Bubbles Rothermere

Pamela Harmsworth, Viscountess Rothermere,
in the library of her New York City apartment.
Photo by Fred R Conrad for the NY TIMES.

Despite what your mother may have told you, it sometimes makes more sense to start with dessert first.  As a prequel of sorts to a series of upcoming posts of The Devoted Classicist, this will not be in chronological order, but with the subject that first comes to mind.  Those who followed International Society in the 1980s will conjure up this image at the mention of the Rothermere title, the larger-than-life wife of the 3rd Viscount, media billionaire Vere Harmsworth, universally known by her nickname "Bubbles."


The actress Beverly Brooks,
later to become Viscountess Rothermere.
Kobal Collection mage via New York Times.

Patricia Evelyn Beverly Matthews quit secretarial school and was working as a model when she met and married Christopher Brooks, a wealthy, handsome Coldstream Guards captain in 1951 (with some sources saying 1953).  They had a daughter in 1956 but, as actress Beverly Brooks, she appeared in five films released in 1955 and 1956. She gave up the acting career in 1957, getting a divorce and marrying Brooks' friend since school days at Eton.



Pamela Harmsworth
photograph by Baron, 1962.
Image: National Portrait Gallery
via Fashion's Most Wanted.

In the T Magazine series by Christopher Petkanas, "Fabulous Dead People." the writer contends that the captain suggested to his wife, on learning of interest from Harmsworth, that an affair would be more suitable than marriage due to the class difference.  "Talk about bitchy and cutthroat" she was quoted to say years later.

Bubbles Rothermere.
Uncredited photo via Google Images.

After having two daughters with Harmsworth, Bubbles pulled through a potential family catastrophe by producing a son in 1967, providing an heir to both the title and fortune.  A separation eventually followed in 1978, however, but the couple stayed on good terms.  It was reported that Bubbles received an annual stipend of seven figures, so lack of funds was not an issue.


Eaton Square, London.
Photo via Fashion's Most Wanted.

Bubbles Rothermere maintained a London apartment that spanned two townhouses on Eaton Square, a country retreat, Stroods House in Sussex, a house in Round Hill, Jamaica, a house in Beverly Hills, a seaside villa in the south of France, and a penthouse at 960 Fifth Avenue in New York City.


Bubbles Rothermere's NYC apartment
as it appeared in House Beautiful.
Image via a private collection of clippings.

Charles Jennings, working as a tutor for her daughters, wrote about his experiences in PEOPLE LIKE US: A SEASON AMONG THE UPPER CLASSES (with used copies starting at just $.01 from The Devoted Classicist Library).  Also, there is some insight on the Viscountess Rothermere in AN UNLIKELY HERO: VERE ROTHERMERE AND HOW THE DAILY MAIL WAS SAVED by S.J. Taylor, a book commissioned by Lord Rothermere and published in 2002 after his death.


The Library of Bubble Rothermere's
NYC apartment as it appeared in House Beautiful.
Image via a private collection of clippings.

As a slight detour in the story, the penthouse at 960 Fifth Avenue, has recently come on the market for $65 million.  Last occupied by Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Bubbles Rothermere's name is associated with the apartment in the recent articles as being the former owner.  The photos do not clearly correspond with the real estate listing or floor plan, however, so these previous two images might be another apartment.


The floor plan of the penthouse,
960 Fifth Avenue.
Image via The Realestalker blog.

The Viscountess Rothermere reportedly traveled with 2,000 pills in 75 bottles.  Her fatal heart attack at age 63 in August, 1992, in the villa on the French Riviera that was formerly owned by Greta Garbo was ruled "death by misadventure," accidental drug overdose. 


Villa Roc at Cap D'Ail,
Bubbles Rothermere's home in France.
Image via Fashion's Most Wanted blog.

Not long afterwards, Viscount Rothermere married his long-time mistress, always referred to in the press as a former Korean hand model, Maiko Jeong Shun Lee.

Bubbles Rothermere photographed by Helmut Newton
in her Eaton Square apartment, 1985.
Image via Fashion's Most Wanted blog.

The several upcoming posts of The Devoted Classicist will feature Daylesford, the sumptuous home of Bubbles Rothermere's father-in-law.  Those reading an abbreviated version of this blog can leave comments, search previous posts, and sign up to follow The Devoted Classicist at the regular web site here.





Sister Parish at 960 Fifth Avenue

Mrs. Henry Parish, 2nd, known as "Sister".
Photo from THE GREAT LADY DECORATORS.

The Devoted Classicist has received a number of inquiries and comments on the recently-offered-for-sale former apartment of Mrs. Henry Parish, 2nd, the legendary decorator Sister Parish, founding partner of Parish-Hadley Associates, my former employer.  There have been several newspaper articles and numerous blog postings on the subject, but all are filled with inaccuracies.  Hopefully, this essay will answer those questions about the idiosyncrasies of the apartment.

The residence of William A. Clark formerly occupied the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 77th Street before being demolished for the construction of the apartment building 960 Fifth Avenue.

