My tea with Margo Feiden

There are two Margos that I adore, Margo Channing (fictional) from “All About Eve” and Margo Feiden (larger than life), of the Margo Feiden Galleries Ltd. and curator of the legendary caricaturist Al Hirschfeld’s collection.
To paraphrase Addison DeWitt from “All About Eve,” ‘To those of you who do not read, attend the theater, attend art gallery openings or know anything of the world in which we live – it is perhaps necessary to introduce Margo Feiden. Her native habitat is the art world and the theater – in it she has toiled for 70 years. She is essential to the art world and the theater.’
Margo Feiden
I myself am a native New Yorker, born 1955, NYC tour guide today, who since childhood followed and revered Al Hirschfeld’s imaginative drawings that so precisely capture an artist’s voice, personality and movement with the stroke of a pen. I had always hoped that I one day I would get to meet him. That day came on March 21st, 2001 at a benefit performance at The Martin Beck Theater (now ‘The Al Hirschfeld’) of “Nothing Like A Dame,” featuring the who’s who of legendary ladies of the theater. He signed my Playbill and I gently touched the hand of genius as he etched that famous boxed signature.
Hirschfeld sadly passed away on January 20, 2003 in his sleep, just five months short of his 100th birthday.
June 22nd, 2011 Doyle’s Auction Galleries held an auction of his estate, one of the many things I bought was his shoulder bag which still has his handwritten name tag attached, written in his trademark squared signature.
November 14th, 2013 Henri Bendel’s Department store on Fifth Avenue celebrated Christmas with a tribute to Hirschfeld, filling their window with three dimensional figures of his drawings. Inside the store, a figure of Charlie Chaplin sat in the atrium, high up in a tree overseeing all the goings on – it was magical! Helping to create the displays and attending the event was the divine Margo Feiden herself. I showed Chris Fiore the president of Bendel’s my Hirschfeld bag, “I’m going to take you to Margo!” he said. (Shades of ‘All About Eve’!) She welcomed me with open arms and warmth. There I was, after 49 years of collecting Hirschfeld, sitting with Margo Feiden, holding hands and telling her my Hirschfeld stories.
Henri Bendel’s Hirschfeld Christmas window November 14, 2013
Charlie Chaplin observes the proceedings at Bendel’s
Six years later in June of this year, I am contacted by Margo, it was her secretary on the phone, “Is this Hans Von Rittern? I have Miss Feiden on the line, is this a good time for you take the call?” There was that unmistakable voice, she has never forgotten me and would I come to tea? My heart stopped. Tea with Margo in her Stanford White townhouse – I gladly said ‘yes’! It was arranged for Friday, June 14th, 4:00pm.
June 14th, at precisely 4:00pm, I rang the bell. I was greeted by her personal assistant who took me up the steep staircase to the main floor ballroom, I was in awe. There are the huge leaded glass windows Stanford White designed, the fireplace and all the moldings exactly intact to this day. The walls are filled with Hirschfeld art and . . . sitting in a chair by the sofa is Charlie Chaplin, the sculpture from the Bendel’s Christmas show. On the cocktail table was an assortment of teas and cookies awaiting me.
Six years later, Charlie awaits me in Margo’s ballroom
I was shown the bins of drawings, the hallway filled with iconic images we have all seen over the decades – there they were – in person.
Next to the hallway is ‘the front office’ where two of her staff were busy on the phones. It is filled all the way up to the high ceiling with Hirschfelds that are now part of the American landscape. There was Marilyn, Ella, Bogey, both Hepburns, Sinatra, the Beatles and above the fireplace Margo Feiden’s Hirschfeld portrait. I was agog.
‘The Ballroom’
Giddily her assistant asked if I would like to go down the cast-iron spiral staircase to the ground floor – down we went. A treasure trove of more Hirschfeld art and the lovingly curated collection of Margo’s glass and antique collection, meticulously displayed in shadow boxes and old wooden display cases. You could see the passion and care that has been put into these collections.
We arrived back in the Ballroom and still no Margo. ‘Hmmm,” I thought, ‘maybe this was just to be a tour of the townhouse.’ I stood there turning about marveling at the stupendous Ballroom chandelier, when suddenly, her assistant invited me to, “See the upstairs”. Gulp. We ascended the grand sweeping staircase from the Ballroom, the stairwell filled frame to frame with jaw-dropping art. All the way up to The Deck we went, where presiding over the residential court is a centuries old tree filled with the songs of birds, not a city noise could be heard. Oh the stories this tree could tell.
