Have Celebrations Become Extinct?

Decades ago big deals were announced and celebrated by lavish dinners planned by publicists who built “A-lists” of prominent and powerful heads of companies (as well as “Blacklists -- Do Not Invite”) Opulent black-tie gatherings were held at Romanov’s, Chasen’s, Scandia, Ma Maison, and The Bistro. Cocktails at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Polo Lounge or the bar at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel normally preceded dinner.

In Manhattan, places like Delmonico’s, Sign of the Dove, Four Seasons, La Cote Basque, Le Pavillon, Lutece, Maud Chez Elle, Tavern on the Green or the 21 Club would have been the top choices. Partygoers would meet for drinks at the King Cole Bar, the Plaza Bar or the Jockey Club. The Waldorf Astoria, the Carlyle and The Algonquin were famous gathering places for fabulous festive black-tie affairs.

To see or be seen in Los Angeles one dined at La Scala, Le St. Germain, Valentino’s, Michael’s at the Beach, Morton’s or Dan Tana’s. Of course there were always “in” places like the original Spago on Sunset (above Tower Records where too many paparazzi tried to stake out good spots). Manners and protocol. dictated the details of upscale celebrations. Handsomely engraved invitations with RSVP enclosures were the basic beginning principle – formality was the rule. A celebration was the grand culmination of the deal demanding glorious pictures and a fabulous column by George Christy in “The Hollywood Reporter”.

In the 1950s, the social set adopted the cocktail party, It could be a lavish affair with open bar, caviar on toast points, pate, Rumaki, hot puff pastry treats and cold shrimp. The idea was to invite as many colleagues, neighbors and friends as possible to celebrate a landmark event in one’s life. The traditional garb du jour was a Ceil Chapman cocktail dress (or a decent copy) – the gentlemen wore charcoal gray suits or charcoal flannel trousers with white shirt, rep tie and navy blazer. French cuffs with cufflinks were in fashion. The cocktail party evolved to the garden party, cookout and open house.

With the influx of youthful talent and the turmoil created by the Hollywood counterculture in the 1960s, new rules were being made and broken every day. By the 1980s and ‘90s deal-making icons were opting for the business lunch, thus replacing the engraved invitation and black tie gala. The younger generation had switched gears to a casual way of operating. This new crowd introduced fitness through exercise, a bottle of water, towel around the neck, better nutrition and wine-drinking - replacing the boozy hard liquor crowd. Drug use was never discussed openly but privately everyone in the group who used, always knew others in their group. It was an open secret. They preferred to spend their nights clubbing on the Sunset Strip or Venice Beach. They compensated by eating organic arugula salads for lunch. The overused cliché phrase of the period, “Let’s do lunch – have your people call my people” became the iconic phrase of the period. Women began to wear pantsuits while men donned khakis with t-shirts and light-colored blazers (a la Miami Vice)

Julia Phillips was the first woman to win an academy award for producing “The Sting” with her then husband Michael Phillips and their partner Tony Bill. She was brilliant and refused to be patronized as a “woman” in a highly competitive Hollywood.

Her autobiography “You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again” was a scathing and explosive account of the inner workings of Hollywood as seen by Phillips. She became a pariah. She was toxic. Nobody wanted to work with her. Nobody trusted her. She eventually died of cancer at the age of 57.

Along with the powerful introduction of electronics intruding every facet of our daily lives the social innovation became the e-vite – the email invitation which CEOs could handle without an assistant hovering over an old-fashioned rolodex. Divorce and single parents became the norm as well as “blended families” (your, mine, ours and theirs).

As fitness centers and workouts became more and more popular, Hollywood denizens arose early to work out. The power breakfast was born. But as the real power and money shifted toward Silicon Valley so did the art of the deal. The working billionaires now put in 14 to 16-hour days and need to stay connected. Many of the biggest deals are now made by a group of five or six tech moguls on a hike through the woods to lunch at a hamburger stand a couple of miles away. An amazing descent through the ages.

The elegant dinner celebration gave way to the inclusive cocktail party which disolved into the business lunch which spawned the power breakfast. And so began the digression. The who, what, where and when mechanics of power had changed dramatically. Now the biggest deal is sotto voce – a mere whisper made on the hiking trails of Silicon Valley’s shaded paths and dirt roads shunning the cellphone towers, hidden cameras and Tesla headlights. The billion-dollar deals are now consummated by a nod of the head or a high five, not even by a handshake anymore. Sophisticated builders anticipate the return of the big social blowout. Many new homes feature a “great room” with the hope that celebrations will be enjoyed and savored by the millennials in the future. We hope it comes to pass.