04293cam a22004938i 4500 23774653 MeVbMML 20250109105713.0 240712s2024 nyu b 001 0beng 2024025109 9781538751244 (hardcover) 9781538751237 (ebook) DLC eng rda DLC pcc n-us-dc n-us-ri n-us-ok E840.8.4.M574 G67 2024 973.9/092 B 23/eng/20240712 Gordon, Meryl, author. 19097 The woman who knew everyone : the power of Perle Mesta, Washington's most famous hostess / Meryl Gordon. Power of Perle Mesta, Washington's most famous hostess First edition. 2412 New York : Grand Central Publishing, 2024. pages cm text txt rdacontent unmediated n rdamedia volume nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references and index. Introduction Broadway Bound -- A Texas/Oklahoma Upbringing -- The Man of SteelGeorge Mesta -- Starting Over -- Oklahoma, Revisited -- Acts of Rebellion -- Perle Makes Feminist History -- The Moon, the Stars and All the Planets -- The Entertainer-in-Chief -- Democratic Party Stalwart -- Dewey Beats Truman? -- Just Reward, or Government by Crony? -- Advise and Consent -- Lost and Found in Luxembourg -- Call Me Madam -- I like Ike -- Divided Loyalties -- Goodbye Without Leaving -- From Royalty to Russia -- There's No Place Like Home -- Have Passport, Will Travel -- The World Traveler Recovers -- Windy City BluesThe Party Must Go On -- Fly Me to the Moon. -- All the Way (Or not at all) with LBJ -- A House is not a Home -- Alone Again -- Blame It on the Frug -- Tumultuous Times -- A World Turned Upside Down -- The Undaunted Feminist -- The Octogenarian Jetsetter -- "Perle, you're an event in the life of America." "Perle Mesta was a force to be reckoned with. In her heyday - the 1940's, 50's and 60's - this extremely wealthy globe-trotting Washington widow was one of the most famous women in America, garnering as much media attention as Eleanor Roosevelt. Renowned for her world-class parties featuring politicians and celebrities, she was very close to three presidents - Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson. After Truman named her as the first female envoy to Luxembourg, Irving Berlin wrote an entire hit musical based on Perle's life - "Call Me Madam" - which starred Ethel Merman, ran on Broadway for two years and later became a movie. Dubbed by Berlin as the "hostess with the mostess'," Perle inherited serious money (Texas oil) and married even more money (a Pittsburgh steel magnate). She had a rollicking life outside of Washington, befriending such Broadway legends as Merman, Angela Lansbury and Pearl Bailey. She also had a serious side. A pioneering supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment dating to the 1930's and influential champion for working women, she was a prodigious Democratic fundraiser and rescued Harry Truman's financially flailing 1948 campaign. In this intensely researched biography, author Meryl Gordon chronicles Perle's lavish life and society adventures in Newport, Manhattan and Washington while highlighting her important, but nearly forgotten contribution to American politics and the feminist movement"-- Provided by publisher. Mesta, Perle, 1882-1975. 19098 Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 Friends and associates. 19099 Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969 Friends and associates. 19100 Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973 Friends and associates. 19101 Ambassadors United States Biography. 19102 Socialites Washington (D.C.) Biography. 6299 Socialites Rhode Island Newport Biography. 19103 Widows Washington (D.C.) Biography. 19104 Washington (D.C.) Social life and customs 20th century. 19105 Oklahoma Biography. 19106 7 cbc orignew 1 ecip 20 y-gencatlg ddc BOOK 30343 30343 ddc 0 0 ABELJ ABELJ B 2025-01-09 34.00 1 973.9 MEST 40095 2025-07-22 2025-07-08 2025-01-09 BOOK 1