We stood there for a while and I wondered, ‘Where is the mysterious Margo? Am I to meet her at all?’ After some time we descended back down the magnificent staircase to arrive again in the Ballroom. At about 5:00 pm, it was announced, “Miss Feiden will be ready to receive you now, please have a seat.” I sat on the sofa next to Charlie and waited anxiously.
Then, suddenly, Margo appeared, poised midway, posed gracefully on the sweeping staircase, attired in one of her trademark quilted hats and jackets, hand painted sneakers and a ponytail almost down to her knees, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”
The sweeping Ballroom staircase
I sat there stunned. ‘Hans, get up…say something!’ I thought. I answered as I rose, ”You know how to make quite an entrance, don’t you?!” We spent the next four and a half hours talking about our lives.
It turns out Margo is an avid reader of my blog “In The Wit Of An Eye” and was concerned that she no longer saw me posting my stories. She suggested telling me some of her own stories to get me to write again.
I explained I had stopped writing the blog in 2014 in order to write the life story of my mother Ursula Von Rittern and three generations of the independent women in my family, a telling of how they survived two world wars in Germany in a book entitled, “Last Train Out of Berlin.” My mother Ursula was 88 at the time, and I felt time was fleeting, so by age 90, we had finished the book and even received a complimentary letter from Meryl Streep after she had been handed a copy of the manuscript by me personally. (At age 93, Ursula and I are are still looking for a publisher.)
Margo started to tell me parts of her life story and presented me with rare clippings and mementos of her amazing life, shown here. To know Margo is to receive a history lesson of New York City and it’s art scene.
In 1961 at the young age of 16, Margo Feiden then ‘Margo Eden,’ was the youngest person ever to produce and direct a musical version of “Peter Pan.” This was at the 41st Street Theater in the Wurlitzer Building. Her unique vision was to produce it with mostly high school age actors to fit the parts accurately. These were young professionals from the revered High School of Performing Arts. The fact that the High School of Performing Arts permitted their students to miss school in order to rehearse and perform in her production of Peter Pan, shows the importance they attached to Margo’s production. History was being made.
Here is a rare New York Times Broadway A – Z listing showing the “Peter Pan” production, but let your head spin to see who else Margo was on the boards with at the time: Henry Fonda in “Critic’s Choice,” Carol Channing (later in life to become Margo’s close friend) in “Showgirl.” Ironically Mary Martin was appearing five blocks away at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater in “The Sound of Music” and Cyril Richard the original Captain Hook was appearing in a production on 45th street. As well as Patty Duke in “The Miracle Worker,” Lucille Ball in “Wildcat,” Richard Burton & Julie Andrews, Elsa Lanchester, Phil Silvers, Zero Mostel, Tammy Grimes, Maurice Evans…the listings go on. As you can see it was a time on Broadway never ever to be again.
The New York Times Broadway A - Z listing, April 1, 1961
The following year, Margo had penned “Out, Brief Candle,” a three act play about dope addiction. Featuring 30 actors, it centered around ‘Bob’ whose life long dream of becoming a surgeon is destroyed by his heroin addiction. In 1963 Margo prophetically returned to the 41st Street Theater where she directed and produced the play herself.
She was heralded in the ‘teen magazines’ of the day, Hi-Teen 11/1962 and Teen Time 01/1963 as “News maker” and “Teen of the Month.”
High Teen Magazine, November 1962
Teen Time Magazine, January 1963
At age 17, now known as a child prodigy of the Broadway theater, Margo became the agent, as well as producer, director and publicist of Kuda Bux, a Pakistani mystic and mentalist performer who could read and see despite being heavily blindfolded. They appeared on stage and television together.
Oh, did I mention she is a licensed pilot? Has gone camel racing in the desert? So it is also no surprise, that Margo also happens to be a member of MENSA, the largest and oldest high IQ society in the world, open to those people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardized IQ test.
In 1969, Margo opened her first art gallery, but she had no art to display. So her girlfriend, who just so happened to be iconic photographer Diane Arbus, suggested they exhibit her work. Margo told me, “In the morning within an hour, I had rented myself an art gallery but had no artwork, by midnight, Diane and I had finished hanging her work.”
Also ahead of her time, on December 10, 1995, Margo became the first person ever to hold an art auction on the World Wide Web, when she auctioned five Hirschfeld works on the Internet to benefit New York City Meals-on-Wheels (god bless her).
