Henry Kissinger | The New York Observer

Kissinger, Rushdie, Star Jones Splash Into Pool Room For Four Seasons' 50th

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:46:23 -0400

The Four Seasons Restaurant, modernist shrine of food and power, celebrated its 50th anniversary on Thursday night. It was cold for June, but fortunately the red carpet was made of always-in-season Astroturf. “The red carpet is green,” co-owner Julian Niccolini lamented. “Alex wanted it to be pink.” He was referring to co-owner Alex von Bidder, with whom he was holding court as the party began. “Look who is coming! Look who is coming!”...

Henry Kissinger Recalls Long Walks With 'Close Friend' Brooke Astor, Kisses Court Officer on Way Out

Thu, 21 May 2009 13:25:35 -0400

“Who is the black fellow who is sitting next me?” Brooke Astor had asked former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at a dinner at her apartment in January 2002.

“He is Kofi Annan,” Mr. Kissinger replied.

“Is he a distinguished fellow?” Ms. Astor asked.

In fact, the sitting secretary general of the United Nations was the guest of honor that night at the very dinner the late grande dame of Manhatthan high society was...

How Rude of Henry Kissinger! How the Man That Brooke Astor Named Her Dog After Later Broke Her Heart

Wed, 06 May 2009 19:48:58 -0400

Brooke Astor’s long friendship with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his wife, Nancy Kissinger, almost ended abruptly on her 80th birthday.

“My husband made a bad choice of comments,” Ms. Kissinger testified in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday, May 6.

In a toast, Mr. Kissinger had publicly congratulated the prominent Manhattan socialite on finally attaining octogenarian status. Bad form.

Put down The Prince, Henry! Read As A...

Brooke Astor's British Cousin Testifies Against Accused Scion Anthony Marshall

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:40:12 -0400

“Good Lord, what’s happened to the picture?” wondered Lord William Waldorf Astor when he saw the empty wall space in Brooke Astor’s red-lacquered library, where her cherished Childe Hassam painting had hung.

For decades, the two Astors had visited each other across the Atlantic—two sides of the same vast fortune—and Mr. Astor had often listened to his American cousin-in-law speak glowingly of the picture that hung above her fireplace.

Defunct Astor Foundation Director Linda Gillies Testifies Against Anthony Marshall

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:34:32 -0400

The late philanthropist and socialite Brooke Astor had a "very nice, cordial relationship" with her son, Anthony Marshall, said Linda Gillies, longtime director of the now-defunct charitable foundation set up by Ms. Astor's husband, Vincent Astor. “They spoke, they laughed together and they worked together."

Yet, mother and son inevitably had their moments. Ms. Gillies recalled a particular comment that Ms. Astor made about her son's new $2 million apartment on East...

Resolved: There Is Only One Way to Portray Office Life

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:12:11 -0400

Let's say you're a magazine editor and you need to illustrate a special issue about office life: What do you do for art? If you're the editor of Businessweek and you're compiling a special Business @ Work issue in collaboration with readers (a first, according to the magazine's Web site), you just do what New York did in April 2007 with its "Office Life" package and slap Rainn Wilson of NBC's The Office on...

Test-Driving the New Neoconservatism

Thu, 01 May 2008 17:27:40 -0400

The Return of History and the End of Dreams

By Robert Kagan

Alfred A. Knopf, 115 pages, $19.95

Consider the natural history of the Detroit muscle car: The Mustang began life in 1963 as a stripped-down roadster in the European tradition. As the culture and market matured, Ford responded each year with ad hoc modifications and additions, so that by 1972, the same basic car had become a 3,300-pound, 375-horsepower V-8 behemoth. GM’s Corvette followed more or...

Karol's Night Out with Kissinger

Thu, 17 May 2007 09:50:25 -0400

Henry Kissinger loves the bloggers. Or at least one blogger, Karol Sheinin. She's got the lowdown on last night's dinner in celebration of Commentary Magazine.

In addition to collecting some fun photos, Karol picked up on a bit of news: The New York Sun's Ira Stoll said he'll be writing again for The Sun's political blog at some point.

