r/JohnAndCarolyn

October 6 , 1996, when the newly weds arrived home to their Tribeca loft after their 16 day honeymoon in Turkey and Greece. John pleaded with about two dozen photographers to respect Carolyn’s privacy.

This comment is from Suzanne Eagle, who was Carolyn’s boss from 1992 to 1993. Eagle was the Senior Vice President of Public Relations at Calvin Klein during that period. She replaced Paul Wilmot. The comment appeared under a Liz Lange instagram post, and it caught my attention, so I screenshotted it. So how does an employee “break” their boss? I’ve come across mixed accounts of how Carolyn treated people at Calvin Klein. Some stories describe her as incredibly kind and well-liked, while others, like Suzanne’s, paint a very different picture.

Looking into Suzanne’s role at Calvin Klein, she was responsible for overseeing the company’s public relations efforts across Calvin Klein’s various lines and licensees, including Collection, CK, the launch of the eyewear line, Menswear, shoes, fragrance, underwear, and numerous other branding initiatives. She also served as the chief liaison between Calvin Klein and the press. Her responsibilities included producing fashion shows and overseeing the APLA Hollywood Bowl fundraiser.

We know Carolyn worked on the Menswear collection and assisted with the production of fashion shows also. According to Calvin Klein, she also helped cast the 1993 APLA Hollywood Bowl show alongside Kelly Klein. In 2013, Calvin recalled: “We did a thing once for APLA in Los Angeles, and I think we used hundreds of guys and girls. It was an unbelievable show at the Hollywood Bowl, and they were all people whom Kelly [Klein] and Carolyn Bessette had cast.”

Carolyn also developed a close relationship with Lynn Tesoro, who was the Vice President of Public Relations who presumably reported up to Suzanne who was SVP. Lynn had nothing but positive things to say about Carolyn and remained friendly with her even after they both left Calvin Klein. A former temporary Calvin Klein PR employee, Lorna Neligan, also described Carolyn as a particularly influential figure within the department. Neligan said she worked at Calvin Klein for a year and recalled that “Suzanne Eagle was the Head of PR, but the impressive Carolyn Bessette basically ran the department.” After Suzanne left in 1993, Noona Smith Petersen was hired and they opened the first Calvin Klein European office in Milan, where she was Senior Vice President of International Public Relations. Suzanne’s position seemed to be eliminated. Carolyn and Noona were friendly, and there’s even a photo of her with both Noona and Lynn.

Lorna and Calvin’s comments make Carolyn sound ambitious and highly driven, someone who was eager to advance and quickly established herself as an important figure within the company. However, her influence was disproportionate to her experience. When viewed alongside Suzanne’s comment that Carolyn “broke” her, it takes on a less flattering tone. My impression is that Carolyn may have been very ambitious and understood how to navigate the corporate hierarchy, including knowing whose support mattered. She may have been particularly good at building relationships with people who could help her move up quickly. Of course, this is based on a single comment, and we don’t know exactly what Suzanne meant when she said Carolyn “broke” her.

When taken with other accounts of Carolyn’s influence within Calvin Klein’s PR department, I think it’s an interesting piece of the puzzle. Carolyn was described in the NYT as someone who worked long hours, was demanding, vocal and opinionated. One person who worked at CK told WWD that “She had real street smarts; she knew what was going to be a trend long before anyone else. And she got what she wanted. Even when it came down to casting the shows, she would have screaming fights over model choices. She always won." Another warned that at she had a reputation for paying back. "You don't want to f**k with Carolyn”.

From Once Upon A Time: “Paul Wilmot, who had been with Calvin Klein since 1985, gave notice that he was leaving to join Vogue as director of public relations. He stayed on at Calvin Klein during the transition, but before the arrival of his replacement, Carolyn answered directly to Calvin. “Carolyn was often popping into Calvin’s office from PR, coming in to campaign for her opinion, or she would walk into his office and say, ‘You have to see this person.’” Eventually, a new supervisor was brought in to officially fill Paul’s shoes. She and Carolyn did not mesh. Carolyn had, after all, been functioning as a direct liaison with Calvin. “I felt undermined at many turns,” the former supervisor said. “She once said to me, ‘We think that you think that we don’t like you,’”.

Came across this comment and thought I would share it here. This woman was apparently an acquaintance from Brown and had met John and Christiane Amanpour several times. I liked this story because it really speaks to Jackie’s parenting style and how that influenced John’s good natured attitude towards people.

In an episode of SATC Season 2, Carrie runs into Big and his girlfriend, Natasha, at a “Hamptons Hoedown”-themed party. Big and Natasha are both dressed in white, while Carrie wore a pink cowboy hat.

On July 29, 1995, John and Carolyn attended a party in the Hamptons hosted by Mickey Schulhof (shown above). The Western-themed hoedown was held in a tent outside East Hampton's Nick & Toni's. Among the guests were Edwin and Caroline Schlossberg, Anthony and Carole Radziwill, Lee Radziwill, Herb Ross, and Christopher Lawford. There were nearly 500 guests at the event. The party featured line dancing and two-stepping, a barbecue pit, hayrides and horses, and a performance by Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Does anyone else see a parallel between John & Carolyn and Natasha & Big here? The Western hoedown-themed party in the Hamptons, the all-white outfits… or was it just a coincidence?

Photos were taken on October 19, 1993. Here’s a little about John’s German Shepherd, Sam, who was a rescue that John adopted. John had Sam while he was dating and living with Daryl Hannah. Sam was described as a high-strung dog, and there were some biting incidents.

Rosemarie Terenzio: He brought his demented German shepherd rescue, Sam, to the office every day. Sam would growl and snap, and he bit the intern. He'd go for my lunch, so I'd walk out of the office and let him have it.

Susanna Howe: One time he showed up at work in the afternoon and he had this huge German shepherd named Sam — Sam Shepherd. He was like, "Hey, I got a dog!" And then this dog proceeded to bite everybody. It bit me on the nose. It bit everyone in the park every time he went to the park. It finally had to be put down. He got a new dog and named it Friday.

Zach Haberman: Sam was my desk mate—I had a little closet office. The only people that the dog liked were John and me. And if anybody came by, the conversations were short because that dog was a beast.

Ted Kennedy: He campaigned for me during my 1994 election and always created a stir when he arrived in Massachusetts. Before one of his trips to Boston, John told the campaign he was bringing along a companion, but would need only one hotel room. Interested but discreet, a senior campaign worker picked John up at the airport and prepared to handle any media barrage that might accompany John's arrival with his mystery companion. John landed with the companion, all right - an enormous German shepherd dog named Sam he had rescued from the pound. He loved to talk about the expression on the campaign worker's face and the reaction of the clerk at the Charles Hotel when John and Sam checked in.

Heather Campion: I remember the day John brought his 90-pound, untrained German shepherd, Sam, to a Senior Advisory Board meeting. When the pooch panicked halfway up the IOP’s spiral staircase, John scooped him up and deposited him at the feet of a young staffer, whom the dog promptly bit.

Michael Castner: I was an intern, and Friday replaced Sam, who always loved to corner me in the office and dare me to try to leave unscathed.