We talked and talked about the wonderful and even curious stories she has to tell. It was now 9:30pm, the summer sky was casting it’s dark hues into the ballroom, it was time to end my delightful tea with my fellow Sagittarius Margo. Perhaps I will tell some more of her stories here. My favorite (so far!) is of the fateful meeting of Hirschfeld and Charlie Chaplin in 1932. I teared up as I sat on the sofa listening to Margo tell the tale, gazing into those sparkling blue eyes of hers. Thank you dear Margo.
This November 19th, 2019, is the 50th anniversary of the Margo Feiden Galleries Ltd. Margo is penning her memoirs to follow hopefully thereafter. I dare think it shall be Auntie Mame, er ah, Margo telling tales that will keep us captivated!
I hope you will also stay tuned for more stories from me as well, especially hopefully one day, my book, ”Last Train Out of Berlin” – – – Berlin, March 21st, 1945: A charismatic opera singer receives secretive warning that Berlin is doomed by advancing Russian forces and that there is one last train out of Berlin leaving in four hours. A true story that spans three continents and three generations.
STAY TUNED . . .
(with a special nod
to my extra-special line editor…you know who you are!😉)
June 20, 2019 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY, Uncategorized | Tags: "Last Train Out Of Berlin", 'Out Brief Candle', 1961, 41st Street Theater, Addison DeWitt, Al Hirschfeld, Al Hirschfeld Theater, All About Eve, art, Berlin, Camel racing, Caricature art, Carol Channing, Charlie Chaplin, Chris Fiore, Cyril Richard, Diane Arbus, Doyle's Auction Gallery, first world wide web art auction, Germany, Greenwich Village, Hans' mom, Henri Bendel, Henri Bendel department store, Henry Fonda, heroin addiction, Hi-Teen magazine, High School of Performing Arts, Kuda Bux, Lucille Ball, Margo Channing, Margo Eden, Margo Feiden, Margo Feiden Gallery, Martin Beck Theater, Mary Martin, Maurice Evans, Meals-on-Wheels program, MENSA, Meryl Streep, music, mysticism, New York Christmas windows 2013, New York City, New York Times theater listing, nostalgia, Nothing Like A Dame, Patty Duke, Peter Pan, photography, Playbill, publishing, Stanford White, Teen Time magazine, The Al Hirschfeld thearter, Ursula Von Rittern, Wurlitzer building, WWI, WWII | 4 Comments
SOCIAL SECURITY STRIPS MY 88 YR OLD MOTHER OF HER 1958 USA CITIZENSHIP BECAUSE SHE “FAILED TO REPORT TO THE GOVERNMENT” WHEN SHE APPLIED FOR HER BENEFITS AFTER WORKING HARD IN THE USA FOR 33 YEARS!!
JULY 23rd UPDATE:
These are the facts: Immigration papers “pre computer age” have a different set of numbers and are truly not linked into today’s …Social Security computer system, an astonishing fact considering on the web site Ancestry.com you can look up birth/death/marriage/prison/burial records from the 1700’s! This is a HUGE failure on our government’s part.
Ms. Madrid had my mother sign a letter approving congressman Crowley investigating the matter, and immediately in front of me, called Social Security herself. You could hear the woman at the Social Security offices saying “Absolutely not! Absolutely not!”
MOM WAS AND STILL IS A NATURALIZED UNITED STATES CITIZEN ! !
The local office here, has to have someone physically look up the records (who knows where) and verify it’s her, despite the fact she is in their system and despite the fact we had alllllll the proof in the world. The entire situation comes down to (no racism intended) poor English and bad attitude. What should never, ever have been said to her, (twice!) is that she is not a citizen in the SS computer system – that is the result of poor translation on Chinese American women working at the office. Maybe it is their incorrect translation, maybe it was because we saw them at the end of the day and they were both in a foul mood, but either way we received (indirectly) an apology from the congressman, a confirmation of citizenship today, and told instead of the 4 week “research/waiting time”, it will just be the standard 2 week period for her.
In the meantime, our wonderful local WPIX11 TV news station, with the help of friend and their reporter Greg Mocker offered to help if, after 2 weeks there are no results.
Once again, mom and I thank you ALL for your quite passionate support !
God bless America . . .
