Arlene Alda, Phi Beta Kappa, mother of three, professional musician and writer, wife of some actor named Alan, has written “Just Kids From The Bronx: Telling It the Way It Was: An Oral History.”
It’s 60 Bronxites remembering. Carl Reiner on growing up during the Great Depression. Mary Higgins Clark’s: “Only three places have ‘the’ before their name: The Vatican, The Hague and The Bronx.” J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler: “My hunger growing up wasn’t financial. It was an achievement hunger.” Colin Powell: “The Bronx is like a small town. Everyone knows everyone else and everyone else’s business. It was comforting.”
Arlene: “This book took four years. I started cold. Making phone calls. Tape recorded 64 people.
“Born in The Bronx, I lived there until marriage in ’57. I did the subways, school, Hunter. Some bad days I wanted out of there, but it was my launching pad, my anchor. The buildings were low and you could see the sky.
“Pacino, poor, lived in a small house. His grandfather was a big influence. Al escaped because of his passion for acting. Daniel Libeskind came from Poland, which was so tough that living across from Cortlandt Park he thought was paradise. With buildings built by unions, he figured it’s some sort of fantastic commune. Speaking no English, he’d paint a picture, and poets and artists around would say, ‘book.’ He kept a notebook of words like ‘glass.’
“Alan was my sounding board. He was going to Fordham.”
The publisher is Henry Holt. The book is out in March.
Mayer has $, seeks lady
Bon vivant, raconteur and a legend in his own shorts, John Mayer, single and sniffing after Jennifer Lawrence, was in London’s Rosewood Hotel barely missing two exes. Katy Perry arrived right after. Ditto Taylor Swift, whose acrimonious breakup triggered a song about him. The hotel’s $35,000-a-night grandiose grand suite is where one Saudi prince blew 400,000 pounds in three days. Classy joint.
Buyer woes
“Teletubbies” producer Kenn Viselman seems cranky over drugstore knockoff perfume, which advertised 100mL of liquid yet had a max capacity of 70mL. Because it’s smaller than promised, he’s talking suing. To quote Nostradamus: The fragrance company smells . . . COME January the 44th annual Hall of Fame inducts F. Murray Abraham, Frank Rich, Susan Stroman, Blythe Danner, Alfred Uhry. Jim Dale’s emcee . . . JAN. 1 to Jan. 4 will be 200 acts, 10 emcees for the longest variety show ever. Guinness World Record. Sponsored by the Metropolitan Room, it’s 12 hours, 60 performers from burlesque’s Hedda Lettuce to comedienne Judy Gold. And if he can stay awake that long, Joe Franklin hosts.
Seen & heard
The 30th Independent Spirit Awards nominated “Birdman” best feature film; Best Male Lead — Michael Keaton . . .
“An American in Paris” opens the Palace Theatre in March . . .
NBC-TV’s “Odyssey” filming at Woodside’s St. Sebastian Church . . .
Brad and Angelina left $10,000 to London’s Churchill Museum, which opened midnight for them . . .
Odds & ends
Published this week, ’50s photographer William Helburn’s “Seventh and Madison — Fashion and Advertising Photography at Mid-Century.” He shot Tippi Hedren lying on an ironing board on Seventh Avenue, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward on stools as traffic whizzed by in the middle of Broadway . . .
Listen, if you’re scratching for a Christmas gift, Kwiat’s hustling a pink square-cut diamond for $650,000 . . .
Lionel Richie’s music comment: “I want a foot in my ass and a bass in my face” . . .
In equality
Bridgehampton. Small fake fur throw blanket for my dog — $29.95. Southampton. Same afternoon. Identical fake fur spread — $39.95. A known company pushing an emerald and diamond ring for $30,000. Someone tried selling an identical ring. The jeweler’s offer? $4,000.
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.