Mary

"We had a file room the length of a basketball court. It was lined with steel cabinets, the hard drives of the era, all packed with seventy years’ worth of manila folders. I viewed those files as an encyclopedia of entertainment, albeit a helter-skelter one, so I helped the woman who ran the file room, Mary, with her mimeographing. And I brought her little gifts—a box of candy, a scarf. One day I said, “You know, I’d love to read some of the files.” She told me to make myself at home. Within a week she was letting me stay on after she left. Then she gave me a key. While other trainees waited to be told what to do and read and learn, I entered Mary’s domain each morning at 7:00 and every evening after work. For ten weeks I made my way from A to Z, through the client files and the network and studio deals. I jotted questions for Sam Sacks, the head of television legal affairs, who was charmed by my interest and lent me a tape of a talk he’d given at USC on contract law in entertainment. I played it at home and came back with more questions. He gave me nine more tapes."

"Buddy who suggested the Cayzer family in London. Safmarine had had some dealings with them in the past. The family owned 48% of Caledonia Investments in London, which, at the time, included The Sloane Club in Chelsea, so they had some experience in the hospitality industry. The business was run by Peter Buckley, who was married to Mary, the daughter of the chairman, Lord Cayzer. It was an aristocratic set-up with offices in the City and family estates in Scotland – very different from the Kerzner family’s roots in humble Bez Valley."

"But Anselmo did fall in love with Mexico. He and his wife Mary stayed for 12 years and had three children. Anselmo wrote copy for radio commercials for JWT, and in his free time directed plays for the English-speaking community theater group. He quickly built a network of contacts in the Mexican media and ventured into Spanish-language theater. Since at that time Emilio Jr. was also dabbling in theater, it was inevitable that their paths would cross. In 1954, Emilio and René became friends. Over the following years, together with Luis de Llano of TSM, they produced various Broadway musicals. Generally, Azcárraga provided the capital, Anselmo produced, and De Llano directed. For those who worked with the trio, René was the diplomat: if Emilio lost his temper with someone, René would smooth things over, waiting until his friend was out of earshot to say, “Don’t worry, what Emilio meant is…”"