July 23, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: American citizen, becoming a US citizen, bureaucratic Social Security blunder, government, Hans Von Rittern, lower Manhattan Social Security, Manhattan, Naturalization papers, New York City, Photo of the day, replacement card, Social Security, Social Security benefits, Social Security debacle, Social Security outdated computer system, Social Security strips 88 year old woman of citizenship, Social Security strips benefits, Social Security strips woman of US citizenship, United States government error with Social Security, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: THE SPECIAL FATHERS DAY THAT MARILYN MONROE CAME TO DINNER

What is so haunting about it, is that it is not ‘wet lip Marilyn’, or ‘skirt blowing Marilyn’. It beautifully sad reflective 1962 Marilyn portrayed as a human being – not symbol. Notice the painting goes from light (right side) to the dark side (on the left).
June 16, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 1962 Marilyn Monroe, 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, arts, Hans Von Rittern, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Long Island City, Manhattan, Marilyn Monroe in art, Marilyn Monroe painting, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, reflective Marilyn Monroe, See TF, Sunnyside, Ursula Von Rittern | 4 Comments
Photo of the day: URSULA VON RITTERN, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY !
May 11, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 3 generations of divorced moms, arts, fiercley independent women, Hamburg Germany, Hans Von Rittern, Happy Mother's Day, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Ursula Von Rittern, vintage 1940's photo womans portrait, Von Ritttern family history | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: FRESHLY GROOMED ‘NOEL’ WAITS FOR HER CAR SERVICE
May 5, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 7 train, dog grooming nightmare stories, dog grooming problems, dog sitting on stoop, dog waiting for car service, finding the right dog groomer, Hans Von Rittern, Jude Amsel, LIC Doghouse, Long Island City Queens, New York City, New York photo, Noel Hans' dog, Noel the dog, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, sheep dog terrier mix, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: “COME TO THE JEFFREY LEDER GALLERY MY FRIEND!”
The paintings are beautiful…even the photographs are beautiful (and selling) !
My dear friends Tom Orzo, Mindy Cassle-Rosato, of course Mom, Deborah Blau and Frederica Meister all came for the grand opening party of the 5 Pointz “Whitewash” exhibit that I am a part of! Why don’t you join the ranks of graffiti lovers, street art lovers, preservationists and the passionate and check out my 16 photos along with the fantastic works of artists Auks, Cortes, Jerms, Just One, Meres, Orestes, Shiro, See TF, Topaz, Zimad, Hunt Rodriguez proving art is forever! A mourning and celebration of the destruction of the world’s most spectacular street art museum. $20 catalog available for sale in the gift shop.
Fremde, etranger, stranger.
Gluklich zu sehen, je suis enchante,
Happy to see you, bleibe, reste, spray paint!
April 11, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 5 Pointz white washed, 7 train, architecture, arts, Auks, Cortes, Deborah Blau, entertainment, Frederica Meister, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, Hunt Rodriguez, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jerry Wolkoff, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Just One, Long Island City, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres, Mindy Cassle-Rosato, Mindy Csssle, New York City, New York photo, Orestes Gonzalez, Photo of the day, photography, Ray Rosato, See TF, SHIRO, Tom Orzo, Topaz, Ursula Von Rittern, whitewash of 5 Pointz, whitewashing of 5 Pointz, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: MERELY THE BEGINNING!! APRIL 5, 2014, Hans in “Whitewash” exhibit!
Contributing Artists: Auks, Cortes, Hans Von Rittern, Jerms, Meres One, Orestes Gonzalez, Poem, Shiro, See TF, Topaz, Zimad
“Whitewash, is an answer to the violent act of G&M realty on November 19th, 2013 in Long Island City Queens. Overnight thousands of murals adorning the building known as 5 Pointz were destroyed. It‘s a story of pain, sadness, and anger at times and reflection – An epic of an art community and its home coming apart under the pressure of economical trends and waves of gentrification.
Bringing together a cluster of resident graffiti artists and two Queens photographers, the exhibition enables the artists to express their true feelings and thought process since loosing their work to a white layer of paint, and their home to the pressing demands of real estate development. For the first time since the whitewash we will witness how affected this collective is by being eclipsed from their 11 years home.
The works in Whitewash aspire to such: Laying feelings on canvas, and letting go of the pain, the show brings together artworks that can be interpreted as confession, lessons, or reflection but also aspirations and hopes.
