Paris Jackson on MTV Video Music awards last night. Kudos. Michael Jackson did a very good job. He’d be very proud.
RIP Iris Sawyer, 83, Nearly Done in by NY Society Scandal of the 80s, Revived as a Jewelry Designer
My friend, Iris Michaels Sawyer, whom I wrote about in a New York magazine story in 1994 that caused a lot of trouble in New York society, died on Sunday. She was a month shy of her 84th birthday and had been living in a nursing home uptown for the last year.
It’s hard to describe my anger about how Iris was treated by New York society in the 1980s. A series of bad decisions led her from a 25 year marriage to the late David Sawyer– he was a PR consultant and image maker in politics– to an affair with Thomas Kempner, member of the wealthy Loeb family and husband of infamous “social X-ray” (as dubbed by Tom Wolfe) Nan Kempner.
The short version: when the eight year affair went wrong, the Kempners conspired — Iris felt — to ruin her financially. She was almost 60, and had invested all of her money in a real estate deal with her lover. But Kempner’s wife called him home, and the society couple sold off the investment at the lowest price possible. The result bankrupted Iris, who had no family, no resources, and no savings.
When I met Iris in 1994 she was living on a pull out sofa on the Upper East Side in a rental with another woman whose husband had taken all their money and had fled to South Africa. (That’s another story.) This was the spillover from the go-go 80s in New York, where rich people played Monopoly with real houses on the Upper East Side. Tom Wolfe figured it all out for “The Bonfire of the Vanities.”
Iris and David Sawyer produced no children during their quarter century together. But they’d created a very successful business- D. H. Sawyer & Associates, which eventually became Sawyer Miller Group. They were the original spin doctors. But the Sawyers’ marriage suffered. They each cheated, a lot. Iris met Tom Kempner on a plane in 1981. His wife, Nan, was the bitterly thin jet setter who cared more for status than passion. Iris was witty, playful, smart– and attentive. (Kempner, whom I met years later, is no prize. Dull as dishwater is the best way to describe him.)
Iris, born in the Bronx, had graduated from Barnard, worked for Leo Lerman at Conde Nast, ran with international politicians. In her early years with David, she even co-produced one of the first long music videos that presaged MTV. She and David divorced in 1982 (his story I’ve told elsewhere). She trusted Kempner fully, and planned on marrying him. But when push came to shove, Kempner was a coward. After eight years of heady promises, he returned to Nan with his tail between his legs. The social X-ray didn’t care, which was worse. As I wrote in 1994, Iris and Kempner used to romp in the couples’ bedroom. Nan just wrote it off.
But Nan also set her sights on hobbling her husband’s mistress financially by souring the real estate deal. Iris was living hand to mouth. She borrowed money and started a jewelry design company under the name Susan Lennox. It was very clever. Greta Garbo had starred in a 1931 drama called “Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise.” Lennox– with two n’s — was Tom Kempner’s middle name.
Iris had a keen sense of design. She had a brilliant mind. Women loved her pieces. She spotted trends in luxury shops, then made her own versions of necklaces, bracelets, rings that looked better and cost less. She attracted devoted private clients in London who didn’t know the Kempners, and in Richmond, Virginia where a local upscale shop featured her. For a while things seemed to even out.
But then the London business started mysteriously drying up. And the Richmond shop closed after the owner died. Iris’s precarious financial situation teetered. Upscale Upper East Side stores would take orders from her, then suddenly rescind them. Iris felt Nan Kempner had bad mouthed her. She wasn’t paranoid without good reason.
Some former friends stood up for her quietly. But Iris was living in places like the Martha Washington Hotel, where the cockroaches were as big as Nan Kempner’s diamonds. The deleterious effect of this was mind blowing. She had no doctor, dentist, no credit.
To make matters worse, David Sawyer had died suddenly in 1995 at age 59. Iris discovered he had done her dirty in death. Her pension from Sawyer Miller had disappeared. Iris sued– she was constantly suing people if she could find a lawyer who’d take the case. In desperation she made some short sighted settlements with Sawyer’s estate. But the money she was due had been purposely diverted from her by her vindictive ex. (It also didn’t help that Iris had allowed David to pay for their divorce, and use one lawyer. That man, who shall go unnamed for now, was complicit in her demise.)
