Kay Thompson (69 page)

The emancipation that Eloise stirred was not limited to girls. Take the case of a young Washington, D.C., boy who was coming to terms with the divorce of his parents. “Eloise,” “The Plaza,” and “New York City” were mystical “words that pulled at me as if they were music,” he wrote in his bestselling coming-of-age memoir,
Ghost Light
. Thompson had made Eloise’s parentless life at The Plaza so tantalizing, so
comforting,
it mesmerized him and was a central driving
force that drew him to the Big Apple for his adult adventures as the celebrated
New York Times
columnist Frank Rich.

Eloise also spoke to Bruce Vilanch, the comic performer and comedy writer behind Bette Midler, Billy Crystal, and the Academy Awards. “I was a very precocious kid,” he recalled. “I was fat, I was ungainly, I was not athletic. I was growing up in New Jersey, so Eloise was about as glamorous as you got. Even at seven years old, I viewed myself as a woman in a black dress with a large picture hat sipping a Manhattan at the bar of the Russian Tea Room. And Eloise just seemed to fit right in. She just called my name. I wanted to be Eloise but I never could wedge myself into that Catholic schoolgirl uniform that they made her wear. But my hair actually was inspired by Eloise, and as you can see, it still is. It gives new definition to the term ‘flyaway.’ ” Rim shot.

“As an adult,” Vilanch added, “I cannot tell you how many people in the arts I have run across who read
Eloise
and knew all about her. Bette Midler—to name just one. We’d
all
read
Eloise
. I guess I was hanging out with a more sophisticated brand of child when I got older. That tells you something, doesn’t it? We’re a hardy band.”

And the band plays on, passed down from generation to generation. “After I had given birth to my daughter Lily,” noted Meredith Vieira, “the very first thing I did—literally about three days after her birth—I bought her
Eloise
because I wanted her to find this character and love this character and
own
this character the way I had as a little girl.”

On September 26, 1998, just a few weeks after Thompson’s passing, The Plaza was declared a literary monument as “The Home of Eloise,” and was awarded a plaque that is proudly affixed to a front corner of the building. And Hilary Knight’s famous portrait of Eloise remains on permanent display in the lobby, where fans from all over the globe gather for photo ops.

Posthumously, Thompson’s estate allowed all four
Eloise
books to be reissued by Simon & Schuster. Then, the long-dormant
Eloise Takes a Bawth
was resuscitated and completed. Published by Simon & Schuster in 2002, the book shot to No. 1 on
The New York Times
children’s books bestseller list and remained on the chart for six months—a long-awaited, triumphant addition to the Eloise canon.

I
n addition to her
alter ego, Thompson’s performance in
Funny Face
resonates through the ages and has influenced a slew of descendants, including Meryl Streep in
The Devil Wears Prada,
Vanessa Williams in
Ugly Betty,
and Anna Wintour in real life.

Similarly, Kay’s innovative musicianship permeates the cultural landscape. To hear what the fuss is all about, just sample two comprehensive CD compilations that preserve her bazazz for posterity:
Kay Thompson: The Queen of Swing Vocal & Her Rhythm Singers: 1933–1937
(Baldwin Street Records), produced and annotated by Ted Ono; and, picking up chronologically where that left off,
Think Pink! A Kay Thompson Party
(Sepia Records), produced and annotated by yours truly.

The flame has also been kept alive by Liza Minnelli, who, dismissing the naysayers, forged right ahead with her tribute to Kay—featuring Jim Caruso, Cortés Alexander, Tiger Martina, and Johnny Rodgers as the Williams Brothers, directed and choreographed by Ron Lewis. To hedge her bets, Liza threw in several of her own greatest hits, but the centerpiece of her show steadfastly proselytized the gospel according to Kay—her music, her arrangements, her movement, and her joie de vivre. For nearly two years, Minnelli took the act on the road, playing venues all over the world, honing every nuance until, finally, it was ready for Broadway.

