VANITY FAIR

No 430

June 1996

Features

INNOCENTS ABROAD The cold, the mud, and the land mines haven't dampened the all-American idealism of the U.S. peacekeeping troops in Bosnia. At Shark City base, outside Tuzla, Harry Benson captures the spirit of '96. 121

FIRST ACTION HEROINE Firooz Zahedi and Toby Young spotlight Rene Russo, who follows up her Get Shorty success with roles opposite Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson. 130

THE PROFESSIONAL Tom Cruise, who meets a fresh challenge as producer-star of the big summer movie Mission: Impossible, gives Jennet Conant an unguarded view of his life with Nicole Kidman, as well as the first-ever joint interview with Hollywood's top couple. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz. 132

DESPERATELY LEAKING SUSAN Lawyer Susan Thomases, Hillary's closest confidante, has wielded enormous power in the Clinton White House. But with two best-sellers exposing Thomases' weaknesses, Jacob Weisberg reports, the First Lady's "enforcer" is fighting for her own survival. Portrait by Annie Leibovitz. 138

MIGHTY MOLIERE As Ingmar Bergman's elaborate production of The Misanthrope comes to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Pascal Chevallier and David Daniel applaud the revived reign of Louis XIV. 144

THREE FACES OF EVIL Overshadowed by the O.J. spectacle, the second trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez was virtually forgotten. Dominick Dunne takes the witness stand for a last look at this tragic double-murder case—and a final chapter in the epic Simpson saga. 146

FULL MOUNA RISING Mouna Al-Rashid is joining the jet set. Freed from her veiled existence as the wife of a Saudi billionaire, she tells Bob Colacello about her change of heart and her multimill ion-dollar diamond deals. Photographs by Eric Boman. 154

O LUCKY MAN Son of a big-band legend and a musical talent in his own right, Peter Duchin called the estates of Averell and "Ma" Harriman home. In an excerpt from his memoir, Duchin evokes the charmed circle created by his surrogate family—and its fractured end at the hands of Harriman's third wife, Pamela. 158

FOR DETAILS, SEE CREDITS PAGE

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Columns

STAR OF ZION A favorite of America's media elite, Benjamin Netanyahu could be Israel's next prime minister. David Margolick finds the hawkish Netanyahu's political fortunes much improved by the recent terror in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Photographs by John Stoddart. 44

THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION David Kamp hails the publication of John Phillips's handsome photographic memoir of his mid-century tour of duty as Life's European correspondent. 70

HITLER'S GHOST One of the most informed—and most infamousexperts on Nazi Germany has been silenced. With St. Martin's Press halting publication of a revelatory Goebbels biography, Christopher Hitchens wonders just who is afraid of David Irving. 72

ENDLESS YOUTH Interviewing renowned medical experts and their elated subjects, Gail Sheehy investigates a powerful new anti-aging treatment that could extend baby-boomer life spans into the 90s and 100s. Photographs by Jonathan Becker and Art Streiber. 76

THE GOLD DIGGERS When high-profile Hollywood producers Peter Guber and Jon Peters left Sony $3.2 billion poorer, it was simply the latest stop along a trail of financial mayhem. Kim Masters and Nancy Griffin follow the money in an excerpt from their new book, Hit and Run. 94

Vanities

CANVASSING ALEXANDRA NECHITA George Wayne head-butts Dennis Rodman; V.F. s third annual Oscar celebration. 109

Et Cetera

EDITOR'S LETTER: Air Vanity Fair. 20

CONTRIBUTORS. 28

LETTERS: Boys' town. 40

PLANETARIUM: You can teach an old Gemini new tricks. 180

CREDITS. 185

SOCIAL STUDY: Timothy Leary trips on the Proust Questionnaire 186