Whitewash is an obvious requiem for 5 Pointz the building but also maybe the beginning of a rebirth of 5 Pointz the community and its true core: the people.“
Marie-Cecile Flageul
http://www.jeffreyledergallery.com/whitewash.php
March 26, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz destroyed, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, art destroyed 5 Pointz, Art exhibit, arts, Auks, Cortes, David Wolkoff, entertainment, G&M realty, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jerry Wolkoff, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, November 19th 2013, Orestes Gonzalez, Photo of the day, photography, Poem, politics, PS1 MOMA, See TF, SHIRO, street art, Sunnyside, Topaz, Ursula Von Rittern, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: “IT’S A VON RITTERN!”
PHO-TO-GRAFFS: March 16 – April 27, 2014 http://www.greatneckarts.org/
March 18, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, architecture, Deborah Blau, Gold Coast Arts Center, Gold Coast Gallery, graffiti art, Great Neck Long Island, Hans Von Rittern, hip-hop culture, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Jude Amsel, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Marie Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Phot-to-graffs exhibit, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, street art, street art museum, Tom Orzo, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: NO SMOKE MARIJUANA HERE
March 4, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: anti marijuana sign, anti-marijuana, don't smoke marijuana here sign, Hans Von Rittern, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, marijuana, neighbors protest pot smoking, New York City, New York photo, old mom can't light her joint, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: HAPPY 88th BIRTHDAY URSULA VON RITTERN !
February 1, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: German country side hills vintage photo, German immigration to the United States, Germany 1938, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, The Sound of Music, traditional dirndl dress, Ursula Von Rittern, von Rittern family history, von Trapp family, WWII Germany | 2 Comments
Photo of the day: SCHALLER & WEBER’S GERMAN DELICATESSEN in YORKVILLE FOR CHRISTMAS & NEW YEARS
Spaetzle (German Noodle)
December 29, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: Bahksen, Christmas, East 86th Street Yorkville, German Christmas traditions, German delicatessen, German foods in New York, Hans Von Rittern, Knorr, Maggi, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, rouladen, Schaller & Weber delicatessen, schaller and weber, Ursula Von Rittern, Weihnachten, Yorkville | Leave a comment
MY OLD FASHIONED GERMAN CANDLE LIT CHRISTMAS TREE 2013
December 25, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: candle lit Christmas tree German Christmas traditions, Christmas, Christmas table setting, Fröhliche Weihnachten, German Christmas, German Christmas dinner, German Christmas traditions, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, New York photo, old fashioned German Christmas tree, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, real candles in a tree, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, Ursula Von Rittern | 1 Comment
THANK YOU !
December 22, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: Hans Von Rittern, Hans' 58th birthday, Hans' birthday wishes, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, Thank you road sign, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
Mondays on Memory Lane: 1917, MY GREAT AUNT SINGS FOR THE SOLDIERS OF WORLD WAR I
Mondays on Memory Lane: 1917, MY GREAT AUNT SINGS FOR THE SOLDIERS OF WORLD WAR I – On this Veterans Day, it is important to remember the soldiers of all nations. I have discovered this photo of my great aunt, Anny Cornelius, in a German hospital in 1917 during World War I. She was only 17 at the time and already a gifted singer, she went on to sing lead roles in the Berlin opera.
From what I gather, she took her fellow class mates and volunteered to sing for the wounded soldiers. Whatever country is fighting, music is always used to try to heal the soldiers spirits. When you look at the faces of the wounded soldiers, you can see – there are really no winners in any war, the only winner is the human spirit.
November 11, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 1917, Anny Cornelius, Berlin Opera, Berlin State Opera, entertainers singing for the troops, entertaining the foreign troups, German hospital, German soldiers of World War I, Hans Von Rittern, New York City, Photo of the day, Queens, school girls serenadning the German troops, Ursula Von Rittern, Veterans Day, vintage war photo, World War I, wounded German soldiers World War I | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: CELEBRATING THE BEGINNING OF A NEW DAWN = MAYOR BILL (74%) DeBLASIO
November 6, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: A landslide 74% victory, ABQ, Allie Feldman, Andy Sydor, animal rights activists, Bill DeBlasio, Bill DeBlasio for Mayor, Bloomberg corrupt, Bloomberg's tyrannical rule, Brian and Jeanne Gari, Bronx, Brooklyn, celebrities, Christine Quinn, Councilwoman Christine Quinn, Cynthia Nixon, Daniela Knoppik, DeBlasio grass roots, DeBlasio victory party, Defeat Christine Quinn, Donny Moss, GoosewatchNYC, Hans Von Rittern, Kittens Against Joe Lhota, Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mrs. DeBlasio, Mustang Sally's, New York City, New York photo, NYCLASS, Outer Boroughs Against Christine, Photo of the day, Queens, Queers Against Quinn, Staten Island, Stopping NYC Horse Abuse, Susan Sarandon, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
Hans and mom are proud and thrilled to have voted! Goodbye Bloomberg! Hello Bill de Blasio ! !
