Longtime ENQUIRER fan and legendary saloon-keeper to the stars ELAINE KAUFMAN has died at 81 in NYC from complications of emphysema.
Her bar/restaurant "Elaine’s" on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has acted as a "living room" to celebs for decades – and she herself became a star in the process!
Regular Woody Allen put her in the opening scene of his classic movie Manhattan, and she made a cameo in the recent film Morning Glory with Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams.
"Piano Man" Billy Joel — who drank there in the old days — included her in his 1979 hit song "Big Shot."
Celebs who confessed their deepest darkest secrets to Elaine over the years have included Mick Jagger, Luciano Pavarotti, Raquel Welch, Michael Douglas, Jack Nicholson, Lauren Bacall, Michael Caine, Frank Sinatra and even Jackie Kennedy Onassis (classic Elaine pic 1978 by King Paparazzi RON GALELLA).
There was the night Jackie O danced until 2 a.m. with Leonard Bernstein – and the night Molly Ringwald was thrown out for bringing in a cheeseburger from another restaurant.
The larger-than-life character had a special soft side for writers and ink-stained newspaper folk – and she was a longtime booster of The ENQUIRER.
Over the last years, she repeatedly said how proud she was of our nomination for a Pulitzer Prize earlier this year for our blockbuster exclusive on the John Edwards scandal.
She invited The ENQUIRER in on a regular basis – and proudly hosted on Oct. 6 a star-studded book party for Paul David Pope, son of ENQUIRER founder Generoso Pope.
Elaine opened her watering hole in 1963 – and decades of celeb secrets have come and gone at the original 25-foot mahogany bar – which will be packed today with toasts to the great lady.
— BARRY LEVINE, ENQUIRER EXECUTIVE EDITOR
