1. Elsa Maxwell was an American gossip columnist and author, songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality and professional hostess renowned for her parties for royalty and high society figures of her day.
23 Facts About Elsa Maxwell
1. 2.
Elsa Maxwell appeared as herself in the films Stage Door Canteen and Rhapsody in Blue, as well as co-starring in the film Hotel for Women, for which she wrote the screenplay and a song.
3.
In spite of the persistent rumor that Elsa Maxwell was born in a theater in Keokuk, Iowa, during a performance of the opera Mignon, she actually admitted late in life that the outlandish story was a fabrication that she went along with, since she was actually born at her maternal grandmother's home in the same town.
4.
Elsa Maxwell was raised in San Francisco, where her father sold insurance and did freelance writing for the New York Dramatic Mirror.
5.
Elsa Maxwell developed a gift for staging games and diversions at parties for the rich, and began making a living devising treasure-hunt parties, come-as-your-opposite parties and other sorts, including a scavenger hunt in Paris in 1927 that inadvertently created disturbances all over the city.
6.
In Venice in the early 1920s, Elsa Maxwell attracted stars like Cole Porter, Tallulah Bankhead, Noel Coward and Fanny Brice to Venice's Lido shoreline to enjoy its daytime amenities and nightly parties.
7.
Elsa Maxwell was responsible for the success of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen.
8.
Bergen had been playing small theaters for 17 years; when he decided to ask for Elsa Maxwell's help, he was persistent enough in his telephone calls that Elsa Maxwell agreed to meet with him.
9.
When Bergen arrived, Elsa Maxwell asked him if he was a singer; Bergen replied that he was a ventriloquist and told her he wanted her to meet Charlie McCarthy.
10.
Charlie's meeting with Elsa Maxwell was an instant success; Elsa Maxwell asked crooner Rudy Vallee to find him a place on his radio program.
11.
Elsa Maxwell was a closeted lesbian who publicly condemned same-sex love despite enjoying an almost 50-year partnership with the Scottish singer Dorothy Fellowes-Gordon.
12.
Elsa Maxwell had encountered the Duke several times when he was the Prince of Wales, and became acquainted with him and the Duchess in 1946 when they were all living at the Waldorf Astoria Apartments in New York.
13.
Elsa Maxwell took credit for introducing Rita Hayworth to Prince Aly Khan in the summer of 1948.
14.
Anne Edwards's biography of Maria Callas and Peter Evans's biography of Aristotle Onassis both claim that Elsa Maxwell introduced Callas to Onassis.
15.
Edwards claims that Elsa Maxwell fell obsessively in love with Callas, 40 years Elsa Maxwell's junior.
16.
Callas biographer Stelios Galatopoulos produced love letters from Elsa Maxwell written to Callas, who was less than receptive.
17.
Elsa Maxwell died of heart failure in a Manhattan hospital.
18.
Elsa Maxwell is buried at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.
19.
Elsa Maxwell appeared as herself in all of these films unless otherwise noted.
20.
Elsa Maxwell was the name of Higa Jiga's goat that was used to test the sweet potato brandy in the 1956 movie Teahouse of the August Moon, starring Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford.
21.
Elsa Maxwell was referred to by JFK impersonator Vaughn Meader on The First Family LP.
22.
On track 15, "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning", Elsa Maxwell calls President Kennedy to see if he and Jackie would be interested in going to a party she was hosting that evening.
23.
Elsa Maxwell is an integral part of the book Diva by Daisy Goodwin, showing her friendship with Maria Callas.