Please note that Ms. Clara was assisted by Mafe Quintero who interpreted the designer’s responses from Spanish into English for us.

You can read the highlights and listen to the entire CYInterview below:

Listen to the entire Rosa Clara CYInterview:

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Some have called Ms. Clara the Spanish Vera Wang. Her new store on Miami’s Miracle Mile is the first of its kind in America. Back in March she received The Best Designer Award at Miami Fashion Week. Rosa shared with us her thoughts on both subjects:

“They had actually a location open before where they had been selling to department stores, but for the first time opening their boutique here at Miracle Mile in Miami, she feels very proud and very confident that it’s gonna go extremely well. … For her, opening up the store in Miami, plus showing her new collection for 2014 in the U.S. as well as receiving this prize is for her a great dream come true. It’s almost as if you could say it’s the American dream.”

This time of year is considered wedding season for many. For the bride, the gown she wears will be one of the most memorable moments of her life. The designer tells us what makes a great bridal dress:

“She says the great difference between, for a great wedding dress is actually the fabrics. All of the fabrics are, everything is manufactured in Barcelona, but all of the fabrics come from all over Europe, especially Italy and Spain and that’s for her what makes a big difference in the quality of the dress as well as the price.”

CYInterviewing International Designer Rosa Clara

Beyond her brand, Rosa Clara has collaborated with some of the world’s biggest designers including Karl Lagerfield. Lagerfield has worked with everyone from Madonna to Lady Gaga. In speaking about what her contributions to the fashion industry are, Ms. Clara told us this:

“For her, the biggest accomplishment or the biggest contribution to the fashion industry is being one of the top five bridal groups in fashion. That for her, just that’s you know probably the biggest accomplishment there is after only 18 years of being in the industry. So it’s, you know, it’s a big achievement for her.”

In focusing on one of the celebrity clients she has worked with, Rosa designed not one, but three wedding dresses for music star Paulina Rubio. The Spanish designer reflects back on working with Ms. Rubio who has sold a reported 20 million records across the world:

“She says that she was very proud to design Paulina Rubio’s three dresses actually. That you know probably, she thinks that Paulina’s a fantastic woman, a beautiful woman. The only inconvenience that she thought, she found with this was that she had to basically chase her around the world because it was during her tour when they were making the fittings for the dress and Paulina was actually not going to Spain. So that was a little bit of an inconvenience, but apart from that it was an incredible experience for her.”

With Translator Mafe Quintero and Rosa Clara

Rosa Clara’s new boutique is at 365 Miracle Mile
Coral Gables, Florida 33134

You can find out more about Rosa Clara’s fashion at her official website here.

You can follow Rosa Clara on Twitter here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here

As a creative professional who works behind the camera, Angelo has found his own way to show compelling pieces of the human experience. He is a superb documentary filmmaker. Now, he desires to move beyond documentaries into that very competitive arena known as Hollywood. Currently, he is focusing on succeeding in feature films.

We spoke with Angelo at his apartment in Manhattan during our recent trip to New York. To learn more about him, you can read the highlights and listen to the entire CYInterview below:

Listen to the entire Angelo Guglielmo CYInterview:

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Speaking about why he wanted to put together projects as a director and producer, Angelo Guglielmo tells us this:

“I always felt like I had a lot of stories to tell and documentaries are a great, great medium for visual storytelling and real stories about the human condition and, of course, now as I’m branching out into narrative feature filmmaking, the documentary medium provides a great, great avenue to develop stories for screenplays. … I don’t really think I’ll be doing a lot more documentaries just because I want to work with actors and I want to have a broader sort of canvas to paint on. … I would love to do a comedy, of course, because my subjects have been serious so far and I would love to do a thriller, a horror film.”

Angelo’s rise to recognition came with his project, The Woman Who Wasn’t There. The documentary was shown last year on the cable channel, Investigation Discovery. The story is about a woman named Tania Head who claimed to be in the Twin Towers on September 11th. Later, she was found not to have been there. Her entire story was made up. For those not familiar with the film or book, Angelo provides us with a synopsis:

“The Woman Who Wasn’t There is a psychological suspense drama about the World Trade Center Survivor’s Network and their former president Tania Head. Now Tania was history’s most prominent 9/11 survivor. She had escaped the unimaginable on September 11th. She had lost her husband, she sustained life altering injuries and you know her suffering was epic in scale. The fact that she had walked out of the towers was a miracle. She approached me, we became good friends. She asked me to do a documentary based on her group. Once we started filming, we realized that she was never in the Twin Towers on September 11th.

She never had a husband named Dave. She never worked for Merrill Lynch. Her entire biography was a compete fabrication. … I learned that insufferably optimistic about people, you know to have a woman sit in front of my camera and not know that she was telling the truth the entire time. To really just hear this story and believe every word of it and not be able to detect that her story was a complete lie really made me think about, you know, how much I believe in people and how the wall between the interviewer and the subject was absent.”

The documentary was produced by Meredith Vieira Productions. Many will recall Ms. Vieira’s work as a host and journalist on The View, The Today Show and 60 Minutes. Angelo says the story of The Woman Who Wasn’t There is now in the process of being made into a feature film. He is currently working on the project with writer and producer Terence Winter. Mr. Winter wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street. That Scorsese movie has a star studded cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Rob Reiner and Jonah Hill.

