Nine Grammys. Stands 6’7”. Leader of the band for 30 years.

Numbers work in Ray Benson’s favor. His legendary band, Asleep at the Wheel, helped to put Austin music on the map in the 1970s, when it was mostly centered around one spot: the Armadillo World Headquarters. In the decades since, he’s enjoyed working with many of the great musicians of our time: Willie, Dolly, Dylan, and the Chicks.

Beyond Time, the post-modern King of Swing’s just-released first solo album, comes 45 years he wrote his first song. About the new album that contains almost entirely self-penned songs, he says, “we’re just dealin’ with 12 notes and a language of words and poetry.” As if a life full of music and adulation weren’t enough, Benson has been designated the 2004 Texas State Musician by the Texas House of Representatives. He is also very involved locally with the Rhythm & Blues Foundation and the St. David’s Foundation. We spoke with him during a recent recording session.

If a picture paints a thousand words, then Nancy Holmes has captured millions of them in her photojournalistic career. In a Brilliant exclusive, the San Antonio resident recounts her career, her loves and her life on the locations of some of the world’s best loved films with the most fascinating movie stars of the era.

“They say the camera doesn’t lie,” reflects Nancy Holmes about her career as a globe-trotting photojournalist, “…you bet it does. Exactly the way you want it to.” Few have captured images as substantial as Holmes has. The 85-years old’s age is a tad misleading. She has the style of a woman decades younger and a twinkle in her eye of a woman even younger than that. It’s called being ageless, and Holmes’ life has seemed, to many, quite an ageless and charmed one.

Ensconced in a San Antonio high-rise apartment that could be easily mistaken for a residence on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Holmes is in a reflective mood about her career and life. Every wall and shelf is dotted with images from her life. There’s even a ‘Men’s Room’ − a guest bathroom with walls covered with photos of her favorite men in her life and career. “As Sophie Tucker so famously said, ‘I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor and rich is better.’ I don’t agree. I’ve loved being both because I had to make a living and create my destiny. I wouldn’t trade that for the world,” quips Holmes. From the mid-20th century forward, Holmes is certain to have a common denominator with just about any notable personality from the worlds of entertainment, fashion, art and commerce. She either met them at a dinner party while yachting on the Mediterranean in the 1950s, as the set photographer for Columbia Pictures during the 1960s, or perhaps encountered them while serving as an editor at Town and Country magazine from 1972 to 1984.

“A woman who wears my clothes is not afraid to be noticed,” says the Sultan of Sequins Bob Mackie. The prolific designer should know. He’s won nine Emmy Awards (and has been nominated for 31) and has also been nominated for three Academy Awards. But it’s not just the accolades to Mackie. It’s about the creative process.

I caught up with Mackie as he was dashing off to the East Coast from his Los Angeles studio, where he is still a sought after designer for made to order for Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and helms successful products with his QVC network appearances. He had just learned he was nominated for another Emmy for Carol Burnett’s costumes for her role in this past season’s television special, Once Upon A Mattress. He still has that inimitable dynamic touch. Cameron Silver, owner of the chic Los Angeles store, Decades, specializing in vintage couture, comments on Mackie’s talents, “Just look at the last Dior Haute Couture show by Galliano and you see Mackie’s influence. When Cher was overheard saying it was her favorite show and she would wear all the clothing, it’s a great validation that costume and fashion have fused at the highest echelon of style.

Bob Mackie has been able to mix his profound talent as a costume designer with his couturier ability to create some of the most memorable fashion images of the 20th century.” Mackie wowed audiences every week on Burnett’s show with an outrageous array of imaginative colors, luxury fabrics, beading, feathers, fur and just about any other sort of adornment that could create an instant impression. He created a body of instant impressions that’s lasted to this day, decades later.

The United Kingdom and the United States have always had a formidable relationship, especially with its educational goals. Here, in an exclusive, Houstonian Jonathan Sandys speaks to his great grandfather Winston Churchill’s legacy and life that still has as impact on the world today with Churchill’s Britain Foundation.

“My great-grandfather was continually beaten senselessly, told he was stupid and thick and remained at the bottom of his class throughout his school years,” states Jonathan Sandys, Houston resident and great grandson of Winston Churchill. “But, he believed in himself and that God had different plans for him, so he never gave up. His will to never give up in his own personal struggles also became one of his slogans as Prime Minister, surrender is not an option. It was this belief of not surrendering that led Churchill into continual success.”

The journey to Churchill’s greatness was paved with obstacles. Sandys and his great grandfather also shared a debilitating condition that created havoc with their education, landing both in the back of the room throughout their school years. However, through work, dedication and a strong will to achieve, they also both overcame the problems caused by Dyslexic. That’s why Churchill’s Britain Foundation was started by Jonathan Sandys, who not only has faced many of the challenges of his famous relative, but also shares his same passions.

