Cindy Adams | |
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.jpg) Adams in 2007 | |
| Born | Cynthia I. First (1930-04-24)April 24, 1930 (age 95) New York City, U.S. |
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Cynthia Heller Adams (bornCynthia I. First; April 24, 1930),[1][2] commonly known asCindy Adams, is an Americangossip columnist and writer. Adams is most notable for her decades of first-hand reporting on personalities from the worlds of entertainment and politics, especially for theNew York Post newspaper. She is a lifelong resident ofNew York City, and is the widow of comedian/humoristJoey Adams.
Cindy Heller Adams was born inManhattan as Cynthia I. First on April 24, 1930. Her parents Jessica and Jerome First divorced in 1932, and Jessica married Harry Heller when Cindy was 3.[1][2][3][4] Cindy attendedAndrew Jackson High School inQueens, New York, but did not graduate as planned in 1946, citing an incomplete sewing assignment inhome economics. She received an honorary diploma in 2024.[5]
Since 1979, Adams has written a prominent gossip column for theNew York Post, a New York City newspaper that has featured approximately 500 of her stories on its front page.[6] She became asyndicated columnist in 1981. A lifelong New Yorker, she is known for "her vast circle of acquaintances" among celebrities, and for ending her "wise-cracking, pithy, opinionated" columns with thecatch phrase: "Only in New York, kids, only in New York."[7]
Adams wrote for local newspapers at the same time as her husband Joey, who wrote a humor column for theLong Island Press and then theNew York Post. They met numerous national leaders on a 1961 tour of Asia, representing the US government and culture. In 1965, Cindy Adams co-wrote an autobiography ofIndonesian presidentSukarno, about whom she wrote another book in 1967 afterhe was overthrown.[6][8][9][10]
In 1970, she first interviewedMohammad Reza Pahlavi, theshah of Iran. Adams also became friendly withImelda Marcos, the controversial widow of formerPhilippine presidentFerdinand Marcos. In 1975, Adams co-wrote an autobiography ofJolie Gabor, mother of the celebrityGabor sisters.[9][10] Later biographies by Adams included actorLee Strasberg (1980)[11] and political matriarchRose Fitzgerald Kennedy (1995).[12]
Adams is especially known for her sympathetic coverage of celebrities facing legal difficulties. When Imelda Marcos,Leona Helmsley,John Gotti,Claus von Bülow,Sydney Biddle Barrows,Mario Biaggi,Bess Myerson andStanley Friedman all attended a birthday gala that Adams hosted for her husband, he famously remarked to the crowd: "If you're indicted, you're invited."[13][14]
In 2003, Cindy Adams authored aSt. Martin's Publishing Group book titledThe Gift of Jazzy, amemoir of appreciation for her pet dog.[15] She authored a sequel in 2006, titledLiving a Dog's Life: Jazzy, Juicy, and Me.[9][16] The introduction to the book includes a comical note from the author: "Neither Jazzy nor Juicy had any hand in the writing of this book. The creativity is strictly mine. And let it be known, some of the names, places, and incidents have been changed to protect the guilty."[17]
Starting in 1986, Adams was an original contributor to thesyndicated,tabloid television showA Current Affair.[18] In 1990–1991, she served as a panelist on many episodes ofTo Tell the Truth, anNBC television network game show.[19] In the late 1990s, she appeared regularly onGood Morning America, amorning news-and-talk show on theABC television network.[20]
Adams promoted luxury dog-related products on theQVC shopping channel,[21] where her longtime friendJoan Rivers promoted a line of jewelry.[22] Adams also contributed twice a week to theLive at Fivenewscast onWNBC television,[23]and then to the station'sSunday Today in New York newscast.[24] Her life and career were spotlighted in the 2021 documentary mini-seriesGossip, on theShowtime television network.[25]
After the 1999 death of Joey Adams, Cindy's husband of nearly 47 years, a friend gave her a new loving, loyal companion to help fill the void, a canine named Jazzy.[26] TheYorkshire Terrier trailed her in public and became a minor celebrity himself. Adams and Jazzy would often dine together in New York's finest restaurants, includingLe Cirque.[13] Adams dresses her dogs in expensive designer clothes and jewelry.[27]
One weekend in 2003, Adams put Jazzy in an upstate New Yorkkennel when she left the city. By the time she returned, Jazzy had died.[28][29] She had a necropsy performed, which showedE. coli bacteria in the dog's system. In an article published inThe New York Times, Adams was quoted as saying, "Now this is a dog that I hand-fed. I would lie on my stomach in the kitchen and hand-feed himkosher chicken. We would go to Le Cirque and eat off ofLimoges porcelain. Where would he getE. coli?"[28]
She became a vocal advocate for strengthening regulations of boarding kennels.[30] In 2004, she garnered the support oftelevision journalistBarbara Walters, socialiteIvana Trump, attorneyBarry Slotnick, writerTama Janowitz, andNew York City Council SpeakerGifford Miller, to pass the Boarding Kennel and Regulation Act, also known as "Jazzy's Law".[28] According to Adams, "To prevent others from suffering my pain, this local 'Boarding Kennel and Regulation Act' will: license kennels, monitor them regularly, fine those in violation, require records and rules, demand boarded pets prove vaccination and immunization against contagious doggy diseases."[31] Despite the increasingly strict New York City health code, which permits onlyservice animals in restaurants, Adams continues to bring her dogs to New York eateries.[27]
By her own admission, Adams has often falsified details relating to her age, her wealth, her romances, and other aspects of her personal life: "I lie about how much I make, I lie about what I weigh, I lie about my sex life, and I lie about my age."[13] As a result, different versions have circulated over the years, along with her disclaimers of accuracy.[2] What follows is a summary of what appears to be the most-reliable published information.
Cindy Heller began to work as a photographer's model in Manhattan at age 15. Soon after, she met her future husband, comedian/humoristJoey Adams, when they were guests on the same radio show.[1][21][3] They married onValentine's Day 1952, and had no children. Joey died in 1999, following a long illness.[32] Cindy's words after her husband's death included:[33]
Adams lives and works in a nine-room penthouse apartment with a 1,000-square-foot (93 m2)veranda onPark Avenue in Manhattan, which she and her husband purchased from the estate of billionaire tobacco heiressDoris Duke in 1997.[6][34] Because of the apartment's connection with Duke, Adams hosted thewrap party for the televisionbiographical filmBernard and Doris (2008), about Duke's later years and relationship with herbutler.[35]
Adams ceased writing her regularNew York Post column in May 2010 without notice, and there was no news beyond brief mentions that she was "unwell". In late June,Liz Smith, another gossip columnist (previously with thePost), reported in her online column that Adams was ill with a stomach malady. AChristian Scientist, Adams had avoided medical help until forced by friendsBarbara Walters andtelevision judgeJudith Sheindlin to obtain it.[36]
Sheindlin was Adams'shealthcare proxy, as Adams had no remaining immediate family. Smith reported on June 29, 2010, that "she [Adams] is now on the mend".[36] Adams's column returned to thePost on September 20, 2010, explaining that she had receivedintensive care for aruptured appendix,anemia,sepsis, anddamaged heart valves. Withgallows humor, she summarized her near-death experience by referencing a recently deceased news icon: "Seems another day and I'd have been interviewingWalter Cronkite."[37]
First, Cynthia I., Apr. 24
in this large, lavish apartment, which was once owned by Doris Duke.
... Cindy Adams of The New York Post, who appeared on 'Live At Five' when Ms. Simmons was one of the anchors.
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