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It's a far cry from supper at Mel's Diner when TV's Alice, Linda Lavin, hosts a birthday party.
By Tim Allis |
The Lullaby of Broadway
When Linda Lavin opened her apartment high above the lighted mosaic of Manhattan for singer and comic Jim Caruso's 40th birthday party, the tone for the evening was set by funny lady Julie Halston, who gave a reading from Joan Crawford's book My Way of Life. Topic: how to throw a great party. "'The best parties are a wild mixture!'" Julie declaimed, doing her grandest Joan. "'Take some corporate presidents, add a few lovely actresses, a bearded hairdresser and a professor of physics. Toss them all together and try to stop them from talking long enough to eat.'"
No physics professors were in evidence, but a wild mix it was, with several lovely actresses and some of the brightest lights of Broadway and New York's cabaret scene, including Liza Minnelli and singer and composer Ann Hampton Callaway. Lavin, on her night off from The Diary of Anne Frank, filled her vividly colored, art-crammed Central Park West roost with extravagant flowers and a Tuscan spread. Guests exchanged gossip, told jokes, crunched bread sticks and dove into chocolate mousse cake.
"I want to do this thing before the cops come," Lavin said as she started her toast. "Jim, you know a lot of swell people and they can all sing. They make music and they make me laugh, and your presence in my life has so enhanced my very daily being that I want you to have your party here forever." Jim might have been speechless, except that Jim, apparently, is never speechless. "I’ve dreamed about nights like this, with the most talented people, the most beautiful people, the funniest people," he said. He waited a dramatic beat. "They’ll be here later. No, seriously, it’s a dream come true for me."
Everyone moved to the foyer and to Lavin’s baby grand. There, piano man Billy Stritch turned the fête into an intimate club, with Lavin riffing on an old jazz song and everyone joining Callaway in "You’ve Got a Friend." The friend, of course, was Caruso, praised for his kindness and wit. "Intelligence is always chic," said Minnelli. "And Jim is one of the chicest people I know." His birthday party was pretty smart too.
"I want to do this thing before the cops come," Lavin said as she started her toast. "Jim, you know a lot of swell people and they can all sing. They make music and they make me laugh, and your presence in my life has so enhanced my very daily being that I want you to have your party here forever." Jim might have been speechless, except that Jim, apparently, is never speechless. "I’ve dreamed about nights like this, with the most talented people, the most beautiful people, the funniest people," he said. He waited a dramatic beat. "They’ll be here later. No, seriously, it’s a dream come true for me."
Everyone moved to the foyer and to Lavin’s baby grand. There, piano man Billy Stritch turned the fête into an intimate club, with Lavin riffing on an old jazz song and everyone joining Callaway in "You’ve Got a Friend." The friend, of course, was Caruso, praised for his kindness and wit. "Intelligence is always chic," said Minnelli. "And Jim is one of the chicest people I know." His birthday party was pretty smart too.
The Elementsthe event:
A birthday party for Jim Caruso the host: Linda Lavin the setting: Lavin’s New York City apartment the guests: Liza Minnelli, Billy Stritch, The View’s Debbie Matenopoulos, Spin City’s Alexander Chaplin, Julie Halston, actor Bryan Batt, comedienne Louise DuArt, actor Sam Harris, singer Gene Reed, actor Kevin Ligon (1776) the décor: Arrangements of forsythia, roses, tulips and hydrangea from P.C. Rueckwald |
The Menuthe caterers:
Pino Luongo and chefs at Tuscan Square at Rockefeller Center appetizers: Traditional antipasto, cured meats and cheese main course: Spinach salad with pecorino; traditional panzanella salad; baked penne with zucchini; peposo di mazo con zucca (Tuscan beef-and-pepper stew with squash) dessert: Chocolate mousse cake with chocolate ganache |
Photo Album
Photo Credits:
Actress Julie Halston entertains birthday boy Jim Caruso and guest Liza Minnelli. Lavin sings "Ain't Misbehavin'," accompanied by Billy Stritch on the piano. The chocolate mousse cake and champagne. The best view in the house -- overlooking Central Park and the New York skyline -- was reserved for the antipasto buffet. Lavin helps Caruso cut the cake; Actors Bryan Batt and Tom Cianfichi share a laugh with Ann Hampton Callaway; guests enjoy cocktails before dinner. "I love Jim Caruso," said Lavin. "We worked at the White House together, and from the minute I met him I started laughing -- and mean that in the nicest way. Billy Stritch, Jef Kaplan, M.D., songwriter Amanda Green and Liza Minnelli sit down for supper; later, Julie Halston, famous for her comic readings, animates Joan Crawford’s book; Debbie Matenopoulos; Caruso takes a snapshot of actress Mylinda Hull and Sam Harris (of Broadway’s The Life). "The best," said Caruso of such nights with his talented friends, "is when we’re around the piano and nobody’s doing their audition songs, it’s just kinda singing."
Actress Julie Halston entertains birthday boy Jim Caruso and guest Liza Minnelli. Lavin sings "Ain't Misbehavin'," accompanied by Billy Stritch on the piano. The chocolate mousse cake and champagne. The best view in the house -- overlooking Central Park and the New York skyline -- was reserved for the antipasto buffet. Lavin helps Caruso cut the cake; Actors Bryan Batt and Tom Cianfichi share a laugh with Ann Hampton Callaway; guests enjoy cocktails before dinner. "I love Jim Caruso," said Lavin. "We worked at the White House together, and from the minute I met him I started laughing -- and mean that in the nicest way. Billy Stritch, Jef Kaplan, M.D., songwriter Amanda Green and Liza Minnelli sit down for supper; later, Julie Halston, famous for her comic readings, animates Joan Crawford’s book; Debbie Matenopoulos; Caruso takes a snapshot of actress Mylinda Hull and Sam Harris (of Broadway’s The Life). "The best," said Caruso of such nights with his talented friends, "is when we’re around the piano and nobody’s doing their audition songs, it’s just kinda singing."
