September 18, 2002 -- Bill’s blondes befuddle News
THE Daily News has linked Bill Clinton to three different "unidentified" blond women since Sunday, even though there is no mystery as to any of their identities. And supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis, husband of one of the "flaxen-haired bunch," as the News put it, is not amused.
"It’s irresponsible. They know who my wife is. There’s no secret who any of us were," Catsimatidis told us.
The News ran photos on Sunday of Clinton at a Juvenile Diabetes fund-raiser at the Waldorf which Catsimatidis chaired. In one shot, Clinton is seen talking to Margo Catsimatidis. In the other, the ex-prez is seen talking to the Catsimatidises’ friend Laura Kramer, a children’s book author.
"The photographer had their names," said Catsimatidis, who owns the Red Apple, Gristedes and D’Agostino’s supermarket chains. "The News turned them into ‘mystery blondes’ just to sell newspapers."
Catsimatidis held his tongue until yesterday’s News came out with a third woman it dubbed "Bubba’s Blonde Pal" on its front page, and "his gal pal" on page 4, where a photo showed "Clinton and unidentified blond" exiting the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto.
As PAGE SIX reported yesterday, her name is Belinda Stronach, and she is the CEO of Magna International, an auto parts manufacturer chaired by her father, Frank Stronach.
Clinton’s spokesman Jim Kennedy told us: "We told the Daily News yesterday exactly who she was and the nature of their meeting, and the newspaper chose not to use it."
Kennedy explained that the Stronachs "underwrote a charity dinner and gold tournament in August 2001, for the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children and invited him to participate in the tournament and be a guest speaker for the dinner." Since then, Clinton "has met with Ms. Stronach and her father several times over the past year to discuss the Clinton Library and Foundation."
There was no mention of Stronach in the Toronto Globe & Mail story about Sunday’s event which drew Clinton to the Four Seasons, a 67th birthday party for legendary rocker Ronnie Hawkins, who recently had cancer surgery.
Guests included Whoopi Goldberg, Paul Simon, Arkansas chicken king Don Tyson, and Beverly D’Angelo, who got her start singing in Hawkins’ band The Hawks.
After a singalong on "The Weight," Clinton, known more for his his saxophone playing than his singing, crooned his version of "My Way." At 11:30 p.m., Clinton said, "I’ve got a plane to catch," and exited with Stronach, kissing her on the cheek when she got to her car.
The News had no comment.
http://www.nypost.com/gossip/pagesix.htm
