Patty Farmer
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Patty Farmer

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Patty Farmer is acknowledged as the leading expert on all things pertaining to music, entertainment—and the entertainers—of Playboy. She’s also a businesswoman and former model, and has followed the entertainment industry as an insider, as well as an avid fan and archivist all her life. Her work draws upon a lifetime of friendship and socializing among personalities and celebrities around the world. In her previous book, The Persian Room Presents, she transported readers back to the halcyon days of New York City nightlife. A comprehensive and wildly entertaining new book from the author of The Persian Room Presents offers a fresh perspective on the Playboy Empire and its influence—with the help of hundreds of entertainers and professionals who worked there. Since the launch of Playboy magazine in 1953, two elements have been remarkably consistent: the first is the celebration of nubile, female flesh and the second is Playboy’s involvement in the music scene. The Playboy experience was never just about sex but about lifestyle, and music—particularly the finest jazz, a personal passion of Hefner’s—has always been an essential component of that lifestyle. While many book have been written about the Playboy organization and the ultimate playboy himself, Hugh Hefner, no book—until this one—has focused specifically on Playboy’s involvement in the music scene, its impact on popular entertainment (and vice versa), and the fabulous cadre of performers who took to the stages of the mythic Playboy Clubs and Jazz Festivals. Patty Farmer’s Playboy Swings! is a groundbreaking look at Playboy through a new lens: music. **** Ever since Patty Farmer was a little girl, she dreamed of living at the Plaza—just like Eloise of storybook fame. Decades later, she realized that dream when she moved into an apartment on the eighth floor of the famed hotel and became more passionate than ever about immersing herself in its history. She soon discovered that one of the most magical places within the Plaza now exists only in memory: the nightclub known as the Persian Room. For more than forty years, from 1934 to 1975, the Persian Room was the place to be in New York City. An unparalleled array of performers graced its stage—everyone from the incomparable Hildegarde and Kay Thompson to Julie Wilson, Andy Williams, Lainie Kazan, and Michelle Lee. And, though more than three decades have passed since the final ovation, there are many from both sides of the footlights who remember this extravagant nightclub with great fondness. To create this unique and memorable oral history, Farmer traveled far and wide to meet the Persian Room’s most popular stars and collect their precious memories. Over the course of five years, these idols of the past and present opened their homes and hearts to her, relishing the opportunity to share cherished moments from their long careers. Many contributed photos and memorabilia from their personal collections as well, making The Persian Room Presents… a vivid journey through the club’s elegant history. Among the many stars who generously gave their time are Andy Williams, Marge Champion, Polly Bergen, Diahann Carroll, Connie Stevens, Lesley Gore, Patti Page, Carol Lawrence, Michelle Lee, Lainie Kazan, Julie Wilson, Tony Butala, Tony Sandler, Celeste Holm, Kaye Ballard, Jack Jones, and Roslyn Kind. Don Dellair shared funny and touching tales of both Hildegarde and Liberace. Hilary Knight—the legendary illustrator who brought Eloise to life spoke wistfully of Kay Thompson and Lisa Kirk. Each offered his or her own perspective on the club, but they all agreed on one thing: There was no place on earth like the Persian Room and there never will be. Today, when not enjoying New York, the most fabulous city in the world, Patty Farmer, along with her constant companions Sabrina and Marina, can be found visiting their other special places: California, Texas, and France.
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