Rich & Famous Celeb Tour

Rich & Famous Celeb Tour I'm Jim D***s and I've been a licensed guide in New York City for PRIVATE tours for over 20 years. Old money areas, new money, uptown, downtown, Brooklyn, etc.
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Of all the private tours I do, Rich & Famous Tours are a favorite. People love celebs and are fascinated by THE GILDED AGE mansions that are still standing. Unique, personalized tours of New York City: the city of the "rich & famous"; Tours not only include important New York information (architecture, history) but also info about expensive real estate, celebrity addresses, where the "beautiful" people live, shop, dine & party.

The DAKOTA- 1884- oldest apartment building on Central Park built before the streets were paved. Designed by Henry J. Ha...
06/22/2024

The DAKOTA- 1884- oldest apartment building on Central Park built before the streets were paved.
Designed by Henry J. Hardenburgh as German gothic for millionaire investor Edward Clark who owned Clark Thread and Singer Sewing Machines among other investments.
Today the DAKOTA is surrounded by buildings...Central Park is just to your right (out of frame). Today the DAKOTA is famous for all the celebrity residents including Lauren Bacall, Yoko Ono and John Lennon (killed in the entrance courtyard), Roberta Flack, Rex Reed, Rudolf Nureyev, etc.

06/22/2024
06/11/2024

Funny story I remember reading: John Jacob Astor immigrated to NY from Germany in 1783; he was an uneducated immigrant and with his brother worked as a butcher. He hunted furry creatures, skinned them and got into the fur trade, selling the furs and buying New York City real estate. At one point he owned one third of Manhattan and other real estate. His children married into "high society" and his son married Caroline Schermerhorn who became THE Mrs. Astor, queen of New York society.

When Grandpa John Jacob Astor I was invited to his granddaughter's debutante ball, while standing in the receiving line, he absent-mindedly wiped his hands on his granddaughter's white ballgown, shocking and appalling everyone. Oops...still an uneducated b**b but with MONEY.
John Jacob Astor IV died on Titanic.

My new favorite guilty pleasure: THE GILDED AGE on HBO/Max. Written & produced by Julian Fellowes who is known for DOWNT...
06/08/2024

My new favorite guilty pleasure: THE GILDED AGE on HBO/Max. Written & produced by Julian Fellowes who is known for DOWNTON ABBEY. GILDED AGE could easily be called "the American Downton Abbey". It's a very detailed historical fiction series about life in 1880s New York City with the "old" money and the "new money" families. Vanderbilts, Astors, etc. are all depicted either by name or by suggestion. Many favorite actors including Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Nathan Lane, Kelli O'Hara, Donna Murphy, many others. Historically accurate but juicy and bitchy.

1h | 16+

With Deborah Norville โ€“ I just made it onto their weekly engagement list by being one of their top engagers! ๐ŸŽ‰
06/04/2024

With Deborah Norville โ€“ I just made it onto their weekly engagement list by being one of their top engagers! ๐ŸŽ‰

It's Fleet Week in New York City....soldiers & sailors & marines everywhere. Check out this group of sailors inside the ...
05/25/2024

It's Fleet Week in New York City....soldiers & sailors & marines everywhere. Check out this group of sailors inside the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York checking out the famous painting of George Washington Crossing the Delaware.

Typical NYC grand gilded age mansion on E. 66th Street, built by a Vanderbilt cousin, now the LOTUS CLUB for artists & w...
05/16/2024

Typical NYC grand gilded age mansion on E. 66th Street, built by a Vanderbilt cousin, now the LOTUS CLUB for artists & writers. I was a guest here recently.

I got the nicest "thank you" note from a California School last week (California).I scanned it for you.Jimmy: Thank you ...
04/06/2024

I got the nicest "thank you" note from a California School last week (California).
I scanned it for you.
Jimmy: Thank you for providing our students and their families with an NYC experience they will cherish for a lifetime.
Your knowledge of the city has given young people a better understanding of USA history and how amazing this unique little place in America is....it has a vibrancy like no other city.
Gratefully,
Townsend Teachers and families

Stern's Dept. Store - a white cast iron building from 1878- is still standing on W. 23rd St. It's now HOME DEPOT but was...
03/17/2024

Stern's Dept. Store - a white cast iron building from 1878- is still standing on W. 23rd St. It's now HOME DEPOT but was also used in the Tom Hanks movie BIG as the toy company where he works.

