Documentary offers a toast to Perle Mesta
-
In 1956, Perle Mesta greeted Jacqueline and Sen. John Kennedy at a party she hosted for the elite of the Democratic Party in Chicago. -
Perle Mesta waves as she arrives in New York City aboard the Cunard ocean liner Queen Mary in 1950. "Call Her Madam," a documentary about her, will be shown at 2 p.m. Sunday in Homewood Cemetery's main administration building.
Share with others:
An heiress of two industrial fortunes, Perle Mesta moved to Washington, D.C., in 1941, became its reigning social hostess and entertained a long list of luminaries, including her good friends Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S Truman.
Her whirlwind life inspired the smash hit Broadway musical "Call Me Madam," which starred Ethel Merman. A teetotaler who drank Coca-Cola, her festive parties included music and vintage champagne; dinners featured partridge or guinea hen. In 1949, President Truman appointed her the first U.S. minister to Luxembourg.
"Call Her Madam," a documentary about this rather unorthodox but always hospitable pioneer diplomat, will be shown tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Homewood Cemetery's main administration building in Squirrel Hill. This is the first time the film, made in 1997, will be shown in the United States. Admission is $5.
Researched and directed by Paul Lesch, a film and history professor at the University of Luxembourg, the 55-minute documentary focuses on Mrs. Mesta's Washington career as well as her tenure, from 1949 to 1953, in the grand duchy of Luxembourg. Along with archival newsreels and still photographs, there are concise interviews with Mrs. Mesta's niece, Washington journalists, Luxembourg diplomats and an embassy staff member who sometimes found madame minister difficult because she was so demanding of herself and her staff.
Mrs. Mesta died in 1975 at the age of 85. She rests in Homewood Cemetery in the family mauseoleum of George Mesta, the handsome German engineer she married in 1917. Founder of Pittsburgh's mighty Mesta Machine Co. in West Homestead, he died at age 63 in 1925, leaving a $78 million fortune to his young widow. Mrs. Mesta's other fortune came from her father, William B. Skirvin, an oil millionaire.
While in Luxembourg, Mrs. Mesta befriended everyone from Grand Duchess Charlotte to her charming, trusted butler. She hosted holiday parties for hundreds of children from Luxembourg orphanages. U.S. soldiers stationed in Europe visited her residence monthly, knowing they would find good food and liquor. Soldiers signed a guestbook, giving their home addresses. Afterward, Mrs. Mesta personally wrote to their parents to assure them of their sons' well-being.
Aside from her leadership and diplomatic skills, the native Oklahoman was an accomplished pianist and singer, a smart businesswoman and a feminist active in politics and the National Women's Party.
And what would a gathering that honors her memory be without festivities? After the screening, a local women's history group called Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails will host a fund-raising reception with champagne, black Russian cake and Mrs. Mesta's recipe for peppermint cremepuffs. Proceeds benefit the Homewood Cemetery Historical Fund.
First Published March 20, 2010 12:00 am
