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May 1, 2008 2:18 pm
Composer, playwright, photographer, biographer, critic, raconteur. John Gruen embraces any of these labels. But as he readies himself for the publication of his memoir, “Callas Kissed Me…Lenny Too!”, the 82-year-old Gruen is also prepared to accept—however self-mockingly—another, more subjectively descriptive sobriquet. “People were jealous, so they started calling me a starfucker,” notes Gruen, whose chatty book details a life spent among the boldfaced names of art, music, and dance. “And it is true, I loved the glamour! I make no apologies for it,” he continues. “Who wouldn’t want to be in the orbit of a Leonard Bernstein, a Rudolf Nureyev? It’s not just the talent that makes them so compelling. The talent is there, but me, at least, I was seeking out the glamour.” Though he claims to be leading a more inward-looking life these days, Gruen will be making a return to the scene at tonight’s launch party for “Callas Kissed Me.” Having written the authorized biography of Keith Haring, back when the artist was still alive, Gruen is one 82-year-old undaunted by the prospect of book-partying in the heart of the West Chelsea club zone, at Mansion. “I’ll tell you who has the glamour now,” says Gruen, who’s more up-to-date on these things than he lets on. “Madonna. She’s the one. A real natural glitz, that girl. You know,” he adds, “I met her once.”
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