From Tom Miller's blog about old NY...(Daytonian in NY)
02/25/2024

From Tom Miller's blog about old NY...(Daytonian in NY)

photo from the Auction Catalogue of Collection of Charles T. Yerkes, New York, 1910 (copyright expired) When Charles Tyson Yerkes d...

Grey Gardens in Easthampton.Once a grand country house (the home of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis' Aunt & Uncle), it fe...
02/24/2024

Grey Gardens in Easthampton.
Once a grand country house (the home of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis' Aunt & Uncle), it fell into disrepair when the family fortunes crashed. A famous documentary was done "Grey Gardens" which shows the sad state of dilapidation of the house (and residents Big Edie & Little Edie). Later a movie, a book and a Broadway musical.
Later the home was finally restored to grandeur by Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn.

Every New York street you walk down has old brownstones and townhouses lined up in rows...each house is a story....who b...
02/13/2024

Every New York street you walk down has old brownstones and townhouses lined up in rows...each house is a story....who built it? Who lived there? What was their life like? Well I just stumbled onto a story about 126 W. 71st Street between Broadway & Columbus Ave.
Built in 1884 as one of 5 houses in a row, it had several private owners before finally being bought in 1908 by a vaudevillian & Broadway star....the handsome bachelor David Montgomery of the song & dance/comedy team Montgomery & Stone (with lifelong friend Fred Stone).
Montgomery & Stone starred in the original New York stage production of The Wizard of Oz as the scarecrow and tin man, they starred in the acclaimed The Red Mill, Babes in Toyland and many other productions.
As I was reading about David Montgomery I realized we both have the same birthday-- March 21-- but he was born in 1870 in St. Joseph, Missouri. He never married, bought the house in 1908, and died at age 47 while on a vaudeville tour in the midwest. His funeral was held in the house on W. 71st. St. The house was sold by his sister in 1920 and became apartments.

02/13/2024

A wise person said:
If you're not liberal when you're young,
You have no HEART.
But if you're not conservative by 40,
You have no BRAIN.

New York real estate folks are so clueless in why their magnificent apartments and houses aren't selling! 1. They are ov...
02/04/2024

New York real estate folks are so clueless in why their magnificent apartments and houses aren't selling!
1. They are over-priced....WAY over-priced
2. People (especially the rich) are fleeing New York because of HIGH TAXES and HIGH CRIME currently.
3. Many of these gorgeous expensive properties are in CO-OP Buildings where you must be approved by the BOARD OF DIRECTORS (i.e. the neighbors) and they ask all sorts of personal, intrusive questions.
4. Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue are full of these gorgeous, empty 10, 20, 30 room "palaces"...too many rules! You can't make noise, you can't have loud parties, you can't re-decorate unless you follow the "rules" of the building, etc.
But mostly it's because they are WAY over-priced!

Sometimes, even the fanciest Manhattan apartments get no respect. These luxe properties have been on the market for much longer than the average apartment.

The newest target of the gangs in NYC: go after the newsstand guys. They sit outside in the freezing cold to see newspap...
01/15/2024

The newest target of the gangs in NYC: go after the newsstand guys. They sit outside in the freezing cold to see newspapers, lottery tickets and mints. And now the gangs are attacking them, dragging them out of their booths, beating and robbing them.

12/29/2023

For the last 25 years, homes, businesses and municipalities have been installing security cameras everywhere.
And it was always a common-sense law....mask-wearing in public was banned (except at Halloween). But during Covid when the government gave people permission to wear masks in public, I said to myself: This is not going to end well. Covid will end and people (muggers and shoplifters and professional protestors) are still wearing masks to disguise their identity making the millions of security cameras basically useless. Every day on the news reports, you see footage of criminals in face masks breaking into homes, shoplifting, stealing cars, etc.
Thank you to Covid and the government for allowing criminals to freely carry and wear masks!

