The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty (70 page)

“Yes, and I would like to add just one thing, if you don’t mind,” someone said. It was Zsa Zsa. Of course. All eyes turned to her.

While it probably would have been appropriate that Conrad Hilton have the final word, that any toast of the evening be his and his alone since he was lord of the manor, it had long ago been accepted that if anyone was to break with tradition, it would be Zsa Zsa. Shaking his head and smiling to himself, Conrad sat down and extended both arms gamely to his ex-wife as if to say, “The floor is all yours, my dear.”

Zsa Zsa stood up. “You know, in Hungary,” she began, “at the end of the meal, someone always toasts
the host
in appreciation of his hospitality. And that someone tonight shall be…
me
,” she announced grandly while gazing at Conrad. “So, to our host, I would like to say”—she paused for dramatic affect before continuing—“you have driven each and every one of us at this table mad at one time or another, and…” They all waited with apprehension for what was coming next because, after all, this
was
Zsa Zsa Gabor speaking. “… we love you for it,” she concluded, much to the relief of all. “We really do.” Then, with a dazzling smile, she added, “In America, you say ‘good health.’ But in Hungary, we say ‘
Egészségére!
’ Now,” she continued with a flourish of her hand, “unfortunately, Americans tend to mispronounce this beautiful Hungarian word. And when they do mispronounce it, the toast they end up saying means, in Hungarian, ‘
Here’s to your ass
.’ ” At that, everyone at the table roared with laughter. “Luckily,” Zsa Zsa concluded, “I am not American.” She raised her glass. “So, as a proud Hungarian, I would like to say to all of you, my
dah-lings
…
Egészségére!
”

“Yes!
Egészségére!
” Nicky repeated, terribly mangling the pronunciation of the word.

“
Egészségére
, indeed,” Barron added, also mispronouncing it.

Zsa Zsa took her seat while everyone around her applauded.

“Well,” Conrad admitted, laughing, “I don’t think I can top that, can I? I will say this, though,” he added with a smile. “Whether it’s ‘here’s to your health’ or ‘here’s to your ass,’ either way, you have to admit,” he concluded with a chuckle, “that is still one hell of a good toast!”

Conrad Hilton: a true, rags-to-riches, American success story. Here he poses with the monolithic Stevens Hotel in Chicago which, after he bought it, he renamed—what else?—the Conrad Hilton.
(Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Zsa Zsa Gabor upon her arrival from Europe in 1941. At the time, she was married to Burhan Belge, press director for the Foreign Ministry of Turkey in Ankara. By the end of that year, however, she would find romance in America with Conrad Hilton.
(Bettmann/Corbis/AP Images)

Conrad simply had to have Zsa Zsa, so much so that he married her without the sanctioning of the Catholic Church. He was fifty-five and she was twenty-five when they wed in April of 1942, having known each other less than four months.
(Globe Photos)

Though Conrad and Zsa Zsa are seen in happier times here, their divorce in 1946 was difficult. Shortly after, Zsa Zsa would give birth to a daughter, Constance Francesca. It was because of Francesca that Conrad would accept Zsa Zsa in his world for the rest of his life.
(Globe Photos)

William Barron Hilton was the first of Conrad’s sons to marry, at the age of twenty, to Marilyn June Hawley. Here they are (far right) on March 19, 1958, embarking from Burbank Airport for a celebration for the new Habana Hilton Hotel. On the left is Conrad Hilton and Dorothy Johnson, a pioneer of nursing at UCLA.
(AP Photo)

In October of 1949, Conrad purchased what most people considered the biggest and grandest of all hotels, the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. It was most certainly the crown jewel of Hilton’s international hotel collection.
(Photo by Martha Holmes//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Nicky Hilton—Conrad Jr.—believed he had found the love of his life in actress Elizabeth Taylor when he met her in September of 1949. He was twenty-three, she was seventeen.
(Photo by Murray Garrett / Getty Images)

It wasn’t long before Nicky decided to marry Elizabeth, despite overwhelming evidence that she wasn’t ready for marriage. Here, the couple poses on Mother’s Day in 1950 with Nicky’s mom, Mary (Conrad’s first wife, left) and Elizabeth’s mother, Sara (right.)
(AP Photo)

Best Man Barron (left) adjusts Nicky’s boutonniere on his wedding day, May 6, 1950.
(AP Photo/HF)