Pat Buckley, Remembered at the Met

Mon, 14 May 2007 13:55:44 -0400

On the morning of May 14th, a certain Dr. Henry Kissinger was remembering the time the late, great Patricial Taylor Buckley received a phone call at her house at about 8 a.m.

The hour, close friends like Dr. Kissinger knew, was far too early to be calling Mrs. Buckley from any place but a hospital.

When a voice on the other line explained that it was the President calling for her husband, William F. Buckley Jr.,...

Presidential Funeral Affords Three Sightings of Wandering Sage, Brokaw

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 04:07:33 -0500

NBC Nightly News last night offered three separate soundbites of Tom Brokaw, first in its opening coverage of the Ford funeral, then in an interview by Brian Williams, then in a special section of excerpts of eulogies. The royal placement, which gave even Henry Kissinger lower billing, continues the NBC pattern, of wheeling Brokaw in to hold forth (usually predictably) on major events, and would seem to reflect Brokaw's reluctance to let go and...

Henry Kissinger on the Problem With U.S. Soccer

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 10:18:54 -0400

Henry Kissinger was just talking about soccer on the (rebroadcast of last night's) Charlie Rose. Why isn't American soccer good? "There are not enough minorities." The players tend to be "middle class, suburban children." A similar point was made here. And this was before Ghana's Draman stole the ball from the entitled-looking Claudio Reyna to score Ghana's first...

Plotz Like Beckham

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 20:00:00 -0400

David Hirshey, soccer fan, HarperCollins heavyweight and regular Jewish mensch, had taken the better part of the afternoon off from work. So had such landsmen as Little, Brown editor in chief Geoff Shandler, author David Friedman and Gui Stampur, a former Columbia soccer captain with a wiry frame and European hair. It was approaching noon on Monday, the fourth day of the international sweat fest known as the FIFA World Cup, and the four...

Henry Kissinger, Local Mogul

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 10:10:24 -0500

Henry Kissinger isn't typically thought of as a player in New York politics, but he's everwhere these days. Greg Sargent reported recently that he was hosting a Weld fundraiser. And here's from KT's bio: "By the time she graduated at 21, she had moved up to become Kissinger's personal research assistant, and one of the few female professionals at the White House." A reader writes: "Between Weld and McFarland, he seems to be more of a...

MISTER Livingstone, I presume?

Thu, 14 Jul 2005 08:49:00 -0400

As of this week, the New York Times is operating under a new stylebook rule: "Dr." is for doctors who are doctoring--not philosophizing, and certainly not running the Senate. Dr. should be used in all references for physicians or dentists whose practice is their primary current occupation, or who work in a closely related field, like medical writing, research or pharmaceutical manufacturing: Dr. Alex E. Baranek; Dr. Baranek; the doctor. (Those who practice only incidentally,...

Dark Horse's Dapper Donors

Wed, 02 Mar 2005 08:22:00 -0500

We take a look this week at how unlikely Borough President candidate Brian Ellner gets a big chunk of his support from the fashion world, most of whom probably think that "campaign" refers to the new Valentino line of off-the-shoulder gowns. Some of his backers include Diane von Furstenberg and Ingrid Sischy, who are throwing a fundraiser for him in late March at von Furstenberg's meatpacking district studio. Of course, this support from Madison Avenue...

Tom Kean And the 9/11 Commission

Sun, 25 Apr 2004 20:00:00 -0400

When President George W. Bush reluctantly impaneled a blue-ribbon commission to study the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he tried to install Henry Kissinger as its chairman. If nothing else, the President was not being subtle. It was clear he wanted not an investigation, but a cover-up; who better than Mr. Kissinger to make sure that the public discovered exactly nothing about any administration mistakes in the months leading to 9/11?

This odious maneuver was...

What's Bush Hiding From 9/11 Commission?

