Is there a more iconic figure alive than Robin Leach?
Of course there is, but whomever that person may be, they aren't featured in Desert Living this month and haven't been drawn up all fancy-like by Julia Rothman.
May all your champagne wishes and caviar dreams come true.
Although if your wildest dreams involve fish eggs, you need to try harder.
Show Us the Money: There was a time in America when the uber-wealthy were reticent about ostentatious displays of their vast personal holdings. That was a time before the 1980’s, when luxurious excess was as proudly displayed as Rolex watches and sterling silver coke spoons. And it was all captured for syndicated consumption by Robin Leach, the ubiquitous host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (subjects were frequently both.) Debuting in 1983, the show ran for fourteen years and gave the average Joe/Joelle the chance to catch a glimpse of the “champagne wishes and caviar dreams” of well-heeled strangers who wouldn’t let them into their homes otherwise. Backed by the Fleet-Street-meets-the-Muppets narration of Leach, viewers were treated to the finest lavish materialism the world has to offer, including an all-gold house (yes, even the furniture) with matching Rolls Royces painted in gold dust.
The Lifestyle of the Rich, Obsequious: We owe our thanks to Leach for furthering the cause of allowing celebrities homes into our lives – Cribs should pay him royalties – but he wasn’t always the cat who owns a 7-bedroom, 8,500 sq. ft villa in Jumby Bay, Antigua. He was once a precocious member of the Fourth Estate, starting as a reporter in England at 15. Three years later, he was the youngest page one reporter at the Daily Mail. He then hopped the pond and wrote and edited for a variety of American publications including GO, a rock magazine he co-founded. Eventually, he started sucking up to the elites for Entertainment Tonight and the rest is gilded television history.
Leach Nuts: A life lived this richly is bound to have some golden nuggets: 1.) Leach travels over 250,000 miles a year. 2.) Leach has fulfilled his caviar dreams by appearing in such amazing projects as Troop Beverly Hills, America’s Next Top Model, Hee Haw and Wrestlemania IV. 3.) One very lonely commenter at Jumptheshark.com feels Lifestyles went awry when Rich Little was presented as a “REALLY BIG STAR. “ 4.) The old saying about paunchy, fawning, balding Brits with money is true. Leach told Askmen.com, “I love women and I am single,” and “always have a great tan and wear a good tuxedo.”
He Stays in Vegas: You may think turning 65 would slow down Leach’s pompous paeans to the pampered, puerile and privileged, but he has set up shop in Las Vegas and covers the happenings as a “Luxe Life” blogger. From the exploits of “hard-partying” Dennis Rodman to the breakup/rumored sex tape of Britney & K-Fed to the 2007 Hooters Calendar, Leach is on the Sin City scene to ensure the rich and famous continue to receive their hard-earned media coverage.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
