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OPRAH FINALE COSTS AD BUYERS BIG BUCKS
Thirty-second spots on media mogul Oprah Winfrey's syndicated swan song on May 25 have been price-tagged at $1 million each for national commercial time. TV stations have pegged the afternoon talk show as prime time, despite being aired in the daytime block. Our town's KSDK Channel 5 is asking $2,500 for the 30-second spot. By the way, each of Winfrey's shows averages around 7 million viewers. Let's see the program's stats come late May. The $1 million tab has not been seen since the last airing of Everybody Loves Raymond.
THE FUTURE OF SHAW'S GARDEN
The Starlight Ballroom at The Chase Park Plaza was where the Academy of Science held its Outstanding St. Louis Scientists Awards, and Dr. Timothy Eberlein was one of the recipients. The surgeon-in-chief of Barnes-Jewish Hospital had to make a fast exit to board a flight for Boca Raton, Fla., to become installed as president of the American Surgical Association. Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, the newly appointed prez of the Missouri Botanical Garden, tipped that the garden's museum building, closed for 20 years, is in store for a complete restoration. "It will be restored as Henry Shaw created it," he said. Jackson came here from Dublin, where he was head of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, to succeed Dr. Peter Raven. Barrister Stuart "Tim" Symington Jr. was also on hand to watch his wife, Dr. Janey Symington, get plaudits. She is a retired molecular biologist at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He is the son of the iconic Democratic Missouri Sen. Stuart Symington, who served as the first Secretary of the U.S. Air Force. Overachieving casting director Carrie Houk was there with her beau, David Carl Wilson, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences at Webster University. Carrie confided, "I love him, and I get so much attention. Maybe it's because Ralph Houk was the manager of his favorite team—the Yankees." Of her own career, she said, "I'm teaching at both Webster and Columbia College in Chicago. Every Tuesday, I have to take the Amtrak, and look what happened." She held up her left arm in a sling. "I was hit there by a bicycle courier."
Sheila Voss and Peter Wyse Jackson Carrie Houk and David Carl Wilson Dr. Timothy and Kim Eberlein
THE BOLD-FACED CROWD
Finally, here are some memorable quotes and happenings of the bold-face crowd—from both those alive and gone:
• Society cream puff Gertrude Bernoudy, widow of celebrated architect William Bernoudy: "I can't give money to the Zoo. I met [its former director] Charlie Hoessle, and he wears polyester suits."
• The late Anne Desloge Bates had body sponges delivered to her minions each Christmas.
• Former KMOX general manager Robert Hyland to a vendor: "Do that, and I'll have you boycotted by the community."
• Former Post-Dispatch managing editor David Lipman: "Yeah, [former Post columnist and TV critic] Eric Mink is great, except he's too moralistic."
• Former P-D publisher Joseph Pulitzer Jr. advised, "Never pair cheese with wine. It's bad for the breath."
• Former Saint Louis Zoo president Howard Baer to Joe Pulitzer: "You're only giving $1,000 for the Zoo-Museum District campaign, and your paper crusaded for it?"
• 7-Up heiress Lucianna Gladney Ross of her CWE mansion: "The house needs a roof, but they're so expensive."
• The late PR practitioner Ruth Jacobson to Gussie Busch at the topping-off ceremony of the Equitable Building: "Mr. Busch, you can't leave the dais now," to which Busch exclaimed, "Well, I will, because I have to take a pee."
• Boulevardier George Conant: "Background is never discussed; it's reflected."
• Virginia Johnson, sex researcher with former husband Dr. Bill Masters: "Did I attend college? I have an honorary degree from the University of Louisville."
• Risa Zwerling about her husband, Mark Wrighton, chancellor of Washington University: "His mother is Jewish, and he loves brisket but won't eat leftovers."
• Tony's restaurant boniface Vince Bommarito to his staff prior to opening the doors: "That's it for now—it's showtime!"
