Backstage at The Price Is Right: Memoirs of A Barker Beauty (19 page)

Chapter 31

Night of 100 Stars

T
here were many high profile parties, soirées, red carpet events, and special occasions going on in Hollywood and Beverly Hills every day and every night. I was recognized, respected, and accepted by Hollywood’s higher echelon crowd and was swamped with invitations.

Since broadcast journalism was always a high priority on my list and my major in college, I decided I would create my own Internet social network magazine, and as a result,
Kathleen’s Magazine
was initiated. The Internet site was designed to talk about the who’s who in Hollywood and go behind the scenes in depth at
TPIR
.

I had many celebrity friends and wealthy associates that were always ready to let their hair down, party-hardy, and pull out all the stops to have a well-deserved good time. My premiere article started off with a bang as I featured my first time attending the annual Night of 100 Stars, a celebrity packed Oscar party at the Beverly Hills Hotel, held in the famous Crystal Ballroom.

In early February 1996, a very dear friend of mine, top fashion model, Ella Townes, called me and excitedly said, “Hey, Kathy, you need to come with me to this fabulous party tonight in the Hollywood Hills. My good friend Peter Nygard invited me to his friend’s home, and I know this party is where you need to be. Peter is super rich and has a lot of good connections in the modeling and film industries.”

It sounded impressive, and, actually, it never took a lot of coaxing to get me to a good party, especially when I could network and make the most out of meeting high-powered people who might prove to be advantageous to my career.

Ella’s apartment was located on Rossmore Avenue, in the historical district of Hancock Park
,
with a fascinating history. In 1932, the late, great actress Mae West had established her primary residence on Rossmore at the Ravenswood Apartments, which was adjacent to Ella’s building.

Another well-known building on Rossmore is the El Royale Apartments. Since the Jazz Era in 1929, this twelve-story building has been a magnet for celebrity tenants throughout its history
,
particularly for its amazing views, huge units, valet parking, and its proximately to the studios.
The El Royale
overlooks the beautiful, private Wilshire Country Club Golf Course, which was established in 1919. The roster of residents include many notable actors, writers, agents, and industry legends such as Clark Gable, Loretta Young, George Raft, William Frawley, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author William Faulkner, producer Michael Jaffe, and agent Jim Toth.
By the 1990s, it became hipster central with tenants like Nicholas Cage, Ben Stiller, Uma Thurman, Cameron Diaz, Katie Holmes, Jack Black
and many others
.

The Mauritania building on Rossmore was built in 1934 for Jack Haley, the Tin Man in the
Wizard of Oz
. It was also home for a few weeks to President John F. Kennedy during the 1960 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles and where Marilyn Monroe stayed when visiting President Kennedy.

After I picked up Ella, we headed for the party in the Hollywood Hills. Most streets are extremely narrow and hilly, reminiscent of many of the European streets that I visited during my travels over the years. When the hills are alive and the parties are abundant, it is nearly impossible to park your car and walk to your destination, especially in six-inch stilettos. Luckily, upon our arrival to this beautiful tri-level Hollywood home, we were greeted by valet runners, who opened our doors and parked the car. Thank goodness!

Peter Nygard was an international fashion mogul of women’s apparel and the son of a Finnish immigrant. He was recognized in fashion centers across North America. He also had the reputation of being quite the ladies’ man, with a great love for beautiful women—particularly women of color.

Ella had been invited to a few of Peter’s elaborate and risqué parties at his oceanfront mansion in Playa Del Rey. She raved about the unique Scandinavian design of his home. She also said that she had the pleasure of visiting Peter’s personally-designed, world-famous island estate in the Bahamas. The magnificent Nygard Cay, located on ten acres at the end of Lyford Cay on the island of Nassau, has been described as a modern Mayan masterpiece.

Ella exclaimed, “I stayed at Peter’s beautiful island estate for a week and never saw the entire place.”

I said, “Well, either you were too busy partying or too high to get around. Which was it?”

Ella replied, “A little of both.” We gave a high five and had a hearty laugh.

