Our online pal Simon Doonan, New York Observer columnist, Barney's creative director, bon vivant, husband to Jonathan Adler, writer of an outstanding memoir (known as either Beautiful People or Nasty: My Family & Other Glamorous Varmints, depending on when you bought it, I bought it earlier because I'm obviously cooler than you are ... KIDDING!) tells a tale in yesterday's Observer about lunching in Palm Beach when Bernie Madoff's business pal Robert Jaffe walked in the door.
But first, the premiere date for Beautiful People, the series based on the book from Facebook friend Jon Plowman and the BBC has been announced. May 26th is a Tuesday and you will tune in and watch and love it. I know it. It's just such a joy, you will kvell. Like I said when I saw the pilot last year (thanks, Jon) it made me feel like The Wonder Years was remade with me in mind.
The reviews? Check this from TV Scoop, where it says, "They are two wonderfully warm and charismatic characters, but this
show is absolutely packed full of them. Simon's mother, Debbie, is a
gregarious, often drunk bottle-blonde, played - one might say against
type, but brilliantly - by Peep Show's Olivia Colman, his father is
presumably the most intelligent plumber in Reading, and his sister is
the ultimate tart with a heart. They're a close family, who dance and
argue and genuinely love each other completely.
"As well as great characters, this comedy has the added bonus of
being made with real care. It is amazing that we can already be
nostalgic about the 1990s, but the era is evoked brilliantly through
the soundtrack and attention to detail. In this way, there's a slight
Spaced-feel to this: it's a heightened reality, with a bright colour
palette, flashbacks and flashforwards, and lots of fantasy sequences."
But back to Robert Jaffe, whose Madoff connection you can further examine at this link, Simon recounts the afternoon that Jaffe walked into Chez Jean-Pierre in Palm Beach recently:
I thought about standing up and doing a whole "J'accuse!"
number, but my Jonny always tells me he can never tell whether I am
sitting or standing, so I decided against it. My Jonny is excessively
and gleefully focused on my lack of height: He claims that my being a
couple of inches shorter than he provides him with what he lovingly
calls "a flattering adjacency."
As we watched Mr. Jaffe-he carries and
dresses himself like a retired male model/croupier-sucking down a
cocktail, we could not help reflecting on the overwhelmingly
heterosexual nature of the whole Madoff thingy. Yes, I know that we
gays are by no means perfect: We did after all popularize many horrid
trends, including diamond stud earrings and wedge haircuts. But Ponzi
schemes? Feeder funds? Not so much. The gays are far more interested in
fondling than hondling.
I dunno, Simon. I saw a photo of Charles Ponzi the other day (top of post, Ponzi left, Doonan center, Jaffe right) in a magazine (or was it the Los Angeles Times opinion section? Yes, it was) and he looked like he was quite the dandy.
Jaffe? Pocket square? Crossed legs at the knee? How fancy! Robert! How many old ladies did you have to allegedly swindle to get the money together for all those double-breasted suits and pocket squares, anyway? And the dye job. Actually, the dye job looks rather amateur.
You should be ashamed of yourself. For the dye job and the alleged swindling.
Palm Beach Post from December 2008:
Known for his impeccable grooming, penchant for
fine suits and royal bearing, Jaffe, 64, has been sullied by his
association with Bernard Madoff. The 70-year-old investment king is
accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme that has rocked the tony
island.
In the week since the part-time Palm Beach resident was arrested,
Jaffe has been threatened. He has resigned as chairman of the
foundation, a position he relished. He canceled his son's engagement
party. He has hired a public relations agent to deal with the barrage
of questions from the media.
Hopefully, those who know him say, the controversy will blow over
and his life of charity balls and galas and community activities will
resume.
Those who know him must realize that it's not happening, the blowing over part. Hope it never does. Get this guy investigated, dammit and fast before he has the chance to cover his tracks.
Allegedly!
Simon goes on, and I love how he goes on, switching gears later in his piece to talk about the Iowa marriage decision (Yea!) and the American Idol headliner of the season, Adam Lambert:
(A)s
if further proof were needed that the gays are
on a roll, there is a strong possibility that one of our own is
actually going to win American Idol: I refer to the charismatic and
kohl-eyed Adam Lambert. Call me lowbrow, but I am a huge Idol
fan, and Adam-a sizzling combo of Robert Plant, Bryan Ferry and Shirley
Bassey-keeps turning my blouse inside out every single week.
Fabulous! I was just thinking about Brit pop legend Bassey the other day. Even as a very young boy I knew there was something extraordinary about Bassey when I would see her on US variety shows. Or, maybe it was just that she always wore something shiny and I'm attracted to shiny things.
Read Simon weekly at his New York Observer page, bookmark it (and this site, too, don't forget me!) and I'm sure he would be thrilled if you would click over to his personal website, SimonDoonan.net, where the whole Simonverse (universe, only Simon-centric) is available for your review and consideration.
Buy Simon's book and check it out before the series starts here, on Logo, on May 26 just by clicking through from my icon below to purchase from Amazon. And thanks again for clicking on my Amazon links.
And good morning, gang!
Allegedly.
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