Liza didn’t settle for just any theater. It had to be The Palace—the mythic site of her mother’s Tony Award–winning concert series in 1951, coached by none other than Kay. There’s no place like home.

With all the stars in perfect alignment,
Liza’s at the Palace
opened on December 3, 2008. “Electrifying,” wrote Rex Reed in
The New York Observer.
“It’s sort of a goddam miracle. If you don’t know who Kay Thompson was, or what she contributed to the history of show business, now’s the time to find out.”

On June 7, 2009, from the stage of Radio City Music Hall, broadcast to millions around the world, the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event was awarded to
Liza’s at the Palace.
Everything had come full circle and Minnelli’s emotional acceptance speech said it all: “I just wanted to thank my parents for the greatest gift they ever gave me: my godmother, Kay Thompson.”

F
irst and foremost, I must thank my mother, Mary Bantly Irvin, for having the good taste, sophistication, and foresight to buy Kay Thompson’s four hilarious
Eloise
books (with wickedly mischievous drawings by Hilary Knight) when they were hot off the presses in the 1950s. And I especially want to thank my two older sisters, Janet Crowder and Anne Aspinwall, for not destroying them before I was old enough to be indoctrinated. My sisters were the ones who obeyed my orders and read these books to me at bedtime. Often. These sacred hand-me-downs have proven to be a seminal influence on my life and I cherish their magic to this day.

When I later discovered that the cyclone in
Funny Face
was, in fact, the same woman who had written the
Eloise
books, my fascination grew. There were some old, scratchy records, a couple of faded magazine clippings, a few behind-the-scenes credits on MGM movies, but there were no books about Kay Thompson, so she remained shrouded in mystery and legend. The turning point came when I read Marie Brenner’s apocryphal profile of Thompson in the December 1996
Vanity Fair.
The article was a treasure trove of information and yet, at the same time, it was extremely frustrating. Much to my chagrin (and Brenner’s), Kay had refused to be interviewed so there were still sizable gaps in the saga. When Marie wrote, “Very little is known about Thompson’s early life,” and when she failed to crack the mystery of Kay’s best-kept secret—her age—it got my Sherlock Holmesian juices flowing. I just
had
to know more.

After Thompson’s death, I was hired to write and direct a documentary on the history of
Eloise
, to be shown at the 1999 Eloise Pink & Black Ball at The Plaza to commemorate Simon & Schuster’s reissue of the four
Eloise
books and the launch of Madame Alexander’s Eloise dolls, plus other merchandising. In the process of interviewing Hilary Knight, Mart Crowley, Robert Wagner, Jim Caruso, and others who knew Kay, I had an epiphany that a book was just waiting to be written and I was the one with the passion to do it. Kay’s niece and nephew, Julie Hurd Szende and John Hurd, recognized my zeal and encouraged me to get started. Had I known then that it would take a decade of painstaking archeology to unlock the secrets and piece together the puzzle of Thompson’s astonishing life, I would have been too intimidated to begin. My naiveté served me well as I embarked on what turned out to be the thrill ride of my life.

This book would not exist were it not for the extraordinary kindness and encouragement of Michael Feinstein. He not only agreed to be interviewed but shared so many invaluable leads and helped open so many doors, I’ve lost count. But all of this pales in comparison to his inspiring friendship, which I value most of all.

I also would have been lost without the incomparable Ned Comstock, archivist at the University of Southern California Cinema & Television Library, who guided me through the Arthur Freed, Roger Edens, and MGM Collections, and subsequently called every single time he came across another tidbit of information related to Kay.

I am extremely grateful to a core group of Thompson enthusiasts who were particularly helpful and supportive: Jim Caruso, Jennifer “The Goddess” Chandler, Bryan Cooper, Mart Crowley, John Epperson (aka Lypsinka), George Feltenstein, Curt Gathje, Eloise Gorski, Meredith Mohr, Kathy Reilly, David S. Siegel, Richard Tay, and Ruth Williamson (who wrote and starred in the stage musical,
Pure Heaven: A Party with Kay Thompson
).

