Behind the curtain, Obama going places around the Vineyard

Names

August 22, 2011|By Mark Shanahan & Meredith Goldstein

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Others enjoying the catered spread of sausage, couscous, and potato salad were Liman’s mother, Ellen, FDR’s granddaughter Laura Roosevelt, photographer Peter Simon and his wife, jewelry designer Ronni Simon, Harvard professors Alan Dershowitz and Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and the Nortons’ house guests, Veronica Biggins, chief of White House personnel for former President Clinton (and now a fellow at Harvard), and her husband, Franklin, a judge in Atlanta. And who was that hunky fellow who walked in with New York philanthropist Mary Cronson? We’re told it was Ames Brown from “Bachelor Pad.’’

Meanwhile, Peter Farrelly and his wife, Melinda, had friends over to their place “up island.’’ (We think it’s Chilmark, but it was dark and our GPS doesn’t work so well here.) Making the scene on the second floor of a barn with a pool table were nightlife nabob Patrick Lyons and his wife, Kristina, “SNL’’ anchorman Seth Meyers and girlfriend Alexi Ashe, Sox vice chairman David Ginsberg and his fiancee, Laura Margosian, and “Curb Your Enthusiasm’’ crank Larry David, who just wrapped work on the Farrellys’ film, “The Three Stooges.’’ (Turns out David isn’t much better at pool than golf, about which he wrote recently in The New Yorker.)

Also there were the Robertses, Tamara Buchwald, Ed Sparks of The Lyons Group, writer Janet Tashjian, Alan Dershowitz (again) and son Elon, Farrelly film producers Kris Meyer and Bradley Thomas, actor Mike Cerrone, Trader Fred owner Fred Mascolo, who furnished the cigars, hotelier Dick Friedman and son Alex, writer Alexandra Styron, writer-artist Judy Belushi Pisano, Mone Insurance’s Bob Mone, Peter and Ronni Simon (again), singer Kate Taylor, and Northampton lawyer Tom Lesser, who periodically checked his phone for updates on an invite to meet Obama Saturday night at Ogletree’s house.

That event, attended by director Spike Lee and Motown legend Berry Gordy Jr. (in addition to Obama’s usual island buddies), was hastily arranged Saturday morning by Boston-based planner Barbara Edelin. Guests, we’re told, received a cryptic e-mail from the White House at 2 p.m. Friday and were required to RSVP no later than 5 p.m. with their Social Security numbers. They were not told what or where the event was, but if they missed the deadline, they could not attend.

“You snooze, you lose,’’ said Cousen Rose Gallery owner Zita Cousens, who did not snooze and was at Ogletree’s house when the president arrived.

Obama stayed for about an hour, and didn’t make a speech, opting instead to greet the 100 or so guests individually.

Cousens was supposed to be at her gallery hosting the opening party for artist Glenn Tunstull’s new show, but she was delayed in getting there.