Veteran actress, Brooke Shields, was co-hosting the Today Show this morning when I happened to glance at the screen.  Still very good looking, Shields, who began her career at the age of 12, is no longer a kid, in her mid-40's, twice married, with children of her own.  Seeing her took me back to one of my crazier pr experiences.  One in which both she and Prince Albert of Monaco very much figured.

It was in the early 80's and my pr firm was representing the brand new, very up-scale Bonaventure Spa and Resort in Broward County.  Bonaventure was proudly sponsoring the Princess Grace Tennis Tournament, a major fund raiser held annually by the Monacan royal family for some charity that slips my mind at the moment.  The really big deal was that Prince Albert, Grace Kelly's son himself, was coming to the resort to preside over the event.  Big excitement.  Big possibility for national and even international publicity for my client.

Someone in my office watched a TV show where 19 year old Brooke Shields was interviewed.  One of the questions she was asked was "Who would you most like to meet?"  Her answer? You guessed it. Prince Albert of Monaco!  OMG, a double whammy for my client. . the hot young actress and the hot young prince.

Contact was made with Brooke's agent who just happened to be her mother and arrangements were finalized for both of them to arrive at the resort.  The actress came with her mother.  The prince arrived with an entourage that included two body guards, a well known pro football player, and two  "royal groupies", one more super sophisticated and ultra sexy than the next.

Albert, who was rather short and not terribly good looking, did us the favor of posing for photos with Brooke. The moment the photographer finished, he smiled briefly and hightailed it back to his entourage.  To say that he was uninterested in the extremely tall, surprisingly unsophisticated, teen age actress, was the understatement of the year. 

Poor Brooke. She was totally devastated at the obvious brushoff, actually to the point of crying.  That's when her mother, a dominating presence if ever I met one, suggested that a few hours in the plush new Spa might make her feel better.  But she mustn't go there alone.

"You have got to be kidding," I spluttered, when the client informed me that I was the one chosen to accompany the actress.  "Go!" he commanded, "and for God's sake, try to make her feel better. This was your idea.  Now take care of it."

That's how I ended up, wearing nothing but a towel in the ungodly hot suana at Bonaventure Spa, sitting next to a sniffling, equally naked Brooke Shields, trying to convince her that Albert was no big deal.  Had I known at the time that she would soon meet and marry Andre Agassi, she might have felt a helluva lot better.

Watching her this morning on the Today Show I was pretty sure she has long since forgotten the incident.  Me?  I'll never forget it.
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Photo caption:  Did I mention she was tall?????