November 5, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 2013 mayoral election, Bill DeBlasio, Bloomberg corrupt, Hans Von Rittern, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, nanny Bloomberg, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, Queens, Sunnyside, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: 9/11/2013 SO MANY LOSES / SO MANY GAINS
The mighty Quinn: For the past twelve years, Quinn and Bloomberg have systematically destroyed New York City as the city has become a city of the über rich and the very poor, 45+% now live near or at the poverty level. We have lost over 12 hospitals during their term in office, glass luxury apartments replace them. Quinn ruled the city and controlled the zoning laws with her slush funds making the city open season for the greedy real estate developers as zoning law changes have become the norm. South Street Seaport’s Pier 17 is being torn down, neighborhoods like Harlem, Greenwich Village and Soho are loosing their soul. Her tearing down of St. Vincent’s Hospital, it’s church and the 9/11 memorial is the most egregious. As the years passed, she became the most powerful politician only second to Bloomberg, a power that was had by vitriolic temper outbursts and control of the city funds.
September 11, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 2011, 9/11, 9/11/2013, Allie Feldman, animal cruelty, animal lovers, animal rights activists, ANYBODY BUT QUINN ABQ, architecture, arrogant politicians, Arthur Cheliotes, Bill DeBlasio, boss tweed, Boss Tweed in 1853, Brian Gari, City Sights tours, Councilwoman Christine Quinn, crazy cat lady fights city hall, Defeat Christine Quinn, dog lovers fight city hall, Donny Moss, Gail Brewer, gay activists, Gray Line tour guides, Greenwich Village, Gregg Mocker, Hans Von Rittern, Harlem, headset bill, horse lovers, job loses, KARMA IS A BITCH, Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mustang Sally's, NBC, New York City, New York is not for Sale, New York pet shop sprinkler law, New York photo, pet lovers fight city hall, Photo of the day, politics, September 11 2013, South Street Seaport, St. Vincent's Hospital, The New York Times, Twin America, Ursula Von Rittern, Wendy Kelman Neu, World Trade Center, WPIX11 news | Leave a comment
Mondays on Memory Lane: SOUTH STREET SEAPORT, A PROUD VON RITTERN HERITAGE
September 9, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: ANYBODY BUT QUINN ABQ, CLIFFORD DAY MALLORY, Councilwoman Christine Quinn, current-events, destruction of South Street Seaport, founders of South Street Seaport, Frank O. Braynard, Hans Von Rittern, July 28 1983, Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mystic Seaport, New York City, New York photo, Pier 17, politics, premier issue of South Street magazine, South Street Seaport, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
Mondays on Memory Lane: THE STORY OF THE MIRACULOUS TRAVELING CHAIRS !
I was told by a very delightful girl named Ali that they were donated by a woman who had had them for “many years.” My hand started going for my cell phone as I tried to walk calmly out of the store. I rushed across the street and speed dialed mom, “You’re not going to believe this, but I found your chairs!” Mom insisted I was clouded with romantic notions and that it just could not be. Maybe the back is different, different legs, different wood or seat, it just couldn’t be, not after 20 years! “No mom…it’s them!“ We agreed that fate had intervened and that despite the fact this was certainly not planned for in our budget, if these were truly, truly the chairs, I had to buy them! I recognized the nicks and dents we had accidentally put in them over the years – these were undeniably OUR chairs! Unbelievable! I offered Ali $400 which she warmly accepted. I told Ali the entire story as we both got the Twilight Zone chills and teared up and hugged. I rushed home to show mom the photos I had taken of ‘her’ chairs. “It’s them” she exclaimed, as she just kept staring at the photo in the camera.
July 29, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 111East 12th Street, 1960, 1960's, 1993, 61-61 Woodhaven Blvd., 7 train, Ali and Liz, American Design Foundation, Bloomingdales, Bloomingdales 1959 furniture ad, Christmas, Danish Modern Furniture, East Village, family celebrations and holidays, family events, fate, finding lost furniture, Ft. Meyers beach Florida, Hans Von Rittern, heat wave, hurricanes, interior decorating, interior design, Kipp Stewart, Kipp Stewart and Stewart MacDougal, lost furniture, Manhattan, Mayflower Movers, New York City, New York photo, Paul McCobb, Photo of the day, Queens, Stewart MacDougal, subway, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, The CURE Thrift Shop, The Imperial, thrift shop find, Tucson Arizona, Ursula Von Rittern, vintage furniture, Winchendon American Design Fondation medallion, winchendon furniture, Winchendon Furniture Comapny, Woodhaven Blvd. | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVE ♥ !
