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THE CARLYLE HOTEL IS SYNONYMOUS WITH NEW YORK CITY. IT'S WHERE WOODY ALLEN HAS HIS REGULAR JAZZ SPOT, IT'S HAD EVERY CELEBRITY AS A GUEST, AND IT HAS SURVIVED A TURBULENT CENTURY. SOMEONE SHOULD MAKE A MOVIE ABOUT IT ...
There are few hotels around the world whose past and present are so illustrious they could be the subject of a documentary feature film - and an "authorised" one at that. The Carlyle on New York's Upper East Side, at Madison Avenue and 76th Street, however, is one such hotel.
The storied establishment, which first opened in 1930, has just had its moment under the arc lights. Filmmaker Matthew Miele, whose previous subjects include the New York department store Bergdorf Goodman - for the 2013 film Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's - Tiffany & Co. and Coca Cola, has wrapped filming on a project known only as Untitled Carlyle Documentary. The film is due for release later this year.
It's understandable why someone would focus their lens on the Carlyle - it has consistently been at the centre of American culture and power since it opened.
One of its first tenants was the composer Richard Rodgers; its first decorator was Dorothy Draper; US presidents Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter and Reagan have all called the Carlyle their unofficial New York home. During the Kennedy administration his favourite suite was kept vacant just in case the president decided to come to town. Woody Allen has played the clarinet with the Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band in Cafe Carlyle almost every Monday night for the past 18 years and Bobby Short played there every fortnight from 1968 for more than 30 years.
Famous guests...