“Terence Winter, the show runner and creator of Boardwalk Empire and his lovely wife Rachel Winter came to me and they loved the story. So they decided that they wanted to do a feature film version, a narrative feature film version based on the documentary and the book that I authored with Robin Gabey Fisher. So we went into discussions, we broke down the story and we are in the process of creating The Woman Who Wasn’t There as a narrative feature film. … I would love for Claire Daines to play the title role. I would love for Michelle Williams to play the title role. I would love for Scarlett Johansson to play the title role. I think you know the transformation of these very beautiful women into someone who could be part humanitarian and somebody who had a dark, diabolical side I think is fascinating.”

CYInterviewing Angelo Guglielmo

If as if a future feature film for The Woman Who Wasn’t There was not enough, the documentary is also in consideration to be nominated at the upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards:

“I was very flattered because the network [Investigation Discovery] came to me and they wanted to submit it for Emmy consideration. I was flattered that they believed in the project so much. Henry Schleiff and Debbie Gottschalk and Amy Rapp and Meredith Vieira, of course, and everyone who helped me on this film were instrumental in its success and the fact that the network was so enthusiastic about the project was a very, very, you know was the highlight of my career.”

Aside from his work in show business, Angelo claims to be a celebrity party crasher. He tells us one story in which he says he crashed a Madonna party many years ago:

“Well, you know I got off the subway one night and I was passing Roseland on West 52nd street and I saw a mob scene. I mean the line was around the block and I remember they had been waiting out there for days and it was Madonna was releasing a CD and this was the launch party. They were gonna do a live concert performance on everyone’s cell phone, Verizon was sponsoring it, there were you know lines around the block and I just at that moment just said, ‘I wanted to go.’ So I walked right up to the front and I just stared at the guy with the wristbands and then there were three other groupies next to me that were doing the same exact thing.

Now, apparently he had a stack of wristbands but Madonna, they were for Madonna’s guests. He was personally assigned to help Madonna’s guests get in. They went to the wrong door. They went to the door around the block and he got screamed at. So here he was with like 50 wristbands and here were four you know people just staring at him like a lost puppy and he looked like he just had gotten beaten up because he had just gotten screamed at by Madonna and her team and he just came over to us and said, ‘Put out your hands.’ And he badges us all up, and we thanked him and we ran right in. We even got commemorative posters and a bag of swag. So I mean you know the night wasn’t all bad.”

It’s only a matter of time until the author, director and producer gets invited to the big events like the Oscars and Emmys and the party scene that goes with it. But for now, he says he does not make any apologies for his party crashing behavior:

“Who cares if one other person is there, I mean, really you know. And you know I’m such a great addition to any party, so what the heck. I mean it’s, it really just comes from a desire. I just love people. So I, you know if there’s a party, sure. I’m there.”

You can purchase a copy of the book for The Woman Who Wasn’t There here

The Woman Who Wasn’t There is now available on Netflix. You can also purchase and watch the film here.

The Woman Who Wasn’t There is on Facebook here.

You can follow Angelo on Twitter here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

Former Republican Congressman and House Administration Committee Chairman Bob Ney of Ohio was entangled in the Abramoff lobbying scandal and ended up serving 17 months in prison. In his new book, Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill the former Congressman offers a candid portrayal of the conflicts of interest and corruption currently damaging America’s political system.

In a 50 minute CYInterview with former Congressman Ney, featured columnist Jay Bildstein and I spoke with him about what can be done to fix the system in Washington. He provided some interesting insight on the state of America’s politics.

You can listen to the entire CYInterview or read the highlights below:

Listen to the entire Bob Ney CYInterview:

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Former Congressman Ney provides solutions – some that he claims could be done in a matter of hours – to decrease the corruption and conflicts of interest in Congress:

“There are some things that can actually, literally be done in a matter of hours. Not days, but a matter of hours and that could be done by John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi together as the Democrat and the Republican. And what can be done immediately, first of all, internally the Congress and this happens with both parties, I’m only familiar with my party, the Republican Party I was in, but they will assess you know if you want to be a chairman of a committee, it is no secret that you will raise a certain amount of money.

My task was $150,000 to go into the Republican Caucus for elections. Some people have to raise half a million, a million. People who don’t comply with that really don’t usually succeed. So internally, they can just say, ‘Look, we’re not gonna assess people for positions anymore.’ I mean that’s the selling of positions. Let’s put it right out where it is. The other thing that could be done is to uncodified what they have done into law when it came to people like Jack Abramoff and I. All of the meals I had with Jack, the travel, any of the alcohol I drank, whatever Jack Abramoff and I did has now been put into law…

If I’m a lobbyist, you’re a Congressman, I can take you to Alaska, we can hunt, we can have a $3000 dinner, not Jack Abramoff’s $50 sushi. We could have a $3000 dinner, I could raise you a $100,000, take you then to Las Vegas, take a member of your family, some staff, have a $2000 dinner, raise you $50,000, that’s all legal. Everything I just talked about is done. That again can be stopped.

The constant practice of taking federally paid staff members, which happens, taking them across the street to the Democrat or Republican war rooms as I call them and raising money on federal time can instantly be stopped and the internal money raising machines. You know good people are in D.C., there’s some really good people in Congress, but the system itself is so money geared that good people that want to do their job are gonna find it quite impossible because the system’s corrupt.”