The prestigious Manhattan co-op apartment building known by its address 960 Fifth Avenue was completed in 1928 and designed by Rosario Candela in association with Warren & Wetmore, Cross & Cross architects, and Mrs. George Draper (later to be known as the decorator Dorothy Draper).  The site was formerly occupied by two houses, the Charles F. Dieterich residence at 963 Fifth Avenue and the exuberant William A. Clark residence at 1 East 77th Street.  (The 121 room Clark mansion was recently in the news as the childhood home of the billionaire recluse Hugette Clark who died in May, 2011, with an estate that included three palatial residences that she had not occupied in years).

960 Fifth Avenue, showing the former apartment of Sister Parish on the ground floor, corner.
Image from Brown Harris Stevens.

960 Fifth Avenue originally contained fourteen lavish duplex and simplex apartments with rooms of varying ceiling heights;  some have since been divided into smaller apartments, however, without a loss of luxury.  The Mark Hampton-decorated apartment of socialite Anne Bass approaches 10,000 square feet according to the New York Observer.  Although the apartments contained dining rooms and kitchens, an original feature was a for-residents-only restaurant and entertaining facility, The Georgian Room, sometimes also called The Georgian Suite, which can be entered on the ground floor of 960 Fifth Avenue or through a separate entrance at 1A East 77th Street.  There is also an associated building, originally a rental, containing smaller apartments with its own entrance at 3 East 77th Street.

Floor plan of the former apartment of Sister Parish at 960 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
Fifth Avenue would be at the top and East 77th Street at the left.
Entrance is gained from a hallway adjacent to the elevators.
Image from Brown Harris Stevens.

Mrs. Parish's apartment was originally a duplex maisonette at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 77th Street.  It had its own entrance which can still be seen on East 77th Street, the third opening from the corner.  Mrs. Parish used the doorman entrance on Fifth Avenue, but liked being on the ground floor so her dogs, who went with her to the office every day, did not use the elevator.  Her apartment had already been reduced to one floor with the original Dining Room incorporated into the adjacent apartment.  The former Stair Hall became her Dining Room of sorts and the former Vestibule, shown in the plan as a Study originally did not have the door to the Living Room, held a day bed and was used as a Guest Room.  Mrs. Parish's bedroom was formerly a Library.  Also, there was a staff room elsewhere in the building, unattached to the apartment.

Sister Parish's Living Room at 960 Fifth Avenue.
Photo from PARISH-HADLEY, SIXTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DECORATION.

Mrs. Parish would have very likely spent the rest of her days in the apartment had she not been approached with a generous offer to sell.  As she was in ther late 70s by this point, she felt that a room within the apartment for her live-in housekeeper would be a desirable feature and set out to see if there was a maisonette on the market that would provide that.  The Manhattan residence of the late film star Gloria Swanson fit the bill, with a small adjacent outdoor space as well.  So Mrs. Parish moved in the mid 1980s and the new owner had the apartment completely redecorated by Irvine & Fleming, changing everything except the trompe l'oeil painted cabinet doors in the pantry-like kitchen.

The Living Room with remnants of the decoration by Irvine & Fleming.

The Living Room as decorated by Mario Buatta.

A Before and After article in the February, 2008, issue of Architectural Digest magazine showed remnants of the Irvine & Fleming decoration before the next transformation by Mario Buatta.  Acoording to the magazine article, the Buatta client and present owner of the apartment is Patricia Altshul, the widow of banker-philanthropist Arthur Altshul.  (A few years ago, Mrs. Altshul sold her Long Island estate Southerly overlooking Oyster Bay Harbor and paid a record price for the 1851 Mikell House in Charleston, South Carolina). 

The Dining Room with remnants of the decoration by Irvine & Fleming.

The Dining Room as decorated by Mario Buatta.

Irvine & Fleming made a few changes such as closing one doorway from the original Vestibule and opening a new one to the Living Room.  Also, Irvine & Fleming added mirror in the Living Room and Bedroom.  (Keith Irvine formerly worked for the legendary decorator John Fowler whose influence can be seen in the curtains). 

The Living Room as decorated by Mario Buatta with a false fireplace added.

It seems that Mario Buatta's work was purely decorative, keeping these alterations and adding only a false fireplace to complete his trademark look.

The Bedroom as decorated by Mario Buatta.

The Bathroom as decorated by Mario Buatta.

More information can be seen at the Brown Harris Stevens website www.bhsusa.com.  The listed price is $3,500,000 with a monthly maintenance charge of $3,732.  The property ID is 1559532.

Mrs. Henry "Sister" Parish, 2nd, with her beloved Peke, Yummy.
Portrait by Aaron Schikler.

More about the legendary decorator Sister Parish can found by searching this site for mentions in previous posts of The Devoted Classicist, and in books here, here, here, and here.

ADDENDUM, February  18, 2012

Devoted reader Toby Worthington submitted this collage of photos by Horst that appeared in the October, 1976, issue of House & Garden magazine that I could not resist sharing.  It shows Mrs. Parish's apartment at 960 Fifth Avenue in a previous scheme, notably with the squares of mirror behind the sofa on the north wall of the Living Room already in place.  The other decorating tip is the shirred-on-the-rod curtains that could be drawn with a concealed mechanism in the hollowed-out pole that allowed a conventional traverse action.