Photo of the day: THANK YOU to my diverse group of friends who showed up for the opening night reception party of my one man show at The Brogue! 4910 Skillman Avenue, between 49/50th Streets, Sunnyside, NY. The photos will be on display and for sale for three months!
June 15, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: Hans Von Rittern, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, reception party, skillman, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, The Brogue Bar and Restaurant, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
Photos of the week: Come celebrate my one man show Friday, June 14th , 7:30-10:00pm !!
June 11, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 7 train, arts, Brogue Restaurant and Bar on 4910 Skillman Avenue, Hans Von Rittern, Meet and greet Hans Von Rittern, meet the artist, New York City, New York photo, open art exhibit, photo exhibit and sale, Photo of the day, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, The Brogue Bar and Restaurant, Ursula Von Rittern | 1 Comment
Photo of the day: THREE FIERCELY INDEPENDENT WOMEN:
In the works is a family history of four generations of independent women who all raised their children on their own against all odds, through two World Wars, traveled around the globe, sacrificed, fought sexism and society’s morals. Mom is 87 and currently writing the book. Stay tuned . . .
May 12, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: Amahlie (Jaehne) Von Rittern, Anny Cornelius, Berlin Opera, concert pianist, Fiercely independent women, German ancestry, German Immigrant stories, Hans Von Rittern, Hans' mom, Manufacturer's Hanover Bank, mom's support, Mother's Day, New York City, opera career, Queens, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, Two generations of women, Ursula Von Rittern, women, work ethic | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: SNOW GLOW
April 19, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 45th Street Queens Blvd., 7 train, 7 train subway, BLIZZARD 2013, february 10 2013, glow of lights, Hans Von Rittern, New York City, night time snow, Queens, queens blvd, reflective lights, snow storm, subway, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, transportation, Ursula Von Rittern, winter | 3 Comments
MONDAYS ON MEMORY LANE: THE GREEK EARTH MOTHER – MELINA MERCOURI
For those of you too young to know who Melina Mercouri was, below is the Random House dictionary definition of ‘earth mother’ = that would befit Melina.
earth’ moth`er
n. 1. the earth conceived of as the female principle of fertility and the source of all life.
2. a female spirit or deity serving as a symbol of life or fertility.
3. a sensuous, maternal woman.
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In 1960 Melina Mercouri had become an international sensation. Her Greek film classic ”Never On Sunday” was a tremendous world wide success. The lp record of the musical score by Manos Hadjidakos played constantly in our house – I was raised on it and it played in every public establishment you went, there was a craze for everything Greek. “Never On Sunday” became the single most successful foreign film at the time. Melina played ‘Ilya’ a feisty Greek streetwalker with a heart of gold. Not until 1970 was I even allowed to see the film because for those times it was considered to risqué for television and mom wouldn’t allow me to see it in the movies. I was captivated. I had never seen such an earthy woman. The confidence, the walk, the mannerisms and above all – that voice! “Never On Sunday” is based on ‘Pygmalion’ by George Bernard Shaw later to become “My Fair Lady” starring Audrey Hepburn – the streetwalker then changed to the more befitting flower girl for American tastes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQht_oEDKTc
Jules Dassin, Melina’s husband in real life, directed the film as well as starred in the title role of the American tourist Homer, who is determined to transform Ilya into a refined lady of culture. Melina’s Ilya, not able to bear sadness, doesn’t believe in the classic Greek tragedies. She loves going to the theatre to see the tragedies but in retelling the stories later to her ‘clients’ and friends at the local bar, she twists them from her perspective so that they all end happily with the line, “and they all went to the seashore!”
In person Melina’s voice was smokey and gravely (mostly by nature but also partially due to her chain smoking). Her tossed blonde hair was like a mane. She moved like a sensual tribal dancer. Her laugh was absolutely unmistakable – uproarious, uncontrolled, deeply from the gut. Endless enthusiasm, filled with a passion for the arts and life. A fiercely independent Greek destined to become Greece’s member of parliament in 1977 and Greece’s first Minister of Culture in 1981!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA-4b_hEfKo
In the fim clip as she is being carried off the man laughingly says “…and they all went to the seashore!”
