We accompanied him [Leonard Cohen] to a drab hotel room that was dominated by a mammoth bed, covered with the ugliest bedspread I had ever seen. By now it was after two. He turned on the TV and we stood around for a few moments chatting about how ugly the bedspread was. Then we took turns using the bathroom, stripped down to our undies, and the three of us dove into that great big bed and … went right to sleep.1
My Night With Leonard Cohen by Roz Warren (New York Times: July 18, 2013) tells the tale of two University of Chicago co-eds who spent a chaste night in bed with Leonard Cohen2 at the Playboy Towers after a 1975 Chicago club date. The story is a tad cloy for my taste, but, given its popularity among fans, it seems likely that my judgment has more to do with my curmudgeonly mindset than the account itself. And it does offer an addition to this site’s Leonard Cohen Ice Cream & Frozen Confections collection:
Mr. Cohen ordered a root beer float with chocolate ice cream, which struck me as a ghastly combination. When he offered me a sip, I tried it, then made a face and pronounced it “appalling.”
In any case, the full story is available at the link.
Also See Leonard Cohen Talks About Barbara And Lorraine, The Original Sisters Of Mercy
Background: Leonard Cohen played the Quiet Knight in Chicago on Nov 17 & 18, 1975. The Chicago Playboy Towers (not to be confused with the Playboy Mansion or the Playboy Building) was, until 1970, The Knickerbocker. That year, Hugh Hefner and Playboy Enterprises purchased the hotel at 163 E Walton, renaming it Playboy Towers. The Playboy name was removed in 1976 when Hefner’s company had a financial downturn. These days, the 306-room hotel is known as the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago.
Credit Due Department: Photo by Thomas Hawk
I am republishing selected posts from my former Leonard Cohen site, Cohencentric, here on AllanShowalter.com (these posts can be found at Leonard Cohen). This entry was originally posted July 18, 2013 at DrHGuy.com, a predecessor of Cohencentric.
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- From My Night With Leonard Cohen by Roz Warren (New York Times: July 18, 2013) [↩]
- Raising two questions: 1. Why is the title of this article “My Night With Leonard Cohen” instead of “Our Night With Leonard Cohen” and 2. How many chaste nights did Leonard spend with two women “Sisters Of Mercy” style? [↩]
I can’t answer the second question, but the reason the piece was titled “my night with” instead of “our night with” is that it is told from my point of view alone, rather than as a story told by both me and Anne.
If we’d collaborated on the piece, it would, of course, had been called “Our Night with…”
Although the truth is that my editor at the Times usually retitled my essays, so why the title came out the way it did is anybody’s guess.
I’m sorry you found it “cloy” — but thanks for keeping it alive by posting it here.
Thanks for the comment. Re “cloy,” like I said, “It seems likely that my judgment has more to do with my curmudgeonly mindset than the account itself.” All the best