VANITY FAIR

No 422 October 1995

Features

THE GREAT BLACK HOPE General Colin Powell, the first African-American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is being hailed as the next Eisenhower. Marjorie Williams sheds fresh light on the mysterious man behind the symbol. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz...........229

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER In an excerpt from his new book, Then, former Conde Nast editorial director Alexander Liberman captures images of his 70 years among the century's great artists and social icons. . . .234

A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN With box-office successes such as Crimson Tide and Malcolm A'—and with a new film, Devil in a Blue Dress, about to open—Denzel Washington has vaulted Hollywood's racial barrier. Lloyd Grove rides shotgun with the $10 million man. Photographs by Herb Ritts......................242

THE HAUTE ZONE Couture is resurgent, with a nod to pret-a-porter and the technology-inspired fashions of the 60s. Laura Jacobs reflects on the visual echoes in this season's futuristic message. Photographs by Karl Lagerfeld........................248

ONE FOR THE ROAD Matthew Tyrnauer finds Greg Kinnear taking time off from his late-late-night NBC talk show to star opposite Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond in Sydney Pollack's remake of Sabrina. Photographs by Peggy Sirota....................254

THE LIVING-ROOM WAR The bitter divorce of millionaire financier Frank Richardson and his socialite wife, Nancy, has been tabloid fodder ever since Richardson's private diary, which linked him to federal judge Kimba Wood, was leaked to the press. Jennet Conant tallies the psychiatrists and lawyers on both sides. Photograph by Jonathan Becker.....................258

ALL LIPS AND LASHES In 30 years on the road with Hello, Dolly!, Carol Channing has missed only one day of work. As Channing heads for Broadway, Leslie Bennetts discovers the fanatic drive behind the baby-doll simper. Photographs by Firooz Zahedi....................262

THE NEW ESTABLISHMENT 1995 Gates, Murdoch, Spielberg, Eisner, Malone, Bronfman . . . In a follow-up to last October's special report on the New Establishment, Vanity Fair ranks the top 50 movers and shakers of the converging entertainment, information, and technology industries, and revisits a year of multibillion-dollar deals. Photographs by Nigel Parry............269

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Columns

THE PRECARIOUS THRONE As Time Warner C.E.O. Gerald Levin focuses on his interactive vision, Kim Masters and Stephen Fried investigate the wolves circling his $16 billion empire.....................90

THE LADY TRIUMPHS Edward Klein travels to Rangoon to meet Burma's political heroine, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Photograph by Robin Moyer..........................120

VICTOR/VICTORIOUS After 33 years, Julie Andrews returns to Broadway this fall with Victor/Victoria. Jonathan Van Meter digs behind her Mary Poppins image. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz............................146

WEIGHING THE BENEFITS Brooke Astor remembers when charity was a cause célèbre, instead of a bore..................156

MAIN LINE MADCAP At Ardrossan, the legendary estate of society party girl Hope Montgomery Scott, H. G. Bissinger relives the grandeur of America's first and last aristocracy. Photographs by Jonathan Becker......................158

UNREASONABLE DOUBTDaily News columnist Mike McAlary's recent tabloid scoop earned him a $12 million lawsuit by the woman he claimed had faked her own rape. M. A. Farber reports......................184

OH, SUSANNA George Hodgman traces the Hawaii-to-Hollywood-to-Harlem trail of novelist Susanna Moore, whose erotic new thriller, In the Cut, takes her onto the edge. Photographs by Guzman . . ............ 198

Vanities

LENNY KRAVITZ'S CIRCUS ACT What's in store for Calvin Klein; the Devil and Randy Newman; George Wayne rocks Bon Jovi; C.B. vs. Internet...........................203

EDITOR'S LETTER: The Lady reappears..........................50

CONTRIBUTORS...............................62

LETTERS: Reeved up........................74

CREDITS.........................298

PLANETARIUM: Mutiny follows bounty, Libra..................302

SOCIAL STUDY: Kim Novak sizzles for the Proust Questionnaire. ......................... 304

Et Cetera

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