K im Cattrall: The Pleasure’s All Mine
Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall and her audio-equipment entrepreneur and Red Rose Music founder husband, Mark Levinson, have inked a deal with Warner Books to write their much-anticipated sex book, Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm. The couple had originally signed with Simon & Schuster, but the publishers dropped the project after they learned that, instead of writing a celebrity-psychobabble tome about relationships, Cattrall and Levinson were planning an explicit, Joy of Sex-like handbook for lovers. A Warner rep says, “There are certain areas of the book that deal with the nuts and bolts of what a man can do to make a woman feel good, to get the most successful orgasm she could ever achieve.” Most readers are going to have to judge this book by its cover – it will be shrink-wrapped in clear plastic. “There is a certain delicate nature to the book,” says the rep, “that maybe they don’t want to be available as readily as it could be by just flipping through it.”
For the Laurens, It’s a Family Affair
The evening was more bar mitzvah than high-art affair – at least that’s how Greg Lauren felt at the opening last week at Stricoff Fine Art in Chelsea for his collection of oil paintings. Greg’s designer uncle Ralph and his aunt Ricki were there, along with various cousins including candy-store-owner Dylan, fashion-exec David, and movie producer-actor Andrew, as well as Greg’s sister, Jenny, and their parents, Jerry and Susan. “My mom kept calling me with more names,” Greg told us, as he introduced us to his sexy girlfriend, Showgirls star Elizabeth Berkley . “‘Remember your dad’s cousin? Well, I’ve invited him too.’ I was like, ‘Mom, it’s an art show, not a bar mitzvah.’” Certainly the checks were bigger: Within two hours, thirteen of the twenty paintings on display – based on old family photographs – were sold (at prices ranging from $1,500 to $20,000). Interior designer Dennis Adler told Greg he loved the work, but was disappointed that the ones he wanted for his clients had already been snatched up by the time he arrived. “Well, I have some more in the trunk of my car,” Greg cracked.
Karenna Gore to Be a Mother in Law
It’s back to work for Karenna Gore Schiff. The daughter of former vice-president Al Gore told us that in mid-January, she’ll start working three days a week at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where she was a summer associate in law school. “I’m hoping to be a working mom soon,” says Schiff, the 28-year-old mother of 2-year-old Wyatt and 2 1/2-month-old Anna. “I think I’m in the same boat as a lot of people trying to figure out how it’s going to work with little kids.” Is this just another step toward running for elective office? “I really don’t know if I’ll ever be a candidate,” Schiff insists, “but certainly I’m interested in politics and supporting candidates and all that.” She adds with a laugh, “And that could be heartbreaking.”
Mike Bloomberg’s Pillow Talk
Mike Bloomberg hasn’t been shy about showing off his East Side abode. While the New York Post showcased the mayor-elect’s mansion with pictures picked up from an old CNN story last week, a tipster slipped us a copy of House & Garden’s April 1999 issue, which features a ten-page spread on the townhouse. While you might expect the city’s richest bachelor to have a modern pad loaded with high-tech big-boy toys, the gilt- and tassel-filled home actually has more of a ladies-who-lunch feel to it. Among the treasures are a ten-foot-long, 1760 Chippendale sofa, a nineteenth-century dining room with an 1820 porcelain dessert set, and a master bedroom overflowing with pink and mauve silk taffeta. A needlepoint pillow beside his bed reads, “How Many Heterosexual Billionaires Are There, for Crissakes?”
BAG IT Monica Lewinsky isn’t joining the red-white-and-blue bandwagon. The handbag designer was overheard telling a pal at the Piper-Heidsieck book party for Steven Bluttal’s Halston that she has no plans to add patriotic designs to her collection. “I wouldn’t do a flag thing; I would feel a little awkward because of my … connection with politics,” Lewinsky said. “But I might do something with a Colonial theme, like Mount Vernon, with really interesting fabrics.”
BEDAZZLED Two months ago, Todd Oldham put the finishing touches on his makeover of Veruka; now we hear he’ll be redesigning Leshko’s as well. Early next year, the former fashion darling will refurbish the smaller of the two dining rooms of the popular East Village restaurant. And the look? “He’s thinking of embroidering the walls with sequins,” a Leshko co-owner tells us.