It’s quite clear…Eloise DeJoria lives a spectacular life. Just like the precocious Eloise of children’s book fame, DeJoria instantly captivates any environment she encounters. All over the world, and especially in her home base of Central Texas, where she and her husband John Paul and son, John Anthony have lived for nearly a decade. And she gets by with a little help from her friends…

Lead: Fit and fabulous are the two words that best describe the bundle of energy named Eloise DeJoria. She’s a wife. Mother. Model. All-around cool chick. With several upcoming acting roles, and her new Fit At 40 + exercise DVDs flying off the shelves, we get a behind-the-scenes look at how she’s making this world a more beautiful place.

“She’s so sweet and easy to get along with. And a great mother. We’ve gotten to be great friends. We love to go to dinner and hiking together. We both Taurus’s and one time Eloise, Pierce Brosnan and I had a big, combined birthday party in London. We had the best time,” Cher told me recently about DeJoria. DeJoria’s loves living her star-studded life.

The genesis of her strong upbringing was in the Memorial area of Houston, the daughter of a lawyer and a stay-at-home artist mom. Friends for years, DeJoria and I happened to share the same flight to Los Angeles years ago. She was going there for a photo shoot with Town & Country magazine. She shared stories with me of growing up in Texas, which I found quite touching. Among them, DeJoria recounts, “I loved playing in the woods where I was either building a fort or pretending I was Ann Margaret. We’d ride our horses to Buffalo Bayou. You know, I still find spirituality outdoors.” Her childhood pal Rebecca Allen revealed more insight, “It was her parents’ unconditional love and supervised freedom that provided Eloise with her humble self-assurance. She has an unwavering honesty, respect, heartfelt kindness and Texas-bred confidence, while continuing to value what she considers her most important life contribution… being a loving human.”

These Texas-tied glamour queens of the silver screen knew a thing or two about jewelry…how to wear it, how to get it and of course, how to earn it. Women today still look to these gem goddesses of the past for inspiration. Here, we take a look at the today’s very best jewelry choices of what these movie bombshells might adorn today and how you can embrace your own inner movie star wearing them, too.

Joan Crawford: Shopgirl To Socialite

In an extraordinary six decade long career, San Antonio-born Joan Crawford loved her men, cocktails and jewels. “I seem to grow more valuable to you each year,” Crawford said in the 1931 film with Clark Gable, Possessed, about a very productive love relationship rewarded with precious jewels. As a career girl, she bought as many gems for herself from her salaries at MGM and Warner Brothers as were given to her by her five husbands throughout her life. Today we think she’d still like bracelets winding up her arm, the perfect brooch and yes, the inimitable dinner ring.

Like any legendary beauty nearing the half-century mark, the sweeping movie that put Marfa on the map and theTexas way of life on celluloid has aged superbly – Giant at well past 50 now.

Big? Yep. Grand? You bet. Giant? Definitely. The epic movie about Reata, a fabled 595,000-acre West Texas ranch and its inhabitants, changed the way the world viewed Texas. There’s no denying the vast impact of the myth, the film and the West Texas area where it was shot in the summer and early fall of 1955.

Inspired by real-life Texas oilman Glenn McCarthy, Edna Ferber’s 1952 best-selling book, on which the movie is based, captured all that was right and wrong with Texas, and the country, at the time. According to Hollywoodscreenwriter Ivan Moffat, who adapted the screenplay, “The novel wasn't very popular among Texans to begin with. One Dallas paper claimed that if the film was shown in Texas, the screen might be shot full of holes.” Yet the pioneer spirit glorified in the film is alive and well in the region today, with some of its inhabitants betting on Marfa and its surroundings as an international art world player– even when your average Texan may not have made the pilgrimage west. The film, like its home turf, is continually being rediscovered and discovered for the first time as a classic.

“She gave him sex appeal. He gave her class.” That’s how actress Katherine Hepburn once described the on-screen relationship between Texan Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. As she danced up a storm with him in over a dozen films, this woman of legendary style danced into the hearts of America, as well. Having catapulted into show biz after winning a Charleston dance contest at the old Texas Hotel in her hometown of Fort Worth, the rest, as they say, is history. My colleague A.C. Lyles, a Golden Age of Hollywood-era producer, said it best by stating, “She was an actor, a star, a superstar and, boy, she was a legend.”

Called “Ginger” because her cousin couldn’t say her name, Virginia, she noted in her autobiography, "My mother told me I was dancing before I was born. She could feel my toes tapping wildly inside her for months.” So began a fairytale life promoted by her prototypical stage mother, Lela, and achieved by her own sheer drive, talent and beauty. Not only did Lela write and produce plays in which Ginger performed as a student at Central High School in Fort Worth, but she also remained a dominant influence throughout Ginger’s career.

