Tag archives: Natalie Portman
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have adopted one of former TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres’ ailing chicken, which was being bullied at her $25 million Montecito estate, just a five-minute drive from the Sussexes $14.5 million mansion in Riven Rock. Ellen, 65, updated her 139 million Instagram followers on the progress of Sinkie, so […]
The quote from Todd Haynes, director of the new film May December, states: “…If there’s any universal theme in all my films, it seems to be disease… And I hope that changes, but I have a feeling it may not until things change in the world…” And while Haynes said that in 1995, it’s been […]
An old friend, artist Robyn Geddes, who I knew in Manhattan when he worked for Andy Warhol at The Factory, contacted me after reading my item on the decline of the use of my signature signoff Pip! Pip! Robyn, who is editor of the community newsletter at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club where […]
After 20 months of forced inactivity because of the pandemic, UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures program is back with a bang! “The wait is over!” declared Miller McCune executive director Celesta Billeci at a Creating Hope launch bash at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum for 170 guests. “This is a big step for us. The […]
While Fiesta Pequeña at the Mission and Noches de Ronda at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens were cancelled after the significant uptick in coronavirus infections, La Recepcion del Presidente at the Carriage & Western Museum with 200 guests went ahead as planned, raising nearly $50,000 for Old Spanish Days. Drew Wakefield served as emcee and auctioneer, […]
On a personal note, I remember Santa Barbara realtor Chip Lawson, who has moved to more heavenly pastures at the all too early age of 62. A jovial soul, we first met at Cafe Del Sol, the former popular local bar hangout by the Andree Clark Bird Refuge, now the Magic Castle. Chip, a former […]
Lindsay Cortina is the new president of The Junior League of Santa Barbara replacing Kielle Horton after a one-year term. Cortina joined the league six years ago and has served in numerous leadership roles. She is also director of organizational initiatives at Sansum Clinic, where she oversees the implementation of strategic projects and programs aimed […]
To Solvang for the memorial service for the late Gene Sinser, former board member of the Santa Barbara Symphony and ex director of the Montecito Fire District, who left us last month at the age of 85. The German Holocaust survivor, whose birth name was Gunther Zinser, was a longtime member of our rarefied enclave […]
Actor Michael Imperioli, who rose to fame in the TV show The Sopranos, has put his Victorian Santa Barbara home on the market for $2.649 million. Michael, who is garnering good ratings in his new ABC-TV comedy Alex, Inc. with Zach Braff, bought the 2-story 3,000-sq.-ft. home six years ago for $1.635 million and has […]
Santa Barbara Natural History Museum’s 31st annual Wine and Food Festival on June 30 is going to be the biggest and best yet, raising around $110,000, predicts president Luke Swetland. The popular tourist attraction hosted a pre-fest bash for 60 guests at the Grassini Wine tasting room in El Paseo to promote the event. “There […]
Santa Barbara’s musical youth shone at the First United Methodist Church when the youth opera and youth symphony under Opera SB artistic director Kostis Protpapas performed a creative production of Benjamin Britten’s Noah’s Flood. The 1958 work, based on a 15th-century Chester mystery play, featured bass-baritone Vincent Grana and mezzo soprano Chelsea Melamed as his […]
Former Londoner Janet Napier is bowling them over! Janet has just been installed as president of the 81-year-old Santa Barbara Lawn Bowls Club on De La Vina Street. A San Francisco State University graduate, Janet was president of the city’s Rotary Club and volunteers for the Red Cross and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. […]
Jeremy Norris and Paco Buxton, owners of the upper village bling emporium Tresor, have quite a majestic display in their window. The 50-year-old Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry, which formerly belonged to the countess Raine Spencer, stepmother of the late Princess Diana, was bought from a dealer in Geneva, Switzerland, and consists of an impressive […]
