At the very end of the piece there’s an item in which Justice Anthony Kennedy is asked about the “Occupy Wall Street” movement and he – wait, what? – mentions A-Rod? Supreme Court Justice Kennedy?
Take a look.
NOCTURNALIST
Be Careful Just Whom You Decide to Interrupt
By SARAH MASLIN
Published: October 15, 2011
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but could you guys please finish up?” a woman asked Nocturnalist’s correspondent at Town Hall theater on 43rd Street on Thursday night as he conducted an interview. He was sitting in her seat, she said.
Our interviewee turned and stared at the woman expressionless. “Oh my goodness!” she screamed. “I’m so sorry!” Bill Cosby does not do interruptions.
Mr. Cosby, who was to perform at a benefit for Art Start, which provides creative arts to at-risk children, many with parents in homeless shelters, also will brook no red-carpet churlishness. As he bypassed a gaggle of paparazzi to speak to us, a crestfallen photographer called after him. “Hey Bill! Come on, man!”
Mr. Cosby turned, and lunged. “Don’t you ever …” he said, grabbing the photographer by the shirt. The next day’s sensational headlines flashed before our eyes. We readied our pen.
But Mr. Cosby smiled. It was just a joke. (The shaken photographer seemed to have a different sense of humor.)
“The reason why I’m here tonight, with great emotion, is because I was asked to perform,” Mr. Cosby said, once we sequestered ourselves in the theater’s seats. He added some thoughts about the importance of the foundation’s work, and also noted, “They are paying me.”
Johanna De Los Santos, the executive director of Art Start, later clarified that a supporter of the organization was paying him.
At the after party at Sardi’s, Mark Nadler, who had also performed at Town Hall along with the Broadway legend Chita Rivera, leapt onto a chair. “Excuse me, gentleman and sluts!” he shouted, before proclaiming that the event had raised $100,000. He hoisted his martini. “Nobody’s working tomorrow!”
An aerialist who had been arrested earlier this year for scaling the Williamsburg Bridge, Seanna Sharpe, was with a man in a Hamburgleresque cape. “According to my publicist, I can’t answer any questions until after I appear on Good Morning America,” she said before divulging some of the details of her case.
Stars of yesteryear abounded, like the cabaret singer Julie Wilson, whose friend showed us a photo on an iPhone of Ms. Wilson as a starlet. Ms. Wilson glanced at it. “Oh, that old bag. Is she still around?”
Celeste Holm, the 94-year-old Oscar-winning actress, and her husband, Frank Basile, 48, entered. “When she turned 90, Bill Cosby sent her 90 long stem roses,” Mr. Basile said of his wife. She leaned forward and whispered: “That’s true.”
Parties for worthy causes should not be held at spectacular apartments — guests (like us) become paralytic with envy and awe.
So it was on Tuesday at a soiree honoring “Our Time: Breaking the Silence of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ ” a book by 1st Lt. Josh Seefried, a member of the Air Force, who created OutServe, an online refuge for gay service members before the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” We were preoccupied with repeatedly reeling our jaw up from the floor: The Lower Fifth Avenue duplex penthouse had balconies so large that one guest remarked, “You could fit Occupy Wall Street up here and not notice.”
Powerful people wheeled, dealed and ate medjool dates. Cyrus Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, rubbed shoulders with Calvin Klein, the director Joel Schumacher and Julianne Moore. A newsroom’s worth of off-duty editors, columnists and reporters chatted. (Often about the apartment.)
“I don’t think people realize just how demoralizing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ was,” Ms. Moore said. Her military family had once suggested that she join R.O.T.C. “I said, ‘You know, Dad, it doesn’t really work with theater students.’ ”
Mr. Klein passionately commended advancements in gay rights. Would he marry his boyfriend, Nick Gruber, 21? we asked. (Mr. Gruber was elsewhere power-napping before driving to Florida that night, Mr. Klein said. “It’s in a Porsche, so it’s not that bad,” he added.) “Who knows?” said Mr. Klein, “It’s living in the moment and enjoying every minute.”
David Kuhn, a literary agent and the apartment’s owner, introduced the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn. She commended Lt. Seefried for his work on behalf of gay servicemen. “You gave them an opportunity to allow their voice to be heard,” she said as some dabbed at eyes, “and that was a voice that in the end showed it could not be denied.”
The bidding didn’t stop — even after all the art had been auctioned off at Sotheby’s on Wednesday night to raise money for aid to Africa.
Audrey Irmas, who has an eponymous charitable foundation, announced that she would donate $100,000 to build centers for vulnerable African children. Then Eliza Osborne, a Sotheby’s auctioneer, stepped in. Who would pledge $10,000? Two men raised their hands. Can I get $5,000? Seven people raised their hands. What about $2,500? Four people. $1,000? Eighteen people. “Can I get two more, for the children?” Ms. Irmas asked. Two people immediately raised their hands.
“That always works,” she said. And that’s how you raise $85K in five minutes flat.
“All these beautiful women are with me,” said Justice Anthony Kennedy, gesturing to his wife, daughter and daughter-in-law.
Africa needs strong legal structure, he said. What does Occupy Wall Street need? We asked. “I don’t comment on that,” he said, “other than to say that they should protest A-Rod’s salary.”
What does Kennedy know about A-Rod or his salary anyway? The Justice grew up in Sacramento, CA, according to his biography, and works in Washington – far from the Bronx. And yet he’s criticizing Alex Rodriguez? Maybe he should have a convo with Sonia Sotomayer, the Justice who’s a proud Yankee fan. I bet she’d have a few choice words for his little crack.
Nothing much going on in Yankeeville. I can’t muster any enthusiasm for the playoffs, so I didn’t watch yesterday and probably won’t watch today. Michael, on the other hand, did watch Brewers-Cardinals last night and said the following: “I still don’t believe the Yankees aren’t playing.”
I seconded that.
* Kudos to Cano. He looked like a different person today and not just when he hit the granny. His swing was smooth and Cano-ish, like we’re used to seeing.