The power that Rogers wielded during the Depression and World War II was almost unfathomable. Headlines in the movie magazines of the time reflected her overwhelming popularity with the American public. A role-model for women, Ginger Rogers exuded a feminine determination in an era when actresses were only beginning to create a strong presence. For men, she was a glamorous version of the attainable girl next door. It could be said that she was the Reneé Zellweger of Hollywood’s Golden Age. In fact, both Texas actresses played the role of Chicago’s infamous vixen, Roxie Hart.

In the new book, The Art of Friendship, Roger Horchow and his daughter Sally Horchow have answered the age-old questions; of how to be a great friend, how to make better friends and how those friends can enhance your life. In this exclusive interview with us, Roger reveals the secrets to his success that far exceeds the theory that we’re all separated by six degrees. With him and his daughter, it’s more like one degree. Now, that’s connecting the dots.

On a brisk winter afternoon, Roger Horchow is surrounded by his prized possessions and museum-quality art collection in his Dallas residence. It’s the very good life he leads in a comfortable East Coast-style home of a life fully lived. His mementos and a plethora of personal memorabilia already slated to be donated to Southern Methodist University at a later date dot the walls and line any available shelf. Several dozens of scrapbooks and photo albums contain everything from White House invitations to photos of everyone notable from his glamour-filled life as an executive with Neiman Marcus and Foley’s and his own namesake catalog, The Horchow Collection, of one-of-a kind objects inspired by global travels with his wife, Carolyn. He’s even a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer (Kiss Me Kate and Crazy for You). In short, he is a Texas legend and Horchow and his family might just be the most well-loved family in the state.

When it comes to jewels, colored stones have always rivaled diamonds in popularity.

In his book, Colored Gems, Tiffany & Company design director John Loring, in an exclusive interview with us, illustrates not only their fiery beauty, but also the history behind them, their designers, and the historical role they have played in life, love and war among centuries and across the world.

If a diamond might be representative of a pristine debutante, then colored gems would surely personify her sexy, wilder sister. Diamonds will always be a girl’s best friend, yet colored stones might just signify her wild and sexy boyfriend. “While diamonds provide the sparkle, it is the many dramatic or subtle hues of colored gemstones that add a wonderful diversity and personality to the world of fashion jewelry,” offers Jeffrey Post of the Smithsonian Institute. Diamonds, and pearls for that matter, are marvelous, yet colored gems are, to many, much more fascinating, even when they used to be referred to as semi-precious stones. They’ve always been precious to the beholder.

An aquamarine statement ring encrusted with rubies and amethysts perched on woman’s left hand at a ball? Divinely mesmerizing. A topaz brooch surrounded by tourmalines and emeralds worn on a luncheon suit lapel? Sublimely chic. Sapphire gems dripping off of an aquiline neck with earrings that match? The height of enchantment. “I think gemstones are illuminating and healing in their own way. Their hue is brilliant and intoxicating - and the added element of art adds to their allure for me,” says notable Houston philanthropist and fundraiser, Carolyn Farb. Since jewels were created to adorn and embellish a woman’s already lovely figure, the fact that so many are captured in one book like this is a feat in itself.

There’s more to life than pretty pictures. It’s the story behind the pictures that’s intriguing. Supermodel Kate Moss is just one of the perfect creatures upon whom Mary McCartney has focused her lens. At the Goss Gallery in Dallas, we caught up with the McCartney in this exclusive interview while she shares and her thoughts on her famous family, La Moss, and the bonds she creates with her subjects.

She rarely grants interviews, so Mary McCartney, dressed in a rock-themed T-shirt, chic jeans and heels, and her hair in loose locks pushed off her shoulders, is almost an apparition. But not because the world doesn’t know of her vast talents. Her pedigree as the daughter of Beatles pop icon, Paul McCartney, is widely known. As is the fact that her famous sister, Stella McCartney, has designed her way into the hearts of actresses, socialites and the garden variety fashionistas across the globe. So, now, McCartney is ready to talk about her career, her own personal style and how the camera never lies.

Sometimes an acutely trained eye can sometimes be a lonely eye. Unless that trained eye belongs to Mary McCartney, whose photographic talents have translated into some of the most stunning fashion and cultural images of our time. She’s recently brought her photographic work, the aptly titled Playing Dress Up, to Kenny Goss’ gallery and it’s caused quite a stir. The sold-out show this summer, McCartney’s first in the U.S., included images from her far-reaching work in fashion, her collaboration with her designer sister, and her personal projects such as the ballet-themed Off Pointe series of photographs. And, of course, there are her especially enigmatic images of supermodel Kate Moss.

