It's not who you know, it's WHOM YOU KNOW, and we are pleased to know both Peg Breen and Stuart Siegel, above left and right, the people behind New York Landmarks Conservancy! We've written about charities over 400 times, and this is one of the very best organizations we've encountered. The New York Landmarks Conservancy is dedicated to celebrating, preserving and protecting the iconic buildings and unique neighborhoods that help define our vibrant and extraordinary City. The Conservancy is the only private organization that provides both financial support and technical expertise in this effort. Since its founding in 1973, it has loaned and granted more than $36 million to help people save their homes, cultural, civic and religious institutions. No other group is engaged in such a hands-on way in sustaining the rich architectural fabric of the City. Their work creates jobs, promotes tourism and enhances the daily quality of life for all New Yorkers. Each year, The Landmarks Conservancy honors distinguished New Yorkers as “Living Landmarks” for their contributions to the City.
Here is our coverage in 2009:
and 2010:
and we even review books that talk about this organization:
This is their site:
And if you were not at The Plaza last night, you have to be asking yourself why not. At the risk of alienating everyone else we cover, we're going to say this is the best event all year. Why? Keep reading.
Thank you Angela Lansbury and Katie Couric for being so friendly!
Cocktail hour was smashing!
The music was great!
Joy and Regis Philbin were fabulously gracious!
Regis we are looking forward to hearing from you after November 19th!
Everyone be sure to be watching at 4pm*
During cocktail hour, we loved seeing and meeting:
Regis Philbin
Joy Philbin
Angela Lansbury
Katie Couric
Mover and Shaker Loreen Arbus
Mover and Shaker Liz Smith
Sandra Warshawsky, great dress!
Barbara Tober
Donald Tober
Michael, Ann Watt's photographer
Wendy Lehman Lash, great pearls!
Steven Lash
And then it was time for dinner:
Guy Robinson, one of the best hockey players ever to graduate from Yale!
Guy is also famous for being the husband of Libba Stribling.
At dinner, we had a stellar table:
The Madison Square Park Conservancy: David Berliner, Chairman of the Board; Kristen Glosserman, Trustee, Bill Lukashok, Founding Trustee
Marc and Kristen Glosserman
Rob Arango and and Lauren Sudekum of Great Performances of The Plaza
And the night would not be complete without a tune:
Post-dinner:
Mario Buatta is such a nice guy
Where: The Plaza Hotel at Fifth Avenue, New York City
Who: This year’s honorees are businessman and philanthropist Lewis B. Cullman; theatre historian Louise Kerz Hirschfeld; legendary actress Angela Lansbury; renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer and television personality Regis Philbin. Former New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins will receive the Lew Rudin Living Landmark Award for Public Service
Katie Couric presented to Regis Philbin, and Rex Reed presented to Angela Lansbury.
Also attending: former Living Landmarks Mica Ertegun, Barbara Goldsmith, Agnes Gund, NY Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Elizabeth and Felix Rohatyn, Tommy Tune and Bunny Williams.
Landmark Liz Smith, who co-hosts the event along with Landmark Pete Peterson, will host the gala. Music will be provided by Landmark Peter Duchin and his Orchestra.
Ticket Information: Tickets for the gala start at $1,000; tables start at $10,000.
2011 Living Landmarks Recipient Biographies
Lewis B. Cullman
Lewis B. Cullman, scion of a distinguished New York family, broke from the Cullman tobacco interests to forge innovations in business and philanthropy. He graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in government, earned an M.S. in meteorology from New York University, and served as an aerological officer in the Navy until the end of World War II. In 1963, he pioneered the first leveraged buyout. He was founder and president of Cullman Ventures, Inc., a diversified corporation that included the At-A-Glance Group, which at the height of its success produced nearly ninety percent of all commercial calendars, diaries and appointment books purchased in America. At that time, Mr. Cullman and his late wife Dorothy founded the Child Development Center in Sydney, NY – where At-A-Glance was located – which is now a model for early childhood care and education. In 1999, Mr. Cullman sold the company to devote his energies to philanthropy, serving on the boards of, among others, the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Botanical Garden, the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and as Chairman (now Chairman Emeritus) of his favorite charity, Chess-in-the-Schools. Since 1986, Chess-in-the-Schools has taught the skills and strategies of chess to over 500,000 inner-city children, with many assisted by the organization’s College Bound program to prepare for, apply to and attend prestigious colleges. He has generously endowed and supported numerous New York City institutions and in recognition of his contributions, he is the recipient of the Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture.
In December 2010, Mr. Cullman married Louise Kerz Hirschfeld.