On Saturday, October 21, 1972 we met. My mother Ursula worked at the time for Clifford Day Mallory of Mystic Seaport, Connecticut. The Mallory family happened to have founded Mystic, Connecticut. Mom was personal assistant to Mr. Mallory who was in the shipping brokerage business, which means, they brokered empty cargo ships to the highest oil company bidder for them to be used to transport their oil to the port of choice. Mr. Mallory had a business deal with Jules Dassin while Melina was in town for her failed musical version of “Lysistrata” . . . so all our lives converged.
This divine earth mother had come to Broadway in the Greek comedic play ‘Lysistrata’ by Aristophanes written in 411BC! It ironically deals with the story in which the women of Greece withhold sexual favors from the men until they men agree to stop going to war. A sexual political farce. Melina was born to play the part. The show previewed on October 20, 1972 – the night the above seated dressing room photo was taken. My first and ever lasting impression of her was how she pronounced my name. ‘Hrchrchanzz’. Being Greek, she could not say a soft letter “H”, but out came this throaty ‘Hrchrchanzz’. A hard “H” purred from her lips. Sitting there in her dressing room in her off white cashmere pants (she loved cashmere) and her deep purple silken blouse, blowing billows of cigarette smoke into the air.
”Lysistrata’ played 35 previews until it’s opening night we attended on November 13, 1972. The show was for 1972, too ahead of it’s time and the reviews (many based on personal vengeance) were very unfavorable based on Melina’s political views against the military coup of her country. Shockingly it closed after only 8 performances/one week. Closing night was October 18, 1972. Melina took the news philosophically. “Po po po! I can’t be sad, I was born Greek and will die Greek, this is telling me I am meant to concentrate even more to fight for my country.” She continued on in the United States to publicize her 1971 book “I Was Born Greek”. Melina was staying at the hotel Nevaro on Central Park South in the penthouse suite. While Melina’s husband Jules conducted business with mom’s boss Mr. Mallory, mom and I were sent to keep Melina company. Melina had loved the photo I had taken of her the night we met, “Po po po! It is so soft, yes?” Melina’s ‘yes’ meant ‘isn’t that so?’ The ‘softness’ comes across because she was so happy and had such belief in her new Broadway show. To please Melina and to take her mind off the show I had the photo made into a poster (black and white was all I could afford) and presented it to her in her hotel suite. “Hrchrchanzz! I think you do this to make me happy, yes?” Yes I did. Melina signed my copy of the poster which has been framed on my wall for the past 41 years.
Sometime in the 1980’s I heard from some fans of hers complimenting me on the photo. It turns out Melina had used the photo in a Greek publication of her biography – I had been published! Sadly I have never found a copy of the book or the literature. Every time I pass that vibrant proud Greek earth mother’s photo on my wall- I still feel her embrace and hear that uproarious laughter “Ah Hrchrchanzz!” She was and always will be Greece!
A brief bio:
Melina Mercouri
(Greek: ΜελίναΜερκούρη), born as Maria Amalia Mercouri (18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer and politician. As an actress she made her film debut in Stella (1955) and met international success with her performances in Never on Sunday, Phaedra, Topkapi and Promise at Dawn. She won the award for Best Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival, and she was also nominated for an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two BAFTA Awards.
A political activist during the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, she became a member of the Hellenic Parliament in 1977 and the first female Minister for Culture of Greece in 1981. Mercouri was the person who, in 1983, conceived and proposed the programme of the European Capital of Culture, which has been established by the European Union since 1985.
She was a strong advocate for the return to Athens of the Parthenon Marbles, which were removed from the Parthenon, and are now displayed in the British Museum.
April 8, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "I WAS BORN GREEK", Aristophanes. 411BC, AUDREY HEPBURN, Broadway, Central Park South, CLASSIC FOREIGN FILM, CLIFFORD DAY MALLORY, EARTH MOTHER, film actress, foreign film classic, George Bernard Shaw, Greece's first minister of culture, Greece's parliment member, GREEK FILM, greek independence day, Greek military junta of 1967–1974, GREEK TRAGEDIES, Hans Von Rittern, Hotel Nevaro, Ilya, JULES DASSIN, LYSISTRATA, Manhattan, Manos Hadjidakos, MELINA MERCOURI, MY FAIR LADY, MYSTIC CONNECTICUT, NEVER ON SUNDAY, politician, prostitute, Pygmalion, SOUNDTRACK, streetwalker, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment