr. Ornish’s The Spectrum, A Scientifically Proven Program to Feel Better, Live Longer, Lose Weight, and Gain Health, with 100 easy recipes (and photographs) from the James Beard award-winning chef Art Smith, plus a DVD of meditations by Anne (Mrs. Dean) Ornish. Mind-boggling that the good doctor wrote the book in six weeks while on holiday with Anne and son Lucas — his previous books, Reversing Heart Disease and Eat More, Weigh Less, both topped the New York Times bestseller lists.

Dean Ornish & wife Anne

  Medical colleagues praise The Spectrum for its guidance in helping curtail the current epidemics of diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, cholesterol levels, depression and other chronic conditions. From his research at the University of California, San Francisco, and his nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute based in Sausalito, he’s discovered that, “Your genes are not your fate.”
   Immensely approachable and likeable, Dr. Ornish, in his early 50s, has been hailed as “one of the 50 most influential members of his generation.” Dallas-born, he received his medical training from Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital, having worked at Baylor with Dr. Michael DeBakey, one of the first to perform coronary artery bypass surgery and other cardiac successes (Dr. DeBakey will be 100 this year, and continues to practice medicine).
   With The Spectrum, Dr. Ornish outlines six personalized nutrition, exercise and stress management plans designed for losing weight, lowering cholesterol, blood pressure, preventing and reversing the progression of coronary heart diseases, some types of prostate and breast cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
    “I’m not a dictator…if you overdo one day, go slow the next day. If you’re basically healthy, like me, adopt the ‘ounce of prevention’ policy. And if you have worrisome risk factors, begin by making moderate changes. Don’t eat just to eat…eat only when you’re hungry. The more we lean toward Group 1 of the Spectrum, the healthier we’ll be.
    “Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, soy products, nonfat dairy, egg whites. These are foods rich in good carbs, good fats, good proteins and other protective substances. There are at least 100,000 substances in these foods that have powerful anti-cancer, anti-heart-disease and anti-aging properties.
     “Group 2 includes plant-based foods that are somewhat higher in fat, such as avocadoes, seeds and nuts. Group 3 includes some seafood, and Group 4 foods contain additional fat, poultry, fish higher in mercury, mayonnaise, pastries, cakes, cookies, and pies. Group 5 foods are considered the least healthful, lowest in protective substances and highest in ‘bad fats’: Red meat, egg yolks, fried poultry, fried fish, hot dogs, organ meats, butter and cream.
   “As you check the Nutrition Spectrum, you’ll find the place that’s comfortable and congruent with personal values and health needs. And this may evolve over time.”

THE RICHEST WOMAN
   Doris Duke was the richest girl in the world when she was born, and the richest woman when she died at 80. The only child of tobacco and electric energy tycoon, James Buchanan, and his second wife, Doris was willed $100 million when he died ($1 billion today). He willed the other half of his estate to Duke University, where he was a lifelong benefactor.