David N. Dinkins
David N. Dinkins is Professor in the Practice of Public Affairs at the Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs. The 106th Mayor of the City of New York, Mr. Dinkins began his career in public service in the New York State Assembly. He was president of the New York City Board of Elections, then City Clerk, Manhattan Borough President and Mayor of New York in 1989. Mr. Dinkins is a founding member of One Hundred Black Men, the Black & Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus and the Council of Black Elected Democrats of New York State. He was vice president of the US Conference of Mayors, and is a Member-at-Large of the Black Leadership Forum. He serves on the board of several non-profit organizations, Association to Benefit Children; Children’s Health Fund; Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund; Posse Foundation; Coalition for the Homeless, and the US Tennis Association. He is chairman emeritus of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS and the Constituency for Africa, and serves on the steering committee of the Association for a Better New York and the New York Urban League Advisory Council. He serves on the board of New York City Global Partners and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an Honorary Life Trustee of the Community Service Society of New York, an Honorary Trustee of the Friends of Harlem Hospital and a Lifetime Member of the NAACP. Mr. Dinkins graduated with honors from Howard University with a B.S. in mathematics and received an LL.B. from Brooklyn Law School. He served in the US Marine Corps during WWII and maintained a private law practice before entering public service.
Louise Kerz Hirschfeld
Louise Kerz Hirschfeld serves as President of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, which honors her late husband and his artwork. In this role, Ms. Hirschfeld has assumed the task of overseeing new exhibitions, supervising publications, directing educational programs and spearheading philanthropic endeavors. Most recently, Ms. Hirschfeld has organized “Brits on Broadway” in London, “Hirschfeld on Shaw” for Canada’s “The Shaw Festival” and “Hirschfeld on Tennessee Williams,” a centenary exhibition in New Orleans this year. One of the most exciting and rewarding ventures under the Foundation’s guidance is the collaboration with the New York City Board of Education to produce “The Al Hirschfeld Project,” a curriculum for teaching the arts in New York public schools. During her earlier career as a theatre historian, Ms. Hirschfeld organized and created many exhibits such as “The Theatre of Max Reinhardt” and "The DeMille Dynasty” as well as working in television production as a research consultant for major networks, museums and award winning producers. She has served as picture editor and essayist for several publications, including, Hirschfeld on Line, and Hirschfeld’s British Aisles. Ms. Hirschfeld has also spent her time as an amateur photographer and her work was exhibited at New York’s Leica Gallery in 2002 and 2008. In collaboration with her Co-Chair, Arthur Gelb of The New York Times, and producer Roccco Landesman, she was instrumental in securing the ultimate Broadway tribute for her late husband … the re-naming of the Martin Beck Theatre to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. In December of last year Ms. Hirschfeld married Lewis Cullman.
Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury has enjoyed a career spanning seventy years in motion pictures, on stage and in television. She has appeared in nearly 60 motion pictures, most recently costarring with Jim Carrey in Mr. Popper’s Penguins released in June 2011. Last year she appeared on Broadway as Madame Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim’s classic A Little Night Music and the season before, she played Madame Arcati in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, for which she won a fifth Tony Award. In 2006 she appeared in Terrence McNally’s Deuce, for which she was also nominated for a Tony. Her Broadway debut was in 1957 as Bert Lahr’s wife in, Hotel Paradiso. In 1960, she returned to Broadway as Joan Plowright’s mother in Shelagh Delaney’sA Taste of Honey. She starred in her first musical, Anyone Can Whistle, in 1959. In 1966 she triumphed as Mame, winning her first Tony. She won others for Dear World (1968), Gypsy (1974) and Sweeney Todd (1979.) From 1984-1996 she starred as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote, the longest-running detective drama series in TV history, winning four of her six Golden Globe Awards. In 1997 President Clinton presented her with the National Medal of the Arts. She is a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and was named a Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1982 she was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame. In 1992 she received the Silver Mask for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 1996 she was inducted into the T.V. Hall of Fame, and in 1997 she was given a Lifetime Achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild. In 2003, she was presented with a BAFTA/LA Britannia Award for Lifetime Achievement in Television and Film. She has been nominated for 18 Emmy Awards.
Danny Meyer
Danny Meyer is the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Blue Smoke, Jazz Standard, Shake Shack, The Modern, Café 2, Terrace 5, Malino and Untitled at The Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as Union Square Events and Hospitality Quotient.
