Cindy Adams

Cindy Adams
Cindy Adams with her dogs, Jazzy Jr. and Juicy, at the première of the film Spider-Man 3 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, New York, in 2007.
Born	April 24, 1930 (1930-04-24) (age 81) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	biographist, gossip columnist and memoirist
Language	English
Nationality	United States
Period	Since 1965
Spouse(s)	Joey Adams (1954–1999, his death)

Cindy Adams (born April 24, 1930) is an American gossip columnist and writer. She is the widow of comedian and humorist Joey Adams.

Early life and education

Born an only child in New York City, she was one year old when her parents divorced. Her mother, Jessica Sugar, worked as an executive secretary for the New York City Water Department and was a single parent until her remarriage to insurance agent Harry Heller. Cindy Heller grew up in the Washington Heights section of the Manhattan borough of New York City, and in the Jamaica Estates section of Queens, another New York City borough. She left Andrew Jackson High School, in the Cambria Heights section of Queens, at age fifteen without graduating (she was academically qualified but the principal reportedly refused to graduate her unless she learned to sew).^{[citation needed]}

Marriage to Joey Adams

She began to work as a photographer's model in Manhattan, meeting her future husband, Joey, a year later when they appeared on the same radio show.^[1] Married on Valentine's Day 1952, they had no children. Joey Adams died in 1999 following a long illness.^[2]

Writing career

Since 1979, Adams has written a gossip column for the New York Post, New York City newspaper. She additionally contributes^{[clarification needed]} to Sunday Today in New York, a newscast on WNBC television in New York City. She had previously contributed twice a week on WNBC's Live at Five newscast until it took on a new format on March 12, 2007.^{[citation needed]}

Her husband wrote a newspaper column for the Long Island Press on Long Island, New York, and later the New York Post. She also wrote for local papers, eventually writing for the New York Post at the same time as her husband. In 1965 she co-wrote an English-language autobiography of Indonesia's President Sukarno, about whom she wrote another book two years later. In 1975 she published a biography of Jolie Gabor, the mother of the Gabor sisters. Among those whom she interviewed in 1970 was Mohammad-Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. She later became friendly with Imelda Marcos, the widow of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.^[3][4]

She became a syndicated newspaper columnist in 1981; she was an original contributor to the syndicated, tabloid-television series A Current Affair and has appeared often on Good Morning America, a morning news-and-talk show on the ABC television network. In 1990, Adams served as a panelist on To Tell the Truth, an NBC television network game show.

Animal activism

After her husband died in 1999, Adams found a new love — dogs. Given the dog by her friends, Jazzy, her Yorkshire Terrier, not only trailed her in public, but actually became a celebrity within himself. Adams and Jazzy would often dine together at New York City's finest restaurants, including Le Cirque.^[5] Adams would dress her dog in expensive designer clothes and jewelry. She wrote a memoir about Jazzy, "The Gift of Jazzy" and launched the "Jazzy" line of merchandise.^{[clarification needed]}

One weekend, Adams put Jazzy in a kennel in Upstate New York when she left the city. By the time she returned Jazzy had died.^[6][7] She had an autopsy performed, which showed E. coli bacteria in the dog's system. In an article published The New York Times, Adams was quoted as saying "Now this is a dog that I hand-fed. I would lie on my stomach in the kitchen and hand-feed him kosher chicken. We would go to Le Cirque and eat off of Limoges porcelain. Where would he get E. coli?"^[6]

She became a vocal advocate for strengthening regulations of boarding kennels. In 2004, she garnered the support of the television journalist Barbara Walters, the socialite Ivana Trump, the lawyer Barry Slotnick, the writer Tama Janowitz, as well as New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, to pass the "Boarding Kennel and Regulation Act", also known as "Jazzy's Law". According to Adams: "To prevent others from suffering my Jazzy pain this local "Boarding Kennel and Regulation Act" will: license kennels, monitor them regularly, fine those in violation, require records and rules, demand boarded pets prove vaccination and immunization against contagious doggy diseases."^[8]

Despite the strict New York City health code which only permits service animals (i.e., seeing-eye dogs) in restaurants, Adams continues to bring her dogs — Juicy and the new Jazzy, Jazzy Jr. — to New York City restaurants.^[9] The New York City Health Department, whose inspectors enforce the restaurant regulations, is the same department that enforces "Jazzy's Law".

