February 2000

Articles

Call Him Responsible: The Desert Life of Jimmy Van Heusen

Memorabilia from Marty Newman. Photography by Ethan Kaminsky. He was Frank Sinatra's favorite songwriter ("I Thought About You," "Polka Dots and Moonbeams," "High Hopes," "All The Way," "Pocketful of Miracles"). More than that he was Sinatra's role model. "Frank wanted to be Jimmy," the saying went, "but he couldn't pass the physical!" We're reprinting here the timeless profile of the composer by Gloria Greer from Palm Springs Life, April 1962. And Gloria has updated us on Van Heusen's final years. Nice nostalgia.

The Hearth of the Home

Our famed lifestyle columnist takes us into the arcane world of home entertainment where digital TV, satellite dishes and powerful speakers can turn the living room into a mini-multiplex.

Around Town

The Cochran Ranch was a desert landmark for years. Meet the proprietors, aviatrix Jackie Cochran and her oilman husband who entertained royalty royally at their Indio ranch.

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Asian Whispers by Allison Block
Los Angeles-based designer Jeffrey Hitchcock designs a home in Rancho Mirage using influences from all hemispheres.

Towerful Memories by Freeman F. Gosden, Jr. Illustration by Stuart Funk. Photography courtesy Palm Springs Historical Society. Gosden's father was one half of the famed "Amos and Andy" comedy team which broadcast its popular CBS Radio show from Palm Springs in the 1930s. Freeman Jr. had free reign at El Mirador Hotel and, like Eloise at New York's Plaza, got close to all of the staff and famous guests. (The notorious Mrs. Simpson from Baltimore, for instance, snuck him cookies at lunch.) A fun read.
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