Danny, his restaurants, and chefs have eared an unprecedented 24 James Beard Awards, including Outstanding Restaurant of the Year; Outstanding Service; Outstanding Wine Service; Humanitarian of the Year; Who’s Who of Food and Beverage; Best Restaurant Design; and Best Restaurant Graphic design. Four of Danny’s restaurants have earned three stars from The New York Times and in 2009, Eleven Madison Park was upgraded to four stars. Three of the five ”Most Popular” restaurants in the 2011 New York Zagat Survey are part of the Union Square Hospitality Group, including Union Square Café, which has held the #1 spot an unprecedented nine times.
Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin first stepped in front of the camera more than 50 years ago and ever since he has ambitiously tackled talk shows, game shows and even the literary world, winning a slew of notable awards along the way. Most recently, he and co-host Kelly Ripa were honored as co-winners of the 2011 Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host for "LIVE! with Regis and Kelly.” In September 2010, he broke his own existing Guinness World Record™ for Most Hours on Camera, setting a new mark of 16,548 ½ hours accumulated over his illustrious career – a career that was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at the 2008 Daytime Emmy Awards. Early on, Mr. Philbin took "A.M. Los Angeles" from the bottom of the ratings to number one, where the show remained throughout his seven-year tenure. He served as Joey Bishop's sidekick on "The Joey Bishop Show" and helmed "The Regis Philbin Show," a daily 30-minute program that received an Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Variety Series. Mr. Philbin took his daytime success to nighttime with ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". Although best known for his broadcasting career, music has been a lifelong passion. His albums include It's Time for Regis!, When You’re Smiling, The Regis Philbin Christmas Album and Regis & Joy: Just You, Just Me. A native of New York City, Mr. Philbin attended Our Lady of Solace grammar school and Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and received an honorary doctorate of law degree for his contributions to Notre Dame and South Bend.
Michael and Beth work hard on this event and are excellent at what they do: PR. They did not know we took this photo but we want you to know about them.
Even the team at The Plaza is welcoming and enthused at their workplace, from at the bar:
Andre Cipero and Fred Reicheld, our favorite bartenders.
We have high hopes for The Peachy Deegan cocktail in the ranks of The Plaza someday...
And our waiter Balegh Aboalam was fabulous:
Over 500 extraordinary New Yorkers were scheduled to attend this 18th annual tribute including: Mica Ertegun, Barbara Goldsmith, Agnes Gund, NY Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, John and Kay McEnroe, Pete Peterson, Francine du Plessix Gray, Robert Osborne, Elizabeth and Felix Rohatyn, Frank Sciame, Joseph Spinnato, Tommy Tune, Bunny Williams and Baroness Mariuccia Zerilli-Marimò.
*current Living Landmarks
A.E.Hotchner
Agnes Gund
Alexandra Schlesinger
Allison and Norman Prouty
Amy and Howard Rubenstein
Angela Lansbury and Robert Osborne
Anne and John Coffin
Barbara and Donald Tober
Barbara and Harry Kamen
Barbara Goldsmith
Barbara J. Fife
Barbara Wagner
Baroness Mariuccia Zerilli-Marimo
Bob Perkins
Brandon Fradd
Brenda Levine
Bunny Williams and John Rosselli
Carol O'Clearencain and Michael W. Geffrard
Carole Bailey French and John French III
Chairman Robert B. Tierney
Charlotte Triefus and Lloyd Zuckerberg
Christine Miller Martin & Christian Murrle
Dan Allen
Daniel F. Crowley III
Danny Meyer
David Berliner, Forest City Ratner Companies
David Patrick Columbia
David Pratt Hunt
David R. Jones
Debbie Bancroft
Deborah and Charles Royce
Diana and Rafael Vinoly
Diana D. Chapin
Dick Moore and Jane Powell
Donna Morea / CGI Technologies and Solutions
Douglas Durst
Dr. Thomas Schutte
Ed Wallace
El Ad Properties (Yoel Shargian and Julie Greenberg)
Elaine Sargent
Elizabeth and Felix Rohatyn
Elizabeth and Samuel White
Elizabeth F. Stribling and Guy Robinson
Elizabeth Peabody
Enid Nemy and Michael Thomas
Episcopal Diocese of New York
Eric Seiler and Darcy Bradbury
Ernest M. von Simson and Naomi Seligman
Fran Costigan and Paul Binder
Francine du Plessix Gray
Frank J. Sciame, Jr.
George Artz
Giosetta Capriati
Gordon Hyatt
Gregg Schenker
Gus Christensen
Holly Hotchner
The Honorable Anne Radice and John Danielson
Hope Innelli
Hotel Association of New York City/ Joseph Spinnato and Madeline Spinnato
Inger McCabe Elliott
Iris Love
Jack and Linda Viertel
James F. Capalino
James H. Tully, Jr.