Personal life

Adams lives and works from a nine-room penthouse apartment with a 1,000-square-foot (93 m²) verandah at 475 Park Avenue in Manhattan, that she and her husband purchased from the estate of billionaire heiress Doris Duke in 1997.^[10] Because of the apartment's connection with Duke, Adams hosted the wrap party for the television biographical film Bernard and Doris (2008) about Duke's later years and her relationship with her butler.^{[11][clarification needed]}

Illness in 2010

Adams ceased writing her regular New York Post column in May 2010 without notice and there was no news beyond brief mentions that she was "unwell". In late June Liz Smith, another gossip columnist (whose column used to be carried in the Post), reported in her online column on wowOwow that Adams had fallen ill with a stomach malady. A Christian Scientist, Adams had avoided medical help until forced by friends Barbara Walters and Judge Judy. The diagnosis was said to be an almost-burst appendix. Smith reported that "she [Adams] is now on the mend".^[12] From July 2010 through 20 September 2010, the New York Post noted that Adams will be "returning soon". She returned with a column detailing her illness on 20 September 2010.^[13] She wrote that she had a ruptured appendix and anemia, and is still in recovery.

Bibliography

• Soekarno (Sukarno); Adams, Cindy Heller (1965). Sukarno — An Autobiography. Bobbs-Merrill. (Indianapolis, Indiana; Kansas City, Missouri). OCLC 256887.
• Adams, Cindy Heller (1967). My Friend the Dictator. Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, Indiana). OCLC 1129848.
• Gabor, Jolie; Adams, Cindy Heller (1975). Jolie Gabor. Mason/Charter (New York City, New York). ISBN 9780884051251.
• Adams, Cindy Heller (1980). Lee Strasberg — The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio. Doubleday (Garden City, New York). ISBN 9780385124966.
• Adams, Cindy Heller; Crimp, Susan (1995). Iron Rose — The Story of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and Her Dynasty. Dove Books (Beverly Hills, California). ISBN 9780787104757.
• Adams, Cindy (2003). The Gift of Jazzy. St. Martin's Press (New York City, New York). ISBN 9780312273071.
• Adams, Cindy (2007). Living a Dog's Life — Jazzy, Juicy, and Me. St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin imprint) (New York City, New York). ISBN 9780312364076.

References

1. ^ Tallmer, Jerry (April 1–30, 2006). "Cindy Adams — Present Tense". Thrive NYC. http://www.nyc-plus.com/nyc12/cindyadamspresent.html. Retrieved August 13, 2010. 
2. ^ Moritz, Owen (December 3, 1999). "Comic Joey Adams, 88". Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1999/12/03/1999-12-03_comic_joey_adams__88.html. Retrieved August 13, 2010. 
3. ^ "Living a Dog's Life: Jazzy, Juicy, and Me" (click on "Meet the Writer" tab). Barnes & Noble. Accessed August 13, 2010.
4. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (July 2, 2003). "Boldface Names — Only at Cindy's, Kids, Only at Cindy's". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E6DF133AF931A35754C0A9659C8B63. Retrieved July 1, 2010. 
5. ^ Kuczynski, Alex (February 3, 2003). "At Lunch With: Cindy Adams — Listen Up: Lady Plugs Self, Dog, Not Stars". The New York Times. Accessed August 13, 2010.
6. ^ ^{a b} Hu, Winnie (November 10, 2004). "Working to Save Other Yorkies from Jazzy's Fate". The New York Times. Accessed August 13, 2010.
7. ^ Williams, Jeannie (February 2, 2003). "Cindy Adams Wags a Jazzy Dog Tale". USA Today. Accessed August 13, 2010.
8. ^^{[unreliable source?]} Kennel and Regulation Act
9. ^ Guzman, Isaac (September 27, 2009). "My New York: Cindy Adams". New York Post. Accessed August 13, 2010.
10. ^ Swanson, Carl (undated; circa June 2000). "Only on Park Avenue, Kids — Cindy Adams Gives Up on Plan To Sell Place for $11 Million. New York. Accessed August 13, 2010.
11. ^ Adams, Cindy (December 12, 2005). "Wrap Party at My Apartment". New York Post. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E6DF133AF931A35754C0A9659C8B63. 
12. ^ Smith, Liz (June 29, 2010). "Liz Smith: Barbara Walters Bounces Back — Also from our Liz: Cindy Adams's 'Alternative' Medicine". wowOwow. http://www.wowowow.com/culture/liz-smith-barbara-walters-open-heart-surgery-bounces-back-481392. Retrieved August 13, 2010. 
13. ^ Detroit Free Press Tuesday, September 21, 2010, page 2D

External links

• Cindy Adams at the Internet Movie Database
• Cindy Adams, Internet Broadway Database(IBDB.com)
• 1960s portrait of Cindy Adams, 60s beehive hairstyle New York Public Library, Billy Rose Collection

Persondata
Name	Adams, Cindy
Alternative names	Heller, Cindy
Short description	Memoirist, gossip columnist
Date of birth	April 24, 1930
Place of birth	New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death