Congressman Ney is candid about his challenges with alcohol abuse in his book. In Swideswiped, he calls himself a functioning alcoholic. Asked whether poor lifestyle choices by members of Congress were commonplace – things like drinking, smoking and overeating – and if it impacted their ability to do their jobs, Ney said it was not the norm, but it did exist. He also notes that damage to one’s mental health exists in America’s political landscape through such things as intimidation:

“I don’t think every member, you know, is smoking cigarettes, drinking and gaining pounds. I think most of them are gaining pounds because their habits and their lifestyle right now out there. It’s just fast paced, lot of receptions, lot of different food and some bad living habits I think. So that in general is out there. … I not only think physically some people have gotten themselves into bad situations out there in the high lifestyle, which is not a good lifestyle, but also I think mentally the attitude is you know shut up or you’re gonna get run over.”

Former Congressman Bob Ney

Over the last year and half, Jay has put forward propositions to various members of America’s political elite on how to get the nation back on track. He has proposed that the president, vice president and Congress take a 50 percent pay cut to demonstrate leadership at this time of fiscal distress. He also proposes that there needs to be a lifetime ban on lobbying by all former elected officials and that lobbyists should have their meetings with members of Congress logged, videotaped and posted on the Internet. Last but not least, there should be term limits. Bob agreed with Jay’s propositions and had some extra things to add on:

“I like what you said first of all. It’s dramatic, it’s aggressive, it may be called radical, but it’s a wonderful, wonderful beginning and you could add in there no staffer can go through the revolving door. You gonna be a staffer on the hill, you don’t take a lobby job like a member of Congress doesn’t do it either. You can do that. On top of it, when members of Congress take trips, this is a little secret, they get a per diem, so much spending money per day that’s unaccounted for. It still happens today. That can be eliminated.

If you take a trip where you’re going for some public process reason overseas, you can take three extra days and do what you want to do. Eliminate that type of thing so the trips are purely of substance. So yes there’s other little caveats that people could really dig into the bowels of the government for all the excesses, leased cars, you know on and on and on that can be done that would be I think not just trite. I think what you’re saying is very good and it’s a point of substance that can help make a dramatic change.”

With millions of Americans still unemployed and the country going through challenging economic times, including things like an enormous federal deficit, some have questioned whether or not President Obama has gone on too many vacations and, thus, not shown true leadership. The former congressman gives his thoughts:

“He [President Obama] shut down the White House tours and at that time I told friends of mine that was the worst one. He shuts down the White House tours, almost shuts down the Easter egg hunt, but he continues to take multiple vacations. That’s not leading by example. Don’t shut down the tours of the once in a lifetime for the kids coming to Washington. You know instead of 17 vacations, take three, how about three instead of 17.”

In his book he makes numerous claims about current Speaker of the House John Bohner. One of those claims was that the Speaker had lobbyists pay for his bar tabs and golf games. Beyond that, former Congressman Ney also alleges that Mr. Bohner offered him a job and assistance on his legal bills if he would resign from Congress back in 2006. Bob would end up resigning from Congress because he claims he accepted Speaker Bohner’s deal. He states the current Speaker of House never kept up his part of the deal. He tells us his side of the story below:

“The amount of people that have seen John Boehner over the years sitting there at the Republican club drinking every night and eating it’s, you’d have to have a line if somebody decided to call them in. It’s just one of those things. It’s never been pursued. … I mentioned these things with Boehner not to pick on him, but in the context that he had a staffer Barry Jackson who went to work for Karl Rove, they wanted the appointment of Alice Fisher and that all tied into me because once I did my idiocy and my criminal behavior, they saw a way to go over my back to get Alice Fisher her appointment.

She had covered up the torture when the FBI came to her and she had worked in the criminal division of the justice department. Senator Levin was after her because she was close to Tom Delay’s defense team. Alice Fisher was also being yelled at because she wasn’t doing anything about Abramoff and along I came committing my crimes, but a very convenient tool so she could get her appointment. Now that was all inside baseball. Nobody pursued that because the justice department didn’t want to pursue it. So you know it’s whoever’s guarding the hen house decides which hen’s gonna be round up and have their head chopped off. …

I mentioned that part because at the time again if we want to talk about anger, you better believe I was angry and I was also drinking at that time and that fueled the self-pity and the anger and the resentments at that time. Now at the end of the day he probably did me a favor by crossing me over because I got into a rehab program so I kind of look at the bright side of what he did. But the fact remains John Boehner did nothing different than Rod Blagojevich who is sitting in prison for 14 years right now. John Boehner said to me, ‘If you stop running’ and he said, ‘You only have 24 hours and the deals off. If you stop running.’ I’d stay in Congress for a while, but I would pull out of the election.

He said, ‘I will find you a comparable job to what you make.’ He said, ‘I know you don’t have a lot of money.’ And he said, ‘I will raise you money to help with your legal defense fund to help you put this stuff behind you.’ He offered me money to leave just as Blagojevich was offering money for seats. He offered me money to leave. He did it. That can be backed up. There’s people that know this happened, people that we’re involved in trying to secure a job and he just went back on his word. So I don’t know what, if that doesn’t smell bad, I would think it’s surely illegal, but again it depends on who wants to pursue that.”

You can find more information and purchase a copy of Bob Ney’s book here

You can follow Bob Ney on Twitter here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

We spoke with three time winner of The Indianapolis 500, racecar driver, Helio Castroneves, as well as retired baseball star Sammy Sosa. Above, you can see Helio, his lovely partner Adriana and yours truly, at the event. And, of course, you can read the highlights and listen to the CYInterviews below:

Listen to the Helio Castroneves and Sammy Sosa CYInterviews:

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When asked if there is anything better than winning the Indianapolis 500 three times, Helio had this to say:

“Well, professional no. Personal, it’s being with this gorgeous lady, which is Adriana and she is, gave me great pleasure, which is my little girl Mikaella. So other than that, it’s very difficult to beat winning the Indy 500.”

