| Book Review: The Last Playboy |
| Written by Koop Kooper |
 It was with pleasure that I came across a book about quintessential playboy Porfirio Rubirosa whilst searching for a book for a friend in a dark and overcrowded Sydney bookshop. From the shelf, the title jumped out at me and I knew it would be one of those books I just couldn’t put down, and brother was that true. If you haven’t heard of this jetset cad, then make sure you hunt this book down as I know that reading it will give you hours of pleasure and will probably make you realize how much work can go into being the ultimate international playboy; this cat practically made it an occupation.Porfirio Rubirosa was a Dominican diplomat, polo player, and race car driver who competed in the 1950 and 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans but was best known as an international playboy for his jetset lifestyle and legendary prowess with women. He was born into a military family but had the good fortune to marry well by romancing the dictator’s daughter. Now, some would say that this is a bit of risk as you might lose your life along with your marriage if things go pear-shaped, and in the case of Rubi that almost happened. Fortunately for Rubi, he managed to keep his diplomatic post in Berlin after the inevitable divorce and whilst unable to return to the Dominican Republic, Rubirosa supported himself by selling Dominican visas to Jews seeking to flee Europe. Rubirosa soon got back into his former father-in-law's good graces, and continued to receive government posts until Trujillo's assassination. Good luck, good looks, and great charm seemed to get Rubirosa through life fairly easily as he was linked with several high profile women and benefited from the gifts and business opportunities that came with such liaisons and networking. His list of girlfriends and lovers is a who’s who of the celebrity world of the mid-twentieth century: Dolores Del Rio, Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Barbarra Hutton, Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake, Kim Novak, and Zsa Zsa Gabor, and that’s to name just a few. But it was the women he married that helped him maintain the playboy lifestyle. Doris Duke gave him $500,000, a stable of polo ponies, several sports cars, a converted B-25 bomber, and a 17th Century house in Paris in the divorce settlement; Barbarra Hutton bought him a coffee plantation in the Dominican Republic, another B-25, and paid him a reported $3.5 million in their settlement. As Shawn Levy amply documents in 'The Last Playboy,' his bubbly, breathless, and appropriately inconsequential biography, Rubirosa worked hard at having fun. In the late fifties a journalist asked him about his work. 'Work,' he answered. 'It's impossible for me to work. I just don't have the time' Between his fitness regime, the sports, the women, and the suit fittings, he made being an international playboy a fulltime occupation. Even when it came to partying, Rubi took his life work seriously. One night after a big night out with Sammy Davis, which left Sam an absolute wreck and sleeping till late, the singer received a call from Rubi reminding him of luncheon the two had made plans to attend. Sammy dragged himself downstairs to find Rubi sipping a Gin Fizz and looking like he had gone to bed before the evening news. Hanging onto the bar to support himself Sammy implored, ‘How do you do it? Rubi explained reasonably, ‘Your profession is being an entertainer, mine is being a playboy.' |
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