“They want to kill me, they want me to go away,” Iris would say to me at least once a week. She was right, of course. She’d become, as Dominick Dunne once wrote of another society mistress, “an inconvenient woman.” My 1994 story was titled “The Woman Who Would Not Get Lost.” She wouldn’t, and this drove Kempner, Sawyer, and the whole clique of theirs, crazy.
The Kempners, so wealthy, could have settled with Iris and everyone could have gone their separate ways. But they made Iris pay dearly for her affair with Tom. Nan once twisted the knife when she told another journalist Iris was the “embittered refugee of a one night stand.” That hurt more than anything. She’d been with Tom Kempner for eight years. They might as well have stoned her in the town square. Nan acted in public as if her husband’s dalliance was a blip in a perfect marriage. But when she died in 2006, Tom married his secretary seven months later.
I’m so glad Iris did not go away. Our 23 year friendship was marked by her panic over survival, but I admired her genuine intellect and her delicious sense of humor. She was always surprising, and always making new friends at high levels. In London, for example, she flourished without the heavy weight of the Kempner story. She’d return from selling jewelry re-charged and rededicated to making a go of it. Her resilience was extraordinary, and we all pulled for her.
Last year things collapsed when Iris was evicted from an Upper East Side sublet after 12 years. The owner of the apartment was cruel, for no apparent reason. Iris went to live at a Marriott, and then a hotel on York Avenue. By now she had few belongings, and was getting handouts from friends. She became disoriented in the hotel. One day in June 2016 I received a call that she was in New York Hospital after a bad fall. That fall instigated a year of straight decline. There were some bad moments. We were lucky to find graciousness at the Amsterdam Nursing Home on the Upper West Side, where she was cared for with great attention. That is where she died yesterday.
Rest in peace, Iris. You deserve it.
“Twin Peaks”: Did Audrey Dream the Whole Thing? Series Not Likely to Return Again as Bizarre 18 Episode Experiment Faces Finale
I am told that “Twin Peaks: The Return” will not return again after it ends its bizarre and expensive experiment this Sunday on Showtime.
The 18 hours directed by David Lynch were met with curiosity and then indifference as the return series revealed it had no shape, no plan, and no particular direction.
“David never showed us a bit of it,” one Showtime insider told me this past week. The then source added regarding more episodes: “I don’t see how he could improve on what he’s done.”
There were high moments– Part 8 remains a standalone masterpiece. There were low moments– acts of violence including the running over of a little boy– that made no sense.
Ratings dropped week by week until there were none. The return of “Game of Thrones” over on HBO as counter programming didn’t help. Moving “Twin Peaks” to 8pm did, a little, but it was too late.
Last night, in the penultimate installment, three characters were killed off to make way for the finale. After 14 weeks, Kyle MacLachlan’s “Dougie” finally realized he was Agent Cooper and took off to tie up various loose plot lines. Naomi Watts was left, bewildered, in a casino, after doing a valiant job. Laura Dern’s Diane turned out to be an apparition.
Indeed maybe the whole show has been one. At the end of the episode Sherilyn Fenn’s Audrey– who didn’t come into the series until three weeks ago– seemed to wake up from a coma. Has she dreamed the whole thing, including the bad ratings and lack of coherence? Maybe Laura Palmer never died. Has Audrey been in a coma for 25 years? Will Ashley Judd’s character ever be explained? Probably not.
New York Local TV News Upheaval: Lori Stokes, Ex-Eyewitness News, May Be Heading to Fox 5 with Rosanna Scotto…and Greg Kelly?
Normally, I don’t cover local TV news anchors. They all work hard, and they sometimes change stations. Last week, though, I was very surprised when it was announced very quietly that popular stalwart Lori Stokes, who’d been with WABC’s Eyewitness News for 17 years, was suddenly out the door.
Even more surprising: WABC placed an ad on mediabistro.com looking for an anchor. Whatttt???
Now I’m told by two different insiders who don’t even know each other that Stokes may be heading to Channel 5 aka Fox5’s “Good Day New York.” This is the fun show hosted by Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly every morning starting at 7am. At various times over the last twenty years “Good Day New York” — under a variety of anchors– has done better than the network shows seen at that hour.
It’s unclear what role Stokes will play. Scotto and Kelly are both on vacation right now. They are also two people I like very much and see often outside of work. Who knows what’s going on? Kelly, son of former police commissioner Ray Kelly, has had his ups and downs at Fox 5. But I hope everyone will come out a winner in what is always a volatile world. (In the old days, everyone would just head to Elaine’s and settle it. John Roland, where are you now that I need you?)
