‘This is too hard to comprehend’: Hollywood mourns Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher
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From "Singin' in the Rain" to her guest appearances on "Will & Grace," here's a look back at how Debbie Reynolds became a Hollywood icon. (Nicki DeMarco/The Washington Post)
Actress and Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds died Wednesday at the age of 84, just one day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, died following a heart attack.
Their deaths rocked the entertainment world and fans all over. Soon, the outpouring of grief spilled onto social media, where celebrities, family members and fans mourned the tragic passing of daughter, and then mother.
“Some of the magic people have left the tribe,” Fisher’s half-sister, actress Joely Fisher, tweeted Wednesday evening. “For the moment I am inconsolable.”
Hollywood is full of entertainers who worked with either or both of the actresses. In addition to her role in the “Star Wars” films, Fisher had numerous movie and television parts, was a best-selling author and a legendary script doctor, helping to punch up many movie scripts. Reynolds had her breakout moment with the 1952 musical “Singin’ in the Rain,” but went on to have a career that spanned movies, Broadway and television, from “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” to “Will & Grace.”
Although they had a fraught relationship for many years — Fisher’s semi-autobiographical 1987 novel “Postcards From the Edge” explored life with a glamorous mother — the pair eventually reconciled. A documentary about their lives together is scheduled to air in 2017 on HBO.
Bother Reynolds and Fisher were considered Hollywood royalty, whose work in front of the camera, on stage and as advocates for various causes inspired numerous other performers.
Jill Biden reveals her husband’s oversharing during a visit with the Pences
The transfer of power from the Obama administration to the upcoming Trump one seemed to be going so well, judging from the cordial meetings between the president and the president-elect and their wives, and the confabs between Vice President-elect Mike Pence and Vice President Biden. But behind the scenes? Near disaster! At least according to Jill Biden, who addressed the crowd of the city’s diplomatic class at a Wednesday night party at Blair House. When the Bidens were getting ready to host the Pences at the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory, Biden, who is a community college teacher, says she stashed in a closet the papers and books that were lying around and firmly instructed her husband not to open the door to reveal the embarrassing clutter during the tour they planned to give the soon-to-be residents of the home. “I said, ‘Joe, for gosh sakes, do not open that closet,'” she recalled. “And what do you think he did? But that’s Joe for you.” But in all seriousness, Biden said their guests “couldn’t have been more gracious.” Earlier in the day, Trump had just shocked foreign policy and diplomatic circles with a series of tweets boasting about his contacts with world leaders. That’s usually something kept close to the vest. So it was an awkward night to celebrate, as the elegant invitation read, “The Power of Diplomacy” with the hosts, the U.S. chief of protocol and the Meridian International Center. But what’s going to be business as usual in a Trump administration? The crowd — which included ambassadors from around the globe, along with former assistant surgeon general Susan Blumenthal, former protocol chief Lloyd Hand, telecom exec Marie Royce and former White House social secretary Ann Stock — was full of whispered speculation about what the next four years might bring. Jill Biden, though, offered some solace to the assembled diplomats and members of the international business community, based on the earlier luncheon with their successors: “I think things are going to be better than you might think.”
Central Americans continue to surge across U.S. border, new DHS figures show
U.S. officials are grappling with a 15 percent surge in illegal immigration, reflecting continued failures by the Obama administration to deter illegal immigration along the country’s southwestern border.
Homeland Security officials apprehended 530,250 illegal immigrants and sent 450,954 people back to their home countries over the 12-month period that ended in September, according to figures released Friday by the Department of Homeland Security.
The majority of those apprehended come from Central American countries and include 137,614 families and unaccompanied children, part of an ongoing flight from high crime and violence in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, which human rights advocates have urged the administration to treat as a refugee crisis.
The number of families and children in the past year also exceeded figures from 2015 and 2014, when illegal immigrants from Central America overwhelmed U.S. Border Patrol stations at the Mexican border and President Obama called the flow of children an “urgent humanitarian situation.”
Administration officials said Friday that the latest “removal” figures reflect a concerted policy shift to target convicted criminals over others.
“We continued to better focus our interior resources on removing individuals who may pose threats to public safety — specifically, convicted criminals and threats to national security,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement. “This prioritization is reflected in actual results.” More than 99 percent of those forcibly removed from the country over the most recent 12-month period fell into the administration’s three priority categories.
Overall deportations have dropped over the past few years, from a peak of more than 400,000 during Obama’s first term.
Immigration human rights advocates, including J. Kevin Appleby, the senior director of international migration policy at the Center for Migration Studies, say the priorities were a good move — probably resulting in fewer deportations overall — but have come too late.
