{"id":141714,"date":"2026-02-22T12:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T12:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/141714\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T12:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T12:48:09","slug":"friars-club-memorabilia-being-sold-off-at-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/141714\/","title":{"rendered":"Friars Club memorabilia being sold off at auction"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Friars Club<\/a> is officially dead.<\/p>\n

Over 160 pieces of furniture, art, instruments and other gems from the now-shuttered club<\/a> will be sold to the highest bidders by Julien\u2019s Auctions on March 4<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1904, the members-only social club on East 55th St. is selling off a custom pool table<\/a>, a Steinway piano<\/a>, Jack Benny\u2019s violin<\/a> and bronze busts of Frank Sinatra<\/a> and Jerry Lewis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other famous members included Milton Berle, Humphrey Bogart, Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Carson and Nat \u201cKing\u201d Cole.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Honorary female members such as Phyllis Diller, Barbra Streisand and Lucille Ball were ruling the dais until 1988, when women like Liza Minnelli, Elizabeth Taylor and Carol Burnett were granted official membership<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Julien’s Auctions<\/p>\n

A bronze bust of Frank Sinatra by Jo Davidson (estimate: $4,000-$6,000) (Julien’s Auctions)<\/p>\n

Catherine Williamson, the managing director of Hollywood memorabilia for Julien\u2019s Auctions, tried to find some joy in the tragic end of the club famous for its celebrity roasts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve always wanted to be a member of the Friars Club, this is your once-in-a-lifetime chance to own a piece from the legendary comedy mecca,\u201d Williamson said. \u201cWe\u2019re delighted to serve this glorious banquet of brilliant archival treasures from the kings and queens of comedy and entertainment, chronicling over a century of laughter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

Sydney James Harcourt<\/a> knows his role as Rum Tum Tugger in \u201cCATS: The Jellicle Ball.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy specialty is pretty boy realness,\u201d Harcourt told me. \u201cBeing able to walk in the world and not be clocked as gay. I\u2019ve been walking realness my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original production of \u201cCats\u201d<\/a> by Andrew Lloyd Webber, inspired by a collection of T.S. Eliot poems<\/a>, ran for 18 years on Broadway.<\/p>\n

While the reimagining of the musical has the same music and lyrics, it did away with the cat costumes and turned the characters into participants of the Harlem ballroom community<\/a> that flourished in the \u201860s and \u201870s.<\/p>\n

After a successful run off-Broadway, \u201cCATS: The Jellicle Ball\u201d begins previews March 18 at the Broadhurst Theatre, and officially opens on April 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harcourt, who started out understudying five roles in \u201cHamilton,\u201d thinks the new show will be a huge hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis could be 10 times bigger than the original \u2018Cats,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For a man who grew up in Detroit, overweight with a lisp, it\u2019s nice when someone tells him he\u2019s the sexiest man to hit Broadway since Hugh Jackman starred in \u201cThe Boy from Oz.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll take it,\u201d Harcourt said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

As the sun set on Valentine\u2019s Day, Suzanne Somers\u2019 widower, Alan Hamel<\/a>, made a secret visit to her final resting place near Palm Springs<\/a>. He was bearing a bouquet of white peonies, the \u201cThree\u2019s Company\u201d star\u2019s favorite flower.<\/p>\n

\"ActressActress Suzanne Somers and husband Alan Hamel visit the SiriusXM Studios on November 15, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord\/Getty Images for SiriusXM)<\/p>\n

Hamel recalled telling his wife years ago that he wanted to give her something memorable for Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe responded, \u2018I don\u2019t really need anything, but something shiny and big would certainly be appreciated. I would love that,\u2019\u201d Hamel said, before he broke out into a laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave her a waffle iron, the shiniest and the biggest one I could find. She first reacted by calling me a \u2018jerk\u2019 and then laughed so hard she started choking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somers and Hamel were together for more than 50 years, from when they met in the late \u201860s until her death in 2023<\/a> following a decades-long battle with breast cancer.<\/p>\n

