Elton John | The New York Observer

Si-Bling Rivalry

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:59:06 -0500

A lifelong Manhattanite, Janis Savitt remembers being in Bloomingdale’s as a child with her mother and seeing a showcase with a little saw in it—one of the jeweler’s key tools. “Mom, find me a jewelry lesson place in New York!” little Janis implored.

Today fans of Ms. Savit’s designs include Beyoncé, Elton John and the teenagers trawling Soho. “I work with Michael Kors, I work with Ralph Lauren, I work with Vera Wang. This is...

Morning Memo: Elle 'Aufs' Nina Garcia; Elton John Gets a Big Whiff of Tom Ford

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:54:10 -0400

Nina Garcia, You. Are. Out. The Project Runway judge reportedly got fired from her post as fashion director at Elle magazine last week. [US Weekly]

Barry Diller who's recently triumphed in court over Liberty Media chairman, John Malone, has a brand new discrimination lawsuit on his hands. [P6]

Salman Rushdie is so over Padma Lakshmi. [P6]

Elton John really likes the way Tom Ford smells. [P6]

Donald Trump Jr. threatened Ivana Trump's new husband, Rossano Rubicondi,...

Sir Elton: 'Me and Hillary Had So Much Fun!'

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:21:28 -0400

“I sure can’t sing, but I want you to know that ‘I’m still standing,’” Hillary Clinton said with her husband and daughter standing behind her.

Maybe it was the purple drinks, but the crowd ponied up $2.5 million for her campaign last night at the Elton John fund-raiser.

(The Observer's Jason Horowitz has an account of yesterday with the Clintons you can read here.)

Though Jason doesn't mention that Sir...

Morning Memo: Blake Lively Is Just Like Us! Joan Rivers, Not So Much

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:07:44 -0400

Gossip Girl actress Blake Lively is so just one of the people, while Helena Christensen is categorically not. Ms. Lively went to Café Habana over the weekend and waited in line! For more than half an hour! Meanwhile, Ms. Christensen walked up to the eatery but kept on walking when she saw there was a wait. [P6]

In which Regis Philbin is said to be mean to coat-check attendants and people who look at him....

Bill and Hillary's 'Still Standing' Tour of New York

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:42:00 -0400

The theatergoers at Radio City Music Hall last night had paid between $125 and $2,300 to hear the Clintons talk and Elton John sing, and several more dollars to drink fluorescent purple cocktails illuminated by glowing straws. Hillary promised them it was not a night for “political speeches.” Then she gave a political speech. “We’re going to work to make sure that the voters of Florida and Michigan should have their votes counted.” Before...

Morning Memo: The House on Jungle Road; Elton John's Love for Hillary Tainted?

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:58:02 -0400

Elton John's fund-raising concert for Hillary might be a federal violation of campaign rules. [Washington Times via Radar]

Ashley "Kristen" Dupre used to man the reception desk at Corcoran Sunshine in Chelsea and often got reprimanded for dressing like, well, a prostitute and coming on to clients. [P6]

Summer in the Hamptons will not be the same this year as the popular Hampton Social concerts that have featured artists like Billy Joel, Prince and Dave Matthews...

'Elton and Hillary: One Night Only' Coming to Radio City Music Hall

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:43:39 -0400

The Clinton campaign just sent out a release that reads, in part: Legendary artist Sir Elton John will perform at a solo concert on behalf of Hillary Clinton's campaign on April 9, 2008 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The event, called "Elton and Hillary: One Night Only," is Elton John's first public solo concert in New York City without his band since his solo concert at Madison Square Garden in...

Elton John Given Rare Kiwi Haberdashery

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:27:16 -0500

The last thing Elton John needs is another bespoke bird-feather cape, but that’s exactly what he got last night in New Zealand. The “rare” gift, a Korowai cloak, was given to the 60-year-old singer-spectaculare by the island nation’s Maori communities. No longer simply a knight of Britain, Mr. John can now claim honorary membership in the Ngati Te Whiti sub-tribe. According to a statement released today by Peter Love,...