I also want to pay tribute to the late Gary Hill who, in the words of Judy Garland, was “my best critic and severest friend.”

My sincerest gratitude goes out to Hugh Fordin (author of
The World of Entertainment! Hollywood’s Greatest Musicals
), Stephen M. Silverman (author of
Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and His Movies
), and Lisa Jo Sagolla (author of
The Girl Who Fell Down: A Biography of Joan McCracken
) for allowing me to use unpublished portions of the priceless taped interviews they had conducted with Kay Thompson for their own books.

I am forever in debt to the legion of Thompson’s friends, family, and colleagues who, over the course of the last decade, so graciously agreed to be interviewed for this book, from A for Andy Williams to Liza with a Z.

In alphabetical order, they are: Neile Adams, Roni Agress, Van Alexander, Margaret Spier Angeli, Lucie Arnaz, Lauren Bacall, Henny Backus, Kaye Ballard, Anne Beatts, Judith Jacklin Belushi-Pisano, Robert L. Bernstein, Bi-Ko, Jerry Bock, Nina Bourne, Ray Bradbury, Buddy Bregman, Marie Brenner, Mel Brooks, Earl Brown, Art Buchwald, Gail Lumet Buckley, David Carradine, Marge Champion, Cyd Charisse, Ray Charles, Marilyn Child, Dennis Christopher, Betty Comden, Ray Conniff, Catherine “Kitty” D’Alessio, Yoel Dan, Bill Dana, Gloria DeHaven, Archdeacon Peter Delaney, Carmen Dell’Orefice, Denise Di Novi, Elinor Donahue, Wisa D’Orso, Bill Dugan, Dominick Dunne, William Engvick, Joe Eula, Charles Evans, Robert Evans, Bob Finkel, Janet Flamini, Roland Flamini, Betty Garrett, Larry Gelbart, Patricia Marshall Gelbart, Guy Gillette, Leonard Grainger, Kathryn Grayson, Adolph Green, Richard Grossman, Virginia Haig, George Hamilton, Bill Harbach, June Havoc, Dick Heimann, Mariel Hemingway, Paul Hemmer, Skitch Henderson, Larry Holofcener, Lena Horne, Ken Howard, Bruce Hoy, Michael “Peanuts” Hucko, Marsha Hunt, John Hurd, Lauren Hutton, Henry Isaacs, Jill Jacobson, Lois January, Carla Javits, Fran Jeffries, John Jenney, Norman Jewison, Geoffrey Johnson, Donna Karan, John Kenley, Princess Yasmin Khan, Greta Spier Kiernan, Jill Herman Kline, Victor A. Kovner, Vilma Kurzer, Perry Lafferty, Frankie Laine, Eleanor Lambert, Lynn Lane, Angela Lansbury, Arthur Laurents, Ruta Lee, Janet Leigh, Peter J. Levinson, Jerry Lewis, Leslie Lieber, Mort Lindsey, Joe Lipman, June Lockhart, John Loring, Alice Ludes, Lorna Luft, Joe Luft, China Machado, Tom Mackin, Ginny O’Connor Mancini, George & Ethel Martin, Hugh Martin, Tony Martin, Barbara Matera, Jack Mattis, Marilynn Lovell Matz, Katie Menz, Paul Methuen, Nolan Miller, Robert Ellis Miller, Liza Minnelli, Walter Mirisch, Meg Mundy, Mace Neufeld, Loulie Jean Norman, Margaret O’Brien, Robert Osborne, Patti Page, Cynthia Lindsay Patton, Graham Payn, Cassandra Peterson, Jane Powell, David Raksin, Sid Ramin, Uan Rasey, Peggy Rea, Rex Reed, Elliott Reid, Elizabeth Newburger Rinker, Julie Rinker, Christopher Riordan, Joan Rivers, Mickey Rooney, Virginia “Ginny” Farrar Ruane, Evelyn Rudie, Donald Saddler, Patrice Munsel Schuler, Robert Scott, Virginia “Jitchy” Vass Scott, Doris Shapiro, Sidney Sheldon, Christina Smith, Jerrie Marcus Smith, Liz Smith, Stephen Sondheim, Mark Spier, Richard Spier, John Springer, Gary Stevens, Marti Stevens, Deanne Stillman, Gloria Stuart, Julie Hurd Szende, Elizabeth Taylor, Sylvia Sheekman Thompson, Louise Tobin, Meredith Vieira, Bruce Vilanch, Larry Vinick, Baroness Marilou Hedlund von Ferstel, Marion Marshall Donen Wagner, Robert Wagner, Bea Wain, Connie Polan Wald, Mike Wallace, Randall Wallace, Lou Weiss,
Deanna Wenble, Margaret Whiting, Phyllis Rogers Whitworth, Andy Williams, Dick Williams, Don Williams, Julie Wilson, and Franco Zeffirelli.

