Cappy Badrutt

[Carrie Fairchild]

Joan mentioned her old friend again in a recent interview, when asked about her inspiration for Alexis, she stated "I was basing her on all the businessmen I knew who were heartless, really. The other part of her brain, the glamorous part with the over-the-top clothes, I based on one of my best friends called Cappy Badrutt. She was extremely glamorous, and unfortunately very miserable. But I don’t think Alexis was miserable. I think she enjoyed her life and lived it to the fullest".

But just who was Alexis template Cappy Badrutt? There's bits and pieces about her online which I'll post below but they're minimal. Was she a regular in the gossip columns of the 70's? Did she grace the pages of Paris Match and ¡Hola! magazines? Did she party with Bianca Jagger in Studio 54? That 60's / 70's jet set glamour is one of my guilty pleasures and Cappy seems to have been a big fish among that set yet only gets a mention these days when Joan talks about her in interviews.


From Bernard Gordon's book Hollywood Exile, Or How I Learned to Love the Blacklist:

"A friend of mine was present when Cappy was asked, at a Hollywood party, "If there were one thing you wanted more than anything else in the world, one thing, what would that be?" Without hesitation, Cappy (then Mrs Yordan) replied as if it were a single word "fursandjewels". Now Cappy was queen of one of the great hotels of the world. She had plenty of furs, quite a few jewels, and she presided over the Palace as though it were her private palace and the guests were all her invités".


Here she is hanging out with billionaire arms dealer and Imelda Marcos co-accused Adnan Khashoggi

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Is this Joan's Heidi Abromowitz?

 

[Willie Oleson]

That 60's / 70's jet set glamour is one of my guilty pleasures

[off-topic=]
We had one of those, she died under mysterious circumstances.

Mathilde Willink, the Lady Gaga of the seventies. Wife of painter Carel Willink (that's how she could afford the $10.000 dresses), party animal and epitome of narcissism.
[/off-topic]

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Here she is hanging out with billionaire arms dealer and Imelda Marcos co-accused Adnan Khashoggi

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

I've read "crappy bedrat"!

 

[British blue]

I have also recently tried to find our more about the elusive Cappy too after reading about her in various of Joan’s publications. Joan describes her as drinking champagne on an empty stomach and delicious. Like you I think she must have been so well known then but so little on her is out there. From what I can find I believe she was born in 1927 and she appeared in court aged 17 from working underage in some sort of club. I think she may have been married at 19 but it was annulled. At some point she has met Philip yordan but how and at what age I’m not sure. But by around 1960 she was tired of sitting around as a screenwriters wife and was invited to st Moritz to ski at the most famous hotel run owned by the Badrutts. I think she then immediately got a divorce from yordan and married Andrea badrutt within months and helped turn the hotel into the jet set glamorous place to frequent. She was estranged from badrutt some years later and then married someone called Eddie Hand? Also very rich! Joan has said that Cappy sadly died not long after dynasty but I’m not sure she means at the beginning or end but I’m not sure how she died how old she was if she had any children it’s all such a mystery and makes her even more interesting. I think there are lots of info on her on newspaper archives but you need to log in and pay a subscription I think.

If you manage to find out any more or have any further info on her please post it up.

 

[tommie]

Cappy Badrutt is just such a good name too.

Apparently she was a fortune teller? https://www.shutterstock.com/sv/edi...-badrutt-box-0610-08072015-00351ajpg-4924662a

 

[Alexis]

Yea it's all very mysterious and glamourous. I had remembered I read she was a fortune teller. I remember Joan saying on some TV show, I really cant remember which, that Cappy died just as Dynasty took off. I think she may have died of cancer. It's strange that you cant even find an obituary.

 

[tommie]

Well, if anyone is interested in her, I found that she's mentioned twice in Harpers and Queen (Harper's Bazaar), once in the June 1974 issue (article "Jennifer's Diary", p 145-152, 154) and once in the September 1975 issue (article CAPITAL FUN!", p 41-42).

 

[British blue]

Oh that’s great about the harpers bazaar interviews, is it easy to find the archives? I will have a look could you post links at all or do you have to pay?

I have done a little bit more detective work and found out her original name was Caprice Capron which in itself is fabulous isn’t it. (I think her full name is Caprice Dianne Capron) She was born in 1926 in California, she had an older brother. I think she must have been a firecracker as she was an Eroll Caroll showgirl but under age which is when she ended up in court saying she was attacked but it was then discovered she was underage at 17.

I’m assuming this was where she may have met or come into contact with Philip yordan? Being a showgirl. There is also a newspaper piece that states she was in court again age 27 she attacked Philip yordans first wife with a broom! This made me howl with laughter! Apparently he had gone to see his ex wife who had their 6 year old son and Cappy jumped out of a car and attacked her with a mop broom threatening to kill her before Phil dragged her away! So this is someone who certainly liked the drama!