Hamel is now about a year into a relationship with \u201cBlade Runner\u201d actress Joanna Cassidy<\/a>, whom he initially met when she was a guest on his \u201cAlan Hamel Show\u201d in the \u201970s.<\/p>\n

\"JoannaJoanna Cassidy poses at the premiere of the documentary film “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello)<\/p>\n

They reconnected a decade later<\/a> when Cassidy and Somers starred together in the miniseries \u201cHollywood Wives,\u201d<\/a> and again after 18 months of Hamel mourning his wife.<\/p>\n

The 89-year-old says he\u2019s sure Somers would approve of the romance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the final days of her life on this planet, before she crossed over, she said to me, \u2018I don\u2019t want you to mope around after I\u2019m gone,\u2019<\/a>\u201d he told People magazine last year. \u201cShe\u2019d be very happy that I\u2019m happy\u2026 She wanted that.\u201d<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

Matt Damon, his wife, Luciana Barroso<\/a>, and their daughters Isabella and Gia<\/a> joined a group of nearly 300 swells, including Ricky and Ralph Lauren, at the Round Hill Hotel<\/a> in Jamaica for the annual Sugar Cane Ball<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chaired for the fifth time by New York shoe designer Vanessa Noel<\/a>, the event benefitted\u00a0 Hanover Charities<\/a>, which is helping rebuild the homes destroyed by Hurricane Melissa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"RalphRalph Lauren and Ricky Lauren attend the world premiere of HBO Documentary Films’ “Very Ralph” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n

As part of an auction, the Laurens donated a shopping spree at their NYC Polo store, valued at $5,000. That, plus ticket sales for the gala and other auction gems, raised over $600,000 for the charity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other guests included David Lauren and his wife, Lauren Bush Lauren; iHeart Media CEO Robert Pittman; Jamaica tourism director Josef Forstmayr<\/a>, who has run the Round Hill for nearly 40 years; and Megan Hearst, the stepdaughter of billionaire Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, whose family owns a luxurious villa at the hotel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The resort, located in a private gated community near Montego Bay, was founded in the early \u201850s as an exclusive escape for the elite. Legendary guests have included Grace Kelly, Truman Capote, Clark Gable, Noel Coward and Alfred Hitchcock.<\/p>\n

John and Jackie Kennedy spent part of their honeymoon there in 1953<\/a>. They frequently returned, with JFK even using one of the villas to prepare his 1961 inauguration speech.<\/p>\n

Today, the Round Hill Hotel remains a second home for the likes of Paul McCartney, Justin Bieber, Whoopi Goldberg and Pierce Brosnan.<\/p>\n

****\u00a0<\/p>\n

Race to Erase MS founder Nancy Davis<\/a> has battled multiple sclerosis for 34 years, and she\u2019s in good shape. That\u2019s why she\u2019s working hard to organize her foundation\u2019s 2026 Gala<\/a>, set to be held on June 5 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was told I\u2019d be lucky if I could hold a TV remote,\u201d Davis told me.<\/p>\n

The doomsayers were wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only can I walk, I got a black belt in karate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"NancyNancy Davis, Founder, Race to Erase MS attends the 32nd annual Race To Erase MS Gala on May 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Leon Bennett\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Actresses Selma Blair<\/a>, Jamie Lynn Sigler<\/a> and Christina Applegate<\/a> are also dealing with the disease, which \u2014 thanks to research funding \u2014 is now being fought with 25 different drugs<\/a> designed to stop the progression of MS.<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019 charity has raised $57 million for the cause with plenty of help. Last year\u2019s gala was attended by Robin Thicke, Kathy Hilton, Kelly Osbourne, and Dee and Tommy Hilfiger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

Out & About: \u201cStranger Things\u201d star Caleb McLaughlin<\/a> was spotted dining with a pal and then posing for photos with fans at Carnegie Diner & Cafe\u2019s new Herald Square location<\/a> at The Martinique New York on Broadway \u2026 Susan Stroman, Lee Roy Reams, and Steve and Debbie Garrin caught Tony Danza\u2019s latest show, \u201cSinatra & Stories,\u201d<\/a> at 54 Below.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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