Elsa Maxwell (May 24, 1883 – November 1, 1963) was an American
gossip columnist
A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal li ...
and author, songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality and professional hostess renowned for her parties for royalty and high society figures of her day.
Maxwell is credited with the introduction of the
scavenger hunt
''Scavenger Hunt'' is a 1979 American comedy film with a large ensemble cast which includes Richard Benjamin, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Ruth Gordon, Cloris Leachman, Cleavon Little, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley, Richard Mulligan, Tony R ...
and
treasure hunt for use as party games in the modern era. Her radio program, ''Elsa Maxwell's Party Line'', began in 1942; she also wrote a syndicated gossip column. She appeared as herself in the films ''
Stage Door Canteen
The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers we ...
'' (1943) and ''
Rhapsody in Blue
''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered i ...
'' (1945), as well as co-starring in the film ''
Hotel for Women
''Hotel for Women'' (or ''Elsa Maxwell's Hotel for Women'') is a 1939 American drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell, and James Ellison. It was Darnell's screen debut.
Plot
When she is jilted by her boyfr ...
'' (1939), for which she wrote the screenplay and a song.
Biography
In spite of the persistent rumor that Elsa Maxwell was born at a theater in Keokuk, Iowa, during a performance of the opera ''
Mignon
''Mignon'' is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. The ...
'', she actually admitted late in life that the outlandish story was a fabrication that she went along with, since she was actually born at her maternal grandmother's home in the same town. She was raised in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, where her father sold insurance and did freelance writing for the ''
New York Dramatic Mirror
The ''New York Dramatic Mirror'' (1879–1922) was a prominent theatrical trade newspaper.
History
The paper was founded in January 1879 by Ernest Harvier as the ''New York Mirror''. In stating its purpose to cover the theater, it proclaimed t ...
''.
Maxwell never completed grammar school because her father did not believe in formal education; as a result, he tutored his daughter at home. Her interest in parties began when she was 12 years old and was told she would not be invited to a party because her family was poor. She developed a gift for staging games and diversions at parties for the rich, and began making a living devising treasure-hunt parties, come-as-your-opposite parties and other sorts, including a scavenger hunt in Paris in 1927 that inadvertently created disturbances all over the city.
In Venice in the early 1920s, Maxwell attracted stars like
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
,
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lif ...
,
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
and
Fanny Brice
Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. S ...
to Venice's
Lido
Lido may refer to:
Geography Africa
* Lido, a district in the city of Fez, Morocco
Asia
* Lido, an area in Chaoyang District, Beijing
* Lido, a cinema theater in Siam Square shopping area in Bangkok
* Lido City, a resort in West Java owned by MN ...
shoreline to enjoy its daytime amenities and nightly parties.
Later, the principality of Monaco employed Maxwell's services to put it on the map as a tourist destination as she had done for the Lido. Maxwell and Porter were lifelong friends, and he mentioned her in several of his songs, including "I'm Throwing a Ball Tonight" from ''
Panama Hattie
''Panama Hattie'' is a 1940 American musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. The musical is about a nightclub owner, Hattie Maloney, who lives in the Panama Canal Zone and ends up dealing with ...
'' (sung by
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary ''Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...
) and "I'm Dining with Elsa (and her ninety-nine most intimate friends)." She is also mentioned in
Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart ...
's "
I Like to Recognize the Tune
"I Like to Recognize the Tune" is an American popular song written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart. The song was introduced by Eddie Bracken, Marcy Wescott, Mary Jane Walsh, Richard Kollmar and Hal Le Roy in the 1939 Broadw ...
" from ''
Too Many Girls'',
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russi ...
's "The Hostess With the Mostes' on the Ball" from ''
Call Me Madam
''Call Me Madam'' is a musical written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.
The musical is a satire on politics and foreign policy that spoofs postwar America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to ...
'' and in "Listen, Cosette!" from ''
Sherry!
''Sherry!'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by James Lipton and music by Laurence Rosenthal. The musical is based on the 1939 George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart play ''The Man Who Came to Dinner''.
In 1967, following a short run on Broadway and poo ...
''
![Elsa Maxwell, 1933](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Elsa_Maxwell%2C_1933.jpg)
Returning to the U.S., Maxwell worked on
movie shorts during the Depression, unsuccessfully. "Her imprimatur of social acceptability carried so much weight that the
Waldorf Astoria
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultz ...
gave her a suite rent-free when it opened in New York in 1931 at the height of the depression, hoping to attract rich clients because of her."
