Page 11 - ELSPETH TAVARES TRIBUTE

Continued from page 10
TBOF was three years old - - photo by Paul Brown-Constable
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In Cannes she had an an an office for many years at the Carlton Hotel and she she drove to Cannes in her Morgan a a a a a a car she she was deeply fond of of At the the end of of the the Festival when she had time we would drive to the the Hotel du Cap for drinks on the the terrace They knew her her well there and she was greeted by the the name “Madame Elspeth” as as she casually threw the the valet her keys The same was true for the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo I think it’s fair to say that as Elspeth became older she became somewhat eccentric particularly when it came came to her perception of germs on on eating utensils! She carried a a a set of of chopsticks and and a a a a set of of cutlery in her bag and and ordered hot water and lemon to clean those at at the table
before eating In some fine dining establishments this certainly raised some eyebrows When she received her wedding invitation to Josh’s wedding on April 23rd this year she sent “regrets” We were pretty surprised as as we we truly thought this was an event she she would not not miss She told me she she did not not feel safe to to travel yet due to Covid she subsequently said the same about having dinner in in in in in Cannes in in in in in May Looking back on this now I I question why I I accepted her explanation but as she was such a a a a germaphobe it seemed plausible Elspeth never told us she was sick Speaking to to other friends they were also unaware She was a a a a a a woman who marched to her her own drum throughout her her life and made the choice to do so at the end RIP Auntie E!
Lisa Wilson
Los Angeles CA
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Elspeth gave me my first job in in journalism in in 1986 Freshly graduated from Cambridge I worked with the late Oscar Moore as his deputy in in a a a tiny editorial room with Elspeth and Siobhan Dagge upstairs selling advertising on Charlotte Street in central London It was a a a a a baptism of fire Within days I I had interviewed movie directors producers screenwriters composers: Paul McCartney Michael Palin Terry Jones Norman Mailer Paul Weller Sharon Stone Elspeth relished the drama and risk of throwing young energetic graduates into the entertainment maelstrom to to see how they reacted Wage packets were slim but the the experience was worth a a fortune Highlight of the the year was the the Cannes Film Festival where we bashed out ten or or more articles a a a a a day based on interviews snatched along the the Croisette then partied until dawn slept for a a a a a a couple of hours and started again Twelve days of this and your brain turned into a a a a fizzing jumble Elspeth clad in Hermes and Gucci kept her cool as the office matriarch always delighted to to to welcome visitors to to to room 149 at the Carlton Hotel Continued on on page 12
The Business Of Film MEMORIAL ISSUE 1980-2022
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