The Peak Of TheSeason In Aspen
It's where Gary Hart met Donna Rice, where Ivana Trump met Marla Maples. And Aspen is making news again. The town was booked and booming last week with its usual holiday crowd of the rich and gorgeous.
Vanna White spelled out word of her engagement to Los Angeles restaurateur George Santo Pietro. They bought a $20 marriage license Thursday. And Tom Cruise thundered into town after he and Aussie actress Nicole Kidman said "I do" in an immediate-family-plus-Dustin Hoffman ceremony in Telluride, Colo., on Christmas Eve.
Private is in this year. Aspen's new, members-only eatery, The Caribou Club, keeps out lightweights by charging $1,000 a year for membership. Sally Field, Steven Spielberg and Chevy Chase all dined there. And the CC hosted a lunch which brought in Sandra Day O'Connor, Martina Navratilova and New York magazine restaurant critic Gael Greene. Cher was a no-show, but the women who did go flaunted their furs. Seems last year's attempt to ban pelts in Aspen is a dead issue.
Rumor had it that Donald Trump's three blondes--Marla, Ivana and Rowanne--were on a crash course and would meet up again on the slopes, but it looks like peace in the new year. Marla attended one party, but her agent says she'll spend New Year's elsewhere with Trump. Rowanne is keeping a low profile.
And Ivana, who told friends she was determined to return to "the scene of the crime," has been enjoying the hospitality of oil baron Marvin Davis, who is certainly more flush than debt-ridden Donald. He's been renting out restaurants for the private enjoyment of his friends. The Donald himself was nowhere to be seen-avoiding another rocky mountain Christmas, perhaps?
Sly Stallone and Jack Nicholson were spotted on the slopes. Rocky took lessons in subzero temperatures; word is he should stick to boxing. And the Little Woody Creek area of Aspen is becoming an Eagles nest of sorts: Glenn Frey recently bought a house next to Don Henley.
With all the big spenders in town, it's safe to say Aspen isn't feeling the chill of recession.
