Remembering Leona Helmsley
Leona Helmsley was more than just a former secretary who helped her third husband create a massive real estate empire while becoming a recognizable face to New Yorkers through a series of commercials in which she starred. She was a pioneer whose conviction on tax fraud (Rudy Giuliani was her prosecutor!) established that if a female executive is as abrasive, rude towards the help, and generally corrupt as her male counterparts, she deserves to be treated easily twice as harshly as a man would. Because, you know, that's not what we expect from ladies. In many ways, we can view the late Mrs. Helmsley as a precursor to fellow orange-jumpsuit wearer Martha Stewart. Thank you for blazing that trail, Leona! In memoriam, here's a clip of actress Suzanne Pleshette portraying the hotelier in the 1990 television movie "Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean."