Total Box Office $65 Million on Lowest Weekend of 2017 and Maybe Of All Time
The total box office for the weekend? $65 million. That’s for all the movies in release this weekend, from the number 1 “Hitman’s Bodyguard” down to the smallest indie film.
“Hitman” took in $10 million, not a huge amount for a movie that features two X Men– Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson. But the reviews were tepid at best.
Ignored almost competely is the well reviewed “Logan Lucky” which suffered from lack of a real marketing campaign. Steven Soderbergh’s comeback film took in just $4.4 million.
What’s pretty clear is that the movie biz needs a huge promotional shot in the arm. The Academy and MPAA might think about bringing in a crisis counselor, no kidding.
It doesn’t help that there isn’t much on the release schedule coming soon that’s BIG. September 8th brings Stephen King’ s “It” and on September 22nd we get the “Kingsman” sequel. But it’s a dry, dry month otherwise.
PS Irony that Tobe Hooper director of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” has died at age 74. In Houston, they’re saying on the news, don’t go into your attic during the hurricane unless you bring a chainsaw. It’s a weird tribute to a cool director.
Aretha Franklin Scores a Knockout in Philadelphia as Her Touring Days Wind Down to an End
You realize we have been talking about Taylor Swift covering “I’m Too Sexy” and fighting with Kanye West. How silly we have been…
And then Aretha Franklin steps onto the stage of the Mann Center shed in Philadelphia on a perfect starry night for one of her last touring shows ever. She’s dressed in a white Badgley Mischka gown embroidered with small butterflies. When she first walks on stage she’s covered in a chinchilla jacket just in case it’s breezy or cold. She’s 75 and she’s chillin’ more than that chinchilla when she treats 5,000 fans to “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me.” And it’s all magic.
Aretha’s ninety minute show last night was one of those rarities– it defied expectations and then some. She’s always ‘good’– that’s expected– but something about the open air and a return to Philadelphia — where just two years ago she performed also outdoors for Pope Francis– catalyzed her.
Aretha is petite but last night it felt like she was six feet tall, radiantly giving a knockout show that had her voice at full power. She joked, she danced, she shimmied, she went to church, and god bless her– she played that grand piano like it was 40 years ago. Somewhere in heaven WC Fields heard this and said to his friends, “On the whole I’d rather be in Philadelphia.”
There were some treats for the fans last night, too. She revived her 1972 Stevie Wonder hit “Until You Come Back to Me” complete with the knock-knock-knocks. There were two nods to the late Curtis Mayfield from his “Sparkle” soundtrack– the title track, and the sultry “Givin’ Him Something He Can Feel.” There was a rousing rendition of the Clara Ward Singers’ gospel classic “Old Landmark,” that sent Miss Franklin high stepping with abandon.
Conductor Fred Nelson has got her orchestra tight tight tight these days. And even though Aretha admonishes them as Nelson takes them through their paces, the effect is intimate, not stern. You’re seeing geniuses, perhaps the last of their kind, at work. It’s a master class. It’s like watching a NASCAR driver settle into his seat. And when she’s got everything the way she wants it, Aretha relaxes and her voice just soars.
The highlight, of course, is when she walks to that piano. The audience knows what that means and there are peels of delight. “Oh yes!” the woman next to me shrieked last night as Aretha sat down on the bench. “You play it!” And that she did, turning Jerry Butler’s “Brand New Me” into an extended, uplifting celebration. And then there was “My Cup Runneth Over,” an old Ed Ames song that Aretha renovated a few years ago into a truly stunning signature live number. She feels it the way she does her great numbers, and the feeling reaches the back rows of whatever theater she’s in.
And yes– there were the classics– “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,” “Freeway of Love,” and a “Natural Woman” that rocked the house. Again, somewhere in heaven, Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd, her Atlantic Records mentors, toasted each other on a job well done.
Next stops for Miss Franklin et al: Chicago, and Atlanta. In November she’s the featured guest at Elton John’s AIDS Foundation ball in New York. And yes again– she told me she does want to have a little nightclub in Detroit. She’s looking for investors. Do you hear that, restaurateurs? There’s a once in a lifetime chance there. Get busy!
photo copyright 2017 Showbiz411
Super Bowl 2018 Wants Justin Timberlake, Jay Z for Half Time in Minneapolis
It’s true. I’ve confirmed that the NFL has settled on acts for Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis. The top choices are Justin Timberlake and Jay Z, who come as a package and kind of Abbott and Costello of rap and pop. They’re like the perfect combo, too: Good friends who’s collaborated together in the past.