These guys really knew how to create style through their starring roles and off the set, too. It’s all about attitude and the right pieces to produce the look for your own starring role style. These great legends of fashion, with their strong ties to Texas, continue to influence how men dress now, too. Here we show you how to get today’s sharpest looks in a sneak peek for fall fashion, with a nod to our legendary forefather’s movie star approach.

When it comes to The Beautiful People, Texan-turned-New Yorker-turned Texan Neal Hamil has an eye for true talent. As the former director of Elite North America, the most prestigious agency that supermodels call home, his job defined the standard of model beauty for the rest of the planet to enjoy. Tough job? You bet it is. In an exclusive to us, Hamil reveals the inner workings of the business of supermodeldom to determine who’s got The Look and why.

At dinner with Neal Hamil recently at the scene-stealing Mr. Chow in Manhattan’s Sutton Place, the model mogul has just had a tough week battling the beauties and the beasts. At a corner booth, we are seated in between the tables occupied by “Sex and the City” star Kristen Davis on one side and on the other, journalist Michael Gross, who coincidentally, wrote the 1996 book, Model, a tell-all about the modeling industry. It’s the story Hamil knows well, as he has lived in this realm for his entire career.

Beginning his career in front of the camera as a model, he eventually started, then sold, the eponymous Neal Hamil Agency, joined and ran the Ford Agency, then after a brief sojourn in Houston, he is back in the saddle, behind the reigns of Elite, and the world has never looked so gorgeous. “There was a time, when Neal was 25 when he was always considered to be the most beautiful man in any room,” shares Becca Cason Thrash, Houston philanthropist and Hamil’s longtime friend.

In the 80s, the resurgence of pop culture after the hippie dippy 1970s, charged in with vibrant optimism not seen since post-World War II. Sassier than the 1950s’ Lost Generation, sexier than the 1960s’ Jet Age, and wilder than the 1970’s Me Decade, America was ready to cut loose and come out for fun in the 80s. Patrick McMullan, then the new-kid-on-the-block photographer, captured the hearts, minds and souls of so many icons past and present. Here, in an exclusive to us, we jump into a time machine to bring you the very best of the decade’s scenes in New York. Buckle up.

By the mid-80s, Esquire magazine had already coined the 10-year span as The Re-Decade, claiming that the decade was capturing the best (and worst) of previous eras—a hangover from the 70s with its new found self-entitlement, preppie clothing that evoked the gentler 50s, and a wildness that recalled the Roaring 20s. The decade had it all, ranging from promise to promiscuity. From the beginning of the go-go Reagan era in 1981 to the stock market plunge and the death of Andy Warhol in 1987, New York threw itself one of the longest parties in history, which Patrick McMullan, armed with a genial smile and a simple camera, began documenting in 1983 with a column in Detailsmagazine. McMullan’s unrelenting documentation of the famous figures who made New York City nightlife emblematic in the age of excess is captured in So 80s: A Photographic Diary Of A Decade (powerHouse Books). His black & white tome captures the dichotomy of the era and is a journey of the people you adored, styles you hated, and parties that never seemed to end. Yet, McMullan is modest about his success. “The clubs were a lot of fun and it was great to be wanted,” McMullan shares. “Because I took photos for magazines, people at the clubs were happy to have me there and treated me well.”

It’s the most sensual thing in the world to most people. A kiss…the first kiss…a kiss hello…even a tearful kiss goodbye. Heck, any kiss. Celebrity photographer Patrick McMullan has captured all of these in his latest kiss and tell celebrity book, Kiss Kiss (PMc Publishing). It’s a look at couples of all kinds expressing their love in what is most likely the sexiest public display of affection.

Lance Avery Morgan: OK, Patrick, I actually saw you in action photographing for this book when we were hanging out in Texas with designer Jhane Barnes… I feel like I was a witness to literary history. What inspired you first for the kissing concept?

Patrick McMullan: When I was editing my book, So8o’s two years ago I started noticing all these kissing photos I had taken and then thought ‘Gee I really ought to do a kiss book.’ Then last year when I made InTents (about the fashion tents in Bryant Park) I saw even more kisses and then I was really on it.

LAM: Right, this is the fifth hit book in a row for you. Why will Kiss Kiss appeal to everyone?

PM: Kiss appeals to all because it’s 30 years of history with that one constant…someone kissing on each page.

LAM: Everyone loves a good kiss – but it’s a very personal thing to most people. You have a really sexy, voyeuristic view of couples kissing. Is that your art imitating life?

