R. Couri Hay, who is the celebrity columnist for the National Enquirer and the star and producer of his own celebrity-interview show on Channel C, a local cable-television station, said over the telephone the other day, “I am going to China. I will be there over the holidays. It’s going to be very interesting, because, let’s face it, China has turned around. My God, I think they are going to be welcoming us with American flags. I’m going with Zandra Rhodes. You know who Zandra Rhodes is? Well, she’s in fashion. [We can’t seem to escape it this week.] Zandra is taking her sketchbook, because they have promised to open up some museums for us. I’m sure her next collection will have a Chinese influence. I am taking summer clothes and winter clothes. I mean, we’re going to hot China and cold China. I am taking jeans, of course, long underwear, L. L. Bean boots, my new Ralph Lauren baseball jacket lined with nutria. It’s in red poplin. I’m not expecting any trouble in China. I mean, they are embracing capitalism. I am going to dress in red, white, and blue—I don’t want people
to think I am Russian, or something. That should be fun. I am hoping the hotels will be great. We’re not allowed to tip, but it was suggested to us that we take little trinkets. I am going to take key chains with the Empire State Building attached to them. That should be fun. We’ve also been told not to take any ties or suits. Absolutely no ties. Interesting. For me to go away on a vacation, I have to go to extremes to avoid gossip. I mean, I can’t just go to Europe, or something like that. That’s why I am going to China quick. With their new capitalist thinking, and our recognizing them, and all that, soon it might be like going to the Coast. I have been practicing with my chopsticks, though secretly I am hoping the food will be lousy, so that I can lose a few pounds. That’s what I would like while I’m there. A diet free of gossip and calories. We’re leaving from San Francisco and stopping off in Manila to attend a dinner given by Mme. Marcos. Then to Hong Kong, which is a pretty normal place. I think it’s so interesting how you get to places. We’ll be going to China by train from Hong Kong. That sounds interesting. When we get to China, one of the places we are going to is Sian. Sian is such a marvellous idea. I mean, this is so unseen by white eyes. Seven months ago, I went to Cuba, but I had to go by way of Mexico. When you go to these strange Communist countries, you have to go to another country first. On the way back, I had to charter a plane to the Bahamas. The pilot couldn’t speak English. Later, I found out we almost crashed. He couldn’t read the map. But how many people charter a plane from Cuba?”
—January 1, 1979