Spiegel Stuff: The X-Rated Emperor, the Grande Dame of Global Gossip, and More

Friday, April 3, 2020

The X-Rated Emperor, the Grande Dame of Global Gossip, and More

A Special Delivery From the Vanity Fair Archive
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The X-Rated Emperor, the Grande Dame of Global Gossip, and More

Your weekend reading list from the Vanity Fair Archive, presented with no agenda: the savage murder of a woman who loved gorillas more than people, sex-fueled Silicon Valley parties, and a quest for parentage with plot twists galore. Plus, read the late Patricia Bosworth—who died of the coronavirus on Thursday—and her examination of the fallen king and pornographer of Penthouse.

San Simeon's Child

In 1937, Patricia Van Cleve married Arthur Lake under the watchful eyes of her "aunt" Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst. More than half a century later, in a plot twist worthy of Orson Welles, Patricia Lake declared she was, in fact, the illegitimate daughter of the newspaper tycoon and his movie-star mistress. Was it just the fantasy of a spirited madcap who had lived too high for too long? Martha Sherrill conducted her own Citizen Kane–like investigation into the legacy of San Simeon.

The Fatal Obsession of Dian Fossey

Rumors and questions still obscure the 1985 savage murder of world-renowned gorilla expert Dian Fossey in Rwanda. Her life was as strange as her death. Vanity Fair sent Alex Shoumatoff to track the clues: His story reveals the intriguing psychological profile of the lonely woman who loved gorillas more than her fellow man.

The Queen of Dish

The Shah gave her his deathbed interview. Imelda opened her heart to her. Leona leaned on her after the sentencing. Noriega knew her. John Seabrook reveals how the former Miss Bagel rose to be the grande dame of global gossip.

The X-Rated Emperor

Launching Penthouse in 1965 to subsidize his painting, Bob Guccione turned graphic porn, muckraking journalism, and tabloid headlines into one of the greatest success stories in magazine history, the cornerstone of a multimillion-dollar publishing empire. Then it all came tumbling down, thanks to Reagan-era censorship, the internet, and a series of expensive dreams. Twenty-eight years after quitting as executive editor of Viva, Guccione's magazine for women, Patricia Bosworth reconnected with the fallen king, who may have lost his fortune, buried his great love, and alienated his family, but who still remains focused on the future in the February 2005 issue.

Bacchanalia 2.0

Some of the most powerful men in Silicon Valley are regulars at exclusive, drug-fueled, sex-laced parties—gatherings they describe not as scandalous, or even secret, but as a bold, unconventional lifestyle choice. Yet, while the guys get laid, the women get screwed. In an adaptation from her 2018 book, Brotopia, Emily Chang exposed the tired and toxic dynamic at play.

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