Following World War II, she gained an audience of millions as a newspaper
gossip columnist
A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal li ...
.
Beginning in 1942 she also hosted a radio program, ''Elsa Maxwell's Party Line'',
for which
Esther Bradford Aresty Esther Bradford Aresty (March 26, 1908 - December 23, 2000) was a cookbook collector and culinary historian who wrote on cooking, cookbooks, cuisine, and etiquette.
Early life and education
Esther Bradford was born March 26, 1908, in Syracuse, New ...
was a writer and producer.
Maxwell was responsible for the success of ventriloquist
Edgar Bergen
Edgar John Bergen (born Edgar John Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, actor, comedian, vaudevillian and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Ch ...
. Bergen had been playing small theaters for 17 years; when he decided to ask for Maxwell's help, he was persistent enough in his telephone calls that Maxwell agreed to meet with him. When Bergen arrived, Maxwell asked him if he was a singer; Bergen replied that he was a ventriloquist and told her he wanted her to meet Charlie McCarthy. Charlie's meeting with Maxwell was an instant success; Maxwell asked crooner
Rudy Vallée
Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type.
Early life
Hubert Prior Vall ...
to find him a place on his radio program.
Maxwell was a closeted lesbian who publicly condemned same-sex love despite enjoying an almost 50-year partnership with the Scottish singer
Dorothy Fellowes-Gordon ("Dickie"). The two met in 1912 and remained together until Maxwell's death.
In the 1950s her friendship with the
Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his abdication on 11 December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a ...
and
Wallis Simpson
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...
, the Duchess of Windsor, attracted much publicity in the United States as did her long running feud with the Duchess. She had encountered the Duke several times when he was the Prince of Wales and became acquainted with him and the Duchess in 1946 when they were all living at the Waldorf Astoria Apartments in New York. They became friends the following year, in France. The Duke and Duchess frequently entertained her and sometimes Fellowes-Gordon at their chateau on the Riviera and over the coming years they attended Elsa's parties in Paris, Monte Carlo, New York and elsewhere.
A fall-out between Elsa and Wallis was first reported in May 1953, rumored to have started at a charity event the previous January, although reports from that event suggest they were friendly. Over the next few years the feud was much detailed in US gossip columns. In April 1957
Cholly Knickerbocker
Cholly Knickerbocker is a pseudonym used by a series of society columnists writing for papers including the ''New York American'' and its successor, the '' New York Journal-American''.
The name came from the perceived New York upper-crust pronunci ...
announced there had been a "peace treaty" between them. It followed a reconciling letter from Elsa after newspapers accused her of deliberately trying to upstage Wallis by inviting her to a party and then getting
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
to make a grand late entrance, driving all attention away from Wallis.
Maxwell took credit for introducing
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...
to
Prince Aly Khan
Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was a Pakistani diplomat of Iranian and Italian descent. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV.
A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, ...
in the summer of 1948.
In 1953, Maxwell published a single issue of her magazine, ''Elsa Maxwell's Café Society'', which had a portrait of
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor (, ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian Americans, Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were actresses Eva Gabor, Eva and Magda Gabor.
Gabor competed in the 1933 Mis ...
on the cover.
Anne Edwards
Anne Edwards (born August 20, 1927) is an American writer best known for her biographies of celebrities that include Princess Diana, Maria Callas, Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Margaret Mitchell, Ronald Reagan, Barbra Streisand ...
's biography of
Maria Callas
Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...
(''Callas'', 2001) and Peter Evans's biography of
Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; el, Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης, Aristotélis Onásis, ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975), was a Greek-Argentinian shipping magnate who amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and wa ...
both claim that Maxwell introduced Callas to Onassis. Edwards also claims that Maxwell fell obsessively in love with Callas, 40 years Maxwell's junior. Callas biographer Stelios Galatopoulos produced love letters from Maxwell written to Callas, who was less than receptive.
Maxwell told interviewer
Mike Wallace
Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...
in 1957:
In the late 1950s,
Loretta Swit
Loretta Jane Swit (born Loretta Szwed; November 4, 1937) is an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on ''M*A*S*H'', for which she won two E ...
worked as Maxwell's personal secretary.
She died of heart failure in a Manhattan hospital.
Maxwell's last public appearance came a week before her death. She attended the annual
April in Paris Ball, which she had helped found, in a wheelchair. Fellowes-Gordon was Maxwell's sole heir. She is buried at
Ferncliff Cemetery
Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located at 280 Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States, about north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian. Fernc ...