Elton John Plans a Safari Long-Distance With David Furnish

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:23:16 -0500

Elton John and his partner David Furnish were across the world from each other last night, with Mr. Furnish in Australia rehearsing for his role in the musical Billy Elliot while Mr. John found himself at a party held at the new Chopard flagship store at 63rd and Madison to celebrate its opening.

The 60-year-old Mr. John was only one of a list of celebrities to bathe in the fuchsia glow of colored floodlamps pointed...

I Was a Male Warhol Bride! Pop Go Barneys' Windows

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 19:00:00 -0500

I feel that Andy Warhol spoke for all of us when he said: “You can’t take a princess to dinner and order a cookie for starters no matter how much you crave one. People expect you to eat protein and you do, so they won’t talk. If you decided to be stubborn and ordered the cookie, you’d wind up having to talk about why you want it and your philosophy of eating a cookie...

Elvis Costello? ZZZZZZ! But Patti Rings My LaBelle

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 20:00:00 -0400

I’ve been praying a lot lately. I even did it with Patti LaBelle. We stood in a circle in her trailer—me, the great Lady Marmalade herself and her bandmates—while her drummer led us in a pre-performance affirmation. Ms. LaBelle, I should explain, was the star attraction at the opening bash for the new Barneys store in Dallas. The prayer worked. Wearing a gold mini-dress and matching sling-back Christian Louboutin shoes, Patti then tore into...

Events for October 3, 2006

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 14:07:47 -0400

Hillary Clinton campaigns in Virginia for senate candidate Jim Webb. At 8:30, Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff attends the Construction Industry Breakfast Forum at the Hilton where the New York Building Congress releases construction forecast. At 10, Street vendors release report documenting poverty and harassment and then march from City Hall Park to the Environmental Control Board (66 John St.). Also at 10, Mayor Bloomberg and Adolfo Carrion celebrate the expansion of the Bronx Museum of the Arts. At...

Terrific Drowsy Chaperone Wakes Up Great White Way

Sun, 14 May 2006 20:00:00 -0400

For me, all roads have been leading the entire season to The Drowsy Chaperone. With a title as bad as that, it had to be good. Well, this unexpected new musical is more than good. It’s a smashing, witty and brilliantly staged show, and I enjoyed every mad minute of it. Put it this way: If you don’t end up loving The Drowsy Chaperone, there’s no hope for the world. I was sold on...

Don't Pick On Camilla! Trust Me, She's Fab

Sun, 17 Apr 2005 20:00:00 -0400

Merry Christmas! Last week, while you were enjoying the first buds of spring, I was up to my eyeballs with Yuletide cheer. Horrifying though it may sound, I actually spent a significant part of the week agonizing about the holiday displays at Barneys. April is the month when we retailers strategize what is known in our business as "the fourth quarter," that magical time when we rake in the lion's share of our shekels.

Inspired...

Disney's Campy Aida : of Fashionistas and Pharaohs

Sun, 16 Apr 2000 20:00:00 -0400

Aida , the new Disney musical ("suggested by the opera") with music by the Liberace of Rock, Elton John, and lyrics by Tim Rice, the Man Who Was Never Young, is, alas, a waste of good camp. Good camp is the one we always enjoy, provided it is bad in the right way.

For example, the opening scene in the musical is based on the Egyptian Room of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where a...

Everybody Dies in the End: Disney and Elton Do Aida

Sun, 25 Jul 1999 20:00:00 -0400

Slouching towards the new (!) improved (!) mouse-squeaky clean Times Square comes the latest Disney assault on the 20th century. It apparently was not enough merely to turn 42nd Street into a mall with overtones of downtown Ohio. The Eisner food chain has now come up with (Sir) Elton John's Aida .

Obviously, the success of Rent has had a big effect at Mickey Central. If La Bohème could make it on Broadway without anybody...

No More Grand Hotel For Contessa

Sun, 07 Dec 1997 19:00:00 -0500

For the last seven years, my cousin Lisa has lived at the Hotel Beverly, that tall neo-Gothic building with the aquamarine sign at the corner of 50th Street and Lexington Avenue. If Lisa had been paying the day rate for her stay, her checkout bill would be well over a million dollars (not including room service, laundry, dry cleaning and sundry other things such as dog-walking for her Shar-pei, Winnie). But Lisa's grandfather, who...