CYInterviewing Helio Castroneves at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

The Indy racer won season five of Dancing with the Stars. He reflects back:

“Great memories, certainly winning Dancing with the Stars season five was just awesome. We went last year for the season 15 for the all-stars and I had a great time. Hopefully they’re gonna continue doing well.”

With Sammy Sosa at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

Besides being supportive of The Blacks’ Annual Gala, baseball great Sammy Sosa told us he has his own foundation in the Dominican Republic. The MLB great also shares what he’s been up to in retirement:

“It’s made me feel great. I never forget where I’m coming from now. I give back to my people. … I have two companies that I’m moving forward with and everything looking pretty good.”

CYInterviewing Sammy Sosa at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

The former Chicago Cub says he would do Dancing with the Stars. Perhaps, we are looking at another sports star turned dancing champion in the making. He is just waiting for the invite:

“If they invited me (laughs).”

You can and find more information about The Blacks’ Annual Gala and contribute to the Consequences Foundation at www.theblacksannualgala.com .

Helio Castroneves’s official website is here.

You can follow Sammy Sosa on Twitter here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

We saw Michelle earlier this month at the Miami Heels store opening [see here] and we now bring you our CYInterview with her. You can read the highlights and listen to it in its entirety below:

Listen to the entire Miss Florida USA CYInterview:

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Discussing her preparation for the Miss USA pageant, Miss Florida told us this:

“I’ve been mentally preparing and physically preparing, of course, because we all know that the gym has to become our best friend and my strategy is just to have fun and show the judges what I have out there and I’m not gonna stress it at all. I’m just gonna go out there and show them what I got and represent Florida to the best of my abilities.”

The pageant dream started for Michelle when the 20 year old went to shop for her prom dress two years ago:

“It was kind of a last minute thing. I started beauty pageants about two years ago. I was actually shopping for a prom dress and the designer told me that I should enter the Miss Miami USA pageant and I was like, ‘I don’t really do pageants, but sure I’ll try it out.’ So I started with Miss Miami, placed third runner up and from there I went to Miss Florida USA. In my second year of Miss Florida USA, I won and now I’m going to Miss USA. So it’s all surreal and crazy.”

CYInterviewing Miss Florida Michelle Michelle Aguirre

Though Michelle never expected to win the Sunshine State crown, she admits the nine month reign as Miss Florida USA has led to growth and confidence for her:

“A lot of people don’t know that I’m actually Hispanic. I am Cuban. That can come up very surprising because of the blonde hair and blue eyes. … I’ve grown as a woman and I never thought I’d get to this point where I’ve been just so confident about myself. I’ve found who I really am and I can’t wait to show the judges that and to show my family and to show the audience. … June 16th, Miss USA, vote for Florida and hope to be representing our country at the Miss Universe pageant.”

You can follow Miss Florida on Twitter here.

You can follow Miss Florida Michelle Aguirre on Facebook here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

Videoing of the annual charity soiree has taken place for the last couple of years for The Real Housewives of Miami and a crew was on hand again shooting for a third consecutive year.

We spoke with a variety of The Real Housewives of Miami cast members. We had the opportunity to chat with model Joanna Krupa and fashion designer Lisa Pliner, both of whom we had never met previously. They are both great. See my photo with Joanna above.

We caught up wit four individuals from the show, who we have met before including Joanna’s fiancé Romain Zago. Romain is the owner of the popular South Beach club Mynt. Back in 2010 we spent a great evening at his club with CYInterview friend, Grammy winner Mya – who gave a magnificent performance, by the way.

Additionally, we had conversations with Lisa Hochstein and her husband, plastic surgeon Dr. Lenny Hochstein. Finally, we spoke with now former Real Housewives of Miami costar Dr. Karent Sierra who is making a name for herself on the TV show The Doctors.

All of the folks from The Real Housewives of Miami shared some interesting insights. It seems the current cast members are expecting more drama for season three of the program.

You can read the highlights and hear those red carpet conversations from The Blacks’ Annual Gala below:

Listen to the CYInterviews with Joanna Krupa, Karent Sierra, Lisa Pliner, Lenny Hochstein, Lisa Hochstein and Romain Zago:

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For model Joanna Krupa, her goal is to one day have the charitable impact that her Real Housewives of Miami colleague Lea Black does. Ms. Krupa has been a long time animal rights activist. Talking about a new charity she has formed, the former Dancing with the Stars contestant told us this:

“I love the animals. I’m actually starting my own 501c which is gonna be Angels for Animal Rescue. So I’m very excited. So now any time I do any charity work and fundraisers it will be for my own cause and then at least I’ll know which animal I’m saving and I’ll be able to post pictures and everything will be recorded or reported so everybody knows where their money’s going to.”

CYInterviewing Joanna Krupa at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

Joanna tells us that she and fiancé Romain Zago are planning their wedding. She also says to expect more drama on the upcoming season of The Real Housewives:

“A lot of drama that’s for sure, you can never stay away from the drama having so many women in one room. But Romain and I are planning our wedding finally. I mean, we still have a couple months. So we’ll see if anymore surprises happen this season. If not, if we survive, we’ll definitely have the wedding.”

