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Lucy Jarvis celebrated her 90th birthday with a lavish shin
dig at the Russian Tea Room planned by her long time associate
Scott McArthur on June 21st 2007. The party was attended by
many of New York ’s most notable characters and included
Russian singers and dancers as well as the presentation of a
cake that was 31 inches tall in the shape of the Kremlin
tower. Hal Prince gave the keynote toast.
The Russian Tea Room was an appropriate venue for this
celebration as it was the spot where Mrs. Jarvis held the
celebration for her first major documentary film for NBC, “The
Kremlin” in 1963 which catapulted her to international fame
and started her long and prolific career. During filming
inside the Kremlin, Lucy was told that President John F.
Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev were “having a
little argument.” There was no news available to foreigners in
Moscow in those days so Jarvis shot off a telegram to White
House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger asking him to tell the
President that his “little argument” was interfering with her
production, and could he please stop arguing until she was
finished with her film. It was only when she got to Paris on
her way back to New York that she realized that the “little
argument” was the Cuban Missile Crisis. When she returned to
New York she was summoned to Washington to meet with Kennedy
who promptly told her that the deal he made with Kruschev was
that if the Russian’s took the missiles out of Cuba , Kennedy
would get Lucy Jarvis out of the Kremlin…
Lucy’s prolific career includes films that are now known as
“The Jarvis Classics” and in addition to “The Kremlin”
include, “China and the Forbidden City,” “The Louvre,”
“Scotland Yard,” and “The Incas Remembered.” Lucy was also the
originator of the Barbara Walter’s specials.
Her theatrical exploits include taking Mary Martin around the
world in “Hello Dolly” and creating the first ever US/Russian
co-production of a Broadway musical, “Sophisticated Ladies
which opened in Moscow with Nancy Reagan and Raisa Gorbachev
as co-chairs of opening night in Moscow. The show then toured
the world.
At 90 years old, Lucy looks and acts at least 30 years younger
and has not slowed down a bit. She is currently developing a
new theatrical experience for Broadway based on a true story
about Eleanor Roosevelt and Duke Ellington. The show is in
it’s early development and is expected to open on Broadway
within the next two years |