Of course, Justin will be on the verge of releasing a new album containing his massive hit “Can’t Stop the Feeling.” Jay Z will be on tour for his “4:44” hit album. Each of them have been ignored by the Grammys in the past, so they have that in common, too.
Expect the announcement soon. There’s a another big asset here too: Jimmy Fallon is on NBC, NBC will broadcast the game. So expect lots of tie ins with Justin and Jimmy– maybe even Jimmy in Justin’s act. It’s a win win for everyone.
Box Office: Digital Finally Does to Movie Biz What It Did to Records– Lowest Numbers Ever
I took a while. but this is the summer when digital delivery did to the movie business what it already did to the record industry– killed it.
Since Napster and everything that followed, the record biz has seen its weekly numbers grind down to nothing. Digital delivery destroyed the physical business. There are no record stores left anywhere. The ones that are still out there sell dozens of other items as well.
Now digital delivery has killed movies. Last night’s box office follows a three month trend. With a couple of exceptions– “Wonder Woman”–the audience has not shown up in movie theaters to see movies. They’ve stayed home to watch “Game of Thrones,” Netflix, and Amazon.
Last night’s top 10 barely made a total of $12 million. That should be a Friday night take for one movie. But nothing is doing business, except “Wonder Woman,” which was released back widely and made $475,000. But the top movie, “Hitman’s Bodyguard,” a holdover, made $3.3 million last night.
Movie theaters are going to go the way of record and book stores. It took a long time, but here it is. And this is tragic. Once the trend starts, it’s impossible to reverse it. So the studios better think of something fast.
Taylor Swift: After All That, Her Lame New Single Just Rips Off a 25 Year Old Novelty Song
Taylor Swift’s first new music in a couple of years doesn’t show off her writing chops. It shows she’s lazy. I’m a little surprised that all she and Jack Antonoff could come up with is ripping of a 25 year old novelty song, “I’m Too Sexy,” by Right Said Fred.
That’s all they’ve got to say? Imagine Carly Simon and James Taylor doing that back in the day. Or Carole King or Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. We’d have laughed ourselves silly. But this is what pop music has become– a marketing tool. On Taylor’s website she’s already sold out ‘snake’ rings for $60 a pop. The music is secondary.
The two guys from Right Said Fred are thrilled, of course. They get a royalty and songwriting credit. They were pretty much forgotten. Now, for a nanosecond, they’re back. On Twitter, which didn’t exist when “I’m Too Sexy” was released (neither did smartphones) they wrote: “We’re very pleased to hear Taylor Swift’s interpolation of our 1991 hit ‘I’m Too Sexy’. Taylor and her team reached out to us about the track, we like what she does and we were very honoured to have her interpolation feature on her new single ‘Look What You Made Me Do.’ Thanks to Taylor and her team for being absolutely wonderful. We’re very happy that our debut single will potentially be reaching new fans 26 years after its release.”
So all this hype about Taylor’s new single was for naught. How can you even compare it to Kesha, or even Katy Perry? Or half a dozen other singers who are better than Taylor but don’t have the Big Machine behind her?
As Donald Trump would say: “Sad!”
The “Reputation” album had better be a huge improvement over this. Otherwise, Taylor’s actual reputation may slither away like the snake she’s chosen for her logo.
Taylor
Right Said Fred
(Listen) Taylor Swift Goes After Ex-Boyfriend Calvin Harris in New Single, “Look What You Made Me Do”
Taylor Swift is back. Her first new single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” is dark. It’s pretty clearly about ex boyfriend Calvin Harris. She is really mad. If I were Tom Hiddleston, I’d get into Loki mode and brace himself.
“The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Because she’s dead.”
Eeeeeee.
Already number on iTunes after 42 minutes. And already being used as a marketing tool for ABC’s Thursday night line up. Taylor’s publicist has re-tweeted promos for “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” and “How to Get Away with Murder” using the song.
We've got a #reputation. The countdown to TGIT has begun. #LookWhatYouMadeMeDo #TGITaylor pic.twitter.com/uROW3KEJdW
— How To Get Away ABC (@HowToGetAwayABC) August 25, 2017
Talk about marketing. There is no room for failure here. We’re going to hear this song non stop in different media 24/7. OMG.