With Romain Zago at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

Joanna’s fiancé Romain Zago is the owner of Mynt Lounge which is one of South Beach’s top hot spots. The club owner talks about his thoughts on all the drama on the Bravo program:

“It’s a big show filled with a lot of drama. It’s tough. You know it’s tough because woman behavior is sometime a little bit edgy and as guys we usually stand in the background, but we have to get use to it. It’s hard for me to get use to the drama and to, it’s very real. It’s just so real. Everything you see is real. There’s nothing fake. There’s nothing planned and sometimes with a couple of drinks you never know what to expect, but it’s still fun.”

CYInterviewing Romain Zago at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

Romain tells us you can expect to see him more on season three of The Real Housewives:

“Yes. Every day filming, much more. Like 10 times more than last year.”

With Lisa Hochstein at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

For Lisa Hochstein, The Blacks’ Annual Gala was a special, among other reasons, because she is a big fan of Flo Rida. The rapper provided the evening’s main performance:

“I love Flo Rida. He’s my favorite. I love his music. I’m a huge fan. I love the house version and I love the original version of so many of his songs. He’s number one right now.”

CYInterviewing Lisa Hochstein at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

Lisa took the same position as Joanna, that viewers should expect more drama on season three of RHOM:

“You can expect a lot more drama because now all the ladies know each other and that’s always dangerous.”

With Dr. Lenny Hochstein at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

Lisa’s husband Dr. Lenny Hochstein told us you probably will not be seeing him as much as Romain Zago on the upcoming season. But the plastic surgeon told us he makes time to be on the show when possible:

“The problem is I have my own job. So I don’t have as much time to donate to the show as my wife does. But I’m sure that any opportunity, I’m certainly happy to be there.”

CYInterviewing Lenny Hochstein at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

When we were with his Lisa at the recent Miami Heels event [see here], Lenny was out in Las Vegas. He tells us about the trip:

“Las Vegas was great. I got to visit with my good friend. It was his birthday. So it was very nice to be able to come out and celebrate with him.”

With Dr. Karent Sierra at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

Though she is no longer part of the Real Housewives cast, Dr. Karent Sierra is breaking new ground participating on the TV show The Doctors. She tells us about that experience:

“I’ve been going back and forth to L.A. guest hosting for the show and it’s been fun. It’s been, it’s a different ride. You know it’s landing into L.A., filming at Paramount Studios which has always been a dream of mine and dealing with a wonderful, wonderful group.”

CYInterviewing Karent Sierra at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

On whether she is aiming for a career trajectory in television like Dr. Sonjay Gupta and Dr. Oz, Karent tells us she’s following her own path:

“You know what? I aim at being Dr. Karent Sierra. No one else.”

With Lisa Pliner at Lea & Roy Black Present the Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

Finally, we spoke with designer and philanthropist Lisa Pliner, who guest starred on last season’s iteration of the Bravo program. Though she now lives in Los Angeles, she has been supporting Lea’s charities for over 20 years and would not miss the tradition that is The Blacks’ Annual Gala:

“I have supported Lea and Roy since day one for like all their charities and me and Lea have actually all been friends for about 20 years. So to be able to come back in town and be part of something that’s just a tradition just makes it all worthwhile.”

CYInterviewing Lisa Pliner at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

In the future, when she is in Miami, Lisa told us she is looking forward to sitting down for her in-depth CYInterview:

“I would love that. Thank you.”

You can and find more information about The Blacks’ Annual Gala and contribute to the Consequences Foundation at www.theblacksannualgala.com .

You can follow Joanna Krupa on Twitter here.

You can follow Lisa Pliner on Twitter here.

You can find more information about Romain Zago’s Mynt Lounge here.

Lisa Hochstein’s official website is here.

You can find more information about Dr. Karent Sierra here.

You can find more information about Dr. Lenny Hochstein here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

From Vince Lombardi to Mickey Mantle, Tom Landry to Howard Cosell and most of all John Madden, Mr. Summerall knew a who’s who of athletes and sports broadcasting greats.

Back in 2006, I had the honor of CYInterviewing Pat Summerall. We spoke about his life on the field and in the broadcasting booth. Below, you will find a transcript of our conversation. Additionally, you can listen to this CYInterview in its entirety.

Our condolences and prayers are with Mr. Summerall’s family at this difficult time.

Old sports broadcasters never die; they just go up to that broadcast booth in the sky. Mr. Summerall’s golden voice will forever live on in our collective consciousness.

Listen to the entire Pat Summerall CYInterview:

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Chris Yandek: How long did it take you to reflect upon all those decades of memories in your book [Summerall: On And Off The Air]?

Pat Summerall: “Well, actually from the time I first started, it was much more difficult than I thought it would be. From the time I first began, it took about five years. Basically, I started a long time ago and then I happened to be in New York on 9/11 and saw what happened to New York City, and saw the second plane hit the building with my own eyes and I sort of stopped writing a book at that time just because of what was going on in our country and didn’t pick it back up for another year or so until after I had a liver transplant. Overall, it took about five years, but actually hard work, it probably took a year, something like that.”

CY: While a college player at the University of Arkansas in the 1950s you kicked a winning field goal to upset number four rival Texas [16-14]. What do you remember about the game and how different is college football today?

PS: “I don’t remember much about that game. I remember the field goal was good and the place went wild. I remember that. College football, my gosh as pro football has grown immensely beyond the magnitude I ever imagined. The equipment’s better. The players are bigger, better. The diets are better. The coaching’s better. There are so many more coaches. Traveling is so much easier. There’s so many changes that it’s hard to numerate all of them, but it’s changed. I think maybe not for the better, but it’s certainly got a whole lot bigger.”

