Library Luminaries - May 12, 2007

This year's Library Luminaries event to benefit the Gunn Memorial Library and Museum will be held on Saturday, May 12. The evening will commence with a cocktail party from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the elegant Wykeham Room of the original portion of the Gunn Memorial Library. Following cocktails, guests will disperse to dinners hosted by an array of gracious hosts. Featured at each dinner party will be a celebrity guest of honor.

Tickets range from $150 each to be listed in the evening's program brochure as a Meteor, to $250 each as a Comet, to $500 as a Star. The dinner parties following cocktails are donated by generous local hosts. Each dinner offers a unique menu and ambiance. Maps will be provided to assist in finding the route from cocktails to dinner. Please call the library at 860-868-7586 or email gunndevelopment@biblio.org for further information and to purchase tickets.

Roberta Smith will be hosting Florence de Dampierre, author, interior designer, lecturer, and noted entertainer. A person of enormous visual and personal style, Florence's most recent book Chairs: A History, is an intriguing look at a piece of furniture that reflects our culture and society through design. Ms. de Dampierre weaves into her exploration some fascinating social history and personal stories that make the subject come alive. Florence de Dampierre Antiques, which she began in 1985 in New York City, was the first American shop devoted to 18th and 19th century painted furniture. She has been a contributing editor and contributing designer to House & Garden magazine, designed rooms for the French Designer Show House and has lectured at museums around the country. Her previous books include The Best of Painted Furniture. Raised in Paris, Ms. de Dampierre currently divides her time between Manhattan and Litchfield with her husband, Sean Mathis, and their family.

Christina and Peter Klemm host renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer. Mr. Meyer is the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, Blue Smoke, Jazz Standard, Shake Shack, The Modern Café 2 and Terrace 5 at New York City's Museum of Modern Art, and Hudson Yards Catering. Danny, his restaurants and chefs have earned an unprecedented 17 James Beard Awards. All five of Danny's fine dining restaurants have earned three stars from The New York Times, and for the past decade, Union Square Café and Gramercy Tavern have vied for #1 and #2 among Zagat Survey's Most Popular Restaurants in New York. Danny co-authored the Union Square Café Cookbook and Second Helpings from Union Square Café with Chef Michael Romano. Danny's latest book, Setting the Table, examines the power of hospitality in restaurants, business, and life. Danny Meyer will be joined by his wife Audrey.

Sally and Seward Ryan will host Martin Richards, head of the film and theatrical production company, The Producer Circle, which he founded in 1976 with his late wife, Seward's mother, Mary Lea Johnson. Their first musical won five Tony Awards and their second, Sweeney Todd, won eight, including Best Musical. Other theatrical projects have included the Pulitzer Prize winning Crimes of the Heart, Foxfire, La Cage aux Folles and Bob Fosse's Chicago, nominated for eleven Tonys, winning Best Musical in London and Los Angeles. Mr. Richard's stage productions, have received thirty-six Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, seven Outer Critics Circle Awards and two New York Drama Critics Awards. His film productions include: The Boys from Brazil, The Shining, Fort Apache, The Bronx, and Chicago, starring Rene Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones and Richard Gere. Chicago received three Broadcast Critics Choice Awards, Three Golden Globe Awards, and six Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Linda and Stephen Cohen will host Mark Snow. Perhaps best known for his theme and scores for the X-Files, Mark has a far-reaching career in music that encompasses orchestral scoring, album production and performance. A Julliard-trained musician, Mr. Snow has been nominated for eleven Emmys in five different categories. He has worked on hundreds of motion pictures and almost every type of dramatic television program. Most recently, Mark composed the music for the film Private Fears, directed by Alain Resnais. It was nominated for a César award, the national film award of France, in 2007. Mark and his wife Glynn reside in Washington, Connecticut.

Jay Morton and Mike Phillips will welcome television and film producers Tony Bill and his wife Helen Bartlett. Tony began his career as a film actor working opposite Frank Sinatra in Come Blow Your Horn. After appearing in many film and television productions, he transitioned to producer and in 1973 produced The Sting which won six Oscars, including Best Picture, and in 1976, the ground breaking Taxi Driver. His directorial credits include the films My Body Guard, Untamed Heart, and in 2006, Flyboys. He has worked with Katherine Hepburn, Richard Dreyfuss, Sissy Spacek and Holly Hunter, among others. Helen Bartlett began her career in writing, working for The Paris Review and The Los Angeles Times. Transitioning into the movie business, she worked as Vice President of The Mount Company and Paul Maslansky Productions at Warner Brothers Pictures. She and Tony formed Barnstorm Films. She produced Untamed Heart for MGM/UA, was the Associate Producer for A Home of Our Own starring Kathy Bates, and served as the Executive Producer of In the Time of the Butterflies, based on the award-winning novel. Helen has produced such stars as Sissy Spacek, Jeremy Irons, Neve Campbell, Marisa Tomei and Christian Slater.

Wanda and Stephen Brighenti will welcome sculptor Mark Mennin and architect Richard Olcott. Currently Mark and Richard are collaborating on an innovative project in Litchfield County called Stone House which combines sculpture with architecture, and tests preconceived notions of sculptural size, green architecture and affordability. They will introduce this exciting project at the dinner with preliminary architectural plans and models. Mark Mennin is known mostly for his monumental granite carvings in landscape and architecture. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Artforum, Art in America, ArtNews, and on the cover of Sculpture Magazine. On the faculty at the New York Academy of Art, Mark has also written on Sculpture for Arts Magazine and ArtNews. He and his wife, Marcia DeSanctis, live with their family in Bethlehem. Richard Olcott, who has created award-winning buildings, is Design Partner in Polshek Partnership. His recent projects include Yale University Art Gallery renovation and expansion, Public Broadcasting Station WGBH headquarters, the recently completed William J. Clinton Presidential Center, and Frankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. He, his wife, Betsy Ennis, and their family have a home in Sharon.

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