From the desk of Roland Rocchiccioli – 15 August

There’s a new book about the late Zsa Zsa Gabor. It’s called: Finding Zsa Zsa: The Gabors Behind the Legend.

I AM not sure there is much that is not known about Zsa Zsa. She wrote a memoir many years ago. She told the truth about much of her life, and glossed over whatever she didn’t want you to know. She talked about her time in the sanatorium. It was a writ of habeas corpus which set her free.

I knew Zsa Zsa for 38 years. She was a delight, but emotionally fragile. She would be absolutely appalled that people compare her to the Kardashians. She was many things – including a figment of her own imagination – but she was not common, vulgar, or unintelligent. She came from what was known in those times as a very good Hungarian family. She spoke seven languages – fluently. She said to me on one occasion, “I not only speak, I read and write, and I understand the humour. That’s when you speak the language.”

Zsa Zsa was one of the most glamorous and beautiful women I met, ever. Our first encounter was when I went to interview her at her house in Bel Air, Los Angeles. It was an instant friendship. We talked on the telephone; she sent me cards and letters; and I arranged for her to come to Australia on two occasions. We had a wonderful relationship. We were together in Sydney at the Sebel Townhouse for about two weeks; and on the second occasion on the Gold Coast. She was guest of honour at the the Grand Prix. At a gala dinner, Tony Barber insulted her when he referred to her as best looking octogenarian he had ever seen. When told what he meant she walked-out. Her language was colourful.

She was one of the wittiest women, and her bons mots were legendary. We went to a Pizza Parlour in Sydney. The young lad behind the counter called her Eva – her sister from television’s Green Acres. Zsa Zsa smiled, “No, darling, I’m Zsa Zsa, but I look so awful today it’s no wonder you think I’m Eva.”  A woman, seeking her advice, asked if she ‘did wrong’ when she spent the night with a man. Without missing a beat Zsa Zsa asked, “Darling, don’t you remember?”

She lived in the same house for 50 years. It was owned, previously, by Elvis Presley and Howard Hughes. The interior was reflective of her European background. There was nothing outlandish about her taste. Apart from the Rubiroso emerald ring, all her jewellery was fake – designed by her mother, Jolie, who owned a paste shop in New York. It was of the highest quality and impossible to tell the difference between real and paste.

Zsa Zsa was married seven times. She knew exactly what she wanted in a husband: “I want a man who’s kind and understanding. Is that too much to ask of a millionaire?” Her last husband was Prince Frederic von Anhalt; however, she did not say, “I’m a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house.” It was comedian, Don Rickles, during his Las Vegas show. She loved it, and used it; however, the truth was, she paid most of the men to get rid of them. According to Zsa Zsa, her first husband, Conrad Hilton – founder of the famous hotel chain – left her 2-million. “Dollars?” the interview enquired. “No,” said Zsa Zsa, “Gideon bibles!”  She thought it amusing that a man’s best friend is a dog, and a girl’s is diamonds. “It shows which sex is smarter,” she quipped.

She said, “I never hated a man so much I gave him back his diamonds!”

Roland can be heard every Monday morning – 10.30 – on radio 3BA and contacted via [email protected].