Another newspaper piece jumps forward to 1977 and talks about her walking into an event at doubles with Eddie J Hand her new husband (really rich, bought a huge diamond at auction) and she was a showstopper walking in the room wearing head to toe fur!

She just sounds so fabulous, there seems to be more newspaper articles but you need to create accounts and pay etc which I haven’t done. So if anyone else can send more info I would be so interested. Did she have any children?

Joan is on British TV today for the VE celebrations, I can’t wait to see her she is always fabulous

 

[tommie]

Oh that’s great about the harpers bazaar interviews, is it easy to find the archives? I will have a look could you post links at all or do you have to pay?

I don't think they were interviews - from the little I could see it's probably just mentions from her being at parties with other celebs + supposedly pictures. But yeah, I could order out the articles for about ~8 dollars a pop to confirm, but it doesn't seem worth it since I doubt it'll contain more information.

 

[British blue]

Ah Ok they are probably party photos and credits. I think thats why Im surprised there are not more of her as she sounded as though she was a real socialite. I have read that she was the inspiration for a Truman Capote character too - this probably gives a real insight to her character or at least how she was perceived, here is a snippet

 

[British blue]

How amazing she must have been in real life to not only inspire Alexis but to have inspired a great writer too

 

[Alexis]

An infamous gold digger!! Hahaha, that's how Alexis viewed Krystle, ironically.

 

[British blue]

An infamous gold digger!! Hahaha, that's how Alexis viewed Krystle, ironically.

Haha I know brilliant isn’t it! I think the rest of that character she is based on gets a bit ‘racy’ with guys Shall we say. I know Joan mentioned cappy wasn’t exactly a nymphomaniac but she liked the boys. This woman just gets more intriguing.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Should we nominate her as a contender for the role of "my lovely"?

I know some people hate the song, but every time I hear it I always have to stop doing what I'm doing and visualize the story for the umpteenth time.
Some decades later, Sarstedt mentioned in an interview that it was about his girlfriend/wife/ex-wife, which I think takes the mystery out of it.
But even so, I don't feel compelled to retroactively accept that comment as being canon to the song.

 

[Alexis]

Should we nominate her as a contender for the role of "my lovely"?

I know some people hate the song, but every time I hear it I always have to stop doing what I'm doing and visualize the story for the umpteenth time.
Some decades later, Sarstedt mentioned in an interview that it was about his girlfriend/wife/ex-wife, which I think takes the mystery out of it.
But even so, I don't feel compelled to retroactively accept that comment as being canon to the song.

I have always loved this song and didn't realise that so many people don't like it? I remembered it from my childhood and would hear it sometimes and then not again for years and I never knew who it was. Not until I was older and looked up some of the lyrics online. I like this association you've come up with. I also always feel like this song fits with Marianne Faithfull's Ballad of Lucy Jordan as some sort of companion piece in some weird demented melancholic deja vu heartbreak that I haven't really experienced but yet somehow have.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I have always loved this song and didn't realise that so many people don't like it?

quoted from wiki:
DJ John Peel repeatedly stated that the song was one of his least favourites. On his show on BFBS radio on 1 July 1989, he said: “It's a terrible, smug, self-satisfied, hideous record. Really have hated it ever since I first heard it

Then there's also the argument of tacky name-dropping, but in this case I feel it works to describe the character and the world she's living in. And instead of showing off this celebrity gimmick I feel it's being downplayed to some kind of mundanity, thus taking the emphasis away from the name-dropping.
We know she has a Rolling Stones record collection, but we don't know if she actually likes the Rolling Stones.

I don't know what part of the song should be considered as "smug", Stardstedt sings it with a mix of frivolity and melancholy, and because of that balance it never becomes too much this or that.
It's also not self-satisfied because it gives the listener something to play with - who is she? does all the current glitter and gold live up to her backstreets-of-Naples dreams? And what's the POV's role in all of this? They both shared the same ambitions, but maybe it didn't work out for him?
I love it, and it should be made in into an arthouse movie.

 

[James from London]

I have always loved this song and didn't realise that so many people don't like it

I always loved it too. I think it was the first song I ever 'sang' at karaoke (not necessarily a wise choice cos it goes on for ages). I never understood what people's problem with it was until I listened to the critique here. It starts at around 3hrs 3 minutes if you're interested:

https://chartmusiccouk.wordpress.com/2019/09/06/43-march-6th-1969-ah-ha-ha-ha/

 

[Alexis]

Funnily enough I often find DJ's and music critics to be smug and self satisfying. I am still going to have the same guttural experience when I hear the song despite someone telling me I should hate it. I mean f**k off, I like what I like.