Home in Palm Beach for Christmas holidays in 1954, Sean and his later-legendary, always-controversial, Lawrenceville classmate, “Taki” Theodoracopolous, decided to celebrate New Years Eve at one of the world’s most exclusive clubs – the extremely elitist Everglades Club. On the golf course precisely. More precisely, racing over greens and fairways in (Sean’s) Harley-Davidson and (Taki’s) new Thunderbird.
Apparently, Sean & Taki forgot to fix their divots, causing Florida State Troopers to arrive New Year’s morn at both Lili’s place, and at Taki’s room at The Breakers.
1955 for the Christmas breakers began with ominous trips to Palm Beach trooper headquarters, where they were charged with a bill of $40,000! – “$39,990 more than they had between them” as Taki put it.
Lili and Taki’s dad apparently reached a deal with the club, which was apparently had insurance to cover some or all of the damage. (Either way, I suspect Lili sent Errol a bill! Even so, I imagine Errol was very proud of Sean’s showing those high-browed, stuffed-shirts of Palm Beach how to ring out the old/ring in the new.
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Word is Sean was quite the local legend for his infamous day at the races/night on the links.
archive.spectator.co.uk/article/5th-december-1987/60/high-life…
— Tim
Hmmm, no doubt Errol would put this down to “youthful hijinks” after slightly blowing his top!
In my neighborhood, it would have taken a nuclear bomb for a teenage boy to do $40,000 of damage that fast in 1954. This is what Lili gets for forcing Sean to live on stuffy old PB! Errol probably would have loved to joined them in putting in a few extra holes on that fancy pants course of old Palm Beach!
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I am pretty sure, that Sean could have laid back and let Taki pick up the tab, since at that time he was only 13 years old. What I wonder though, if Taki told also one or two tall tales about Errol in his books.
If that’s your official take on Taki, taketwoheinz, I can gladly retitle this post Embellishment at The Everglades. I have no particular position on Taki, though below is his on Big Flynn (and Agnelli):
www.tatler.com…
P.S. When he’s not on the Med, he can most often be found in the quaint little village of Gstaad, Niv’s old place.
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Terrific find, Snowman Tim.
Gstaad was not for the upstart. But that cocky Taki fit right in, like Flynn…or the Burtons, Roger Moore, Gunther Sachs…
tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com…
Definitely cocky is Taki, alpheinz. Some think tacky and whacky, too. Crazy like a fox, though, hangin’ with Flynn down in PB, cruising the town and beach I’m sure in search of beauties like Sean’s gorgeous neighbor (future Miss Palm Beach and movie starlet) Chris Noel, who, after she approached Sean’s Dad for help making it in Hollywood, was handed a dime by Errol with advice to call when she was eighteen. … Miss Noel’s best friend at the time was dating Sean.
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And then there was Tiger Lil’, here riding a taxibike in Old PB.
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