After hearing more about this charming, suave, Scandinavian man, I had two reasons for looking forward to making his acquaintance. First, he could possibly help further my modeling career by featuring me as one of his top models and spokespersons for his women’s apparel line. Secondly, he was born in Helsinki, Finland. I had performed at the Hotel Hesperia in Helsinki in 1975 and 1977 with The Love Machine on several different occasions. I felt confident that Peter would be enchanted and amused to meet someone who had visited and performed in his homeland, which could only work to my advantage.

Ella made the introduction. “Hi, Peter. This is Kathleen Bradley. She’s one of the Barker Beauties on
The Price Is Right.
Actually, she is the first black permanent model on the show. Isn’t she beautiful?”

Peter seemed genuinely impressed by my celebrity status. It was a little difficult trying to shake his hand with so many lovely young ladies hanging on to him, but he managed to wriggle away from them long enough to shake my extended hand. These neophytes viewed me as a threat of sorts, as if I was going to steal him away. Not really. I had all the man I needed at home
—
I just wanted to borrow him for a while. He seemed extremely intrigued by my beauty and was very complimentary, in a sweet, somewhat fresh, flirtatious manner. I couldn’t wait to see the expression on his face when I told him that I had performed in his homeland on several occasions.

“Peter,” I asked, “how many people have you met here in the United States who have been to Helsinki?” He paused a moment to think about it, and I then replied, “Exactly, very few to none.” I knew, at that moment, I had his complete attention. I conveyed to him the story of The Love Machine in detail, as to when and where we had performed. Of course, he was very familiar with the Hotel Hesperia, in the heart of the city, prime location for both business and leisure on the main avenue, facing Hesperia Park. I also shared with Peter our experience performing at several Midsummer Holiday festivals, a holiday when young Finns celebrate by drinking the most alcohol their bodies can consume, similar to the U.S. college spring break. The teenagers and students hang out at a rock festival, which is usually held outdoors at a park. They were very excited and appreciative that we were performing for them; however, it was not a pretty sight to observe those teens sloppy drunk, falling down all over the place, while overindulging in their homeland alcohol of choice—vodka.

One of the most intriguing times while performing at one of these festivals was when we’d witnessed the Aurora Borealis
,
also known as the Northern Lights. The Aurora Borealis is a colorful, luminous glow of the upper atmosphere, which is a phenomena caused by energized particles that enter the atmosphere; in short, it is one of the most heavenly and transcendent sights that you can witness in the sky—without being high on acid.

Needless to say, Peter was extremely impressed and pleased to hear about my ventures and extended knowledge of his homeland. We hit it off right away, and as we continued to talk, we discovered that we had more in common than my adventures in Helsinki. We knew many of the same celebrity friends and had traveled to many of the same countries.

Peter invited Ella and me to his annual pre-Oscar party at his beachfront home in Playa Del Rey, to take place the following weekend. We gladly accepted his invitation. The pre-Oscar party was a warm-up, leading to the night before the Academy Awards. It was a fabulous and intimate evening, attended by a select number of Peter’s celebrity friends, such as Robert DeNiro, Cybill Shepherd, Freda Payne, Dennis Cole, yours truly, and a host of other who’s who in Hollywood
.
That particular year, Peter was launching his new website for his Peter Nygard fashion apparel, which ramped up the party to another level. If you were fortunate to be among the chosen few to attend Peter’s pre-Oscar party, then more than likely, you would have been given an invitation and rite of passage to attend the annual Night of 100 Stars Oscar Gala with the true Hollywood elite.

Rated as one of the top Academy Awards parties in Hollywood by the media as well as by those who have attended, Night of 100 Stars is a formal sit-down dinner and viewing party, where past Oscar winners and nominees are invited to spend the evening and pay tribute to the following year’s nominees and recipients. Night of 100 Stars is primarily a fundraiser event, and the proceeds from this black-tie gala benefit The Film Foundation, founded by director Martin Scorsese. The foundation aims to preserve old film footage for future generations. Members of the board of directors include Hollywood moguls, Clint Eastwood, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg. Along with Martin Scorsese, Night of 100 Stars is sponsored and hosted by Peter and produced by well-known veteran music agent, Norby Walters.