“In the end, the president will be remembered as a deporter, not a reformer. In the first four years, he set record numbers in removals, much to the dismay of the immigrant community,” Appleby said.
Immigration advocates have repeatedly criticized the Obama administration for its increased reliance on detention facilities, particularly for Central American families, who they argue should be treated as refugees fleeing violent home countries rather than as priorities for deportation.
They also say that the growing number of apprehended migrants on the border, as reflected in the new Homeland Security figures, indicate that home raids and detentions of families from Central America isn’t working as a deterrent.
President-elect Donald Trump is nominating retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly for secretary of homeland security. Here's what you need to know about him. (Video: Sarah Parnass, Osman Malik/Photo: Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post)
According to the Homeland Security report released Friday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed 352,882 people in detention facilities in fiscal 2016, a sharp rise from 193,951 people placed in detention last year.
Officials said Friday that the shifting demographic — from predominantly Mexican adults trying to cross the border 10 years ago to a larger proportion of Central Americans crossing today — has placed an added strain on Homeland Security resources due to the costs of sending people back to Central America and because of longer processes for people with security concerns.
Many of those arriving from Central America have applied for asylum with claims of “credible or reasonable fear of persecution” in their home countries, Homeland Security officials said.
After pressure from immigration rights advocates, the administration last summer announced plans to expand a State Department program to allow Central American minors to apply for refugee status.
But human rights activists expect detentions to increase under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to step up the deportation of illegal immigrants and build a wall on the Mexican border.
Earlier this month, Trump said he would nominate retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, a border security hawk, to run the Department of Homeland Security. Kelly has warned about cross-border threats from Mexico and Central America.
Homeland Security figures released Friday showed that nearly 84 percent of the people removed from the United States in fiscal year 2016 were categorized as Priority 1, which includes “national security threats, convicted felons or ‘aggravated felons,’ criminal gang participants, and illegal entrants apprehended at the border,” according to the department’s report.
It was also unclear how many of those convicted were violent criminals or national security threats, as opposed to those whose offenses related only to crossing the border illegally. Twenty-two percent of those sent back to their countries also had no prior criminal convictions, the report said.
How women reclaimed their place in fashion’s spotlight in 2016
Rihanna walks the runway during Fenty x Puma by Rihanna show in Paris. (Jacopo Raule/Getty Images For Fenty X Puma)
How women reclaimed their place in fashion’s spotlight in 2016
It was a year of pantsuits and pussybows, of sheath dresses and sundresses, of feminism writ large — or spelled out, even, in pointed messages on expensive T-shirts.
Within the fashion industry, women took on leadership roles at design houses at the upper echelons of the business. Bouchra Jarrar stepped in at Lanvin, for example, and brought boudoir-inspired beauty to a brand that had been roiled by the firing of longtime designer Alber Elbaz. Laura Kim took the reigns at Oscar de la Renta along with fellow creative director Fernando Garcia. Rihanna proved that she — not the voluble Kanye West — was the celebrity who has the sneaker deal, and the real eye for fashion rather than just self-promotion.
And the storied Christian Dior appointed its first female creative director in the label’s 70-year history. In her September debut, Maria Grazia Chiuri, formerly of Valentino, presented fencing-inspired jackets and tulle-embroidered evening gowns — but she also declared the importance of women exerting their power, with the words of feminist author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on her show’s soundtrack: “We say to girls: You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful but not too successful, otherwise you will threaten the man.” Her models wore T-shirts declaring: “We should all be feminists.”
Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut show for Christian Dior emphasized feminism. (Marcelo Soubhia/MCV Photo)
[From fencing jackets to tulle skirts, Dior sees many ways to dress a feminist]
Marc Jacobs’s kerfuffle-causing runway dreadlocks. (Kate Warren/For The Washington Post)
Women and their connection to power was a topic on the mind of New York-based designers in particular. Much of the musing was connected to the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, which drew tremendous support from Seventh Avenue, including a fundraising fashion show and a formal endorsement from Vogue magazine. Jacobs declared his support for her with, among other things, a bedazzled T-shirt emblazoned with her image. At the Michael Kors show, singer Rufus Wainwright interrupted his performance to declare: “I’m with her.”
The fascination with female strength was a subtext for many designers as they considered what ultimate power would look like draped around the shoulders of a woman. And in their pursuit of an answer, they sought inspiration from a wide range of influential women, from Georgia O’Keefe to Gloria Steinem.
