Tag archives: Ellen
Former TV talk show titan Oprah Winfrey hosted a two-hour, hotly anticipated interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and it was worthy of a royal soap opera! It was certainly an astonishing and incendiary show, with Oprah’s Harpo Productions raking in between $7 and $9 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, and CBS […]
Retired high tech executive Jan Wesemann is getting priceless publicity in the Wall Street Journal this week as she puts her 20-acre French country-style Montecito estate on the market for $12 million. Jan moved into the 7,600-square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bathroom house, built in 2001, 10 years ago and brought up her four daughters on the Park […]
I am saddened to hear New York’s iconic 21 Club is closing its doors after 90 years in business given the coronavirus pandemic. The five-story midtown Manhattan eatery, with its famous colorful jockey figures decorating the West 52nd Street facade, was a haven for the rich and famous since it opened in 1930 as a […]
Santa Barbara Symphony has appointed Rebecca Roling as vice president of patron and community engagement. A lifelong classical music fan, patron of the arts, and musician, Roling will build upon and leverage the popular organization’s impact and momentum, and be responsible for the growth of donation and ticket revenue through patron connection and loyalty. Five […]
One of the major investors in the electric car giant Tesla has splashed out $18 million on a new Montecito home and is moving here from Beverly Hills. Alan Salzman, 63, heads VantagePoint Capital Partners and owns 7 million shares in the auto company worth more than $2.3 billion. His new hilltop Tuscan-style property was […]
In recent weeks, sharks have been circling the waters off the coast of Santa Barbara. It is a scientific fact that certain species of shark must always move forward, constantly feeding, or else they will die. This is true of Mako sharks. It’s true of hammerheads. It is true of Great Whites. My big question […]
Montecito’s Ellen DeGeneres is set to bring back her hit eponymous TV talk show remotely after suspending production at her Warner Bros. Burbank studio because of the coronavirus. Ellen, 62, reveals she has been filming throughout her entire quarantine, conducting a series of A-list interviews for her at-home edition, including John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, and […]
Financial executive Christine Emmons, bank president Andy Chou, and former corporate leader Carl Perry have been elected to the board of directors for the Community Arts Music Association – CAMA – of Santa Barbara. Christine, wife of business entrepreneur Robert Emmons, was a financial consultant at Paine Webber, and went on to host the TV […]
Elaine Weiss, prize-winning journalist and author of the blockbuster book The Woman’s Hour, was fêted at a bustling reception at Tydes at the Coral Casino after speaking on The Great Fight to Win the Vote at Campbell Hall, part of the UCSB Arts & Lectures series. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is teaming […]
The bridle crowd were out in force at Tecolote when Santa Barbara author Deborah Kalas launched her first book The Wild Herd: A Vanishing American Treasure. The 146-page tome is packed with pictures of wild horses at play taken by Deborah, who splits her time between our Eden by the Beach and East Hampton. She […]
Hahn Hall at the Music Academy of the West was socially gridlocked when the Z.E.N. Trio, made up from the initials of pianist Zhang Duo, violinist Esther Yoo, and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, performed as part of UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures series. The concert, part of the long-running Robert Weinman-sponsored Up Close & Musical Series, […]
Santa Barbara International Film Festival has hired veteran Benjamin Goedert as its new development director. In his new role, Goedert will be responsible for generating funds to support the fest’s dynamic arts and educational programs through sponsorships, grants and donations. He moved to our tony town 11 years ago to attend City College where he […]
Santa Barbara Yacht Club has a new manager, Richard Nahas, who replaces Layosh Toth, heading the charming harborside nautical venue. Richard, a former UCSB student, is normally used to more landlocked activities having been general manager of the Glen Annie Golf Club for 19 years. “Some of my fondest memories as a child are of […]
Santa Barbara’s Breast Cancer Resource Center hosted The Pink Lounge gala for 300 guests at the Rosewood Miramar, which raised more than $230,000 for programs, which are provided at no cost to recipients. The 21st annual bustling bash in the chandeliered ballroom, co-chaired by Douglas Mackenzie and Joanne Funari, had Hayley Wise, 32, a breast […]
After my exclusive about KEYT-TV chief meteorologist Alan Rose departing for Colorado after 14 years on TV Hill, I now hear he is being replaced by Kelsey Gerckens, a regular on the ABC affiliate’s morning show with her husband, co-anchor Joe Buttitta, according to news director Jim Lemon. The tony twosome obviously work well together […]
To La Cocina, formerly Somerset, with my snapperazzi Priscilla, to check out the made-over East Anapamu Street eatery, which now features Mexican-Californian cuisine. The charming back courtyard, filled with lavender bushes and gnarled ancient fig trees brought in by flatbed trucks from Northern California and craned in over the rooftops when it first opened after […]
A positive plethora of presidents, past and present, descended on the Hilton Beachfront Resort for the sold-out 71st annual La Reception del Presidents, kicking off Fiesta Week in grand style. The fun fête in the Plaza del Sol, short on speeches and long on tradition with dancing and music, attracted more than 330 local dignitaries, […]
Having won polo’s 55-year-old America Cup three times in the last four years, it seems appropriate that former Santa Barbara Polo Club president and banker Dan Walker should now be sponsoring the three-week annual 16-goal tournament that runs through August 11. To mark the occasion, he hosted a bustling reception at his Farmers & Merchants […]
Santa Barbara Choral Society has plenty to sing about as the tony troupe celebrates its 70th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of its director JoAnne Wasserman. To mark the double-header, longtime supporters Gary and Kate Rees hosted a sunset soirée for premier Canto donors at their charming mountainside home before next month’s anniversary concert at […]
Los Arroyos, the popular Mexican eatery on Coast Village Road, is celebrating 20 years in business. Owner Tony Arroyo opened his first location in downtown Santa Barbara on West Figueroa Street in 1999 and launched his outlet in our rarefied enclave in 2004. The chain now has branches in Camarillo and Goleta, with a nosheteria […]