Considered to be one of the greatest operatic tenors of modern times, Plácido Domingo does more than rest on his legendary laurels these days. In fact, for his first performance in over 20 years in San Antonio, he’ll be performing at the Alamodome. “The passion I feel for performing is the same as I felt at the beginning my career,” Plácido Domingo says. “And San Antonio is such a beautiful and charming city.” The King of Opera, as he is affectionately known to many, has won nine Grammy Awards, two Latin Grammy’s and his performance track record includes over 123 roles performed to date. Known as one of the Three Tenors of the operatic singing phenomenon, he may just be the most sought after performer in music. And Texas welcomes him with open arms again.

Just wanted to send over the details on Plácido Domingo's concert in June.

This is the first time in 20 years that he has visited San Antonio. The San Antonio Opera, our client, is very happy to host him and we are inviting everyone statewide to make a trip to San Antonio to see him in concert.

1. You are a legend, so what drives you to continue to perform when you can rest on your laurels now in your career? The passion I feel for it I feel like I am still beginng my career. If I didn’t feel that say, I didn’t have the passion. That

In the glamorous and high stakes world of priceless art treasures, Dallas resident Robert Edsel’s new tome, Rescuing DaVinci reads as much a spy caper as a coffee table book. Set among the ruins of World War II this intriguing book reveal the people who hid − and those who found − the world’s great treasures and what those treasures represent to all of us today.

Standing alone on the Ponte Vechio Bridge in Florence, Italy, Robert Edsel was moved. So moved, in fact, that he felt the need to try and fully understand how the art treasures of World War II survived the wreckage that befell Europe. Part sleuth and part art aficionado, Edsel has the personality of a man who takes action. He set out to find the long overdue answers to questions that have beleaguered the cultural world for over seventy years…where were the treasures hidden, how were they returned, and for those pieces not returned, what happened to them?

During World War II, Hitler and his troops were known to have pillaged hundreds of cities across Europe. Modern culture has recounted, through many terror-filled books and movies, the millions of lives that were taken away, and with them, expensive possessions. In over 460 rarely published or seen before photographs, Rescuing Da Vinci’sreaders take a visual journey detailing Hitler and the Nazis’ unimaginable plundering of Europe’s greatest works of art. It is the story of the heroic search and rescue conducted by a seemingly unknown group of Allied soldiers known as The Monuments Men. These were the enlisted soldiers responsible for finding and saving all the priceless treasures that had been stashed away. All these factors also compelled Edsel to write this unforgettable story that has significantly contributed to the upcoming documentary, The Rape of Europa, based on the early 1994 book of the same name.

The cuisine world is the new art world. The trend toward "food as a way of life" is especially seen here in Texas, thanks to high profile success and Dallas resident Phil Romano. He has a bigger than life attitude toward the world - and big is the right word - his restaurants in over 43 states serve over 200,000 customers a day. He's stamped the Romano Concept - his creative imprint - on over two dozen restaurant inspirations since 1965. At a youthful 64, when most men consider slowing down, he's still eager to cultivate new culinary devotees. You've likely been to many of his creations: Macaroni Grill, Chili's, Fuddruckers, Cozumels, Nick & Sam’s Eatzi's market & Bakery, and now the ultra-chic New York-based Il Mulino which he recently brought to Big D.

Many liken his restaurant openings to that of a big Broadway show - everything has to be perfect. That perfection has paid off. He's garnered a multi-million dollar personal fortune from the $10 billion in sales that he estimates has been generated by his restaurant concepts in the last almost 40 years. But it's not just about profits to Romano. Like all those of great accomplishment, Romano and his wife Lily give back tirelessly to the world. His Hunger Busters soup-kitchen-on-wheels is a big success and is not supplemented with government aid. In an exclusive interview withBrilliant, Phil Romano reveals his theories to success and proves that he is exactly the kind of guy with whom you'd want to share a pasta dinner and talk about life.

What’s green, sensuous and exudes an intoxicating scent? It’s Truly Madly Deeply, the new fragrance from artisan Stephen Burlingham. Almost jewel-like in quality, the parfum spray is like a found treasure. And because Burlingham’s grandfather was Louis Comfort Tiffany, exquisite taste runs in the family. I recently caught up with him, in from Paris, at Kimberly Schlegel Whitman’s breakfast in his honor at the Mansion in Dallas. Call it breakfast with a Tiffany. But call it enlightening, as he explains the method to his scents ability.

Lance Avery Morgan: Creating a fragrance is difficult. Was this something you always wanted to accomplish?

Stephen Burlingham: It’s been a lifelong dream to create something precious, alluring and enduring. Something that would touch and remain close to someone’s heart and would answer the question, ‘how do you want to be loved?’

