Paige Young and friends John Huston, Celeste Shane Huston and Bill Gardner. 1971–1973
For the complete version of this entry, please see my website:
Paige pictured below in black and white, from the 1972 edition of the book “Gowland’s Guide to Glamour Photography.”
Peter Gowland was also Paige Young’s photographer for her 1968 centerfold in Playboy.
Paige had posed for the images years earlier, obviously taken from the same photo session as 69/70 Ridgid Tool Calendar, seen in color below.
1971
It was around this time that Paige moved into a carriage house in Westwood, a neighborhood close to UCLA and Holmby Hills, the neighborhood where Hugh Hefner had recently purchased a mansion.
1972/73 cont…
According to the Daily Mail.com report of 2014, Paige complains to Melanie Myers, neighbor in the duplex by Paige’s carriage house, about her relationship with the legendary film director John Huston.
“She (Paige) said she had an affair with John Huston, and that he had done things to her, abused her. I remember one incident in which John hid her shoes to make her think she had gone crazy. It was a small thing, but she was really bothered by it.”
“I know she dated Huston for a while and had just gotten back from a trip to Ireland with him.
Daily Mail Dec. 2014
Indeed, John Huston did live in Ireland from 1953–1974-or so, at a Georgian estate named St. Clerans, near Galway.
He moved there with his 4th wife, dancer and model Enrica Soma, and their 2 very young children, Tony, born in 1950, and Anjelica in 1951.
One reason for Huston’s relocation to Ireland was his dislike of the Communist “witch-hunts” conducted by the House on Un-American Activities known as HUAC, happening in Hollywood and to his friends. HUAC started investigations into the alleged communist content of Hollywood movies in 1947 but became especially aggressive in the early 1950s.
There are many fine Georgian houses in the Irish countryside. St Clerans, formerly known as Issercleran, is famous because:
One of Burke family, Anne de Vere Cole, became the wife of Neville Chamberlain and encouraged him to enter politics.I t was the home of Robert O’Hara Burke. He is well known in Australia as the leader of the first expedition to cross the continent.
It was the home of John Huston, a famous film director.
It was also the home of his famous daughter, the actress Anjelica Huston.
It was owned by the well known talk show host and entertainer, Merv Griffin.
John Huston said “St Clerans is one of the most beautiful houses in all of Ireland . . .” stclerans.com
Huston and Soma’s daughter, Oscar winner and director Anjelica Huston, lived her young childhood at St. Clerans. Her first memoir covers those years in the 1950s, her teenage years in London in the 1960s including her mother’s tragic death.
Given that Paige Young complained to Melanie about Huston in the last couple years or year of her life, Paige’s visit to St. Clerans would have to have occurred in the same time frame of John Huston’s marriage to Celeste Shane Huston: 1972–1976.
I found connections between Celeste Huston and Paige as well as John Huston and Paige.
“Cici Shane” is an eccentric, interesting character and a significant figure in step-daughter Anjelica Huston’s 2nd memoir Watch Me.
Celeste Shane Huston Background:
“Cici” grew up in a wealthy Beverly Hills family with three brothers. Her father owned a few successful car leasing companies and rented out his yacht to celebrities like Frank Sinatra.
Cici was (and is) involved with horses and boarded at least one at Sepulveda Stables in the early 1960s.
I exchanged a few emails with Cici as well.
A love of CiCi’s in the late 1950s was famed Hollywood hairdresser (partly the inspiration for the George character in the film Shampoo?) Gene Shacove. The marriage lasted less than a year.
One of Cici’s long time best friends is actress Jill St. John, of James Bond fame. Cici testified on behalf of Jill when she was going through a tumultuous marriage and divorce from Lance Reventlow.
My chapter entitled “The Shanes of Beverly Hills” delves deeper into Celeste Shane Huston and her brother David Shane, a key player in Paige Young’s story. To be published on Medium soon.
After a sexually-charged courtship and honeymoon phase, John and CiCi’s marriage became strained in Ireland.
Cici spent time living, visiting really, at St. Clerans at the beginning of her short marriage to Huston in the fall of 1972.
Cici brought along her son Collin and his caregiver Maricela, who also acted as Cici’s “maid.” Collin’s dad, the screenwriter Wally Green, also visited the estate during this time.
“Cici was as out of place at St. Clerans as anyone could possibly be,” John Huston said later.
Cici said, “I wasn’t prepared for the eleven servants, the mistresses, Betty O’Kelly, Gladys.”
Gladys Hill was an assistant on many Huston films, a co-writer on some, including Reflections in a Golden Eye. Hill acted in three Huston films, the most famous being Night of the Iguana.
