When I next heard from Maria Callas, it was in early May of 1962. She called me from her home in Paris. I was delighted to hear from her again. She said that she was well and that she would be returning to New York City later during the month. She asked if I could reserve time for her, as she was requested by John F. Kennedy to sing at his Birthday Gala at Madison Square Garden in New York City. I accepted her request and when she arrived on the day of the "Gala", I attended to her in her suite at the Hotel Pierre. Miss Callas was extremely nervous when I arrived and I noted that her hair was cut shorter than I had remembered and was in disarray. She had received a haircut in Paris which she did not like and asked me what I could do, and then presented me with several hair pieces (postiches) to work with if necessary. I quickly calmed her saying that she would look elegant when I finished and not to worry. I would dress one of her pieces and add it to her hair for volume. She then turned my attention to her two gowns that she considered wearing and asked for my opinion. One was a gold form fitting sheath and the other was a low cut soft green silk taffeta with a voluminous skirt, covered with pink cabbage roses. I considered them for a moment and then said, "Miss Callas, I would suggest the more voluminous gown, as you must remember that Madison Square Garden is huge and you will be seen at a great distance from the audience. Your appearance will look more spectacular in the flowing gown", and she agreed. While I was doing her hair and make-up, she was constantly humming and mouthing the lyrics to the "Habenera" from "Carmen", completely engrossed within herself. When I had finished, her maid assisted her into her gown. She looked magnificent. She studied herself carefully and then with an affectionate gesture, hugged me and kissed me on the cheek saying, "Robert, I love my hair-comb. Thank you so very much", and then said, "Would you mind accompanying me to the Garden? I may need you later". I was delighted to join her for the evening. As we were driving there in her limousine, I sat on the "jump seat" facing her as her gown was so full that it covered the entire back seat. It was a slow drive as traffic was very congested at that hour through the theatre district. All the while, I noted that Miss Callas kept referring to the libretto of the "Habenera" and was softly singing and repeating it over and over. She had a pained expression on her face and it disturbed me to see her nervousness. I then said, "Miss Callas, may I ask you a question?" She looked at me for a moment and said, "But of course". I then asked her how many times she had sung the score from "Carmen" in opera. "More times than I can remember", she said. Then I said, "Why are you so worried? When you step out on that stage tonight, it will all come back to you, as second nature, so won’t you please try to relax". She then handed me the score she was studying and said, "Of course, you’re right", and smiled at me. When we arrived at the stage door of the Garden, her limousine was surrounded by hundreds of fans. We could not get out until the police cleared the way for us. They surrounded Miss Callas and I as we made our way into the building. It was exhilarating and yet frightening. The crowds wanted to touch her and kept chanting "Callas, Callas, Callas". When we got inside, we were both relieved. I said, "I don’t think I’d like to be a star of your magnitude, Miss Callas". She remarked, "It isn’t easy, Robert". "Easy" I said, "It’s downright frightening!" "Yes, it can be but I am used to it, as it is always like that", she said. We were shown to her dressing room where her piano accompanist was waiting next to a baby grand piano. She immediately went to the piano and started to rehearse. Miss Callas’ nervousness that evening came from the fact that she had been directly asked by the President to sing the "Habenera" for him, as it was his favorite aria. She was troubled with her sinus condition again and was afraid her voice would "break" on the high tones. As a postscript I will add that shortly thereafter on her next appearance in "Tosca" at the Paris Opera House, her voice did "break" to the horror of her audience. Miss Callas stopped, and began the aria again, an unheard of experience on the operatic stage, and sang the aria so beautifully that her audience stood up and applauded wildly, interrupting the entire performance.

I was told that Madison Square Garden had over twelve-thousand people in the audience that night. A special huge wooden stage had been constructed, draped with the American bunting for the occasion. The President’s box in the center of the Garden was also draped with bunting and the Presidential Seal. When the President arrived, I was able to see him at a distance from backstage. Everything was "bedlam" backstage, with all the celebrities readying themselves. The dressing rooms were enormous and were spread out in a long corridor. I could hear Miss Callas practicing in her dressing room and decided to look for the Program Director. After much difficulty, I found him and he gave me a "call sheet" so I was able to tell Miss Callas when she would be going on stage. Finally, Miss Callas, Marilyn Monroe, and I walked to the deep pit behind the stage and waited. Peggy Lee stood there looking absolutely beautiful, all in white, waiting to go on. We stood there for a long time, feeling very warm, as the many lights coming from the stage heated the area. I kept checking their make-up, as we all stood there perspiring. Finally, Miss Callas was announced and I assisted her up the wooden stairs. She squeezed my hand as she reached the top and stepped into the spotlights to an over-whelming applause. Miss Callas sang beautifully that night. Again, she received a thunderous ovation. I’m sure she was relieved. I assisted her when she left the stage. She was perspiring heavily as she returned to her dressing room. I stood with Miss Monroe until she went onstage, then returned to Miss Callas. When she had calmed herself, I refreshed her make-up. I told her that she had performed magnificently, and she was pleased. She then said, "I have a gift for you there on the table, Robert. I hope you will enjoy it". It was one of her recent recordings of "French Aria’s", a complete departure for her in repertoire that she had recorded in Europe in March of 1961. She said that she sang in a "Mezzo Soprano" voice on the recording and that it was her favorite of all that she had done. I might add here in retrospect that had Miss Callas ever wished to continue her career as a "Mezzo Soprano", she could have reached even more acclaim. Her recording of "French Aria’s" is magnificent and a treasured gift from her. I thanked her profusely and placed the album on the table again. As we sat there discussing it, the Stage Director knocked and entered and said to Miss Callas the other performers are waiting outside in the hallway and would like to pay their respects to you. "Show them in", Miss Callas said. The first to enter was Robert Merrill, baritone of the Metropolitan Opera. He was most gracious in his complements to her. Before he left, he noticed her recording on the table, picked it up and signed it to her. As he was doing so, Peggy Lee came in and she too signed the album. Then Jimmy Durante, Shirley MacLaine, and Henry Fonda. We had champagne in her dressing room amidst bouquets of long stemmed red roses. There were many unopened large white boxes of flowers on the floor, I noted. I had been standing behind the stage with Miss Monroe as I mentioned earlier and at this point, I interrupted Miss Callas and said that Marilyn had expressed a wish to meet her. She consented and I went to Miss Monroe’s dressing room and brought her to meet Miss Callas. I was introducing them when the photo’s in this book were taken. Peter Lawford joined us, picked up the Callas album and signed it and handed it to Miss Monroe to sign also. After everyone left, Miss Callas said she was going to a party at Arthur Krims and asked if I would like to come. By that time, it was very late and I was exhausted from a very long day, and declined. Miss Callas then said she was returning to Paris the next day for a series of appearances and in saying good-bye, she handed me the recording. "Don’t forget this, Robert", she said. I said, "Miss Callas, I can’t accept this now, as all the other artists signed it so graciously to you. Perhaps you will bring another one". "No Robert, this is yours, I gave it to you. Perhaps it will always remind you of this lovely evening", she said. And so I have this lovely album in my possession signed by many of the stars on the program as well as Maria Callas. She kissed me and thanked me and I returned home. The next day, very early in the morning, I was awakened by a delivery service. They brought in all the large white boxes of flowers that Miss Callas had not had time to open. Their cards had been removed. My apartment was so flooded with long stemmed American Beauty roses that I had to distribute some of them to my friends in the building. It had been another memorable day for me!