October 28, 2023 – Air Mail

UNDER THE IRON DOME

In Israel, people are acting normal, but there’s no hiding the fact that the country is at war. Sirens are sounding, pictures of hostages are everywhere, and hundreds of thousands of reservists have been called up …

ARTFUL DODGERS

The dynastic, art-dealing Wildenstein family are in peril of losing something almost as cherished as their vast fortune: their secrecy …

IMMORTAL BELOVED

Cazzie David is seeking inspiration from the world’s longest-lived communities to ensure she makes it to 100. But how can she live long and prosper when she’s trapped in L.A.?

U.F.O. IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS

Legs McNeil recalls the time, in 1974, when John Lennon looked outside his window and saw a flying saucer floating near his East 52nd Street apartment …

HOME ON THE RANGE

The Holdovers director Alexander Payne takes Sam Wasson on a filmic pilgrimage through the Midwest, visiting the childhood homes of Fred Astaire, Montgomery Clift, and Henry Fonda …

SUGARCOATING IT

The old Domino Sugar refinery in Williamsburg has been reimagined, reconstructed, and resurrected into one of the most impressive architectural feats New York City has seen in years, according to Paul Goldberger …

A HOP IN HIS STEP

Hilary Knight, the soon-to-be-97-year-old co-creator of the Eloise picture books, is still going strong. In an AIR MAIL exclusive, he shares his ingenious new drawings of the character he calls “more important” than Eloise …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Michael Caine makes his last film at 90 … Saint-Moritz is immodestly stylish and outrageously elitist … Chaplin wasn’t exiled for his politics alone … Scorsese outs Oklahoma as the crucible of American racism … never-before-seen Rolling Stones photos … the C.I.A.’s plot to murder Patrice Lumumba … Brooke Garber Neidich will insult you with silence … revisit the design wonders of the London tube … And vote now for the Attention Whore of the week!

Issue No. 224

The View from Here Tel Aviv diary: a visit to Israel in a state of war

By Mark Horowitz

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Where the Wildensteins Are For more than a century, France’s Wildensteins reigned over their colossal art dynasty in near-total secrecy. Now the third court case in two decades threatens a precipitous fall for the family

By John von Sothen

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The Adventures of Sir Percy On the eve of his 97th birthday, Hilary Knight, the artist behind the Eloise picture books, introduces a new character: Sir Percy, a human-size frog!

illustrations by

Hilary Knight

Introduction and captions by Amy Fine Collins

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Bonus!! Sir Percy Paperdoll. Percy may be a natty dresser, but he sometimes has trouble spelling his own name, here revealed for the first time in full, between “Polly Wogg” quotation marks. Also note the “royal Frog” logo on his waterproof undergarment, over which his “Camo-Frog-Flage” pants can go. The snakeskin Swamp Sloggers come with an attached serpent’s forked tongue, a fitting embellishment for this mendacious human-size frog.

The official Sir Percy portrait. This pretentious and misinformed frog is writing his memoir, called *Sir Percy’s Memories!* He is drinking Memory Juice to help him recall salient episodes of his life. Swimming in the glass bowl is a tadpole, a younger version of himself. He wears tadpole-print breeches and cap. Beyond is a marsh, where a naiad frolics.

An attempt at starting, in his stocking feet, a private journal. Sir Percy thinks that “to reflect” means to have an image of oneself in the mirror. His fan-mail box is empty, but he has a letter opener at the ready. Sir Percy is famous for doing nothing. He is, in fact, always pretending to be doing something.

*Top,* a disgruntled, ailing Sir Percy is brought by two uniformed men to live at Utopian Senior Living. As the pandemic is still in full swing, everyone is safely masked. Sir Percy’s mask serves the secondary purpose of muffling his off-color utterances. *Above,* on day two at the Utopian, Sir Percy, who has no common decency, is already misbehaving with his night nurse.

