PARK Magazine

I
Deb of the Decade
coined the phrase “Deb of the Decade” at
Mortimer’s, for Cornelia Guest who was the
‘80’s most glamorous It Girl. This happened
during a dinner party her mother, society
swan C.Z. Guest, gave at the legendary Upper
East Side boite to celebrate my friend, Cornelia’s,
debut into high society. I asked C.Z.
and Mortimer’s owner Glenn Bernbaum to
sit me next to Eugenia Sheppard, the New
York Post’s Society columnist, so I could
subtly “feed” her Cornelia’s new “title”, it was the headline
of her next column. Who else would tell you these
things?
Cornelia and I called the inimitable Mr. Bernbaum
“Uncle” Glenn, and he treated us like his favorite niece
and nephew. He always gave us the window table,
known as the restaurant’s best perch, as long as Jackie
Kennedy or Truman Capote weren’t there. Uncle
Glenn encouraged us to bring our friends, including
Anne Hearst, Jay McInerny, Boy George, Tama Janowitz
and stars from Andy Warhol’s Factory, to Mortimer’s
for late-night drinks and suppers after the
grown-ups had all gone home to bed. Andy often
came with us as he liked to be around lively young
people. N’est-ce Pas?
Fête de Famille
“Uncle” Glenn and I were both gay, so we bonded
over many things, including in 1986 when he started
hosting his Fête de Famille, an annual benefit for the
New York Presbyterian AIDS Foundation. Glenn
asked Cornelia and I to join his Junior Committee to
help sell tickets and bring our fancy friends to the
party, which was one of the most important events
of the fall season. All the era’s most prominent ladies
and gentlemen including, Mrs. and Mr. William F.
Buckley, Blaine Trump, Nan Kempner, Bill Blass and
Reinaldo and Carolina Herrera would come. Of course,
Bill Cunningham, the New York Times Evening Hours
photographer, was there to capture everyone in all
their glory as was Aileen Mehle, AKA Suzy, the ne
plus ultra society columnist for WWD and W.
The Best Dressed List
One of the fun features of the charity was an auction,
where Glenn would get his friends to donate
various items. I was often asked to not only help get
the gifts, but to pull the lottery tickets. Glenn, a master
marketer and press agent, taught
me a few naughty tricks. The naughtiest
of all was instructing me that no
matter what ticket I pulled out of the
glass bowl, to announce the winner
of the Harley Davidson motorcycle as
Nan Kempner, whether she was on
the ticket or not. This resulted in massive
publicity because Nan was on
The Best Dressed List and the idea of
her riding a motorcycle in a Yves Saint
Laurent tuxedo was irresistible to the
press.
RIP Glenn Bernbaum
Another year, I procured an expensive
painting from my friend Mark
Kostabi. Again, Glenn instructed me
that no matter whose name was on
the ticket I was to announce the winner
as the designer Bill Blass. This,
again, resulted in major PR not only for Mortimer’s
and Glenn, but for Bill Blass and Kostabi. Everybody
won, except for the poor soul whose name was really
on the ticket. I’m only telling this story now because
“Uncle” Glenn is now in heaven, entertaining the
angels and pulling new favors out of the clouds for
his friends. I hope one of those “tricks” will include
getting the Pearly Gates to open upon my arrival,
which I hope won’t be anytime soon. RIP Glenn Bernbaum,
there will never be another Mortimer’s! P
THER MORTIMER’S!” R. Couri Hay