Sun, 25 Jan 2004 19:00:00 -0500

In an election year, a Republican President seeking his second term can be expected to propose more tax cuts and, in this era of right-wing profligacy, considerably more spending as well. Informed critics calculate the costs of George W. Bush's latest proposals in the trillions of dollars-a vague yet substantial sum that will come due sometime during what budgetary jargon denotes as "the out years," meaning long after Mr. Bush has departed the White...

Wally's Not Kidding: Revival Provokes Killer Instinct

Sun, 11 Jan 2004 19:00:00 -0500

I'm not so sure that Wallace Shawn is the man to make me feel guilty about moral voids. There's something endearingly frivolous about Wally-the gnomish Wally and amusing character actor who appears briefly in countless bad films to say lines like, "Well, well, well!" Or: "No talking in class!" And there's his opposite-the serious Wally and political playwright with a liberal conscience, whose apparently nice, bourgeois characters speak unacceptable thoughts like, "And I must...

A Play for Hearts and Minds: Kissinger Eyes the Textbooks

Sun, 09 Mar 2003 19:00:00 -0500

Ending the Vietnam War , by Henry Kissinger. Simon and Schuster, 640 pages, $18.

A few years ago, when I was working on my book about the Presidency of Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger came up behind me in a restaurant in New York and, with his hands on the back of my shoulders, asked: "So, why aren't you talking to me?" "Well," I answered, "I want to know as much as you do about some...

Henry Kissinger Is Back: You Can't Be Serious

Sun, 08 Dec 2002 19:00:00 -0500

In order to "uncover every detail and learn every lesson of September the 11th," George Bush has appointed Henry Kissinger to lead a commission investigating the terrorist attacks. Who does the President think he's kidding?

Leaving aside for the moment the question of whether the commission itself is not a phenomenal waste of resources, the choice of Mr. Kissinger is a ridiculous decision by the administration. As Maureen Dowd ironically put it on The New...

The Times and Kissinger: Explanation or Apology?

Sun, 15 Sep 2002 20:00:00 -0400

Ever since invasion plans for Iraq started leaking onto the front page of The New York Times , the newspaper's coverage has triggered a national debate about the wisdom of a Gulf War reprise. Not everyone sees it that way, of course. As the paper examines strategies, motives and potential body counts in Iraq, The Times has angered pro-invasion conservatives, who charge the paper with nakedly manipulating its news coverage to build opposition to...

Pasta Fungool

Sun, 15 Sep 2002 20:00:00 -0400

Lunch at the Four Seasons restaurant on Sept. 4 saw former Talk editor Tina Brown dining in the Grill Room with Condé Nast C.E.O. Steve Florio, USA Interactive chairman and C.E.O. Barry Diller with Universal Studios chief Ron Meyer, Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman with Lazard Frères rainmaker Vernon Jordan, and agent Mort Janklow with editor and writer Michael Korda.

But no matter what plotting or machinations they were discussing at their coveted tables, it...

How I Lost My Haberdasher

Sun, 10 Feb 2002 19:00:00 -0500

I shop at Sulka. Or at least I did before the venerable men's clothier shut down in Manhattan shortly before Christmas. Don't get the wrong impression: I'm not Hamish Bowles. (Or is it George Wayne?) I don't have a walk-in closet. I own maybe five pairs of pants, all of them khakis.

The only thing I bought at Sulka were silk neckties, on an average of one every couple of years. In total, I doubt...

The Midas Watch

Sun, 21 Oct 2001 20:00:00 -0400

Mozart and the Beasts: Bargemusic Floats Me

History Happens, Brahms Sustains; Now Let Me Rant About Kissinger Last Thursday evening, Oct. 25, was warm and fine. Bargemusic was offering a very attractive program: Mozart's E-flat Piano Quartet, Brahms' Violin Sonata No. 2 in A and Schumann's Op. 47 Piano Quartet, played by Anne-Marie McDermott, Daniel Phillips, Paul Neubauer and Ronald Thomas. One doesn't very often get to hear music of this transcendent greatness played...

Far Too Strange for Fiction: Nixon, Tormented Tragic Hero

Sun, 14 Oct 2001 20:00:00 -0400

President Nixon: Alone in the White House , by Richard Reeves. Simon & Schuster, 702 pages, $35.

