Featuring
The Dobells (my parents, both magazine editors)
Milton and Shirley Glaser (my parents’ friends, artists and writers)
Jacques D’Amboise (ballet dancer and choreographer)
George Lang (restaurant owner and consultant)
Richard Burton (the actor)
In July of 1977, when I was almost 16, I was traveling through France on a trip with Putney Student Travel. My parents wrote to me regularly and I came upon those letters recently.
On July 19, my mother wrote:
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A little excitement here since you left. Don’t know if you by chance have heard about the great blackout in New York on July 13. It was really something. Everything went black at 9:34 Wednesday evening and did not come back on in all parts of the city until around midnight Thursday. There was terrible looting in some neighborhoods and awful fires. Many, many small storeowners were wiped out completely. The police arrested over 3,500 people, they had to get orders reopening the Tombs just to keep everyone until they could be processed. We’re saving the main papers for you – the edition of the Times Thursday was very unusual, the regular paper, much reduced of course, with a wraparound, extra front page covering the blackout.
Dad and I were fine, of course. We had gone to a surprise birthday party for George Lang at the St. Moritz at 59th Street and Sixth Avenue (right across from the Barbizon-Plaza). We all arrived at 8:00, had nice cold champagne on the terrace (right on the street, it was very hot). George arrived, was surprised. Then at 8:15, a high-school marching band came marching down 59th, carrying a big banner saying Happy Birthday George Lang. They marched to the corner, played more songs, including God Bless America, which we all sang, including all the people on the sidewalks on Sixth and 59th who had stopped to see the show. Then the Highland bagpipers came marching up Sixth carrying the world’s biggest birthday cake, three tiers. Then we all moved inside for oysters and steak tartare (the oysters had gone bad though). George cut the cake, Jacques D’Amboise danced the Highland Fling –– and the lights went out. We all thought it was part of the show. Then they didn’t come back on and after a while I looked out the window and saw all the lights were out. Oy!
Milton and Shirley Glaser, Dad and I walked to Tavern on the Green to get some food, but they weren’t serving. (I called Grandma from there to make sure everything was all right. It was, also with [great-aunt] Marion and [great-uncle] Ken). We went across the street to Cafe des Artistes (owned by George Lang now). They let us in because they know Milton, no food but they found some cold salami and pate for us (Richard Burton was there also finishing dinner). It was broiling hot in the restaurant.
Luckily we found a taxi and the Glasers let us out at Fifth and 65th and we walked home by the light of the cars in the street. They had candles in the lobby to get up the stairs and we had plenty of candles in the apartment.
***
Please excuse this messy typing – am not quite used to this brand new Olivetti Lexikon 83 DL electric typewriter which Dad gave me for my birthday! And Grandma, Marion, and Ken gave me a Cuisinart! Wonderful, lots of good things coming up as soon as I learn to use it.
***
Blogger’s note:
On July 15, the Times published a piece by Enid Nemy, “For Some, a Day to Make Light of the Dark,” recounting a number of parties in full swing when the blackout hit, including the Lang birthday. https://www.nytimes.com/1977/