An exemplary supporting cast of generous friends, family, aficionados, archivists, musicologists, collectors, and historians contributed their time and encouragement to help make this dream a reality: Frank Absher, Nancy Allen, Nancy Ruane Arendes, Mike Aspinwall, David & Susan Aspinwall, Scott Atkinson, George & Karen Babos, Steve Beeman, Perry Botkin, Rev. Malcolm Boyd, Nancy Barr-Brandon, Julie Brown, Lauren Buisson, Charles Busch, John Canemaker, Jeff Cason, Maxwell Caulfield, Charles Cochran, Patti Cohen, Paul Colichman, Bill Condon, Tamara Conniff, Alan Cooperman, Paige & Bill Covert, Andreza & Ryan Crowder, Rob Crowder, Robert Cushman, David Demsey, Bill DiCicco, Michael Dolan, Robin & Matt Durawa, David Ehrenstein, Fred Eppenberger, Richard Erikson, Larry Estes, Dan Evans, Margo Feiden, Peter Fitzgerald, Jordon Flakser, Matt Freeman, Roy Freeman, John Fricke, Marc Friend, James Gavin, Samuel Goldwyn Jr., Starleigh Goltry, Kathe Green, Charles Grenata, Phil Gries, Barbara Hall, Marty Halpern, Mark Harrison, Dan Helmerson, C. David Heymann, Edward Hibbert, Daryl & Joan Denise Hill, Dee Hoty, Tim Irvin, Jerry Jackson, JC Johnson, Peter Jones, Meredith Kadlec, Peter Kiefer, Jon Kroll, Christina Krupka, Lance LaShelle, Janet Waldo Lee, Dori Legg, Rick Lertzman, Bob Levy, Michael Lindsay, Malcolm Macfarlane, Leonard Maltin, Howard Mandelbaum, John Manulis, Michael Mascioli, Merrill McLoughlin, Linda Mehr, Harry Miller, Juliet Mills, Jack Morrissey, Eric Myers, Stephen R. Myers, Bill Norvas Jr., Mel Odom, Ted Ono, Bruce Paddock, Stephen Paley, Brent Phillips, Dana & Greg Plog, Ranse Ransone, Bill Reed, Janice Roland, David Rosenthal, Hunter K. Runnette, Robert G. Salomone, Karl H. Schadow, Scott A. Schechter, John Scheinfeld, Michael B. Schnurr, Ed Sikov, Bruce Simon, Jeff Sotzing, Julian Spencer, Don Spradlin, Mike Szymanski, Dace Taube, Lee Tsiantis, Tracy van Straaten, Frank Vlastnick, Cassandra M. Volpe, Frank Watson, Tegan West, Bobby Williams, and Bob Zaldman.