Artists of all stripes have taken a crack at him. Countless biographers, historians and armchair psychiatrists have tried to explain him-but still we demand more. Could any other politician inspire such fascination? No: George Bush (I and II), Ronald Reagan and even Bill Clinton are stick figures by comparison. Brilliant and vicious, tyrannical and weak, visionary and petty,...

Dr. Kissinger Makes War on Clinton's Foreign Policy

Sun, 17 Jun 2001 20:00:00 -0400

Does America Need a Foreign Policy? Towards a Diplomacy for the 21st Century , by Henry Kissinger. Simon & Schuster, 288 pages, $30.

When former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger sat down with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright soon after she took over the State Department, the two hit it off well. He gave her sound advice about doing what she thought was right, regardless of the inevitable criticism. Before he left, though, he...

How ILindy-Hopped Into History

Sun, 03 Jun 2001 20:00:00 -0400

I've probably spent more time

in dancing school than anyone since Arthur Murray-not recently, but when I was a kid. It started in second grade, when my parents sent me to John Barclay's dancing classes at the Colony Club. I remember little of the experience. I've successfully managed to block it out in that miraculous way the mind has of deleting all memory of a traumatic incident, such as a bombing or a car accident, and the minutes immediately preceding...

Henry Kissinger's Crush on Oprah

Sun, 08 Apr 2001 20:00:00 -0400

Henry the K Loves O

The Literacy Partners cocktail party at Le Cirque 2000 on March 28 was slogging along on a damp mixture of limp handshakes, soggy crabcakes and Dewar's when a young woman in black exclaimed: "Whoa! Isn't that, like, um, the evilest man on Earth?" Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had walked into the room, looking like he'd recovered nicely from the heart attack that hospitalized him last October. In March,...

The Show Moved to 65th Street, the Food Is Another Story

Sun, 16 May 1999 20:00:00 -0400

At the end of dinner, the waiter brought out the madeleines, which were wrapped in a white linen napkin folded into a silver bowl. They were unlike any madeleines I had ever tasted-hot and crisp as you bit into their golden scallop shells, then soft and melting inside. For Proust's narrator, madeleines summoned Maman, his childhood and Combray; for me, a similar evocation could only have been accomplished by Marmite on toast. These madeleines...

Sweet and Sour at Elaine's; Oscar Goes Bust at Ohm

Sun, 28 Mar 1999 19:00:00 -0500

Sweet and Sour at Elaine's

It was Oscar night at Elaine's, the night of the annual Entertainment Weekly party, and Tatum O'Neal wasn't happy. Sitting at one of the many tables that were occupied mostly by rouge-cheeked journalists, second-tier actors and socially ambitious political types, Ms. O'Neal was watching the TV screen and spearing calamari with her fork. Geena Davis was hosting her pre-Oscar special on ABC, to which Ms. O'Neal sneered, "What is...

Kissinger in China: Realpolitik Takes a Powder

Sun, 28 Feb 1999 19:00:00 -0500

The Kissinger Transcripts: The Top-Secret Talks With Beijing and Moscow , edited by William Burr. New Press, 515 pages, $30.

Surely, Henry Kissinger considers himself the supreme practitioner of Realpolitik , rivaled only by Richelieu, who defined raison d'état as the interest of the state transcending all other considerations. But a funny thing happened when he encountered chairman Mao Zedong and Prime Minister Zhou Enlai (whom he had already met in his path-breaking trips to...

Mr. Bronfman's Venezuelan wife, Clarissa Alcock, is once again pregnant...

Sun, 19 Oct 1997 20:00:00 -0400

Clarissa's California Payload

When Edgar Bronfman Jr. and his family started spending more and more time on the West Coast, word was that the chief executive of the Seagram Company had descended into the Hollywood trenches to ensure that his decision to acquire MCA Inc. would eventually pay off. (In 1995, Seagram sold its 25 percent stake in E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company for $8.7 billion to make the deal; today, that block...