Truman Capote’s
Black and White Ball
"The Party of the Century"
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Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball, which occurred in 1966, was so big and incredible that it is still talked about today, over 40 years later!
Here are the facts:
Guests Invited: 540 of the most important, fashionable and famous people around. Invitations to this event were so sought after, one woman threatened suicide if she couldn’t come!
Where: Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel, New York City, New York
Why: In honor of Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham and to promote his new book “In Cold Blood.”
When: November 28, 1966
The cost: $16,000 (which was a lot of money back in 1966, still is today…too!)
The decorations: White and Black of course, with red table linens
Attire: Men – black tie, women – black and/or white
Fun Facts:
All guests were told to wear masks, and women were also told to carry fans
The Museum of the City of New York made an archive for items from the party: invitations, costumes, masks.
The press named the event "the Party of the Century", "the
Last Great American Party" and "The Last Gasp"
The Guest List included (a partial list):
Charles Addams
Lauren Bacall
Tallulah Bankhead
Harry Belafonte
Irving Berlin
Leonard Bernstein
Candice Bergen
Richard Burton
Claudette Colbert
Walter Cronkite
Sammy Davis Jr.
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Mia Farrow
Henry Fonda
Joan Fontaine
Henry Ford II
Samuel Goldwyn
William Randolph Hearst, Jr.
Elizabeth Hilton
Lynda Bird Johnson
Senator and Mrs. Edward M Kennedy
Mrs. John F Kennedy
Mrs. Joseph P Kennedy
Senator and Mrs. Robert F Kennedy
Walter Matthau
Roddy McDowall
James Michener
Arthur Miller
Vincente Minnelli
Gregory Peck
Oscar de la Renta
Nelson A. Rockefeller
Frank Sinatra
John Steinbeck
Gloria Steinem
Andy Warhol
Billy Wilder
Tennessee Williams
Plan your own version of a Black and White Ball!
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