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Flash Back: The Most Magical Introduction Ever: How I Met The Great Calvin Klein

Posted April 16th, 2010 in Celebrity, Reflections by Glenn Plaskin
Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein

Picture This: A 31-year-old writer with one book under his wing gets a letter from the former First Lady of the United States, admiring his biography of Vladimir Horowitz and inviting him to meet with her to discuss his next book project. After a few phone conversations, together, they decide to invite the king of American fashion to lunch to discuss the possibility of working with him on his autobiography.

Fact or fiction? I’m happy to report that I made the lunch reservation! And I’m thinking of it just today for reasons I’ll soon explain.

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A Spring Lunch With A Legend – Reminding me of that first lucky break

Posted April 16th, 2010 in Katie, Reflections by Glenn Plaskin
Owen Laster

Owen Laster

Yesterday,on one of the first sunny and warm days of spring, I had lunch with one of my all-time favorite people, the incomparable Owen Laster, a great friend and my former literary agent at the William Morris Agency. Owen, who retired in 2006 after an illustrious 45-year career, came down to Battery Park City to enjoy the 70 degree temperatures and an afternoon lunch at Southwest, a Mexican restaurant located on the Marina.

With cherry blossoms in bloom and sailboats passing us by, Owen and I caught up on any and everything. I used to always joke to him (and it wasn’t really a joke!) that I was his most unimportant client. Indeed, Owen, who was head of international literary operations at William Morris and a key player in numerous Hollywood deals, has worked with countless legends, including such heavy hitters as James Michener, Gore Vidal, Dominick Dunne, Susan Isaacs, Judy Blume, William Diehl, Robert Penn Warren, and the estate of Margaret Mitchell – to name just a few.

Most recently, Owen was kind enough to read the finished manuscript of my upcoming book, Katie Up and Down the Hall, and I was touched by his kind words and positive reaction to it and by his kindly introducing me to Lynn Goldberg, the premier book publicist in New York, fantastic in her strategic devotion to KATIE.

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