Jennifer Jones and Norton Simon set up a foundation with one million dollars for the mentally ill and gave a big Gala party in 1979. First Lady Rosalynn Carter was there in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. Jennifer Simon called me and said, could I come to the party because Rosalynn had a secretary that wanted to meet young Hollywood men 'wink wink'. Jennifer Jones said to me on the phone "what does Rosalynn think, that I'm a pimp".. I laughed.. I was working for Jennifer & Norton Simon, had a nice services rendered contract, and loved the work, buying the art, and books for her to make into a movie. Like "Terms of Endearment" we bought for 75 thousand bucks for Jennifer to act in only Hollywood said she was to old and they wanted Shirley Maclaine instead. She helped me by introducing me to Norton, I met her first.. I knew a lot about him from New York he bought Halston from, my mentor Ben Shaw. Not all the Jews liked Joe Norban he had been bankrupt many times and left people holding the bag, as they say.. I didn't make a big deal to Norton Simon about me working for Joe Norban and his 'LYNN's" chain of dress stores, and the nightclub business " El Morocco, they all knew each other the big rich Jewish business men you never knew how much water was under there bridges.. I did get lots of perks like travel with the Simons, stuff from Halston etc... We stayed at Posh/Expensive hotels. My boutique in Marbella was not always hot and I needed the job, my seamstress and maid had to be paid or I would lose them.. So, that is the back story to my blog: Now on to the big 'Gala Party' at the Norton Simon Museum of Art.. There was a receiving line for the first lady all A+ people !! Barbra Streisand you name it, they were all there to meet the First Lady. I was in line between Audrey Wilder and Gregory Peck . Later, after we met the First Lady we were all talking getting ready to go out to the lawn, and a huge plastic tent with tables of ten had to of been at least 40 tables maybe 400 people or more not really sure.. As I was checking out the diamond ring that Mary 'Livingston' Benny had on - my dinner date/partner - we were sitting next to each other.. The Carter's secretary/attache started over to meet me; she stuck out like a sore thumb but Mary Benny was funny and said don't worry "your with me" she knew what was up! Jennifer had told her. She was the alpha female. All of a sudden, Paul Newman walks by, in front of all of us with his beautiful blue eyes, and the Washington D.C. attache makes a run at him. She chased him all night long and he ran! It was funny to me because, I knew the score.. Later, in the huge plastic tent outside on the lawn. Gregory Peck was drunk, Carrol Burnett was drunk, also, she caused a scene. Jack Nicholson was checking me out from his table hiding his little bottle of white powder, discreetly. I was trying to talk to Susan Blakley she was in "Towering Inferno" with Jennifer Jones and Paul Newman and was my age. I told her how much I liked her in it. So, after dinner people were table hopping and Rosalynn Carter got up and the press followed her around, she came up to me with the cameras and you could feel the heat from the lights and my friends saw us on the news.. I tried to give her my best sincerest smile and I said, "we love you First Lady." My mother is from Georgia and we have 300 acres next to there peanut place. Also three acres in the Buckhead of Atlanta. So, well she should say hello to me. The kicker for me was, before we went out to the tent, --- 'Gore Vidal' --- who, was so funny, and handsome. He is/ was talking to Candice Bergen in a white/satin tuxedo with tails, who is standing right next to me on my left and she is looking right at Gore Vidal. I'm looking right at Gary Grant. I'm wearing a black Ted Lapidus mohair suit and red velvet bow tie. Gore Vidal was on my right.. It was the four of us standing in the middle of the big gallery. Gore Vidal was looking right at Candice and behind her was Van Goghs "The Mulberry Tree" that he just noticed and as Mr. Norton Simon was walking the first Lady Rosalynn Carter out to the garden where they had the big plastic tent set up with round tables of ten, and the rest of us were supposed to follow them... Gore said to us, "It's not who runs America, its who
owns it." Gore Vidal died today and he was so smart. Candice, Gary, Robert Kelly, were SPELLBOUND by him and his conversation.. I was so glad he was talking because Gary Grant never said much at all and I was starstruck by Candice Bergen and couldn't speak.. What a mind he had. I went to his Hollywood Hills home after the Gala and I could,'t stop fantasizing about this Villa for days .. How could he write all those huge novels without the Google Search Engine????????? I could not agree with him more about all the Jewish/Establishment conspiracy stories.. I wish I could of spent so much more time with him and learned what he really knew that he didn't tell us in the interviews on TV .. There will never be another one like him. I was so impressed !!