[Hillary Clinton, style icon? The unexpected inspiration for women’s spring fashion ]
Pantsuits took on new meaning, too. They became symbolic of Clinton’s quest to make history as the first female president and on Election Day, they turned into a proclamation of solidarity. If those suits were white, folks connected them to suffragists. If they were designed by Ralph Lauren, they were met with a nod of aesthetic approval and a sigh of relief from her supporters that maybe, just maybe, she was getting her fashion act together.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in her iconic white pantsuit. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)
All the considered attention paid to assuring that Clinton’s clothes, hair and makeup were just right, stood in contrast to the disheveled man on the other side of the partisan divide. Donald Trump — the self-professed, uber-successful, billionaire candidate — wore his ill-fitting suits like a declaration of his angry populism. His poorly tied neckwear grazed his crotch. And his use of Scotch tape, in lieu of a tie bar, was the thousandth paper-cut, amid the myriad body blows, to the dignity of the presidency.
President-elect Trump’s most potent surrogate may well have been his daughter Ivanka, who regularly wore sheath dresses from her own fashion company and expressed her concern for the travails of working mothers. Her clothing style was refined professionalism — affordable polyester and discreet darts. Still, her company became a point of contention for its outsourced production, its licensing deal with a firm that fails to live up to her own standards for family leave and its penchant for tweeting advertisements for $10,000 bracelets as-seen-on-”60 Minutes.”
Ivanka Trump in one of her signature sheaths. (Jim Young/Reuters)
Melania Trump and the pussybow blouse. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
[How fashion is drawing political battle lines after the Trump election]
And while an onslaught of publications ably assessed the aftermath of the presidential election, the most surprising was Teen Vogue. Under the leadership of its new editor, Elaine Welteroth, the magazine recently published an essay about the “gaslighting” of America: the demise of fact, the effect of misdirection, the negotiability of truth. It was a reminder that just because a girl cares about glitter Gucci loafers and floral handbags doesn’t mean she isn’t interested in the fate of the democracy as well.
Women made artistic and provocative statements with fashion in 2016, too. The award-winning cinematic images from Beyoncé’s “Lemonade,” used fashion to speak to history, protest, beauty and power. It’s hard to shake the image of the singer in a flowing saffron-colored, Roberto Cavalli dress taking a baseball bat to the windshield of a car in her performance of “Hold Up.” “What’s worse,” she sang, “Lookin’ jealous or crazy, jealous and crazy?” The dress evoked shipwrecked desperation, beautiful survival and calculated outrage.
Beyonce in Roberto Cavalli and wielding a baseball bat in “Hold Up.” (Parkwood Entertainment)
Even more striking are the custom, broad-brimmed hats from “Formation” and the medley of romantic white dresses that simultaneously suggest the Old South, the Victorian era and “Daughters of the Dust,” Julie Dash’s acclaimed indie film about turn-of-the-century Gullah women. In “Lemonade,” fashion is evocative of the past and the present. It is sexy and powerful, personal and political — all the while avoiding cliches.
Fashion was all that in real-life, too. In a serendipitous moment captured in a photograph, a young woman in a filmy summer dress faced down the police during protests in Baton Rouge after the death of Alton Sterling. Her thin dress, shifting in the air, seemed like little protection in the face of armored police officers. But she stood her ground. Power doesn’t have to mean a tailored suit, a Kevlar vest or state-issued uniform.
Ieshia Evans is detained by law enforcement as she protests the shooting death of Alton Sterling. (Jonathan Bachman/Reuters)
Designer Christian Siriano, who is known for championing body diversity in the fashion industry, cast several plus size models in his spring 2017 fashion show. (Kate Warren/Kate Warren)
[What Christian Siriano’s bold, brilliant clothes tell us about designing for plus-size women]
In the past couple years, menswear had been the more interesting realm of fashion. Menswear designs were shifting faster than ever. Men were shopping. They were interested in style. That remains true. But in 2016, women outshone them.
But mostly, the year was not so much about what women wore, but how they wore it and why.
Cowboys reportedly plan to play Tony Romo in Week 17, for first time all season
The Dallas backup will see the field against the Eagles
vFor the first time all year, the world might get to seeTony Romoplay quarterback in a regular-season game. TheDallas Cowboyswereexpected to lean on their backupsand playMark Sanchezas backup toDak Prescottin Week 17, but according to a report they are leaning towards going with Romo instead.
Adam Schefter and Todd Archer of ESPN report that the plan will be to play Romo this week, his first regular season action since Thanksgiving of 2015
After Edwin Encarnacion's signing last week, the Orioles could find clearer market for their slugger du jour.