Susan Sarandon as Doris Duke

   This month, HBO presents Bernard and Doris, with Susan Sarandon as the heiress, and Ralph Fiennes as her alcoholic butler, Bernard Lafferty, an openly gay Irishman in awe of celebrated ladies, who had worked for Elizabeth Taylor and Peggy Lee. He arrived at her doorstep, broke and fresh out of rehab. She’d easily fallen into an exotic life with mystics, belly dancing, rescuing Imelda Marcos, and Bernard faced an uphill battle convincing his notoriously demanding boss, who would send him back to rehab and then let him remain on the staff.
   At first, as depicted in the movie, she addressed him as “You” and “New Butler,” and in time he becomes her playmate, trying on her priceless jewelry at her dressing table, and believing: ‘I am Miss Duke’s eyes and ears, the enforcer of standards.’ ” When she died six years later, he was granted control of her vast fortune, setting tumultuous lawsuits into motion.
   Directed by Bob Balaban with a stylish overview, and filmed at the Old Westbury Gardens estate, the former Phipps compound, on the North Shore of Long Island, the film’s an imagined story written by Hugh Costello of a strong relationship between two individuals, all the while exploring issues of money, power, class and sexuality. Was Bernard her Svengali or hero? Was she deluded when she rewrote her will? Did Bernard murder Doris? The police seemed to think so.
   Doris married twice. To Palm Beach playboy James Cromwell, who became the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, and was the third wife of Porfirio Rubirosa, a diplomat from the Dominican Republic and a hotshot stud, whose wives claimed his member rivaled a huge pepper mill. Doris paid Rubirosa’s actress wife, Danielle Darrieux, $1 million to agree to an uncontested divorce, and Doris’ divorce settlement with Rubirosa included several million dollars, a stable of polo ponies, sports cars, a B-25 bomber, and a 17th C. town house in Paris. Doris never remarried, but remained nymphomaniacally active until her demise.
   “Doris left her dogs more money than we had to make the movie,” jokes Bob Balaban, who filmed for six chilly weeks with a miniscule budget. Adds Susan Sarandon: “Getting this movie made was like a Judy Garland movie. ‘Let’s put on a show in a barn’…there was little money involved, and we shot four scenes a day. A miracle that we pulled it together, but there’s something very freeing about guerilla filmmaking.” No matter, the film looks gorgeous. Fendi lent furs, Bulgari sent jewels worthy of royalty, Christofle sent silver.
   “Every movie I’ve ever done has been a love story of some sort,” continues Susan, “and this is no exception. For me, one of the bravest things two people can do is reach out and, in some way, open themselves up…these are two damaged and different people, but for whatever reason, the ‘funny foot needs a funny shoe’ philosophy kicks in and they find each other. They have similar pains and humor, and find a way to pair up and make their lives richer.”
   Bernard was an eccentric, lonely, fragile, generous, extravagant spirit, and the same can be said for Doris. Like Doris’ favored orchids, the formal and quiet Bernard blossoms in the glow of their friendship, and the playful affection Doris bestows on him. He showers her with attentiveness and concern, attending to every whim as a helpmate and companion, through sickness and swamis. It’s clear they adored each other.
   Dominick Dunne is cast in a cameo as a trustee, as is Peter Asher, playing her former butler (Peter dueted with Peter & Gordon during the ’60s). Big thanks to HBO for this fascinating, well-acted saga, worthy of Emmy Award nominations. Not to be missed.

TINY TERROR
   WWD christened him the Tiny Terror, and Truman Capote was anything but. Wise and witty, he was a voracious gossip, and fabricated stories, often for the amusement of friends. His writings captivated New Yorker readers and the literati, while deep-think intellectuals bitch-slapped him in print. (No doubt envious?) He rebutted by quoting Andre Gide, that, “The dogs bark, the crap stays, but the caravan moves on.” In fact, he titled one of his anthologies, The Dogs Bark.
   If you haven’t followed his distinguished literary career, Random House has published Portraits and Obser-vations, The Essays of Truman Capote, a veritable feast of his canny observations, some written when he was 22. “This is the first volume that’s devoted solely to all his essays,” notes his publisher, “providing a window into mid-20th century America.”
   Included are such masterpieces of narrative nonfiction as The Muses Are Heard, first published in the New Yorker, about a Broadway troupe during the mid-’50s that brought Porgy and Bess to Moscow and Leningrad to warm up the Cold War. Threaded with humor amid the travel and travails, this is un-put-down-able reportage.
   His out-of-print portraits of Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Marcel Duchamp, and Isak Dinesen are richly detailed. As is his infamously unforgettable profile of Marlon Brando, The Duke in His Domain, done when Marlon was in Tokyo on location for the filming of James Michener’s novel, Sayonara. In Ghosts in Sunlight, he describes the filming of his acclaimed “nonfiction novel,” In Cold Blood.
   New Orleans-born Truman wrote lovingly about the South in his classics, A Christmas Memory and A Thanksgiving Visitor, and of that teasing Southern chick, Holly Golightly, in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Early in our friendship, he admitted that Holly was based on one of his “swans,” the adopted Carol Grace, who went on to wed William Saroyan (twice) and Walter Matthau.
   The rigors of fame caught up with Truman. During one of my New York visits, he invited me to a Saturday lunch at his favorite Pear Tree, not far from the river-view UN Plaza apartments, where he lived. Just the two of us, he added, suggesting we meet around 10 o’clock. “That’s not lunch,” I countered. “That’s a late breakfast.” He compromised: “Let’s make it for 10:30.” I found him nursing his second martini, soon there were the third and fourth, and finally some forkfuls of corned beef hash.
   When he’d called, I’d explained that after our lunch I planned to catch the matinee of Peggy Lee’s musical, Peg, based on her life, which she was starring in on Broadway. I could arrange tickets if he wanted to go. He slept throughout Peggy’s performance, and after I mentioned that I wanted to go backstage to congratulate her, he insisted on coming along.
   Peggy was thrilled to meet him. He dazzled her, as she listened to Truman recount favorite songs from her career, dating back to Why Don’t You Do Right? At the time she was a soloist with Benny Goodman’s band. Never said a word about her matinee, it didn’t matter. He vividly described Peggy’s jazz stylings, phrasing, tonality, etc. of the songs he remembered, from Fever to Mañana. Truman’s genius at his spontaneous best! His memory was infallible, and she was on Cloud Nine.
   When he died at age 60, the memorial service in 1984 at the Pierce Brothers Mortuary in Westwood, where Marilyn Monroe is buried, drew an overflow of Hollywood high rollers, even those he swore were his “eternal enemies.”
  
THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS
   Our Oscar predictions bow to Daniel Day-Lewis as Best Actor for his role as the insanely greedy oil mogul in There Will Be Blood, and Marion Cotillard as Best Actress for her portrayal of chanteuse Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. For those who like to keep score on who’s won the most Oscars, Katharine Hepburn won four, Bette Davis and Meryl Streep each won two.

Daniel Day-Lewis

   Imagine Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes as cleaning ladies in the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City. Far-fetched; but sly Diane, whose husband in the film (Ted Danson) has lost his job, needs cash to cover their massive debt. Any job will do, and at the bank she devises a scheme to not shred the old money, which banks do, with the wing-nut threesome suddenly wallowing in greenbacks. “I don’t like cleaning toilets,” she says, “but the money’s wonderful.”
   Husband Tom Cruise escorted Katie to the premiere, and while she worked the red carpet, he shook hands with fans. That same week, Andrew Morton’s unauthorized and controversial biography about Tom was published. Andrew’s written bestselling biographies (Princess Diana, Madonna, Posh Spice, Monica Lewinsky), says he conducted 130 interviews with major players that revealed Tom’s place in the hierarchy of the Scientology faith.

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes

  Carla Bruni, the 40-year-old Italian beauty and heiress linked to Donald Trump, Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger, has claimed that desire doesn’t last very long, told Le Figaro Madame that she “believes in polygamy and polyandry.” Details are not forthcoming, but the news that she wed French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 52, in a secret, low-key ceremony, after their two-month romance, surfaced from Verona, the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a play that she’s obsessed with.
   If so, Sarkozy, who proposed during their Christmas holiday in Egypt, is the first in-office president to marry since Napoleon united with Josephine. The French President had been wed twice before, with three handsome sons. Carla never married, but has a six-year-old son. Her heart-shaped wedding ring of white-gold is similar to the $30,000 design from Dior, which Sarkozy’s previous wife, Cecilia, had received. Both rings were designed by Cecilia’s best friend, Victoire de Castellane, which friends say didn’t please Cecilia. In truth, the French tattle that Cecilia seduced the French president while he was still married to someone else.
     Katherine Heigl of Grey’s Anatomy fame is among those few television stars (like Johnny Depp) who succeed on the big screen, as she has in Knocked Up and 27 Dresses. Last month, she wed musician Josh Kelley, and we hear Katie subscribes to her idol Ingrid Bergman’s secret for happiness: “Good health, and a bad memory.”