Claudius Charles Philippe, also known as Philippe of the Waldorf or The Host of the Waldorf, (10 December 1910—24 December 1978) was a British-born French-American restaurateur, catering director, hotelier and businessman, who was the hotel banquet manager of the prestigious Waldorf Astoria New York hotel in the 1940s and 1950s. From 1961 until 1963 he worked as executive vice president of Loews Hotels, and was responsible for the planning and building of six new New York hotels.
Philippe is best remembered for founding the April in Paris Ball at the Waldorf Astoria in 1951, which he ran with Elsa Maxwell until his sacking from the hotel in 1959. The balls were major events in the US socialite calendar, and raised millions of dollars for American and French charities over the 28 years of its existence. His Lucullus Circle dinners also attracted some of the wealthiest businessmen of the day to feast on six to eight course meals. During his career at the Waldorf Astoria it has been estimated that Philippe was responsible for his clients spending $150 million alone on banquets, which led him to be referred to as "one of the truly great men this industry has ever produced" by George Lang.
The suave Philippe led a colorful life, with many lovers including Grace Kelly and Barbara Walters, and three wives. He was investigated for tax evasion in 1958 and admitted guilt one count, for which he was fined the maximum $10,000. He had numerous other business interests and investments, and was responsible for building at least three restaurants, a casino, a theater, and an eighteen-hole golf course in Guadeloupe in the 1960s.
Career
Background
Philippe was born in London in 1910, the son of a chef, and was trained at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris. By age 20, he had settled in the United States and was an assistant to the Waldorf's Oscar Tschirky. Upon Oscar's retirement in 1943, Philippe stepped into this position as Maître d'hôtel. He went on to become "one of New York's cuisine kingpins". In July 1948, Philippe hired Alexis Lichine to buy wines in Europe for the Waldorf Astoria; the two men would become close friends and business partners.
Social events
In 1951 Philippe founded the April in Paris Ball at the Waldorf. It was initially held annually in April 1952, but according to Ann Vaccaro, former executive director of the ball, it was changed to October because "Mr. Philippe decided that because there are so many balls in the spring he would make it in October". After being changed to October, it often marked the start of the US fall social season; the balls were major events in the socialite calendar, and raised millions of dollars for American and French charities over the 28 years of its existence. It was staged in the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf for eight years before moving to the Hotel Astor in 1960, the Seventh Regiment Armory in 1961, and other venues. The ball was designed to cater for "very, very high-class people" according to Vaccaro. Raffle tickets cost US$100 per person and offered opulent prizes such as a US$5000 bracelet and other jewels, expensive furs, perfumes and even cars. It attracted many of the most famous people of the day, including Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich. By the mid 1970s his balls were charging $185 per person; the 1974 ball netted roughly $175,000. During his career at the Waldorf Astoria it has been estimated that Philippe was responsible for his clients spending $150 million alone on banquets.
Philippe was also noted for his Lucullus Circle dinners and women-only luncheons, which were both very popular. The Lucullus Circle dinners, inaugurated in 1951, brought about a "new golden age of gastronomy", attracting some of the wealthiest businessmen in the world at the time to feast on some "six to eight food courses and two wines with each course". Philippe "enjoyed acting like a cross between a benevolent dictator and a kindly father" at the dinners according to George Lang. The ninth dinner featured a menu of "heroic proportions", high and wide, with over eight pages. On 10 May 1965, Claude Philippe threw a party for Chevalier off his usual site, this time in the Oscar's Delmonico wine caves. By 1972, however the dinners had begun to lose their appeal. New York Magazine noted that the dinners were still appreciated for their "enormous stocks of wine" but that it no longer seemed to "have the appeal of the other groups". They nonetheless continued. After Philippe's death, his wife, Helga, took over planning the gentlemen's dinners, as well as coordinating the wines and greeting the attendees; she was the only woman present at these events.
