Friday, November 30, 2007

Friday News

Our beautiful source from Sotheby's on the Strip rang our pink Princess phone yesterday with the breaking news of management change at their office. Mr. Alan Long is moving his expensive derrière into mothballs and east-side transplant Brad Lawrence has become the latest in the long line of managers there. We are unfamiliar with Mr. Lawrence's experience, abilities and charms but look forward to giving him a proper and personal welcome. Let's see if Ms. Louella can remember the historic line up at DBL/Sotheby's on the Strip. In the beginning was Craig Brown, Alan Long, Nick Segal, Fred Henry, Chris Bensinger, Alan Long again, and now Mr. Lawrence. Contrary to all of those nasty and vile rumors out there Ms. Louella did not know them all intimately. Not all of them.

While we were crossing little Santa Monica Boulevard this week on our way to rendezvous at the Peninsula bar we ran into the handsome Peter Hernandez and Lou Piatt. It seems in our absence they have opened their cute new company calling it Telles. Although we're still trying to figure out what that name means, we were thrilled to see our old friends, looking older but still sporting big smiles. Since we were late for our rendezvous with our big handsome young admirer (no, this time it was not Michael Nourmand) we didn't have time to ask all the questions we would like to but we promise to go "in depth" with these gentlemen to get the scoop for you, my darlings.

They are occupying the space on Santa Monica Boulevard left vacant when Mr Osman closed up and joined forces with Sid Libovitch. To us that is a very peculiar choice for Mr. Osman as Rodeo has always been unable to establish a credible high end presence in Beverly Hills, but we have always had a soft spot for Mr. Osman's shiny pate so we do wish him well.

And our adorable Steve Mathias is now ensconced at Hilton and Hyland as their new manager. We had heard whispers Stan Smith might be going there but are pleased to see movie-star handsome Mr. Mathias has landed on his feet after that mean Warren Buffet so abruptly shuttered his Hancock Park office. We never missed a chance to flutter our eyes at Mr. Mathias at cocktail parties and probably could have induced him further if not for that meddling James Hancock. (Really, we're not bitter)

Well, my darlings, my plain but faithful retainer is here with my morning gin and toast so we are going to slip into our lavender bubble bath and sip our morning restorative while Oscar, our especially well formed chauffeur, scrubs our back.
Our pink Princess phone has been ringing off the hook since our return. We have so much more dirt to share with you. One particularly new and juicy whisper involves a very public and visible Beverly Hills figure and some purported interesting photographs. We want to see them before we comment on them, however.

Greta! This martini glass is empty once again! Oscar, you missed a spot!
Butterfly Kisses
Ms. Louella

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Ms. Louella Returns!

My Darlings
Louella has returned! We have come home to our Jack Wolf high above Sunset Plaza Drive. After Oscar, our especially well-formed chauffeur, unloaded our 14 Vuitton trunks and hat boxes and our faithful (but woefully plain) retainer, Greta, drew our bath and fixed us our morning gin and tonic (hold the tonic) we immediately got on our Princess phone to Mama to catch up. Our elegant and lovely Vassar sorority sister told us she had had a number of inquiries as to our whereabouts.

So Darlings the truth is that your dear Ms. Louella appears to have stepped on some tender toes with some of our humble observations. After the threats started arriving (yes dears, there was ugliness in our staid neighborhood) we packed up our peignoirs and marabou mules and high tailed it to Monte Carlo.

We have returned to Tinseltown to find so many changes to our beloved Westside! First of all, what happened to the real estate market in the three months we were at the tables in Monte? We left Tinseltown so robust and full of promise. Now the stalwart and completely credible Los Angeles Times seems to not be able to find enough space to print all kinds of biased and slanted stories of real estate doom and gloom. They seem to be absolutely reveling in our misfortune. If we didn't know better we might think they were enjoying watching us suffer. It just shows you what happens when Ms. Louella isn't here to keep things in line. Of course in the old days it just meant a call into Otis Chandler and everything would be put right again. (For you young and tender things, the Chandlers used to own the L.A. Times. Otis always did have a soft spot for Ms. Louella's soft spot)

Give us a chance to unpack our jewels and martini glasses and we shall be once again be sharing all things juicy and sordid in the Beverly Hills real estate world. Don't forget to drop your dear Louella a line if you know of anything juicy happening or about to happen or would like to see happen. We have interesting items concerning Joe Babajian, Kathryn Shaffer, Tom Dunlap, Joyce Rey, Linda May, Jeff Hyland, Billy Rose, Alan Long, Peter Hernandez, Lou Piatt, Chris Cortazzo, Art Spaeth, Chris Morrow, Michael Nourmand, Crosby Doe, Madison Offenhauser, Joyce Essex, Stan Smith, Stan Richman, Natalie Janger, Stephen Shapiro and, my dears, the list goes on and on. Who is going where? Who is sleeping with whom to get the next big listing? (well, that's usually easy to guess) Who is opening? Who is closing? Who is going away to contemplate their mistakes while sharing a small barred space? Oh dear, all of this speculation is making me thirsty. Greta! Bring us another gin and tonic. Hold the tonic.