Sir Percy is deeply offended by Johnny Mercer. As he is totally self-involved, Sir Percy thinks Johnny Mercer’s American Songbook classic, “Jeepers Creepers,” is about baby frogs, tadpoles, or polywogs, also known as “peepers.” That is why he wears his peeper-print pj’s, and why he imagines Johnny Mercer took notes for his song lyrics in a marsh full of amorous, tuneful frogs.

More old tunes from Sir Percy, who imagines that he not only can sing, but that he also can play the upright piano. Here he rehearses, in a tailcoat, for a New Year’s Eve recital with the legendary Mabel Mercer. He is woefully confused by the tongue-twisting lyrics. He falsely claims that the song originated with the hirsute Ainu people of Japan, and is written in their language, a tongue that he himself discovered. In fact, the song was written by Louis Jourdan and Billy Austin in 1943.

Sometimes Sir Percy fancies that he has performed the starring roles in remakes of classic Hollywood movies. Here, he mumbles Ronald Reagan’s famous line from *King’s Row.* The future president plays a wounded railroad worker who wakes up to find himself legless, the result of a needless amputation by a spiteful doctor, played by Charles Coburn. Percy, per usual, is all mixed up. Because frogs legs are on the dining hall’s dinner menu (and because he is entirely self-absorbed), he assumes they are cooking his lower extremities, even though evidence to the contrary is right before his eyes.

Sir Percy also toys with the idea of making his on-air debut as an auto-insurance spokes-frog. He figured if a mere gecko, a reptile, can do it, so can an amphibian, but no one has asked him yet. He has all the mannerisms of a smarmy salesperson—the smirk, the interlaced fingers, the manly frog-spread legs.

He really became miffed when he saw a Talking Toenail shilling on TV, during the local news, for a fungal nail-renewal ointment. Sir Percy wants to be taped, but once again he confabulates. He thinks that means someone would have to wrap some adhesive Duck-type tape around him, and who would ever agree to do that to him?

The most important holiday of the year, of course, is Save the Frogs Day. This festival is not a consequence of Sir Percy’s imagination run amok. This special day really exists. Look it up. He gets the date wrong, though. It’s April 28, not 29. He is not, by the way, father to any of the polliwogs pictured. They are orphans.

How to Live Forever A new Netflix series visits the world’s “blue zones” to unlock the secrets of longevity. Our intrepid columnist puts the show’s mandates to the test

By Cazzie David

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Classic Acts

From tried-and-true sartorial treasures to heirloom-worthy interior accents, these enduring essentials are deserving of any shopping bag—because some things never get old

Shop

Photo: Francesco Scavullo/Condé Nast/Shutterstock (Johnson)

My Favorite Things The Hollywood interior designer of choice for Gwyneth Paltrow and Demi Moore shares her exacting essentials for the home and beyond

By Brigette Romanek

Shop

Photo: Michael Clifford (Romanek)

Across the Universe? The out-of-this-world story of John Lennon’s close encounter

By Legs McNeil

Photograph by Bob Gruen

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The Attention-Whore Index Taylor Swift finally makes the short list, but can she compete with that other statuesque blond, Donald Trump?

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The Plains’ Greats Alexander Payne gives the author a Hollywood master class on wheels, with stops at the childhood homes of Fred Astaire, Henry Fonda, and Marlon Brando

By Sam Wasson

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Young Inside Vishaan Chakrabarti’s reimagining of the old Domino Sugar refinery in Brooklyn is the building New York didn’t know it needed

By Paul Goldberger

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The Who’s Who of Halloween With spooky season in full swing, New Yorkers have strapped on their cat ears and begun their yearly—shall we say “haunting”—antics to be seen in the right spots … even if they’re in full disguise

By Elena Clavarino

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What the Heck Is an “Unabated” Fossil Fuel? One wonky word favored by oil companies could doom the earth once and for all

By Amy Westervelt

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Oklahoma, Not O.K. Martin Scorsese’s erratic Killers of the Flower Moon takes Hollywood’s conflicting views of the Sooner State to the downbeat limit

By Michael Sragow

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“A Castro or Worse” Patrice Lumumba won the Congo independence in 1960, but his suspected Soviet sympathies led to his overthrow. A new book reveals the man behind the myth—and the C.I.A.’s role in his murder

By Stuart A. Reid

Read On

“I need a teeny-tiny handbag so I don’t have to stow away my husband’s wallet, phone, and reading glasses.”

A Portable Feast A new book pairs Dwight Garner’s complementary obsessions: reading and eating

By Robert S. Boynton

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Shop First Light Books I’ve had a complicated relationship with Austin lately. On the one hand, it’s the Texas city that most collectively and unabashedly…

Wear Lisa Yang Every winter, we fall hard for a cashmere purveyor du moment, and this year is no different. After dabbling in the universe of…

Visit Jaeger-LeCoultre Watch-lovers, here’s one more reason to get to New York immediately. From November 3 to 22, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s exhibition “Reverso Stories“…

The Peak of Style Sophisticated regulars, a vibrant nightlife, and a growing art scene are making Saint-Moritz’s allure stronger than ever

By Vassi Chamberlain

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No Money? No Problem To prepare for a cashless future, the Royal Mint is re-training its workers to make fine jewelry instead of coins

By Daisy Dawnay

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The Spooky World of the Simmons Sisters A gruesome tale of gothic horror from three ill-fated and long-forgotten purveyors of woe

By Emma, Eulalie, and Libby Simmons

Illustrations by Grant Shaffer

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DNR Texting acronyms for aging baby-boomers

By John Ficarra

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The Little Film That Could Despite a minimal budget and pandemic lockdowns, The Great Escaper and its octogenarian stars managed to make their way to the screen

By Victoria Mather

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“What are you crying about? You’re the one who wins all the awards.”

How to Live to 100 (Or Not!) On this week’s podcast, Cazzie David reveals whether Secrets of the Blue Zones is really all it promises

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The Rolling Stones, Out of Time On the heels of Hackney Diamonds, the Rolling Stones’ first original studio album in 18 years, a new book collects rare and never-before-seen images of the band, photographed by Bill Wyman, Terry O’Neill, and others

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The Rolling Stones, photographed by Michael Ward, in a Rolls Bentley in the English countryside in 1964.

A 1926 London Underground poster designed by Dora M. Batty, advertising the wonders of the English countryside.

Lights at the End of the Tunnel

“The Golden Age of Travel” evokes a time when venturing abroad was a genteel, leisurely affair, not the mad crush of irritable humanity it often is today. How civilized it all seemed then, to set sail on ocean liners where everyone dressed for dinner for a hearty evening of droll repartee followed by dancing. Air travel wasn’t as convenient as it is now, but the seats were roomier, the cabins resembled a flying cocktail lounge, and the flight attendants? Très chic! READ ON

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Richard Zoglin On

Charlie Chaplin vs. America: When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided

by Scott Eyman

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Celia McGee On

A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial

by Viet Thanh Nguyen

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Murder, They Wrote

by Lisa Henricksson

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Aria Mia Loberti With her screen debut, in All the Light We Cannot See, the former academic is forging a path for actors in the blind community

By Bridget Arsenault

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Back from the Dead Rarely seen Egyptian manuscripts with religious writings, spells, and illustrations go on view at the Getty Villa

By Peter Saenger

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A Florentine Masterpiece It doesn’t appear on any of the best-of lists, but Villa La Massa is, according to our critic, the greatest hotel in the world

By Alan Richman

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Brooke Garber Neidich

The Sidney Garber Fine Jewelry designer answers 71 of life’s most pressing questions

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OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

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In Memoriam

Peter Bogdanovich Duncan Hannah Douglas McGrath Richard David Story André Leon Talley

The View from Here Tel Aviv diary: a visit to Israel in a state of war

Where the Wildensteins Are For more than a century, France’s Wildensteins reigned over their colossal art dynasty in near-total secrecy. Now the third court case in two decades threatens a precipitous fall for the family

The Adventures of Sir Percy On the eve of his 97th birthday, Hilary Knight, the artist behind the Eloise picture books, introduces a new character: Sir Percy, a human-size frog!

How to Live Forever A new Netflix series visits the world’s “blue zones” to unlock the secrets of longevity. Our intrepid columnist puts the show’s mandates to the test

From tried-and-true sartorial treasures to heirloom-worthy interior accents, these enduring essentials are deserving of any shopping bag—because some things never get old

My Favorite Things The Hollywood interior designer of choice for Gwyneth Paltrow and Demi Moore shares her exacting essentials for the home and beyond

Across the Universe? The out-of-this-world story of John Lennon’s close encounter

The Attention-Whore Index Taylor Swift finally makes the short list, but can she compete with that other statuesque blond, Donald Trump?

The Plains’ Greats Alexander Payne gives the author a Hollywood master class on wheels, with stops at the childhood homes of Fred Astaire, Henry Fonda, and Marlon Brando

Young Inside Vishaan Chakrabarti’s reimagining of the old Domino Sugar refinery in Brooklyn is the building New York didn’t know it needed

The Who’s Who of Halloween With spooky season in full swing, New Yorkers have strapped on their cat ears and begun their yearly—shall we say “haunting”—antics to be seen in the right spots … even if they’re in full disguise

What the Heck Is an “Unabated” Fossil Fuel? One wonky word favored by oil companies could doom the earth once and for all

Oklahoma, Not O.K. Martin Scorsese’s erratic Killers of the Flower Moon takes Hollywood’s conflicting views of the Sooner State to the downbeat limit

“A Castro or Worse” Patrice Lumumba won the Congo independence in 1960, but his suspected Soviet sympathies led to his overthrow. A new book reveals the man behind the myth—and the C.I.A.’s role in his murder

A Portable Feast A new book pairs Dwight Garner’s complementary obsessions: reading and eating

The Peak of Style Sophisticated regulars, a vibrant nightlife, and a growing art scene are making Saint-Moritz’s allure stronger than ever

No Money? No Problem To prepare for a cashless future, the Royal Mint is re-training its workers to make fine jewelry instead of coins

The Spooky World of the Simmons Sisters A gruesome tale of gothic horror from three ill-fated and long-forgotten purveyors of woe

DNR Texting acronyms for aging baby-boomers

The Little Film That Could Despite a minimal budget and pandemic lockdowns, The Great Escaper and its octogenarian stars managed to make their way to the screen

How to Live to 100 (Or Not!) On this week’s podcast, Cazzie David reveals whether Secrets of the Blue Zones is really all it promises

The Rolling Stones, Out of Time On the heels of Hackney Diamonds, the Rolling Stones’ first original studio album in 18 years, a new book collects rare and never-before-seen images of the band, photographed by Bill Wyman, Terry O’Neill, and others

Aria Mia Loberti With her screen debut, in All the Light We Cannot See, the former academic is forging a path for actors in the blind community

Back from the Dead Rarely seen Egyptian manuscripts with religious writings, spells, and illustrations go on view at the Getty Villa

A Florentine Masterpiece It doesn’t appear on any of the best-of lists, but Villa La Massa is, according to our critic, the greatest hotel in the world

The Sidney Garber Fine Jewelry designer answers 71 of life’s most pressing questions

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Editor at Large

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Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editors

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Associate Editors

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Columnists

Writers at Large

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Head of Audience Development

Audience Growth Manager

Cartoon Editor

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Technology

Intern

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Advertising Director

European Sales Director

Financial & Business Operations

Account Manager

Chief Strategy Adviser

Chief Merchant

Shop Editor

E-Commerce Manager

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In Memoriam