Supporting her big Cats
Margo Catsimatidis. Skinny, blond, where she from?
Margo: Indianapolis. Sacred Heart. College scholarship then I told my parents, if I don’t leave now, I’ll never get out of Indiana. So I left with $100. Stayed with friends. I got a job in a grocery store where the owner had no secretary. Well, I could type 90 words a minute.
“I earned $47 for my 90-hour week. They raised it 25 cents. I didn’t date John for three years. He took me up for a piece of cheesecake.
“We worked all the time, growing the company. He always had that sixth sense about things and still is the most amazing guy I know. He can figure out a problem that nobody else can. One day, after years of dating, he says: ‘Margo, I’ve carried this in my pocket for two weeks,’ and he pulls out a ring. Four carats.
“Look, I love New York City. Wouldn’t live anywhere else. If he wanted, he could run for governor. Me, I’d make sure money gets to the right people for the right programs. I’d get homeless off the streets. Quality of life is what I’d work on. The quality of life and respect of the police.
“Maybe I could have done better at certain things. Not that I actually made an egregious mistake, but that I could have done better. Because every day I try to make myself improve and to make a difference in people’s lives wherever I can help.”
Tell me about WABC, the radio station which has been a huge success. How did that come about?
“John was offered WABC for $12.5 million. WABC was flailing. Ready to close. John buys broken companies and he fixes them. In five years, he took it from No. 28 to No. 1 in the country. I try not to get involved in his political things. I’ve gotten busy with WABC, I put on their events. Whoever needs me, I help. I have not sat at my desk for a year. I’m walking around trying to fix things. So people ask what I do and it’s hard to tell people what I do. I kind of do little this, little that and it, you know, takes time.”
Master of live-action ‘Universe’
“Masters of the Universe.” It’s action-adventure. This does not include Joe Biden. It brings back that franchise with Idris Elba as whatever Duncan, Man-At-Arms means. Idris: “I grew up watching it in the ’80s. The cartoon was ‘out there’ and I wanted to bring that to life.” Again. It’s now for a younger generation. Other super powers in this thing include Alison Brie, Morena Baccarin, Jared Leto and Kristen Wiig. It’s intergalactically zooming into theaters June 5. Stick the popcorn. Wear your power belt.
B’day Bubba
Bill Clinton. About to get himself a big VIP dinner. Big VIP ballroom. Big hoo-hah. Big VIP guests. He was our 42nd president. Two terms, 1993 to 2001. Born not rich in not rich Arkansas. Now rich. He does speeches, appearances, writes books and has amassed coffers above $150 mil. He’s getting a big black tie dinner with big famous names. Invites have gone out for his 80th birthday gala.
So this out-of-towner — a newcomer to New York City — asked one of the natives here: “How can I get to Carnegie Hall?” The local’s answer: “Practice.”
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.
