Photo of ‘Shampoo’ star part of big Ukraine fund push
Lee Grant, who won an Oscar for her role in “Shampoo” with Warren Beatty, now stars in a painting depicting her coming out of the shower in just a towel. Her artist husband of 50 years, Joe Fioretti, is hoping to sell the canvas at his show opening March 15 at the Ukrainian Institute of America on E. 79th St.
Fioretti is donating all the proceeds from the show to Ukrainian victims of Russia’s invasion, plus $100,000 he raised independently.
The show’s opening co-hosts include Judy Collins, Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean Penn, Gloria Steinem, Marlo Thomas, Brenda Vaccaro and Peter Yarrow.
“My mother’s family is from Odessa,” Grant told me. She reveres Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asa “savior” and worries that the war in Israel has taken attention away from Ukraine.
“It’s a fearsome situation,” Grant said. “A tiny country is being invaded by a dictator.”
When Fioretti said his goal is “to raise as much money as possible,” Grant said, “Raise consciousness too.”
Fioretti, who started out as a Broadway dancer, won an Oscar for producing “Down & Out in America.” His statuette stands on a shelf next to Grant’s.
“We can’t forget about what is happening in Ukraine,” said Fioretti. “I have been working on this art for the last two years, watching my wife light a candle for the people of Ukraine each night.”
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Jim Wilson, a piano tuner to the stars, dishes about limo rides with Elton John, road trips with Carole King, and horseback riding with Dan Fogelberg in his memoir “Tuned In.”
But his most dramatic encounter came about in 1984 at the home of Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman when he was playfully horsing around with their son James, then 7 — which ended badly when Murdoch, the ex-Beatle’s sheepdog, thought Wilson was attacking the boy and bit him in the groin.
After Wilson checked to make sure he wasn’t bleeding, McCartney told him, “Oh, come on Jim, that’s the best you’ve felt all day!”
Wilson ultimately set out on a solo career playing his own music on the piano, recording four Billboard Top-20 albums and two PBS specials.
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On his podcast “Who The F*** Is Roger Smith?!” the former Time Warner exec talks about his early days in New York selling the legendary encyclopedia door to door.
“Quincy Jones was my first big sale. And I went back to the office and they said it didn’t go through,” Smith explains.
“Turns out the New York office had a creditworthiness scale of ‘A’ and ‘B.’ Despite being a major film composer, he got a ‘B.’ So I went to my boss and said ‘Does B really stand for Black? And if so I’m going to my reporter friend with the story.’ ”
Quincy Jones got his set of books — for $600 in 1965 dollars. “Years later I told the story to Quincy and he was wildly amused,” Smith added.
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The auction of Nelson Mandela’s personal effects has been canceled by Arlan Ettinger’s auction house Guernsey’s for the second time in two years because of legal pressure from the South African Heritage Resources Agency.
The government is claiming the items — including gifts from Presidents Obama and Clinton, letters Mandela wrote and paintings he made during 27 years in jail — are “national heritage” and cannot be sold.
The 70 objects were expected to bring in more than $3 million dollars to help finance a memorial garden around Mandela’s grave.
Mandela’s daughter, Dr. Makaziwe Mandela, has vowed to go back to court to fight for the right to sell his shoes, colorful “Madiba” shirts, and his hearing aid.
Dr. Mandela said of the Heritage Resources Agency, “Every time they’ve gone to court, they’ve lost.” She added, “They don’t have any leg to stand on.”
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Although Howard University hosted a live taping of the PBS Special “Broadway’s Leading Men” on Saturday, the leading lady of the evening was none other than philanthropist Adrienne Arsht who celebrated her birthday with 150 of her best pals.
Well-wishers included American Pops Orchestra conductor Luke Frazier, producer Robert Pullen, performers Matthew Morrison (“Glee”), Christopher Jackson (“Hamilton”), Paulo Szot (“& Juliet”), Nic Rouleau (“Book of Mormon”), Andre de Shields and Norm Lewis.
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Jane Seymour was filming her hit TV show “Harry Wild” last year in Ireland when she first met actress and author Christy Cashman, who owns Kilkea Castle outside of Dublin.
The historic site, built in the 12th century, was hosting one of its tuition-free YouthINK Teen Mentorship Programs that
provides workshops in the creative arts for young people from the US and Ireland.
Seymour loves the program and supports its mission.
On Feb. 22, Cashman and Shannon Pastuszak will kick off a three-day creative wellness retreat for adults with proceeds going to sponsor a teen’s trip a workshop.
Famed Irish musician Keith Harkin, who once performed for President Obama at the White House, will teach a class and perform. Dr. Mark Kovacs from Canyon Ranch will speak.
Seymour and Cashman are co-producing Cashman’s book “The Truth About Horses” for the silver screen.
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Out and About: Oprah Winfrey celebrated her 70th birthday with a lunch at the Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel where skincare mogul Peter Thomas Roth was at a separate table with his son Ryan
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A very pregnant Sienna Miller graces the cover of Vogue magazine this month. The actress and the father of her new baby, actor Oli Green, are also splashed across the inside pages in romantic poses. Miller is a longtime fan of French bistro La Goulue, the E. 61st St. restaurant hosting a romantic Valentine’s dinner featuring her favorite dishes on Feb. 14 … Frank Schilling’s bubbly rosé Aphrodise beat out 30 wines to win Best in Class at the Seaglass Rosé Event in Fort Lauderdale … Titans of tech Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and Mark Minevich, author of “Our Planet Powered by AI,” spoke in Davos for the World Economic Forum.