Last Scene Here
Writers’ Bloc
Philistines at the Gate
Bibliophiles and bookworms had reason to celebrate at the Hometown Authors Reception, a book fair to benefit ReadBoston cohosted by Hizzonnah Tom Menino and the Hotel Commonwealth.
Among the authors crowding the ballroom were home-run hitter Dennis Lehane,the wildly talented Marianne Leone Cooper (with her Oscar-winning husband, Chris), ubiquitous party boy Ben Mezrich (with his shoe-crazy wife, Tonya), photographer-to-the-stars Mike Casey (with his babe-a-licious blonde wife, WBZ-TV Channel 4 anchor Lisa Hughes), history buff Bill Martin (with the flawless Chris), reporter-turned–detective-fiction writer Hank Phillippi Ryan (with her husband, éminence grise Jonathan Shapiro), crime writer extraordinaire Casey Sherman, TV chef Mary Ann Esposito, author and Buffalo Tom frontman Bill Janovitz, and so on and so forth down the best-seller list. Other attendees included literary agent to the rich and famous Ike Williams, City Hall dandy Tony Nunziante, rakish restaurateur Garrett Harker, First Lady of Boston Angela Menino, and First Lady of Red Sox Nation Stacey Lucchino, who mixed and mingled with the writers, and more importantly, bought copies of their books.
While the cause of literacy was being advanced, none of the authors got writer’s cramp, despite signing ceaselessly, although they did need runners to fetch them sustenance, liquid and otherwise.
Quote of the evening: “My husband’s only here to drink. He won’t buy books because he loves his Kindle so much.”
I Know What Happens Next, and You Don’t!
Who isn’t a sucker for intrigue, sex and plummy English accents? That and period costumes have helped make Downton Abbey the most popular series to date on WGBH’s Masterpiece Theatre.
The melodrama has a rabid following, including many members of The Ralph Lowell Society—the big shots who give big money to the station and who descended upon its studios like Twihards when it hosted a Preview Party and reception featuring star Elizabeth McGovern and executive producer Gareth Neame.
On hand were Masterpiece Theatre head honcha Rebecca Eaton, station president Jon Abbott, Cambridge philanthropists Graham and Ann Gund, arts supporters Cokie and Lee Perry, Back Bay bad boys Tony Corey and CJ Menard, culture vultures Jeffrey and Jane Marshall, the delightful Marjie Kargman, snazzy dresser DuncanRhys Liancourt, and the requisite number of tote-bag–toting faux intellectuals, like the first two people to ask questions during the Q&A, which later prompted one ’GBH bigwig to say: “I felt like yelling, ‘Harvard Extension School is that way!’”
After a sneak peek at season two and the aforementioned Q&A, cocktails were served in the lobby, followed by an elaborate dinner for the major players set in a reasonable facsimile of the dining room at Highclere Castle, where the series is filmed.
Three fun facts learned during the evening:
1) Gareth Neame’s grandfather, Ronald, directed Dame Maggie Smith in her 1969 Oscar-winning performance in The Prime of Miss Jean Brody.
2) In England, Downton Abbey airs on ITV immediately following The X Factor.
3) Elizabeth McGovern can rock a pair of stilettos like nobody’s business.
Contest of the Month
At a holiday party, a well-known TV reporter was talking about how she offers foster care to shelter dogs as a way of fulfilling her jones for canine companionship. Recently, she had a beagle that bayed incessantly.
“I’m pretty sure my neighbors all think I’m this super kinky howler now.”
The first reader to correctly identify her will win an Improper Bostonian T-shirt, which you can wear while walking your dog, or having kinky sex—it’s entirely up to you.
Credited: Mary Ann Esposito and Theresa Lynn at the ReadBoston event; Michelle Karol, Jon Abbott, Marjie Kargman and Ann Gund at the Downton Abbey preview party
Photo Credits: ReadBoston: Jennifer Reiter; Downton Abbey: Lisa Abitbol for WGBH