Betty O’Kelly was a close friend and manager of the St. Clerans estate. Tony Huston referred to her as “Dad’s hot water bottle.”
Both women were completely devoted to and in love with John Huston.
While at St. Clerans for a few weeks, Cici said she observed several of the employees behavior, looked at the financial books, and concluded they were taking advantage of Huston by overcharging him.
….”she (Cici) was horrified by the seething sexual history of the estate and the rampant theft by the Irish staff…” from Courage and Art by J. Meyers.
Huston had been frequently absent from his Ireland home over the years due to directing films all over the globe. Money matters didn’t interest him. He had a lax attitude about what his employees and assistants were supposedly doing with his money.
When his publicist friend Bill Gardner heard about the theft from Cici and mentioned it to him, John surprised him by exclaiming, ‘What are you trying to do, lose all my friends?’ from Courage & Art by Meyers
Cici wanted most of the staff fired but Huston refused.
She encouraged him to sell the estate to cut down on expenses.
This all created a lot of tension.
Of the horse’s caretaker Cici said, “I caught him with quadruple charges for horseshoeing. I know about horses. He couldn’t screw me around.”
Cici was especially outraged by the visit of her husband’s young mistress, Zoe Sallis, who visited with her young son Danny, fathered by John Huston.
Cici resented the monthly allowance (and breakfast in bed) afforded to Zoe.
John has the women around for amusement. Zoe is back to ‘see her boy.’ Ha ha. She is here to ask “Big Daddy’ whether she should turn Jewish…THANK GOD I’m not madly in love or I would be destroyed by him as he’s done to these three I mentioned (Gladys, Betty and Zoe). Also, Eloise is another wreck of John’s, as well as the Italian countess (Valerica Alberti) and Tony’s poor mother! I can see it so clearly! He is the devil!” In a letter from Cici Huston to her parents from Courage and Art.
Zoe Sallis claims that Cici forbade Huston to cast her in his movie “The Man Who Would Be King.” The part went to the wife of its’ star Michael Caine, Shakira Caine. The film was a critical and box office success.
Zoe felt then and still does that this was a major missed opportunity for her potential career as an actress.
It finally became obvious to John Huston that his spending habits, child and mistress support, large staff, and gambling habits were making the financial upkeep of St. Clerans impossible, and it was placed for sale.
Cici left Ireland and returned to her home in the Pacific Palisades near Malibu at some point in late 72 or early 73.
John Huston stayed behind long enough to direct The Mackintosh Man with Paul Newman, partly filmed in Ireland.
The St. Clerans estate was sold in 1973/4 but wasn’t completely vacated by John Huston until 1976, according to Celeste Shane Huston, in an online response to me.
Their divorce was finalized in 1977.
Huston was an ardent womanizer and engaged in several marriages, flings, short and long-term affairs with numerous women over the decades and apparently of all ages.
Paige may have been a witness to all the drama going on at the estate during her visit. (Ricki Soma had moved out and to London in the 1960s and was killed in a car accident in 1969.)
It seems Eloise and you have been screwing each other for years and that you are a wonderful ‘ball.’ I am fucking bored with hearing about who you fucked and especially since you put me with all you ‘OLD’ bangs.” Cici in a letter to Huston from Courage & Art.
John Huston and Paige Young were both painters in addition to being horse lovers; these factors may have played a role in their “connection.”
Also, from what I’ve read in these bios, Huston had a mean streak in his personality that he would, at times, unleash on the very ones most likely to be wounded by it.
Example: In the Daily Mail article, Melanie was told that Huston hid Paige’s shoes, “it really bothered her,” even though, “it was a little thing.”
In another chapter, I wrote that Cici Shane Huston and Paige Young both boarded horses at Sepulveda Stables in Sherman Oaks.
https://paigeyoung1968.com/2020/05/15/diana-cotterell-school-days-1950-1959/
I emailed with a woman who set up a website to connect people who rode and boarded horses there as children, teens or adults, in the 1950s and 1960s, in order to have a reunion for those still alive.
She is also the person who informed me that Paige lived on Crisp Canyon Road in Sherman Oaks, with a husband and that she had a sister. Turned out to be true.
Celeste messaged me once that she was the one who introduced Paige to Sepulveda Stables. (No I do not have it. Take my word for it or not.)
At the time I read her message, I had already learned that Paige boarded horses at the Sepulveda Stables located at Sepulveda Blvd. & Hatteras and had done so since grade school when she was known as Diana Cotterell.