CY: You were drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1952 and your contract was $6000 with a $500 signing bonus. What do you remember about being part of the early years of the NFL with the Detroit Lions and are you amazed at how much has changed and how much these guys get on their contracts now?

PS: “Well, I’ve seen it grow. I was a part of it in the broadcasting business after I got through playing. So I watched the growth with my raw eyes as John Madden likes to say. I saw it happening in front of me. It’s just mind boggling to think what kind of player would you get for $6000 today? You wouldn’t even get somebody’s attention for that price. At that time, I thought that was a good offer, a good contract. But certainly it’s grown beyond everybody’s imagination and expectation.”

CY: What was it like to be part of the 1952 Champion Detroit Lions and then go to the Chicago Cardinals in 1957 and a team that struggled to many under 500 seasons while you were there?

PS: “Well, it was a big disappointment. The Lions were on the threshold of being that NFL Champions at that time. They had a lot of marquee players, a lot of nice guys. The atmosphere surrounding the team was all positive. Everything was good, and then to go to the Cardinals where everything was exactly the opposite. The equipment was poor. The practice facilities were poor. The attitudes were poor. We had some good players, but not nearly enough of them. It was going from the proverbial outhouse to the house guess. I don’t exactly know how to express it. But the whole atmosphere was depressing as opposed to being very optimistic in Detroit.”

CY: You got traded to the New York Giants in 1958. What do you remember most about your offensive coach Vince Lombardi and your defensive coach Tom Landry?

PS: “Well, I had an opportunity. I played both ways. I was an offensive end and a defensive end. I had the opportunity to go to the offensive meetings and the defensive meetings. They were very different in their approach. They were both superb teachers. Lombardi was dynamic, flamboyant, loud, but you listened to what he had to say and you realized that he knew exactly what he was telling you. If you did what he said, you would more than likely be successful.

He was, I learned more in the offensive meetings under Lombardi than I learned the whole other time that I was in football. Landry was the same, entirely a different personality, but the results were the same. He was an excellent teacher. He was far less emotional than Lombardi, but again he said if you do what I say we’ll win and usually he turned out to be right.”

CY: What was it like to play football for the New York Giants in Yankee Stadium and have Mickey Mantle’s locker room for a football season?

PS: “Well, it just happened that I got the locker he used during baseball season. It just happened that when we moved in, I got assigned the same locker that he used. I had know Mickey when we were both playing minor league baseball in Oklahoma. It was not like I was in awe of him or anything at the time. It was just a situation where we were friends and remained friends, and actually became very close friends.”

CY: And what was it like to play in Yankee Stadium for football overall?
PS: “Well, the atmosphere, the Giants had played in the polo grounds in the early years of the 50s. They moved to Yankee Stadium in 1956. There was something about playing in Yankee Stadium, the aura of Yankee Stadium, the memories, the tradition. It made it a special place to stay and a special place to play. It was a first class atmosphere. No question about it.”

CY: You retired at the beginning of the 1960s from the New York Giants and signed on at CBS Sports. What do you remember about the early days of the NFL being broadcasted on TV and being part of it?

PS: “Well, I remember I wasn’t making much money in my first CBS contract. It was an honor to be a part of it. We had no idea at that time. I was just doing Giants games. I was an analyst working with Chris Schenkel who was a great teacher. But it seemed, it was all new to me. I was in awe of being able to have that opportunity. I was living in North Florida and commuting to New York or wherever the Giants played every weekend. So I was the analyst as I said, but it was a thrill to be a part of it. We had no idea at the time what it was going to become, what pro football was going to be.”

CY: What are your memories of the time you spent with Howard Cosell besides his ability to drink more than most of the country under the table?

PS: “Well, Howard and I lived in nearby communities. I lived in Stanford, Connecticut, he lived in PoundRidge, New York, which were bordering towns and we got off the air at ABC in his case and CBS at my case about the same time. So we rode the same train home at night, almost every night, every weeknight at least. So we got to be very good personal friends. When Howard had an audience, in other words more than one person, he was a performer. When it was just him and me, he was the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet.”

CY: After John Madden left for ABC and Monday Night Football, did you think about calling it a retirement since you weren’t calling the big stage game every week anymore?

PS: “Yeah. I did. In fact I did. That was when I stepped down and decided not to do it anymore. My health was failing at that time too. So it was a good time for me to step down.”

CY: What do you remember about the Thanksgivings and all the other times you spent with John Madden during that holiday and with the Madden Cruiser and all that great stuff?

PS: “Well, I remember a lot of Thanksgiving dinners on the Madden Cruiser. When he first got the bus, I was a little bit skeptical about whether or not he would be able to keep up the travel because they’d send us, it didn’t make any difference. Travel consideration was not a factor. So we went from long distances and I wouldn’t sure he was going to be able to make it from week to week, but he did. He never was late. He never missed a game. But it turned out that the bus was a blessing.

That’s where we had production meetings, we had an awful lot Thanksgiving dinners. That’s where he and I really got to be very close friends in addition to being broadcast partners. Nothing about the bus is a bad sour memory to me because we had an awful lot of good times with both John and with the drivers.”

CY: Your problem with alcohol is well documented through the book. What would you say to anyone who is listening or reading this interview that might have a problem with alcohol?