LAM: Everyone loves to be loved. Will your scent create that fiery spark for others?

SB: When I was first asked to create this, I really shied away from it because I thought the world didn’t need another fragrance. Most fragrances pushed me away from a woman rather than draw me toward them. So, I developed something that would attract me personally.

Balanciaga, Givenchy, de la Renta and Norell are among the impressive labels from the universe of fashion that have found a home in Denton, near Dallas, TX. Originally created for some of the world’s most glamorous women, these fragile works-of-art in fabric are now safely ensconced in The Texas Fashion Collection at the University of North Texas. The collection includes a number of couture designs made especially for stunning and well-bred Texans whose legacy of high style remains influential throughout the state. To know the present and future of Texas fashion, one can begin by examining its past.

Women and beautiful clothing: it’s a relationship that can best be described as passionate. The sheer drive and determination for a woman to look her very best at all times has a rich history woven with that of couture. Enduring several rounds of couture fittings used to be (and still is) a way of life for a woman of privilege. “In the fitting room, the buyer should be paid by the hour for suffering such torture, hours on a cuff, the set of a sleeve, the length of a skirt. Only when you wear the final result do you realize that every little seamstress and vendeuse is a genius. Couture is couture, no matter how thin you slice it, cut it, embroider it or line it. They make you a queen,” said former San Antonio resident Nancy Holmes, a former senior level editor of Town & Country, European Life and contributor to us. This pains-taking attention to an outfit’s detail is what best defines the theory behind the Texas Fashion Collection.

Audrey. Jackie. Grace. There are very few style icons of the 20th century we can recognize by just their first names. Grace Kelly, also known as Princess Grace of Monaco, still influences a legion of women, both young and young-at-heart with her iconic style.

Want to see the how the real deal Grace became such a prolific legend? You’re in luck on your next trip to London this year. Some of the magnificent wardrobe that Grace Kelly acquired will be on display at London’s Victoria & Albert museum this year in the exhibit aptly named “Grace Kelly: Style Icon”. The exceptional presentation will offer an insider’s look glimpse into the glamorous life of one of Hollywood’s meteoric stars of the 1950s before she became Princess Grace of Monaco.

You’ll see creations from many of Kelly’s films, including “High Society” and “Rear Window”; as well as the gown she wore accepting her ‘Best Actress’ Oscar in 1955, for “The Country Girl”. Also in the show is the ensemble she wore for her first meeting with Prince Rainier of Monaco (which she had to make due with since she had a wardrobe malfunction at the last minute in her originally planned outfit). It’s really the only thing od the collection that looks dated – it’s a dark day dress with a large floral motif that hasn’t held up very well in the style calendar. Then there are her haute couture wardrobe (truly fit for a princess) from the 1960s and 1970s by her favorite Paris couturiers, of which she was a terrific and consistent customer, including household names like Christian Dior, Cristobal Balenciaga, Hubert de Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent.

William Yeoward’s meteoric rise to success as the celebrity glassmaker, and interior designer, has made him a household name to across the world. And, to celebrities and royalty alike. It’s like having couture crystal when there’s one of his pieces set on a table. He’s recently jetted in from his London place, after being in Morocco, when I caught up with him at over breakfast. Both he and his pieces dazzled us all, to say the least.

Lance Avery Morgan: William, before you came along, crystal was considered to be something sort of quaint and grandmotherly. You’ve really revitalized how people view glass, haven’t you?

William Yeoward: I did it because I didn’t like what was on the market. One of the most important things about old fashioned products is that they are perceived in an old fashioned way. I wanted to make it young and sexy again. So, I looked at all these old pieces, and thought, “Right, if we twitched here and moved that a little, we can turn a match striker into a martini glass.’ Things like that. I think the way people perceive it as very modern, and I think its very much more interesting for young people so be shown old-fashioned products in a way they they’d now want.

Movie stars haven’t changed much. Or have they? The world still hungers to know about their every move. In the insightful new book on the Golden Age of Hollywood, The Star Machine, author Jeanine Basinger reveals that the old days of stardom were like a fiefdom in the film land kingdom. Lana Turner, in particular, was a legend who lived up to every bit of her star quality. Here, in an exclusive, we take a look at tantalizing Turner and her peer group of stars who were bigger than life.

Star Studded

“If you are a movie star, leave your house looking like a movie star. And if you are not a movie star, you should stillleave your house looking like a movie star,” commanded Metro Goldwyn Mayer studio kingpin Louis B. Mayer to his 1940s contract star and swimming sensation Esther Williams. He told her this when he learned she had made the mistake of leaving home one night and was spotted without the appropriate make-up and movie star clothes that was always expected of the studio’s top actors. Especially the biggest money-making stars like Williams. She learned, like so many others before her and since, that it’s all about beautifully maintaining the studio’s financial investment: its talent roster. It was a lesson that applied to all the actors who had studio contracts from the 1920s through the late 1950s: if a star was property of one of the big studios like MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount, RKO, Columbia or even the lesser studios, they quickly realized they would have to toe the line or face an early career death. An actor was created and could be destroyed on a whim by the powers that be.