Janet and Tony Goldman
Janet C. Ross
Jim Mapes and Susan Granger
Joan and Martin Camins
Joan Gerner and Ken Percy
Joan Jedell
Joe Armstrong
Joe John and Kay McEnroe
John Belle and Richard Southwick
John Maitino
John Morning
John Spofford
Joni Evans
Joseph P. Benincasa
Juanita Shell-Peterson, Ph.D.
Karyn and Michael Christensen
Katherine and Dennis Swanson
Kathryn McGraw Berry
Katie Couric
Kevin Booth / NYC & Company, Inc.
Kristen and Marc Glosserman
Laurie Beckelman
Lend Lease (US) Construction LMB, Inc.
Lisa and Lee Snow
Liz and Jeff Peek
Liz Smith
Loreen Arbus
Louise Kerz Hirschfeld and Lewis B. Cullman
Lucy and Mike Danziger
Lynn and Seth Abraham
Lynne P. Brown and John Beckman
Marc P. Schappell
Marla Sabo
Martin McLaughlin
Martin Segal
Mary Ellen and Richard Oldenburg
Mary McFadden
May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc.
Mayor David N. Dinkins
Meryl P. Sherwood and Gerald Saliman
Mica Ertegun
Michael Christensen
Michael De Chiara
Michael T. Sillerman, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, LLP
Mimi Levitt
Mitchell Modell
Mr. & Mrs. James Nederlander
Mr. and Mrs. Erik R. Oken
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Sciame
Mr. and Mrs. J. Russell Triedman
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Stanley
Mr. and Mrs. Tony and Halima May
Mr. and Mrs. William Butler
Mr. Howard Brenner
Mrs. Christina Grdovic-Baltz and Mr. Phillip Baltz
Mrs. Mildred C. Brinn
Mrs. Rita F. Salzman
Nancy Haberman
Newmark & Co. Real Estate
Nicolas Luchsinger and Sheri Farber
Pamela Rubin Carter and Jon Carter
Paragon Restoration Corporation
Pat Amerman
Patricia and David Kenneth Specter
Paul Binder
Peachy Deegan
Pete Peterson
Peter Duchin
PKSB Architects / Sherida Paulsen
Raymond Pepi
Rebecca Desman
Regis Philbin
Rex Reed
Richard A. Garvey
Richard J. and Gloria E. Moylan
Richard Lefever
Robert A. Levine
Robert and Margot Linton
Robert Stern
Robert Wankel / The Shubert Organization, Inc.
Ronne and Alan Fisher
Ruth Messinger
Sallie and Justin Abelow
Sandra and Stanford Warshawsky
Shelly S. Friedman
Stephen J. Meringoff
Stephen S. and Wendy Lehman Lash
Sue and Stuart P. Feld
Sue Ann Weinberg
Susan and Eli Gilbert
Susan R. Cullman and John J. Kirby
The Broadway League
The Donaldson Organization
The New York Community Trust William B. O'Connor Fund
Tiffany & Co.
Timothy Allanbrook
Tommy Tune
Veronica and Ray Kelly
Vita Paladino and Ellen Adams
Walter Deane
William Bernhard and Catherine Cahill
And every year we hope that next year Eloise will break her curfew and attend:
Photography by Peachy Deegan
All material is property of Whom You Know. Copyright 2011 Whom You Know. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
*Regis Philbin as you should know is an extremely enthused Notre Dame alumni. Peachy Deegan is an extremely enthused Boston College alumni. Wiki tells us: The Holy War is a title used to describe the rivalry between Boston College and Notre Dame, primarily in college football. The series pits the Eagles against the Fighting Irish and derives its name from the fact that the two teams represent the only Catholic universities in the United States which compete in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of competition in American college football.
Regis we didn't get a chance to tell you that freshman year Peachy wrote on her forehead "Beat Notre Dame" in maroon lipstick, it suntanned in, and said that for 3 weeks...also she has a great shirt that says "God is Good" on the front and on the back: "So was Gordon's Kick"....we look forward to hearing from you!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_War_(Boston_College_vs._Notre_Dame)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nelson DeMille is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty novels, six of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers. His novels include The Cuban Affair, Radiant Angel, Plum Island, The Charm School, The Gold Coast, and The General’s Daughter, which was made into a major motion picture, starring John Travolta and Madeleine Stowe. He has written short stories, book reviews, and articles for magazines and newspapers. Nelson DeMille is a combat-decorated U.S. Army veteran, a member of Mensa, Poets & Writers, and the Authors Guild, and a member and past president of the Mystery Writers of America. He is also a member of the International Thriller Writers, who honored him as 2015 ThrillerMaster of the Year. He lives on Long Island with his family.
