SOCIAL SAFARI by R. Couri Hay
Carlton Fine Arts
A 100K painting by Marc Chagall was the target of a smash and grab caper on Madison Avenue on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur, while the gallery was closed all day. The business’s owner, Charles Saffati, is offering a 5-figure no question asked reward for the return of the unique art piece, called “Eve” that features two women embracing. Chagall has two large murals with the same theme hanging permanently in the Grand Hall at the Metropolitan Opera House. “The robbers must have been pretty smart enough to know that we would be closed for the holiday,” noted Saffati. He added “Mayor Adams has to wake up and smell the bagels. First it was drugstores and supermarkets, then Gucci and Hermes, and now these street thugs are targeting high end art galleries. I hope Mayor Adams takes the proper steps, but I’m not waiting for him. I have hired two round the clock armed guards and installed museum quality motion detectors and cameras to watch over the Warhols, Basquiats, Picasso and Mr. Brianwashs.” The gallerist added, “This piece will be impossible to resell as its instantly recognizable like the Mona Lisa. If these hoodlums haven’t already dumped it for drug money, I hope they’ll return it and take the cash reward.” The gallery’s current show is by artist and photographer, Bonnie Lautenberg, the widow of former Senator Frank Lautenberg, whose show features photos of stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn alongside iconic works of art by Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein. Skincare mogul Peter Thomas Roth and influencer Sofie Mahlkvist were in the opening night mix. carltonfa.com
Joaquin Phoenix is Napoleon
Joaquin Phoenix is starring in Ridley Scott’s upcoming biopic “Napoleon,” releasing across the country during the holiday season. The movie, which is already garnering Oscar buzz for Phoenix, co-stars Vanessa Kirby as Josephine. The film looks back on Napoleon’s rise from French soldier to emperor. Scott told Variety about Phoenix, “If something bothers him, he’ll let you know. He made ‘Napoleon’ special by constantly questioning.” Deep-pocketed fans of Napoleon Bonaparte can buy his personal footbath for $24k, his plate warmer for $14k, or his camel saddle, used in one of his Egyptian campaigns, for $20k from M.S. Rau in New Orleans. They are also selling a Diamond necklace, bracelet, and tiara for a cool $1.250 million that Napoleon gave not to his beloved Josephine, but to one of his mistresses! rauantiques.com
Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers’s iconic comedy Three’s Company has inspired a new party trend from NYC to Beverly Hills. The “Mrs. Roper Romp” fetes are inspired by the late Audra Lindley’s landlady character Helen Roper, who always wore a caftan and carried a cocktail on the program. Somers, who played Chrissy Snow on the show, told me, “I loved Mrs. Roper, she was all about mischief and double entendre. Her sexual responses to Mr. Roper always had to do with Mr. Roper not performing, but lovingly. In the 50’s, Mrs. Roper would have been ‘a great broad.’” Alan Hamel, Suzzanne’s husband of nearly 50 years, confided to us “Suzanne is not a huge fan of costume parties, even though she says, ‘my billionaire friends love them.’ In the 70’s, we were bullied into going to a 70’s themed party and since Suzanne was all over the TV at that time, she went as herself.” Somers’s daughter in law, Caroline Somers, has released her first cookbook, SERVED featuring over 50 recipes highlighting her Italian heritage, which she tested on the comedy legend’s family. suzannesomers.com
Star Trek’s William Shatner & James Bond’s Pierce Brosnan,
Star Trek’s William Shatner, James Bond star Pierce Brosnan, and the Soprano’s Vincent Pastore are just a few of the actors who have been honored at Roberto Rizzo’s NYC TV Festival over the past 14 years. This year, he featured over 30 TV shows by independent filmmakers at The Dolby Theatre. The winners included Hot Angry Mom, Timeless Love and the documentary “UNDIVIDED: Pandemic with a Purpose” by director Richard Yelland. The film, produced by SOMOS Community Care founder Dr. Ramon Tallaj and Anel Pla, weaves together the inspirational story of nonprofits, physicians and brands including Lysol’s Here for Healthy Schools. Although SOMOS lost 12 doctors to Covid, the organization’s 2,500 + doctors delivered over one million free vaccines to the most underserved in the five boroughs, saving thousands of lives. somos.org
Kyra Sedgwick & Manhattan Movie Studio
Kyra Sedgwick and Method Man have just wrapped the Jewish comedy Bad Shabbos with Zack Weiner’s Manhattan Movie Studio. He is also releasing a film starring NBA star Evan Mobley called Magic Money about a multi-million-dollar Nike sneaker deal gone awry. Weiner and Bitcoin pioneer Nick Spanos have just acquired a space at 2307 Broadway on the Upper West Side. They plan to turn it into a Gen Z version of Andy Warhol’s famous downtown Factory that turned out iconic films such as Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein with 70’s bombshell Monique van Vooren. The studio has also released a documentary called “Citizen Weiner,” about Zack’s BDSM scandal during his unsuccessful city council run against Gale Brewer. Their movie, “How the Gringo Stole Christmas,” is a new holiday comedy starring famed funnyman George Lopez. manhattanmoviestudio.com
Andy Warhol & The New York Academy of Art
Kanye West’s muse and former paramour, sex pot Julia Fox caused heads to swivel when she posed nearly nude for approximately 70 patrons and artists at The New York Academy of Art’s studio on Franklin Street. The Academy, which was co-founded by Andy Warhol and whose supporters include Brooke Shields, Naomi Watts and Galerie Gmurzynska’s Isabelle Bscher, invited select students and famous artists including Will Cotton to paint Fox, who was provocatively posed on a couch, her lady parts barely concealed by leather pasties and strategically placed leather straps. A good time was had by all at the peak a boo art happening where a minor wardrobe mishap added even more drama. Warhol would have loved it. nyaa.edu
The East Coast Club of The Year
The Hustler Club was nominated in the Best on The East Coast Club of The Year category by the Adult Night Club Awards. The gentleman’s club spotlights several dozen bodacious dancers on their multiple stages and poles over the three-floor mega club. They are also holding regular hand rolled cigar and whiskey nights, including Brian DiMarco’s Harlem Standard brand which won Gold in the recent Bartenders Awards. The events, which also feature local DJs, are being held on their new outdoor terrace called Althea’s Rooftop, which overlooks the Hudson River on the Westside Highway. TV star Joseph Sikora, of Power Book IV: Force, is a regular at the hot spot that also attracts top tier athletes. hustlerny.com