Guess? Not: From Low Rise to New Low

Last June I interviewed Georges Marciano for Angeleno magazine. Why? Well, we caught wind that the former jean mogul was attempting to run for governor of California. And don't give me that. It only makes sense. He sold his shares of Guess to the remaining brothers Marciano - Armand, Paul and Maurice -  in the early 90s, tried his hand at real estate, bought a diamond, collected every and any kind of art (taste be damned!) and then led a crusade to find the thieves that "stole" the art, so agree with me here when I say Mr. Marciano's gubernatorial bid makes sense.

And then there's me, the little soldier who had to have a sit down with the man. Usually, a quick phoner would have worked just fine, or a list of questions through e-mail. I expected nothing less from my first "high"-profile assignment. Getting anyone on the phone, let alone tracking a campaign manager down is a feat in itself. Well, expect the unexpected. The campaign manager objected to an interview with the gubernatorial candidate by way of phone or e-mail, but was not opposed to having lunch at the Polo Lounge where Mr. Marciano has a table. I immediately obliged him, but insisted we dine at my table instead.

(...)

Oh please, I did no such thing. Like a good intern, I ran to tell my editors. Extremely amused and rather annoyed at the prospect of wining and dining the man, they decided to schedule the interview and photo shoot at the Marciano mansion instead. [Just keeps getting better]

Now, I won't go into detail about the interview. Only a few close friends and most of the editorial team know of what happened. It's safe to say that I left the office a wide-eyed youth and returned a war hero. But what I will divulge is this:

• He was a nice man, for all intents and purposes.
• He likes to wink...a lot.
• And he likes to play practical jokes. (I know this because I was at the receiving end of one that day. Tooth Truth be told, the man knows how to leave an impression.)
• He had a showcase of sports cars parked in pecking order right out on the front drive. I stopped counting after six.

Fast forward to the present, and my point...(oh and it's a moot one at that). After the June issue went to press, and throughout the summer months, all had turned eerily quiet on the Marciano front. It wasn't until I read this article in the Los Angeles Times that I discovered why.

A (very) brief summary of the LAT article:

• Marciano has fled the country. Whereabouts: unknown.
• Guess who's NOT running for governor of California...
• All his front drive sees these days are tourists passing by in an open-air bus

And for your seam splitting enjoyment, here's last June's Q&A with the man who definitely won't be governor.