Sally Quinn is a rich creep who lives in a gold-walled mansion, throws big parties, and (still!) gets to write staggeringly inane things for the Washington Post, because she married its editor. Would you like to hear Sally Quinn's story about Lauren Bacall maybe fucking her husband? Too bad, here it is.
Lauren Bacall, the legendary screen star whose career spanned more than fifty years, died yesterday from a massive stroke at 89. Though Bacall was known for her presence onscreen in more than sixty film roles, the Boston Globe memorialized her with, "She was just some wife of a famous guy—the role of a lifetime!"
Clifford Chance, a biglaw firm based in London with offices around the world, apparently distributed this memo, "Presentation Tips for Women," to all its U.S. female associates, featuring helpful tips on everything from speaking ("Think Lauren Bacall not Marilyn Monroe") to meaning business ("Don't giggle") to choreographing your hands ("Watch out for the urinal position").
Funny woman Amy Poehler turns 38 today. Mr. Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, is turning 41. Mickey Rourke is 53. Lauren Bacall is celebrating her 85th. Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates turns 59. Magician David Copperfield is 53. Alexis Bledel of Gilmore Girls fame is turning 28. Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers is turning 17. Artist Christopher Wool is 54. Andy Serwer, Fortune's managing editor, is turning 50. Blues legend B.B. King is 84. And the man responsible for such '80s classics as "Endless Summer Nights" and "Right Here Waiting," Richard Marx, is 46 today.
At last night's opening night party for the New York City Ballet's David H. Koch Theater, guest of honor David Koch and wife Julia mingled with Candace Bushnell, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alicia Keys, Al Roker, Debbie Bancroft, Lisa Falcone, Mary Alice Stephenson, Alexandra Lebenthal, Zani Gugelmann, Annie Churchill, Peter Martins, Veronica Webb, Mark Indelicato, Blythe Danner, Valentino, Rachel Roy, Derek Lam, Peter Som, and Vanessa Williams, who all ate, drank, and danced to inaugurate the new Lincoln Center venue. [Wireimage, PMc, Style.com]
Sigh. Even though he was funny in that movie Tropic Thunder and his upcoming eye-patch epic Valkyrie actually doesn't look that bad, everyone still hates Tom Cruise. Always with the hating of Tom Cruise! Anti-Scientology protester group Anonymous is scheduled to once again picket at the Schoenfeld Theater, where his bewitched wife Katie Holmes is acting in a play. Last time they had signs that said things like "Free Katie, keep Tom," which is just mean, y'all. And now New York actress grand dame Lauren Bacall hates Tom too: "Tom Cruise is a maniac. I can't understand the way he conducts his life," the octogenarian told Elle magazine in a recent interview. She added that his "whole behavior is so shocking . . . inappropriate and vulgar." She was reacting to his breakup with wife Nicole Kidman, which occurred when Kidman accidentally burned herself on the radiator at their London home, causing her to suddenly snap out of the foggy hypnotic state she'd been in, like when Short Round burns Indy in Temple of Doom so he'll stop doing Mola Ram's bidding. [P6]
Here at Defamer, we have a well-documenter love of salty old battle axes (hi, Cloris Leachman!) so props must be paid when one goes above and beyond the call of duty in providing us with entertainment. This week's recipient of our wizened love is Hollywood veteran Lauren Bacall, who adds a much-needed dash of (blue) color to Elle's upcoming profile of Nicole Kidman. While the Botoxed beauty is in a magnanimous mood, acknowledging her pleasure that ex Tom Cruise has found a "more profound" love with Katie Holmes, Kidman's former costar Bacall isn't one to mince words, and she jumps in to call Cruise a "maniac":
It's a busy week for Amy Poehler. Last Saturday, she helped SNL score its highest ratings in years and then announced yesterday that she's planning to leave the show in November. Today she celebrates her birthday: She's 37. Also celebrating: Marc Anthony is 40 (although he held his big birthday blowout on Sunday at the Bowery Hotel.) Lauren Bacall is 84. Magician David Copperfield is 52. Nick Jonas is 16. Actress Alexis Bledel is 27. Mickey Rourke is 52. The artist Christopher Wool turns 53 today. Fortune's managing editor Andy Serwer is 49. Harvard professor and author Henry Louis Gates is 58. Televangelist Robert Schuller is 82. And blue's legend B.B. King is 83.
PrivacyWatch celebrity sightings are submitted by the loyal readers of Defamer. As a few emailers have noted, it took us a few weeks to collect this installment — if you want to see this feature run more frequently, be sure to send in your tips early and often! Submit yours to tips[AT]defamer.com (please put "sighting" or "PrivacyWatch" in the subject line so we don't lose them) and tell everyone about the time you saw Work Out's Jackie Warner working out a gym other than the one she owns.
A sex symbol in the 1940s, legendary husky-voiced actress Lauren Bacall lit up the big screen in countless classics, including To Have or Have Not, The Big Sleep, How to Marry a Millionaire, and Written on the Wind. She had an equally exciting time off-screen: Bacall was married to Humphrey Bogart until his death in 1957, had a high-profile affair with Frank Sinatra shortly thereafter, and was married to actor Jason Robards in the '60s. [Image via AP]