“Diana Cotterell,” gave 2 school photos to the owners of the stables which were published on the website about Sepulveda Stables.
Diana definitely looks grade school age in them.
Diana Cotterell lived close to Sepulveda Stables as did several of her classmates, like Joan Edwards, shown above, who boarded a horse there in part of the 1950s.
That would mean Cici knew Paige as Diana in grade school. I find this unlikely. She gave no indication she knew her as Diana Cotterell.
Paige was tight-lipped about her past or any future plans and “more focused on the present moment,” said to me by her good friend Veronika.
In the early 1960s, Cici, along with actresses Donna Reed and the aforementioned Jill St. John, boarded horses at Sepulveda Stables according to the website where I found Diana Cotterell’s school pictures.
Maybe Paige and CiCi met in the early 1960s, but not before.
Given what Melanie Myer’s story says in the Daily Mail, and the sale of St. Clerans, Paige’s visit must have necessarily been in 1972 or 1973.
If so, she may have witnessed or even been involved in the aforementioned drama between Cici, Betty, Gladys, and Zoe Sallis. According to biographer Jeffrey Meyers, Huston enjoyed women fighting over him. (As did Hugh Hefner.)
I had an email exchange with Celeste Shane Huston and she confirmed that she and Huston knew Paige and they “were only trying to help her.”
She denied that Huston and Paige had affair.
She wrote that “2 prominent lawyers.” connected to show business purchased Paige’s ticket to Ireland for the visit.
A visitor to St. Clerans during this time was Bill Gardner.
Yet another connection to Paige.
This is the same Bill Gardner from the Pasadena Art Museum chapter published on Medium.
Turns out Bill Gardner was also associated with John and Celeste Huston.
- William Louis Gardner and #CelesteHuston on some of the #horses in #StClarens #Manor in #Ireland, back when #JohnHuston owned the estate. #Hollywood #1950s #1960s #vintage. (written by Bill Gardner)
The following paragraph is what Bill Gardner wrote on his Amazon author page.
William Louis Gardner started his career getting a diploma from the Pasadena Play House in the fifties. The US Air sent him to Pasadena, California to learn film and television production. During his education at the Playhouse he was sent to do on-the-job-training at ABC, CBS and NBC. He spent time on the on the sets of Colgate Comedy Hour studying, observing and watching the process of television variety type shows. Bill became acquainted with the Martin & Lewis show, Jimmy Durante Show, Danny Thomas Show, Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Milton Berle Shows. After William left Hollywood he joined his squadron and wrote and produced films for the US Air Force. When he was discharged from the Air Force he returned to Hollywood and went to work for Mickey Rooney as his assistant and manager for ten years. After he joined Jonathan Winters as his manager. In 1965 William moved to Ireland and joined director, John Huston, as his assistant. He worked on John’s films in England and Morocco. John sent Bill to East Africa to do pre-production for a film Bill had written called “The Games End”. The film has yet to be made. William, left the industry in 1972 and came back to California and moved to Montecito and became a real estate broker. He formed a Real Estate office in Santa Barbara and retired thirty five years later to write a novel “Confession of a Hollywood Agent” and numerous screenplays. His novel “The End of the Game” struggles with Africanization, intrigue and murder to save the elephant. Present, Bill keeps on writing.
scribd.com
Gardner is quoted twice in the Jeffrey Meyers biography of John Huston, identified as a “publicist-friend,” of Huston’s.
Notice that Gardner mentions employment for Jonathan Winters and John Huston, both associated with Paige Young.
Legendary Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith sees Huston and Hefner with others including an “unidentified sex object,” (Paige Young?) at a backgammon tournament in 1972. The observation by Smith happened around the time Cici and Huston tied the knot. The group partly inspires the title of the article:
Allegedly the cast and crew of the film Chinatown spent some off-set time at the Playboy mansion during the 1973 LA shoot.
That cast of course, includes Huston and director Roman Polanski.
This would have been the same timeframe that Paige was hanging out at the Playboy mansion “scene,” such as it was, on an occasional, if not regular basis.
Paige was witnessed at the Playboy mansion near the end of her life as recounted by neighbor Melanie Myers, who had also been invited to the Mansion because she was a pretty and young woman.
Her memories of Paige Young are told in the A&E Secrets of Playboy documentary, episode 8.
These were the last years of Paige’s life and first years in the life and career of “Playboy Mansion West.”
Chinatown was released 2 months after Paige Young’s suicide.
More about John Huston and the Shane family soon.
Sources:
The Hustons by Lawrence Grobel
Courage and Art by Jeffrey Meyers
