Expiration--A Brooklyn Story is an evocative memoir that takes readers on a journey from the vibrant 1950s to the dizzying heights of the 1980s, exploring the world of show business, high society, and personal reinvention.
Beginning in the 1950s, the story unfolds with the author's teenage years working for Eddie Jaffee and Irving Hoffman, the real-life inspirations for the characters in Sweet Smell of Success. Through their mentorship, he learns the ropes of social climbing and becoming a Tummeler-the charismatic social staffer at the famed Concord Hotel in the Catskills, during the golden era of the Borscht Belt, where big stars mingled with the Jewish vacationing elite.
By age 18, he launches his own PR firm from NYU's Loeb Student Center, securing eccentric clients from Luxor Baths-where gangsters, judges, and film stars mingled-to a high-end men's fashion designer. His early career also involves writing profiles for burlesque strippers, a collaboration that introduces him to his first wife.
In the 1960s, the story delves into his rise within the entertainment industry, working at Universal Pictures through its corporate transition, and handling major film premieres. As he climbs the ranks, his personal life takes unexpected turns, from his marriage in 1962 to a turbulent honeymoon at the Shelbourne Hotel in Miami Beach, to an exemption from Vietnam service due to his growing family.
The 1970s bring a chaotic mix of personal struggles and professional triumphs. His marriage dissolves in a whirlwind, and he becomes entangled in a web of intrigue with his second wife, Elizabeth Bettner (aka Jean Jarrett), a woman linked to Hollywood, powerful political figures, and a covert IRS operation targeting corrupt politicians. Amidst a battle for custody of his children, he triumphs in a groundbreaking case that sets legal precedence.
The narrative continues into the 1980s, where the author's father's death casts a shadow over his life, even as he becomes the PR face of Plato's Retreat, New York's notorious swing club. Amidst a series of tumultuous relationships, he forms a life-changing romance with one of New York's top interior designers, forever altering his future.
Sweet Smell of Success is a poignant, often humorous, and deeply personal look at a life lived in the fast lane of fame, fortune, and scandal-a coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of a changing America, from the Catskills to the streets of New York, and into the heart of Hollywood's golden age.
