THE timing couldn’t have been more embarrassing for both the hosts and their special guest, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (inset).
Just off the plane from Israel, Hillary kept a longstanding date Monday to attend a HELP US function at the Manhattan headquarters of HBO.
The feisty cable network had, of course, premiered the Monica Lewinsky confessional the night before, featuring all that stuff about how Bill Clinton had swept the White House intern off her feet, the stained blue dress, the professions of love between them and that great American agony/soap opera, the impeachment.
Before Hillary arrived, HBO executives were beaming about the impact the Monica special (which will be rebroadcast next week) had on viewers. (I hear it was must-see TV in D.C.)
But the network suits and the people from HELP (the Cuomo family’s homeless initiative) had to bite their tongues in Hillary’s presence. “To mention the Monica show would have been like asking ‘Apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?’ Really bad taste,” one guest claimed.
Hillary’s not dumb, so she must have known what was going on and what many in the room must have been thinking.
“But she held her head up high and was gracious to everyone,” says another attendee. “The woman has guts.”
Getting his ‘Goat’
BILL Pullman had a brief career off-Broadway before heading out to Hollywood in search of find fame and fortune. Now the big star is back on the boards here in the new Edward Albee play, “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?” and looks set for a long run. The quirky comedy is only in previews, but everyone’s talking Tony nominations for Bill and his co-star, Mercedes Ruehl (right).
A capital idea
MAYOR Mike should be in town again this weekend to watch himself on CNN’s “The Capital Gang” on Saturday night. Bloomberg (inset), who in pre-City Hall life was the master of communications, isn’t too overcome that the D.C. panel is coming to New York for his interview. It’s kind of hard for a bunch of working stiffs to try and browbeat a guy who’s made billions out of the media game while we were just trying to get the names spelled right.
Memorial planned
DEAR Blaine Trump‘s father died Monday, a few months after suffering a stroke. Blaine and her husband, Robert, got the call that he was sinking and took the first plane they could get to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., but arrived too late. There will be a memorial service for her dad, Josephus Beard, in Florida, Friday afternoon.
A good skate
BEFORE figure skating was such a big deal, Vera Wang made her living desiging those frothy dresses and durable panties the ice queens wore. But some 10 years ago, Vera got a call from a budding movie star who loved her work and promised to wear it if and when she got invited to the Oscars. In a pre-Academy Award show to be seen on the Lifetime channel Monday, Vera talks about how thrilled she was to have “Basic Instinct” star Sharon Stone end up wearing one of her gowns on the red carpet. Though Vera doesn’t say it, I’d guess that any designer would appreciate knowing that she didn’t have to worry about visible panty lines ruining the look of her frock.
Mystery man
SPEAKING of the former first family, “Anonymous” author Joe Klein, who made millions on his Bubba novel “Primary Colors” and is following up with “The Natural: The Presidency of Bill Clinton,” admits he’s never got a handle on his subject. Klein tells the new issue of Book magazine that after lengthy conversations with Clinton, “I don’t feel that I’ve ever gotten inside him personally.” He notes that someone can be with Bill for hours and think they’ve got very close. “Then an hour later you wonder how much of it was real.” Monica would back Joe up on that.