Wunderkind chef Josh DeChellis is 35. Blackstone co-founder Pete Peterson is 82. Fashionable art advisor Kim Heirston is 45. Personal finance queen (and power lesbian) Suze Orman is 57. The Post's Andrea Peyser is 49. And Teen Vogue's Amy Astley is nearly a quarter century older than her demo. She's 41 today.
The news that Harper Collins' CEO of ten years, Jane Friedman, is stepping down—just days after announcing at Book Expo America that she "loves" her job—has been met with surprise from both industry watchers and colleagues, and has triggered speculation that she was ruthlessly cut loose by her boss, News Corp. overlord Rupert Murdoch, due to disappointing company performance. The official line is that she resigned, of course, and the House of Rupe has since announced that Brian Murray, Friedman's No. 2, will take over as CEO effective immediately. No doubt the real story will emerge in the next few days.
Bruce Ratner is orchestrating a big demonstration today in support of his increasingly doomed-looking Atlantic Yards project! So which celebs did he enlist to headline the rally and win over skeptics? Former Nets Darryl Dawkins and Alan King, neither of whom has played basketball professionally since the 1980s. A-list! He also managed to persuade shrinking violets Al Sharpton and Curtis Sliwa to overcome their aversion to attention and speak at the rally.
Uma Thurman, whose stalker was merely given probation earlier this week rather than sent to jail, isn't going to let that psychopath accost her on-set again, thanks. Now filming the comedy Motherhood in the West Village, the Tarantino muse has hired a body guard to protect her from Jack Jordan and any other disturbed individuals who may show up at her trailer to deliver disquieting greeting cards. [Showbiz Spy]
If Heatherette designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains stop working together, per persistent rumors, who will get custody of their celebutante muse, Lydia Hearst? She's been dating Rains' pilot brother, Matt, but is hosting a party tonight for Rich's new solo shoe line. Such a dilemma might be stressful to some, but luckily Lydia doesn't give the impression of worrying about much beyond what color hair dye to use. [Fashionista]
A couple days ago, the idea that OK! and People were offering $15 million for the first snaps of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins seemed crazy. Now comes word that bidding may be approaching the $22 million mark, with People the likely victor or loser, depending on how you view tabloids' rabid interest in the spawn of overrated celebrities. Remember when people were outraged over the $7 million People paid for Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony's twins? Yeah, well, that was three months ago.
Sick of hearing about the possibility that Mike Bloomberg may be tapped by either Barack Obama or John McCain to run as vice president? Brace yourself for two new strains of will-he-or-won't-he speculation: There's now talk he'll run for a third term as mayor, a move that would require overturning city term limits. (But would give him plenty of time to pass a congestion pricing plan!) At the same time there are suggestions that Bloomie may mount a bid for governor—and he's told friends he wouldn't mind being Treasury Secretary or president of the World Bank either. It's nice to have options, isn't it?
So you know who looks like an even bigger loser than Hillary Clinton today? The guy who got her mug tattooed on his thigh a few months ago. Hill will be able to forget this setback—she'll parlay her second-place finish into a sweet job in the Obama administration or an expanded role in the Senate—but this dude will have her ill-fated campaign memorialized on his dermis for life. Fortunately, there appear to be plenty of distractions to keep anyone from focusing too long on the former first lady's wide grin. And it could be worse. Like, say, this or this.
For Park Slope couples like Maggie and Peter, Paul and Siri, and Jonathan and Nicole, it was always such a schlep to go into Manhattan every time you were in the mood for some love beads, or you'd worn out your ball gag, or mislaid those nipple clamps. But salvation has arrived! Claire Cavanah, the proprietress of Toys in Babeland on the Lower East Side and author of the definitive Sex Toys 101, will tomorrow open the doors to Babeland on Bergen Street. The old people are already complaining, but the lesbians will be thrilled!
Lawyers for Anthony Marshall, the only child of late socialite-of-the-century Brooke Astor, have asked a judge to toss out charges that he stole millions in cash and valuables from his ailing mother, who died last summer at the tender age of 105. The prosecution ignored Astor's "clear pattern of well-informed generosity toward her only child," his lawyers said. Chances the judge dismisses the case? Not so good. [NYT]
Further evidence it's an election year: One of the biggest unions in the country, Service Employees International Union (or S.E.I.U.) is teaming up with MoveOn.org and Amnesty International to expand its campaign against private equity firms. (This is the same group, as you may recall, that staged protests outside the homes of KKR's Henry Kravis and Carlyle Group's David Rubenstein last year.) They've even roped in comedian Lewis Black, who's now appearing in commercials to rail against buyout firms for downsizing companies, taking on too much debt, and treating employees like numbers on a spreadsheet. Cute! Kinds of sounds like Viacom, the company that signs Black's paycheck, too!
Were you planning on booking the 2,500-square-foot penthouse with 1,700-square-foot garden at Robert De Niro's Greenwich Hotel for a staycation? Act fast, because the Landmarks Preservation Commission might be tearing it down! Because the top floor is just too big! Not to side with rule-violating developers, but wouldn't the dismantling of this thing be more of a menace to the neighborhood than its mere continued existence?
It's been 77 days since Eliot Spitzer resigned as New York's governor because he was caught patronizing prostitutes. So what's he been up to since? Has he just been vegging out in front of the TV, immobilized by depression, rueing how he squandered his political career by compulsively seeking out sex with hookers? Nope—he's got a day job! While his wife is defiantly attending benefits, and while the woman who facilitated his liaisons is pleading guilty to laundering money, Spitzer is punching in at the office of the only person willing to hire the most disgraced ex-governor: his father, ultra-rich real estate magnate Bernie Spitzer.
Gossip Girl author Cecily von Ziegesar has sold a novel to Hyperion in a deal said to be in the seven figures. Cum Laude, repped by Suzanne Gluck, is for adults, although judging from the description—"a murder story involving a preppy girl from Greenwich, CT, a hippie from the city, a jock-turned-artist from the suburbs, and a brother-sister duo"—it probably won't be too challenging for fans of Blair, Serena and co. [Observer]
After using Maggie Gyllenhaal in last year's ads, British sexy underwear label Agent Provocateur are again looking at New Yorkers for this fall's campaign: Helena Christensen and Paz de la Huerta are in the running. Modeling lingerie would be an appropriate gig for the occasional actress and Zac Posen muse, considering her rep for impromptu drunken stripteases. [WWD]
