August 23, 2007
Zsa Zsa Gabor: Last of the Hungarian Mohicans
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The facts of their lives have been told often, by the Gabors themselves. Jolie published two books (the eponymous "Jolie Gabor" by gossip doyenne Cindy Adams and "Jolie Gabor's Family Cookbook" by Ted and Jean Kaufman). Zsa Zsa wrote four ("Zsa Zsa Gabor: My Story Written for Me by Gerold Frank," "How to Catch a Man, How to Keep a Man, How to Get Rid of a Man," "It's Simple Darling" and "One Lifetime Is Not Enough," assisted by, edited by and put into proper English by Wendy Leigh). Eva wrote one ("Orchids and Salami: A Gay and Impudent Memoir").Others have tackled the subject in articles in newspapers and magazines, on television and in books. As recently as 2001, Anthony Tutu published his collection of Gabor artifacts in "Gaborabilia," a tribute book written with Donald F. Reuter.
Nonetheless, and this is what makes me sad, it seems as though their time has passed.
Eva died in 1995, Mama Jolie in 1997 (she was 103), Magda a few weeks later the same year. This past February, Zsa Zsa turned 90.
Having outlived her sisters, perhaps Zsa Zsa is the last of the blonde-haired, bejeweled Hungarian Mohicans. In her Beverly Hills home, I trust that she feels she is not entirely alone or forgotten.
Perhaps there is some measure of pleasure for her in the fact that despite her current problems, she is still remembered for her beauty and her wit. She can, if she likes, consider this column a gift from a perfect stranger. But I will give Zsa Zsa the last word:
"I don't accept gifts from perfect strangers -- but then nobody's perfect."
Tom Teicholz is a film producer in Los Angeles. Everywhere else, he's an author and journalist who has written for The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Interview and The Forward. His column appears every other week.
Intro to Zsa Zsa exercise video from 1993: "It's Simple, Darling"
