| Issue #32, November 3, 2006 |
South O’ the Highway (and the North too)
Fashion designer and Hamptonite Tommy Hilfiger recently put his East Hampton home on the market for $24.5 million, $7.5 million more than he paid for it five months ago. The 2.4-acre Further Lane property has 154 feet of ocean frontage and a private boardwalk leading to the water. The 4,700-square-foot, five-bedroom home has a media room, massage room, double-height living room, an infinity-edge pool overlooking the ocean and an outdoor pavilion with a fireplace. Hilfiger bought the property in May from William Roach and Robert Marc, an eyewear designer. Hilfiger did some renovations on the house and took a trip to Bali to oversee the design of custom furniture, which is available for sale but isn’t included in the asking price.
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A group of investors, including Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, of Sag Harbor, and Shakira, are in contract to buy and develop the Bahamian island of Bonds Cay. The island will be home to a hotel, condos and an artist’s retreat. The stars involved will own homes on the island and reside there for part of the year.
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East Hampton’s Diddy is number one this week on the Billboard 200 albums chart with Press Play, his first album in five years. The album is also his first chart-topper in nine years, following 1997’s No Way Out, and takes over from Rod Stewart’s Still the Same...Great American Rock Classics of Our Time at the top.
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East Hampton’s Renee Zellweger will play Beatrix Potter in Miss Potter, due from the Weinstein Company in January and co-starring Ewan McGregor. St. Martin’s Press will publish the biography, Beatrix Potter, A Life in Nature by Linda Lear, to coincide with the movie about Potter’s doomed love affair with the publisher of Peter Rabbit.
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Congratulations to Neli Yordanova and Dominic Piosczyk-Lemme on the announcement of their wedding, which will take place on November 18 in Columbia, North Carolina. Dominic is the son of Sunshine Glen, head of security and Ingrid Lemme, head of public relations, at Gurney’s Inn in Montauk.
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WordHampton Public Relations Inc., recently announced the opening of a second office at 423 Pulaski Street in Riverhead’s historic Polish Town. The Riverhead location allows the East Hampton-headquartered company to have a nearer presence to clients based on the North Fork. Steve Haweeli serves as president of the company. Managing the Riverhead office will be Account Director Aurrice Duke.
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Vered Gallery in East Hampton hosted an opening party on Friday October 20th to initiate its new exhibition, “Marilyn in the Hamptons.” The shoot behind this show, done by star photographer Bert Stern, was commissioned by Vogue in 1962 and portrays fashion, portrait, and nude photographs. It has become the quintessential representation of Marilyn Monroe.
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East Wind, called the crown jewel of elegant event locations for leisure and business in Long Island’s Suffolk County, just announced the appointment of Diane Figari to Director of Operations. “My mission is to put East Wind on the map as a modern landmark and the premier destination property it truly is at the gateway to the East End’s idyllic North Fork,” says Figari.
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It was a fashionable night at Soho House at a private screening of Volver, presented by Rado watches and THE WEEK. Hosts for the evening were fashion designer Alvin Valley, Hamptons society fixture Fabiola Bercasa and Zani Gugelmann who brought along friends including Barbara Bush, designer Carlos Mota, Grand Classics co-founder Katrina Pavlos and celebrity hairstylist Kevin Mancuso to watch Pedro Almodovar’s latest work, due in theaters November.
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Frances Hayward, founder of the Be Kind Organization, welcomed President of the Humane Society of the US, Wayne Porcelle to Christie’s on Thursday (Oct. 20) at a private cocktail recepiton. Guests including artist Peter Max, Christopher Robbins of Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs, designer Adria de Haume, Kip Forbes, event planner Harriette Rose Katz, Dr. Peter Theodorou, Michele Gerber Klein and Kathy and Billy Raynor got a sneak peak at the auction house’s fall collection. Unfortunately, the $40 million Picasso that was going up for auction was locked away in the safe!
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Edgar Bronfman Jr., Warner Music Group’s chairman and chief executive, is selling his 8,000-square-foot home on Indian Wells Lane in Amagansett for a listing price of $15.75 million. He has listed a number of properties in the Hamptons before, including a 6,800-square-foot house on 3.2 acres in Amagansett, priced at $9.5 million, and a five-bedroom home in Amagansett for which he asked $10.25 million.
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Three new members, Jimmy Buffett, Hugh Prestwood and Jim Weatherly, entered the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on October 22. Buffet is famous for penning and performing “Margaritaville,” and Weatherly for "Midnight Train to Georgia.” Prestwood, a Grammy-nominee and long-time resident of Greenport on the North Fork, was discovered in 1978 by Judy Collins, who gave him his first hit, “Hard Times For Lovers,” and subsequently recorded five more of his songs. Upon receiving his award Buffett commented, "I never got in it to become big and rich, but what the hell, it happened." Prestwood, on the other hand, was literally speechless. "I was totally shocked, delighted and honored,” he said. Prestwood is married to Suffolk Times staff photographer Judy Ahrens.
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