PS: “I would say that I never thought I had a problem with alcohol until there was an intervention. A group of people got together and said to me we think you’re drinking too much, we want you to go for help. I think that’s what makes the disease so insidious. Nobody ever thinks it’s a problem. I know I have told myself over and over again that I can quit anytime I want to. It’s not a problem with me. I don’t crave a drink. I can stop. I am bigger than this is. I am more powerful, I’m stronger. Nobody is willing to ever admit that they do have a problem and I think that’s the key to beating the problem, to curing if there is a cure and that is to realize that you have to be honest with yourself and you have to admit that you do have a problem and until you do, you’re never gonna get over it.”

CY: You had a very close relationship with Mickey Mantle and spent a lot of time with him in his last years. What are your fondest memories of him and did you ever feel bad for him when he would call you on Sundays during the NFL season for some inside information if he was down from gambling on College Football on Saturdays?

PS: “My relationship with Mickey, he became a very close personal friend. We spent a lot of time together, played a lot of golf together. It’s true that he called me. He liked to bet on college football and on the pros. When he had a bad day in college, he’d call me no matter where I was on Sunday morning and asked me what I thought about the pros that day. The biggest mistake I made was being correct a couple of times. Then he called every week. He thought I was some kind of genius. It never affected our relationship. I just knew he’d like to bet and I’d tell him whatever I knew.”

CY: You needed a new kidney [actually a liver and not a kidney] to live and you did get the transplant, but how close do you feel physically before you got the transplant that your life might be over and that we might not be having this conversation right now?

PS: “Well, I didn’t need a kidney. I need a liver.”

CY: Excuse me. Yeah.

PS: “I got the liver transplant and I was close to being dead. I knew that. The doctor, after the operation was a success, told me I had about 18 hours to live or it would of been over if I didn’t get a new organ. Now the operation was a success and I probably feel better than I have felt in over forty years. I feel stronger. I have more stamina. I just feel good when I get up in the morning and I am so grateful. If anyone has ever had an organ replacement operation and it works this well, you should be just as thankful as I am because I have never felt better.”

CY: Finally, will we see you in any kind of future projects down the road?

PS: “I have no idea. Right now there are no plans. I’d like to do some work on football games or baseball games or whatever the sporting event might be, but right now I don’t know. I can’t say that you will see me.”

CY: So it’s still never say never?

PS: “Still never say never.”

You can find more information and purchase a copy of Pat Summerall’s book Summerall: On and Off the Air here

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

Over the coming days, we will share with you our CYInterview red carpet interviews from the Gala. As for the evening itself, Lea and Roy put on a great event, which serves to benefit at risk youth through the Consequences Foundation.

The ballroom at the Fontainebleau, where the event was held, had over 60 tables with ten people to a table. Guests were treated to a menu that was a dazzling taste array, including salad with marinated heirloom tomatoes, lemon mozzarella pillow, torn basil and balsamic vinegar. The main course was a “Guinness” braised short rib of beef in smoked cheddar gratin with yukon gold puree and pickled root vegetables. The desert was a strawberry gateaux with mango strawberry gelee and coconut chantilly.

Taylor Hicks of American Idol fame, who is currently doing a run at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, provided entertainment as guests enjoyed the evening’s cuisine. We will bring you our CYInterview with Taylor soon.

The auction portion of the evening hosted by Lea and Roy, which found Lea’s Real Housewives of Miami costar Lisa Hochstein assisting, included bidding on everything from a walk on role in the next Transformers movie to high end jewelry to exotic trips. Numerous people also raised their hands to donate $1000 or $2000 to the charity. That portion of the evening raised six figures for the Consequences Foundation.

The main talent for the evening was Miami’s own Flo Rida, who got many of the ladies up onstage during his set. People really enjoyed his performance of his hit Low. At one point, the rapper, who has reportedly sold over 60 million singles, went into the crowd and everyone seemed to be enjoying the interaction.

The evening ended with an entertaining spectacle of lights and sounds from the Wki5kers Rages with the Illbots during the nightclub and dance portion of the event.

A video crew from The Real Housewives of Miami was in the house taping for the upcoming season. Portions of the gala are likely to air on Bravo. During the evening, Lea Black said, “It’s the people that make the party.” She sure was right, as the crowd was terrific.

See all the photos from the evening below and keep logging onto CYInterview for more coverage of The Blacks’ Annual Gala.

With Joanna Krupa at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

With Bernard Hopkins at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

With Lea Black at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

With Taylor Hicks at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

With Lisa Hochstein at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

With Dr. Lenny Hochstein at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

With Dr. Karent Sierra at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

With Sammy Sosa at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

With Helio Castroneves and Adriana Henao at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

With Lisa Pliner at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

With Romain Zago at Lea & Roy Black Present The Blacks’ Annual Gala with Flo Rida

You can and find more information about The Blacks’ Annual Gala and contribute to the Consequences Foundation at www.theblacksannualgala.com .

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

CYInterview had a chance to speak with Michelle Aguirre, who will be competing in the Miss USA pageant in June. You will find that conversation here in the not too distant future. You will have a chance to hear how Michelle is preparing for the big beauty pageant in Las Vegas. Above, you can see a photo of Miss Florida along with yours truly.

Additionally, we spent some more time with Lea Black. You can see my CYInterview – from earlier this week – with her on the upcoming Black Gala [here]. We also caught up with her Real Housewives of Miami costars and past CYInterview guests Lisa Hochstein [see here] and Elaine Lancaster [see here].