Ella was flying out prior to the event to work a modeling job in New York, so I went alone. My husband was such a workaholic that he was generally too tired to escort me to the various parties and special events to which we were invited. He would insist that I go anyway and network, even if none of my girlfriends were available. Sometimes, traveling alone worked to my advantage, because I didn’t have to worry about looking out for someone else, and I was able to come and go at my own leisure.

When I arrived at the Beverly Hills Hotel, I could feel the excitement in the air. I was blinded by the flashing camera lights as celebrities made their way onto the red carpet and through the hotel entrance. As I walked the red carpet, the paparazzi began calling out to me. “Stop, Kathleen. Kathleen, look over here, please! Over here, Miss Bradley!” Words cannot describe the euphoria that I experienced—it was almost like I was floating in slow motion. I swear my feet left the ground. It felt surreal, knowing that I was walking down the same red carpet as some of the most famous names in Hollywood. Drinks were flowing in the reception area as the hors d’oeuvres were passed around with the largest shrimp I had ever seen in my life. There were scores of famous faces from TV, film, stage, music, radio, and sports. Some were close celebrity friends who greeted me with hugs and kisses. I spotted Norby Walters, one of the producers of the event, and went over to speak with him. The Norby Walter’s Music/Entertainment Agency had booked The Love Machine back in the mid-seventies at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel—one of the first of many engagements for us in Las Vegas. When I brought this to his attention, he remembered The Love Machine explicitly, and was pleased to see that I had come into my own as an actress and model and was doing very well. We reminisced for a moment until all the guests were given the final call to file inside the ballroom to locate their reserved seats before the awards show began. The tables were decorated with scattered movie memorabilia and on each chair were beautiful gift bags filled with goodies for all 500 guests. There were four huge viewing screens throughout the room, so everyone could enjoy the Oscars comfortably while feasting on their three-course meals.

For years, the Academy had been highly criticized by the NAACP because of a lack of attention and participation by African-American actors and producers; however, this year would be an exception. Noted musician, composer, and multi-Grammy winning producer Quincy Jones was executive producer for the 68
th
Annual Academy Awards. Just the year before, in 1995, Quincy was the first African-American to win the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and in 1971, he received the honor of becoming the first African-American to be named musical director/conductor of the Academy Awards ceremony. But the main attraction and highlight for this year’s 68
th
Academy Awards ceremony was its illustrious host, one of my all-time favorites, actor/comedian Whoopi Goldberg.

I’ve always had such high regard and admiration for Whoopi as a strong black woman and as a consummate entertainer. I suppose it is her brass and brutal honesty, her no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners, kiss-my-ass, carefree attitude that I appreciated and to which I could relate. I also connect with her adage, “Let’s take care of home first before we venture out into someone else’s backyard.” Not to mention, I admired Whoopi’s fine art for the usage of certain four-letter words that just seemed to flow at the appropriate time to express herself.

It was indeed a night to remember. The fact that both Quincy and Whoopi were at the helm of the world’s most celebrated awards show was both unprecedented and monumental. I could hardly wait to go to work at
Price
the next day and tell everybody about the exhilarating experience of my night out with some of the brightest stars in Hollywood.

In 2005, Whoopi’s granddaughter, Amarah, had a Sweet Sixteen birthday party at Shutters Hotel in Santa Monica, to which my son, Terrence, was invited by his buddy and schoolmate, Max. I was so excited that I could barely contain myself to think that I might finally get a chance to meet Whoopi and on such a special occasion in an intimate setting with family and friends. When my son and I arrived at the party, Max’s mom, Roz, introduced me to Whoopi’s daughter, Alexandrea. I didn’t want to appear too eager while shaking Alexandrea’s hand, while at the same time looking around the room for Whoopi. I took a beat and then asked in a child-like voice, “Is your mother here?”

“No, unfortunately,” replied Alexandrea. “She is working on a project in New York and couldn’t be here.”

I whimpered and wanted to cry, but I held it together, excused myself, and headed for the lobby bar to soothe my disappointment with a good, stiff drink.