He knew President Kennedy. Was great pals with Truman Capote. Captured the Rolling Stones and Beatles on film like no one since. Was behind the power of the film, Grey Gardens, now the Tony-winning musical toast of Broadway. Considered by most to be the Godfather of the modern documentary film, Albert Maysles, along with his brother, David, practically invented that art form. Here, in an exclusive to Brilliant magazine, Maysles reveals insight into his career as a filmmaker that’s inspired three generations of film auteurs, about attending Capote’s famous Black & White Ball, and thanks to Broadway, his latest resurgence of pop cultural fame.

“Albert Maysles and I had parallel filmmaking careers. He’s a fascinating man and he’s quite smart,” remarked Norman Mailer about Albert Maysles to me recently at a University of Texas gala for the Harry Ransom Center. Of course Norman Mailer, 84, arguably one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century was a contemporary of Albert Maysles, 80. Maysles is the kind of man who has had so many brushes with history and historical figures that it might seem overwhelming if his demeanor and sensibility weren’t so kind and his passion for documentary filmmaking so full of soul and purposeful intention.

It should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone who knows Roy Spence that he wears a jewelry symbol of The Golden Rule—from each major religion—on a chain around his neck. About a dozen, in fact. Close to his heart. In a world where we’ve seen so many business leaders who lack that kind of spirituality, citing the Wall Street greed that has challenged our economy, Spence rises above with his own spiritual approach to life.

“Every religion of the world has a version of The Golden Rule,” Spence shares. “So, a purpose-based leader practices the golden rule. Treat people as you would like to be treated. We ought to have golden rule summits around the world,” This sincere sensibility is the reason why his new book, It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For (written with Haley Rushing), is sure to catch the attention of the business world. And not a moment too soon.

I recently caught up with Spence in his office at GSD&M advertising, a monument to modern advertising success. When walking into these headquarters, Idea City, you are grounded with the words of the agency’s core values that are emblazoned into the floor of the foyer. A visitor is actually inclined to step around them as not to infringe upon them. This company that Spence founded with fellow dynamos Judy Trabulsi, Steve Gurasich, and Tim McClure embodies the success they have been able to create for their clients, with a sense of true purpose.

She graced magazine covers, was Revlon’s most desired model, and then became a movie star—theAmerican success story. Suzy Parker was also the world’s first supermodel, who single-handedly defined elegance and became an icon for an entire generation of post-war women who hungered for the sophistication and prosperity that reflected fashion’s New Look from the late 1940s into the 1960s.

Suzy Parker lived a paparazzi-filled life across the world before there was such a concept that a model’s beauty could be so widely celebrated. Her innate prettiness reflected a breadth of brilliance… from the international chic of Vogue to the Main Street, USA appeal of Ladies Home Journal. She posed for ads selling just about everything - from toothpaste to carpet to cosmetics, adding a savoir fare to each.

Parker also became a high fashion muse to the most prolific photographers of the day from Paris to Rome and everywhere in between. Coco Chanel chose her as a muse and Parker would redefine the modeling industry by demanding large sums of money for each sitting, unheard of then. She became a household name before becoming the biggest model of her era to translate her unique look to film as an actress, starring with heavy hitters such as Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, and Joan Crawford. It was a charmed life that came with a price. Here, we see how this Texan used beauty as her calling card for a life of glamour.

When most men think of Italian menswear, the thought is of impeccable cut, sumptuous fabrics and quality that will last for years. All that and more is found at Italy’s House of Salvatore Ferragamo and in their nearly 60 stores across the world. The company’s talented head menswear designer, Massimiliano Giornetti, was recently in from his native Italy to be at Dallas at the Fashion at NorthPark Ferragamo runway fashion event. He’s helping define a new breed of style for the modern tycoon… the Ferragamo-wearing man.

To envision Giornetti’s inspiration, think Rat Pack meets The Great Gatsby meets the inveterate art collecting billionaire… cool, clean and oh, so sophisticatedly decadent. Giornetti looks like an Italian Tom Ford, beautifully representing the clothes he designs. His firm conviction and not surprisingly, his devotion to men’s clothing, is based on his affinity for art. In an exclusive to Brilliant, he shares how he defines the current state – and the future - of men’s fashion. And how to look like a billion dollars.