Before baseball went into a hiatus between Christmas and New Year's Day, the Cleveland Indians tightened their grip on the top spot in the American League by signing slugger Edwin Encarnacion to a deal worth as much as $85 million over four years.
Its context affects the Orioles in two ways — one looking backward, and the other forward. First, the future ramifications. Earlier this month, the consensus at the winter meetings was that everything would fall into place in the slugger market once Encarnacion signed. There wasn’t much of a chance to have the market shake out during this hiatus, but that’s not to say it can’t start moving.
When it does move, it will do so in a direction the Orioles will probably like. Encarnacion’s guaranteed money is three years and around $65 million, with good short-term value but not a long commitment in terms of years. That’s the top of the hitter market, and everyone else will be slotted below Encarnacion. That means Mark Trumbo, Jose Bautista, Mike Napoli and Chris Carter have had a week to adjust their expectations to the value of their services.
All it takes is one team to give a slugger a contract that’s above market value, but given how slowly everything went at the beginning of the offseason for these hitters, that’s unlikely. And it’s certainly unlikely it's the Orioles who make the first post-Encarnacion move for several reasons.
First, there are reports that Napoli is nearing a return to the Texas Rangers. Second, they already jumped the market to get catcher Welington Castillo. Third, they might not have the financial flexibility to make that big of a splash before the market suppresses prices further.
That’s where the Orioles can see Encarnacion’s deal, look back and wonder how taking the top slugger off the market at above-market price last year looks now.
The Orioles are going to be in a financial bind for the considerable future after topping the market last offseason with a seven-year, $161 million contract for first baseman Chris Davis. He still has $17 million per year coming his way over the next six seasons, with deferred money coming to him after the deal expires.
Given the return this year, and the reality of having a volatile hitter on your books for six seasons, doubling down on another player who offers power and not much else can’t be appealing to the Orioles at the moment. Lucky for them, there will be power available late in the offseason, as there’s simply not enough teams for all of the best power hitters to find homes at this point. In addition to those listed above, there’s former Oriole Pedro Alvarez, Brandon Moss and even Colby Rasmus out there as a power source at a corner outfield spot.
The Orioles broke through the top of the market to bring back Davis last year, but with plenty of money invested in returning players already, that’s not likely to happen this year for someone like Trumbo.
They could use the Encarnacion signing to their advantage and bring in a player short term, essentially continuing the revolving slugger door that has seen Nelson Cruz come and go and could end the same way for Trumbo.
Man killed, Eastern Shore deputy injured in Chestertown shooting
A Queen Anne's County Sheriff's deputy was shot at a home in Chestertown Thursday morning.
A 52-year-old man was killed and a Queen Anne's County sheriff's deputy was critically wounded in an exchange of gunfire early Thursday in Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore, authorities said.
Sheriff's Deputy Warren Scott Hogan and James L. Rich II shot each other following a dispute between Rich and his girlfriend at his home in the 200 block of Edmore Road, Maryland State Police said. State police are investigating the incident at the request of the Queen Anne's County sheriff's office.
The woman, whose name police did not release, texted her father about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday to say that Rich had been violent toward her and asked him to call police.
When sheriff's deputies arrived at the home, the woman and Rich were not there, authorities said. The woman's father had taken her to the Queen Anne's County sheriff's department himself.
Deputies and the woman's parents escorted her back to the house shortly after midnight to pick up her belongings. They found Rich and his teenage son home. Rich and the woman began to argue, authorities said, and he went to a back room in the house to retrieve a shotgun, police said.
"He came out of the room and fired one round," state police spokesman Greg Shipley said. "He then continued walking toward the deputy and was in close proximity when the suspect and the deputy exchanged gunfire."
"Both were struck by the other's gunfire, according to the preliminary investigation," Shipley said.
Rich was taken to University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown, where he was pronounced dead.
Hogan, a four-year veteran of the department, was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he was in critical condition following surgery, authorities said.
No one else was injured, they said.
The deputy was wearing a body camera during the incident. Officials said any footage will be reviewed by Maryland State Police and won't be immediately released.
Hogan was also wearing protective armor, authorities said, but the shotgun blast hit below it.
He was conscious and talking when he was admitted to Shock Trauma, Dr. Thomas Scalea said, but the injuries could take months or more to heal.
"A close-range shotgun blast is a devastating injury with a huge amount of energy transfer, and that certainly happened to this officer," Scalea said.
He described a "spreading zone" of injuries that result from a shotgun blast. He made a quarter-sized circle with his thumb and his forefinger.
"You see a gunshot wound, and the entrance wound is like that," he said.
Then he held up both hands, widening the circle to about the size of a football.
