VANITY FAIR

APRIL 2010

NO. 506

VANITYFAIR.COM

FEATURES

GREED NEVER LEFT 126

With his 1987 classic, Wall Street, director Oliver Stone gave the world a morality tale—only to watch a generation of would-be Gordon Gekkos get the wrong message.

Michael Lewis explores the fresh challenge of Stone’s much-anticipated sequel. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS, TAKE TWO 130

After struggling with his own famous but distant father, Michael Douglas has seized a second chance at the role of family man. As the actor brings Gordon Gekko back to the screen, Evgenia Peretz hears about the star’s new emotional investments. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.

THE CITY BOY 133

Jimmy Buffett and Patrick Ecclesine spotlight Herman Wouk, who has poured 94 years of wisdom into his latest book.

BETTING ON THE BLIND SIDE 134

Back in 2004, when Wall Street was in full subprime-craze mode, a reclusive stock picker named Michael Burry read the fine print—and made a fortune. In an excerpt from his new book, Michael Lewis explains why Burry saw what no one else did. Photograph by Jonas Fredwall Karlsson.

LARRY FINK’S $12 TRILLION SHADOW 140

As co-founder and C.E.O. of the world’s largest assetmanagement firm, BlackRock, Larry Fink invests more than $3 trillion—and services another $9 trillion—for a client list that includes Fannie Mae, A.I.G., and the New York Fed. Suzanna Andrews tackles the question: Could one man be too big to fail? Photograph by Nigel Parry.

THE SOUND OF SONDHEIM 145

Leslie Bennetts and Jason Schmidt spotlight the new revue marking composer Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday.

LEHMAN’S DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES 146

For the wives of top executives at Lehman Brothers, standing by their men meant painful compromise—and mandatory hiking. In an excerpt from her new book on the defunct firm, Vicky Ward reveals the plight of Lehman’s families.

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THE ODDEST COUPLE 151

David Hyde Pierce and Ruven Afanador spotlight Dame Edna Everage and Michael Feinstein, Broadway’s craziest combo.

A MAN OF DARKNESS AND DREAMS 152

The suicide last month of designer Alexander McQueen was as confounding as many of the wunderkind’s couture shows. Was it prompted by drugs, health problems, or the death of his mother? Speaking to insiders, Ingrid Sischy learns that McQueen’s restless talent came with a price.

BIG TROUBLE AT 11:35 156

As David Letterman’s accused extortionist, 48 Hours Mystery producer Joe Halderman, heads to court, Mark Seal delves into the alleged romantic triangle involving Late Show staffer Stephanie Birkitt that plunged the entertainment mogul and the hard-news veteran into shocking legal combat.

SWINGING ON SINATRA 161

James Wolcott and Mark Pillai spotlight Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away, a danger-zone dance homage to Frank Sinatra.

CAMERON OBSCURA 162

In recession-battered Britain, where class divisions run deep, Tory leader David Cameron is a master of congenial compromise—and the likely next prime minister. Michael Wolff examines how the aristocratic Cameron and his Conservative Party have defused the hot-button issues.

PROMISESTO KEEP 165

Burt Bacharach and Rodney Smith spotlight the revival of Bacharach's first and only Broadway musical, Promises, Promises.

SORORITY ON E. 63RD ST. 166

During much of the 20th century, the women-only Barbizon Hotel was an elite fortress for single girls seeking fame and fortune in New York City. But for every Grace Kelly or Ali MacGraw, there were many more who never made it big. Michael Callahan chronicles the heyday of a double-edged sisterhood.

FANFAIR

30 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE 91

Bright Young Things: Hayley Bloomingdale’s fashionable turn | 91

Bruce Handy on a runaway hit; Elissa Schappell’s Hot Type 94

Lisa Robinson discusses a classic with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger | 96

Doug Stumpf is charmed by a Russian tradition; Bond No. 9 finds inspiration on the High Line; Chanel’s palette gets brighter; Kiehl’s collaborates on a new label 98

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COLUMNS

GREAT CARSON’S GHOST! 104

Surveying the talking wounded—Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O’Brien—in late-night’s succession war, James Wolcott summons the regal specter of Johnny Carson.

HALL OF FAME 105

Dr. Mehmet Oz nominates the philanthropists of the Bravewell Collaborative for backing true health-care reform. Photograph by David Bowman.

THE NEW COMMANDMENTS 106

Blue-chiseling the Ten Commandments, Christopher Hitchens decrees which should stay and which should go, adding a few new ones of his own. Illustration by Edward Sorel.

WAUGH AND BRIDESHEAD 110

Evelyn Waugh’s 1945 novel, Brideshead Revisited, was a love letter to a vanishing world. In an excerpt from her Waugh biography, Paula Byrne focuses on his inspiration: the divinely decadent Lygon family and their estate, Madresfield Court.

VANITIES

GRETA EXPECTATIONS 121

Jim Windolf explains today’s pop-music charts to the middleaged; Howard Schatz captures Jane Lynch in character

George Wayne stumps Harold Ford Jr. 124

ET CETERA

EDITOR’S LETTER Wild on the Street 72

60 MINUTES POLL 74

CONTRIBUTORS 76

OUT TO LUNCH Joel Osteen 80

LETTERS Not out of the Woods Yet 86

FAIRGROUND 101

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE Yogi Berra 190

VANITYFAIR.COM

THIS MONTH’S ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

Log on to VF Daily, where our new blogger, Juli Weiner, riffs on politics, scandal, the economy, gossip, and more. Plus: watch exclusive video of Christopher Hitchens deconstructing the Ten Commandments.

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