Lance Avery Morgan: Massimiliano, you are with a fashion house that has legendary style. Do you feel connected to the Ferragamo past?

Massimiliano Giornetti: I‘m really proud to work for Ferragamo and its traditions, with all it’s genius supporting it. It all starts from that. I think the future should share something with the past, but in a brand new way. And more refined.

Femme Fatale. Champagne Chanteuse. Star of stage and screen. Eartha Kitt is the original Material Girl who knows more about the ins and outs of men at 79 years young than most women could ever hope to know. She was discovered while performing in Paris, at the age of 20 by the legendary Orson Welles, who called her “the most exciting woman in the world.” We agree and in fact, we think she’s purrrrrr...fect - just like in her persona as Catwoman on the television series Batman and her film roles in Boomerang, Fatal Instinct, Unzipped, and The Emperor’s New Groove. Here in an exclusive interview with us, she discusses, men, performing and well, men.

Lance Avery Morgan: Everyone calls you a living legend. How does that feel at this point of your career?

Eartha Kitt: It’s kind of a scary thought, you know, but you have to live with it. I’m someone’s whose been around for awhile.

LAM: You’re still the toast of the cabaret set from coast to coast. You just finished up a gig at the Carlyle in New York. How was it?

EK: I think it’s what people are looking now… they don’t like the kind of music that is hateful or anti-women that’s out there now. They want to feel good again about society and themselves.

It was a match made in heaven: TV’s favorite variety comedienne and an upcoming costume designer. They began a relationship that would define the extravagant style of the 1960s and 1970s and funny was never more stylish than when San Antonio native Carol Burnett and Bob Mackie collaborated, entertained and brought laughter into millions of hearts with their combined creative talents. In an exclusive, here’s a behind the scenes look the glitzy magic that happened every week over two decades in one of the most popular television series of all time.

It’s been said that comedy isn’t pretty. Silly, yes. But pretty? Rarely. Until sometimes, just sometimes, it can be really quite beautiful. Slim, trim and sparkling at the age of 73, Ms. Burnett is still a hard working actress. She’s appearing A Conversation with Carol Burnett, to share some of her favorite moments of her career and to share answers to questions from the audience. In a conversation with her recently, I got to “bump up the lights” with her to see what makes this star tick. And how she looked so beautifully funny while doing it.

Lance Avery Morgan: At this point in your career, you’re considered a legend. Is that odd or is it still about the work for you?

I recently caught up with style icon, author and humorist Lisa Birnbach, who is sharing her Preppified wisdom with the world again.

Let’s face it: Lisa Birnbach is a goddess-like icon in the World of pop culture.She is charmed when I tell her I felt it was like the shot heard ‘round the world when The Official Preppy Handbook appeared in 1980. It’s so true. The book’s debut was like the NewNew Testament to those hungry for great style after the leftover hippy-dippy 1970s. And, it was long overdue. She made TOPH grow up and didn’t allow it to be stuck in a time warp.

The Official Preppy Handbook had revelations recalibrated from the 1950s and early '60s Mid-Century cool, much like the TV series Mad Men has done over the recent years… and helped to capture a forgotten style that ended before its prime. Heck, it was a guidebook for a country that needed guidance after the fuel shortage, Vietnam ending and lame Presidents. It became a beacon of things stylish after the decade of yellow shag carpeting, too much tie-dying and bad polyester endeavors.

Recently, Birnbach, along with fellow Prepster designer and co-author Chip Kidd, has given new life to old ways and updated the venerably classic book, True Prep, and has made it new and fresh again. It’s almost like finding that cashmere sweater, all laundered and smelling wonderfully clean, after you thought you left it on a plane, never to be seen again.

“It’s important for young photographers to create their unique style; their own look. People try to follow the lead of other photographers and it’s so difficult to create something new,” says Greg Gorman, celebrated celebrity photographer. He offers good advice because he himself has risen to an almost exalted status in the starry world of Hollywood portrait photography. And, it’s been a heck of a life’s journey to his new exhibit, Greg Gorman: A Distinct Vision 1970-2010, a 200 piece retrospective exhibition of four decades of photography that has debuted very recently at the Decorative Arts Center in Houston, running from April 27 through June 3.

This not-to-miss opportunity showcases Gorman’s illustrious and varied career and really chronicles not only his successes, but also his myriad subjects. When I caught up with Gorman recently, he was in a terrific mood. “I had no preconceived notions about Houston since I had never been here before, and I am having a blast. Wow. I even went bass fishing this morning at a nearby private lake,” Gorman offers. Gorman may not have had exposure to Houston, or Dallas, for that matter, but he has friends in other major Texas cities including Austin and San Antonio. These days, it appears, Houston and Texas has welcomed him with open arms, along with his show.