When I first moved to New York as a 22-year old, I worked as a Santa at Macy's Herald Square! At Macy's, Santas are put ...
12/24/2023

When I first moved to New York as a 22-year old, I worked as a Santa at Macy's Herald Square! At Macy's, Santas are put thru training...there are dozens of Santas (many languages, races, etc.) but they are all carefully sequestered in separate "cottages" so when the children go thru SantaLand, they only see the ONE AND ONLY Santa. I saw thousands of children and parents every day in November/December. Also famous people with their children like Goldie Hawn, Michael Jackson, Mia Farrow, Ron Howard, etc. Here is a photo autographed by Charlie's Angel Jaclyn Smith who visited Macy's with her husband and 3 year old son Gaston who kicked and fought when she tried to get him to sit on Santa's lap for a photo! Many kids hated to sit on the "red monster's" lap but the Moms and Grannies all want the photo. Eventually Jaclyn sat on my lap and Gaston reluctantly sat on Mommy's lap while her husband Tony snapped pics. Years later I met Jaclyn and confessed to her I was the Santa and she laughed and laughed. My friend Pete was able to have Jaclyn sign a photo of me in the Macy's Santa outfit just for fun! (Thanks Pete)
Pics below: Me as Santa with Jaclyn's inscription, Me in full Santa drag smiling with Macy's photo number; me with fellow Santa Mike Schott, behind the scenes taking a Santa break, me in the Macy's ad as a Santa helper.

My first modelling job at age 21....MACY'S....Sunday NY Times Magazine.
12/17/2023

My first modelling job at age 21....MACY'S....Sunday NY Times Magazine.

2023 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is perfect.
12/16/2023

2023 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is perfect.

12/13/2023

Wordle 907 3/6

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I wrote this article about Santa Claus 30 years ago and it was published Dec. 18, 1992 in a New York newspaper.SANTA CLA...
12/12/2023

I wrote this article about Santa Claus 30 years ago and it was published Dec. 18, 1992 in a New York newspaper.
SANTA CLAUS IS A DYED-IN-THE-WOOL NEW YORKER
Christmas just wouldnโ€™t be the same without the jolly man in the red suit but where exactly does this fat fellow come from?
Like most Americans, his roots are elsewhere, but the Santa Claus we all know and love is truly a son of NEW YORKโ€”Manhattan, to be precise. Letโ€™s go back a bit and see how his ancestors evolved.
The idea of magical gift bringers predates the Christian era, but the one with whom we are most familiar today is Saint Nicholas. He seems to have inherited many of the attributes of the older pagan figures who rewarded the good and punished the bad.
Saint Nicholas was the kindly Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor of the 4th century, who was noted for his kindness and generosity. Folks thought him quite peculiar for giving gifts to people heโ€™d never met. Heโ€™s usually depicted holding three gold balls or bags which represent the dowries he gave to the daughters of an impoverished, though faithful, merchant.
The story goes that he secretly tossed the bags of gold through the windows of the three sisters, thus giving them dowries and allowing them to be wed. According to legend, one of the furtively tossed bags fell into a stocking that was hanging near the chimney to dry, giving rise to the custom of hanging Christmas stockings on the mantelpiece.
The true veneration of St. Nicholas began in 430 AD when the Emperor Justinian built the first church in his honor in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). The St. Nicholas cult spread throughout the Eastern church and he eventually became the patron saint of Russia.
The bankers of Lombardy, Italy adopted him as their patron saint and placed his highly recognizable emblem of the three gold balls overtop their doors. These three balls might have meant โ€œbankโ€ in northern Italy, but later they became a symbol everywhere for โ€œmoney lendersโ€ or pawnshops.
The Protestant Reformation brought about many changes in Europe, not the least of which were the new forms that this annual gift giver took in different countries.
French children called him Pere Noel (Father Christmas) while in Germany, a visit was paid by Christkindl (Christ child), which was later Amercanized to Kris Kringle. These gentlemen as well as the other incarnations of St. Nicholas eventually made their way to New York along with the other immigrants, but it was the Dutch settlers of early Manhattan island who really brought the joyful spirit of Christmas to America in the early 1600โ€™s.