Miami Heels is located on Biscayne Blvd near Aventura Mall. The store features shoes, bags and jewelry. Below you will find photos from the opening, including pictures of some of the store’s merchandise.

With Miami Heels Owner Suni Sweeney

With Lisa Hochstein and Lea Black

With Elaine Lancaster Photo credit: Joey Mugica of www.thecolorqueen.com

Miami Heels Store 1 on Biscayne Blvd in Aventura

Miami Heels Store 2 on Biscayne Blvd in Aventura

Miami Heels Store 3 on Biscayne Blvd

Miami Heels Store 4 on Biscayne Blvd in Aventura

You can find out more information about the Miami Heels store at their official website and see their merchandise at www.miamiheels.com.

You can follow Miami Heels on Twitter here.

You can find Miami Heels on Facebook here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

Back in January we spoke with Lea Black of The Real Housewives of Miami [see here] about her life and current projects. Her yearly charity event, the Black Gala, is being held this year on April 13th, at the world renowned Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach.

The Black Gala is one Miami’s biggest social gatherings of the year. It is the event that everyone wants to be seen at. Yearly, the city’s rich and famous turn out not just for the fun but in order to support a worthy cause.

Lea, alongside her husband – prominent attorney Roy Black – does considerable work to insure that the evening is a success. Proceeds from the Black Gala benefit the Consequences Foundation. The organization provides educational opportunities to at risk youth. The Gala also benefits Teach for America, Breakthrough Miami, Big Dream for Kids and other worthy causes.

We spoke with Lea at her home in Coral Gables about this year’s event, which will see Flor Rida as its headline, musical performer. She also reflected on a host of Gala memories. In addition to hearing about the Black Gala, we got the scoop on Lea’s new handbags, as well as the latest on her skincare line and an update on her soon to be released novel about Miami.

You can read the highlights and listen to the entire CYInterview below:

Listen to the entire Lea Black CYInterview:

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Rapper and songwriter Flo Rida is the main musical guest for this year’s Black Gala. He grew up in South Florida and this will serve as a homecoming performance of sorts. In 2008, his song Low spent 10 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2009, his song Right Round became the fastest digital single to reach one million downloads. Rida has toured all across the world in recent years and has reportedly sold 60 million singles. Lea gives her thoughts on him:

“He’s amazing. He’s had a lot of big hits recently. He’s been on the charts a lot in the last few years and he’s a very generous guy that really cares about kids that are struggling and he’s doing things in his own world with charities to help kids that people don’t even know about. So he’s really the perfect fit for us this year and we have some other surprise talent that will probably show up.”

Lea Black with her new handbags

Everyone has performed at the Black Gala from Tony Bennett to Queen Latifah. Lea muses on some of her favorite Black Gala memories:

“I think the year we had Patti LaBelle and Lil Wayne was huge. That was a really big year. I mean they were both just iconic legends and then you know Barry Gibb played here in the house when we use to have the charity here. So I would say those are some of the more memorable ones. Natalie Cole is also amazing, but, and you know I love Dionne [Warwick]. I love them all. They, most all of these people have donated their time and their talent and not been paid for it. There have been a couple of times we’ve had to pay over the years, but usually they donate it.”

With a new line of clutch handbags, Lea the entrepreneur shares with us why she is now in the bag business:

“What happened is I carry basic bags in the daytime, I’m not a trendy kind of person. You can see I’m pretty basic and I just every night after five, I find myself kind of with the bland handbag or trendy bag and I don’t like the trendy bag so I decided I’m just gonna start making them or having them made for myself and I started having the Swarovski crystal clutches made and then everybody started asking me about them and people started wanting them. So I started making them for friends and then finally I said, ‘You know why don’t I just put them on my World of Lea Black website and see who’s interested.’ And amazingly enough people like them and then I decided to bring in a company that can really make bags in mass production and expand the line and that’s what we did.”

CYInterviewing Lea Black

Sharing the latest on her Sudden Youth Skin Care line, Lea has expanded the product line now to include moisturizes for your skin:

“I’ve been in the skin care business since the 80s with Sudden Youth and Sudden Youth really does make you suddenly look more youthful. But I decided to expand that to include moisturizing your skin more because people in most parts of the world, their skin is dryer today than it ever has been because of the environment. So we developed with top chemists around the world a skin care line that’s designed to increase moisturization in your skin for and within two days up to 440 percent and we’ve got the clinical studies to back that up. So now you can lift, tone, firm your skin and tighten it and get smaller pores with Sudden Youth and you can moisturize it properly with the Lea Black beauty line.”

Back in January Lea told us about her upcoming Novel based on Miami. She gave us an update:

“It’s kind of scandalous, Miami socialite, Jackie Collins, Truman Capotesque type novel and I’ve been hesitating to release it because I think everyone’s gonna try to identify who the characters are and they may or may not figure it out, but for the most part their composites of various characters in Miami. They’re not really specific people. Even though maybe that specific person was in my mind when I wrote it, but I actually wrote this three or four years ago and everyone that I’ve given it to is like, ‘Oh my God, you’ve just gotta publish it.’ So I said, ‘Alright I’m gonna finally do it now and hold my breath and hope I don’t get run out of town.’”

Lea Black with her skin care product line

The Black Gala is on April 13th at the Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach. You can find purchase tickets and find more information about the Consequences Foundation at www.theblacksannualgala.com .

You can find Lea Black’s handbags, skin care products and more at her official website www.theworldofleablack.com.

You can follow Lea Black on Twitter here.

You can follow Lea Black on Facebook here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.