, Hartsdale, New York.
Filmography
Elsa Maxwell appeared as herself in all of these films unless otherwise noted.
* ''
Hotel for Women
''Hotel for Women'' (or ''Elsa Maxwell's Hotel for Women'') is a 1939 American drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell, and James Ellison. It was Darnell's screen debut.
Plot
When she is jilted by her boyfr ...
'' (1939) as Mrs. Tilford
* ''
Lady and the Lug'' (1940) (
short subject
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
)
* ''
Public Deb No. 1'' (1940)
* ''
Stage Door Canteen
The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers we ...
'' (1943)
* ''
Rhapsody in Blue
''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered i ...
'' (1945)
*
References in popular culture
In ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
'', number 1 (1939) by
Jerome Siegel and
Joe Shuster
Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...
a partygoer comments "Elsa Maxwell has nothing on Blakely when it comes to throwing a novel party".
Lyricist
Tom Adair
Thomas Montgomery Adair (June 15, 1913 – May 24, 1988) was an American songwriter, composer, and screenwriter.
Biography
Adair was born on 15 June 1913, in Newton, Kansas, where his father owned a clothing store: he was the only child of Willi ...
referenced Maxwell in the song "Will You Still Be Mine" (first recorded by
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...
in 1941). The song's fourth chorus has the following lines: "When Elsa's parties are no fun / When FDR declines to run / When Eleanor of 'My Day' is done / Will you still be mine?"
In ''
The Second Confession'' by
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and ...
, published in September 1949, Nero Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin references Elsa Maxwell after being congratulated for helping a more slender woman out of the pool.
Elsa Maxwell was the name of Higa Jiga's goat that was used to test the sweet potato brandy in the 1956 movie ''
Teahouse of the August Moon'', starring Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford.
In an episode of ''
I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'' titled "Housewarming", which originally aired on April 1, 1957, Ethel Mertz (
Vivian Vance
Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress and singer best known for playing Ethel Mertz on the sitcom ''I Love Lucy'' (1951–1957), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outst ...
) derisively refers to Betty Ramsey (
Mary Jane Croft
Mary Jane Croft (February 15, 1916 – August 24, 1999) was an American actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on ''I Love Lucy'', Miss Daisy Enright on the radio and television versions of ''Our Miss Brooks'', Mary Jane Lewis on ''T ...
) as "the Elsa Maxwell of Westport".
In
''The Spy Went Dancing'' by
Aline, Countess of Romanones (1991), Elsa Maxwell is mentioned as being a society hostess who held "fabulous parties" in 1947 New York.
Elsa Maxwell was also referred to by JFK impersonator
Vaughn Meader
Abbott Vaughn Meader (March 20, 1936 – October 29, 2004) was an American comedian, impersonator, musician, and film actor.
Meader began his career as a musician but later found fame in the early 1960s after the release of the 1962 comedy reco ...
on ''The First Family'' LP (1962). On track 15, "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning", Maxwell calls President Kennedy (Meader) to see if he and Jackie (Naomi Brossart) would be interested in going to a party she was hosting that evening. The President, however, politely declines because he is too embarrassed to admit that he and the First Lady have not already made Saturday night plans themselves.
In Season 6 Episode 31 of ''
Leave It to Beaver'' ("The Poor Loser"),
June
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...
jokingly refers to herself as "a regular Elsa Maxwell."
Bibliography
*''RSVP: Elsa Maxwell's Own Story'' (1954) by Elsa Maxwell, Little, Brown and Company
*''How to Do It, or the Lively Art of Entertaining'' (1957) by Elsa Maxwell, Little, Brown and Company
*''Inventing Elsa Maxwell'' (2012) by Sam Staggs, St. Martin's Press
*''I Married the World'' by Elsa Maxwell
References
Further reading
*''Ari: The Life and Times of Aristotle Socrates Onassis'', by Peter Evans, 1986
External links
Clan Maxwell*
*
*
in ''Time'' magazine, November 1, 1954
* Norwich William
''The New York Times'', January 30, 2000
*
*Elsa Maxwell, as mystery guest, on the television program ''What's My Line'' ,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Elsa
1883 births
1963 deaths
People from Keokuk, Iowa
American gossip columnists
LGBT people from Iowa
American LGBT writers
American women columnists
Journalists from New York City
American women non-fiction writers