NEW YORK TIMES
December 27, 2000

Public Lives: Giving Celebrities Their Best Profile

By SHAILA K. DEWAN

At Sardi's, the noses have gotten smaller over the years. Celebrities need not fear that their likenesses will be represented in the heavy- lidded, exaggerated style of Alex Gard, the original house caricaturist who, according to lore, traded drawings for hot meals.

Mr. Gard's Laurence Olivier and Marlene Dietrich flared their nostrils with flair, in full profile. Mr. Gard got away with it, said MAX KLIMAVICIUS, the restaurant's president, because he changed the drawings after the stars autographed them.

These days, RICHARD BARATZ, who has done the caricatures for nearly 25 years, does not get paid until the drawing has been signed.

Perhaps that was why the portrait that was presented last week to CHRIS NOTH, one of the stars of "Gore Vidal's `The Best Man,' " caused him to squint. "It doesn't have my nose," Mr. Noth said. "I have a nose."

There were free hors d'oeuvres and drinks, but no great fanfare as Mr. Noth and a co-star, CHARLES DURNING, signed their drawings on the fourth floor of Sardi's on Friday.

Mr. Durning sat at a table with a few friends. "I've been eating here for 30 years, and on the arm," he had written on his portrait.

But Mr. Noth was more excited. "The Best Man," which closes this week, was his first Broadway show, proof that a long Great White Way career is not what it takes to make the wall at Sardi's. What it takes — all it takes — is a nod from Mr. Klimavicius, who favors those who bring him business. Which explains why the third star of the play, SPALDING GRAY, had not made the cut. Not only does the person have to be in show business, Mr. Klimavicius explained, "he has to be a friend of the house."

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