In Nieuw (New) Amsterdam, the children waited all year for December 5th, the feast of Sinter Niclaes. The Dutch kids filled their wooden shoes with straw for his horse to eat and left them outside their windows hoping that the good Bishop, known affectionately by then as Sinter Klaas, would in turn, fill them with goodies.
After the English conquered New Amsterdam in 1664 and took charge of the newly renamed New York, the city was flooded with English citizens moving to the New World. The English continued the local customs surrounding the kindly St. Nicholas, picturing him as a tall and stately person. The English children, struggling to blend in with the Dutch children, haphazardly mis-pronounced the Sinter Klaas as Santa Claus.
Few Americans outside of New York City ever heard of Santa Claus until 1809 when New York writer Washington Irving wrote his popular book A Knickerbockerโ€™s History of New York. The book was about life in old Dutch Nieuw Amsterdam and mentions the white-bearded fellow over two dozen times as the guardian or patron saint of New York. Irving created a picture of St. Nicholas as a small, jolly old Dutchman with a broad-rimmed hat and smoking a pipe who rode through the air in a horse-drawn wagon and dropped presents down chimneys. Irvingโ€™s book was a best-seller and introduced Santa Claus to the rest of the American public.
Another New Yorker who added to the legend and who took Washington Irvingโ€™s work to heart was the young Episcopal seminarian Clement Clarke Moore, who lived on his Chelsea farm in Manhattan (now the Chelsea neighborhood). An architect and lay professor of Hebrew and Greek at New Yorkโ€™s General Theological Seminary, Moore wrote a poem for his three small children Clement Jr., Charity and Emily for Christmas 1822. The beginning of the poem is now legendary: โ€˜Twas the Night Before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. This poem was the beginning of our modern visualization of Santa, replete with red suit and reindeer. (Note: modern historical revisionists have said that perhaps Moore didnโ€™t write the poem and that it was written anonymously by a family friend but this hasnโ€™t been proven).
New York illustrator and political cartoonist Thomas Nast did a drawing of Santa Claus (based on the description in Mooreโ€™s poem) for a childrenโ€™s book published in 1863. Nast was yet another New Yorker who added to the legend. Nast drew not only the evils of Tammany Hall, Boss Tweed and the 19th century politicians, but also created a picture world in which Santa Claus had a North Pole workshop where toys were built and had a large book where all the childrenโ€™s names and behavior were recorded. New Yorker Thomas Nast put the finishing touches on the elfin picture of Santa Claus that we now cherish. His pictures were reprinted in newspapers around the country, spreading the legend of Santa Claus.
Later on, other authors and artists added elves to assist in the workshop and Mrs. Claus was born in a New York World newspaper cartoon in1889.
In 1897, yet another New York newspaper, the New York Sun, made history when its editor Francis Church, announced to a little girl from 115 West 95th Street and indeed the world at large that โ€œYes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!โ€
It wasnโ€™t until 1931 that Coca-Colaโ€™s Madison Avenue Ad Agency in New York commissioned the now-famous series of promotional paintings that resulted in the adult sized more robust figure that we know today as Santa Claus.
New York added to its Christmas image with the annual Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, which started performances in 1933 and still features a Nativity pageant with live camels and sheep as well as huge Broadway style musical production numbers. New Yorkโ€™s famed 1858 MACYโ€™S Department store was the first store to have annual โ€œChristmas windowsโ€ and a Santa to greet the children. By 1946, New York was permanently emblazoned in Americansโ€™ Christmas memories with the movie The Miracle on 34th Street filmed in New York City at Macyโ€™s.
In summary, we have todayโ€™s SANTA CLAUS, created in a wonderful melding of many cultures and ideas that could only happen in New York!
Merry Christmas!

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