"You see a shotgun blast, and the entrance wound is like that."
Many sheriff's deputies made the trip to the Shock Trauma to be with Hogan and his family.
"He's a really great guy, and we've been here the entire time with him and his family supporting them, helping them get through this very traumatic event," Queen Anne's County Sheriff Gary Hofmann said. "His family's having a really tough time with this, as is the law enforcement family and the community."
Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis also made an appearance.
Gov. Larry Hogan, who is not related to the deputy, said he and his wife were "sending our prayers" to the deputy.
"As governor, I have been moved countless times by our police and first responders who place themselves in harm's way willingly and bravely to make our communities safer," the governor said in a statement.
Deputies served a protective order to Rich at the home in July 2015, Hofmann said. A search warrant was being executed at the house Thursday.
A Queen Anne's County sheriff's deputy and a Centreville police officer were shot to death at an Eastern Shore trailer park in 2001.
Francis Mario Zito, a 43-year-old Pennsylvania native, was convicted the following year of first-degree murder.
In February, two longtime Harford County sheriff's deputies were shot to death at a busy shopping center in Abingdon.
Baltimore Sun reporter Pamela Wood contributed to this article.
Jonathan Leahy and Hillary Kerr at their wedding at the Colony Palms Hotel in Palm Springs, Calif.CreditJaime Kowal for The New York Times
Just how music-obsessed is Hillary Kerr, the 37-year-old founder of a lifestyle-focused digital media company in Los Angeles? She can tell you what song was playing five years ago on the jukebox at the bar where she somewhat randomly met the man who became her husband. It was “These Days,” the version sung by Nico, the German singer-songwriter made famous by Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground.
Actually, the song had been playing just before she met Jonathan Leahy, now 38, on that December night in 2011 at the 4100 Bar in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. Ms. Kerr can’t remember exactly what was playing when they met because at that moment she was jumping up and down “like Tigger,” as she put it.
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Dale Black, a bass player, performing during the ceremony.CreditJaime Kowal for The New York Times
In answering the usual what-do-you-do questions, Mr. Leahy told her he was a music supervisor for “Girls,” the HBO show created by and starring Lena Dunham. That was enough to get Ms. Kerr bouncing.
“Your music has changed my life!” she told Mr. Leahy.
Mr. Leahy, who is quiet but not shy (at least he doesn’t jump up and down upon meeting people), was mesmerized.
AdvertisemContinue reading the main st“My main reaction,” he said, “was it’s a lot easier to talk to beautiful women in a bar when you’re working on a hit show.”
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The outdoor ceremony was officiated by Marshall Goldsmith, an executive coach, with the San Jacinto Mountains in the background.CreditJaime Kowal for The New York Times
They exchanged email addresses, more an act of politeness than promise. Then their soundtrack went quiet for almost a year.
Both Mr. Leahy and Ms. Kerr had active social lives, but they were focused on their careers. Mr. Leahy, who grew up in Laconia, N.H., graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. in 2000 and landed in Los Angeles later that year.
Now he is a music supervisor with Aperture Music and is joined by Manish Raval and Tom Wolfe in being responsible for the music on “Girls.” The team has also worked on films including “Trainwreck” and television series such as “New Girl.” In addition, Mr. Leahy is the music supervisor for “Survivor’s Remorse” on Starz.
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The bridegroom’s suit was designed by Valentino, and the bride’s dress by Reem Acra.CreditJaime Kowal for The New York Times
Ms. Kerr grew up in the La Jolla section of San Diego, graduated from the University of Southern California in 2000 and eventually made her way to New York, where she took a job as an assistant at Elle magazine. In 2005 she moved back to the West Coast, to Los Angeles, and with a fellow Elle alum, Katherine Power, created a company best known for its website, Who What Wear, which casts an eye on celebrity culture and fashion; it now has 13 million monthly unique visitors. Ms. Kerr and Ms. Power also started the Who What Wear clothing and accessories line sold at Target.
It was nine months after their initial meeting that Mr. Leahy emailed Ms. Kerr. He had a friend who wanted to get into the fashion industry. Ms. Kerr, Mr. Leahy and his friend met for a long, boozy brunch. They began to email and text a bit. “There was banter,” Ms. Kerr said, but neither knew the interest or intention of the other.
A few months later, she texted to ask if he could help her score a ticket to see the band Lord Huron. Mr. Leahy happens to be a friend of Ben Schneider, the band’s lead singer, and had an extra ticket. “This was one of those moments where the universe conspires to make you seem cooler than you actually are,” Mr. Leahy said. He and Ms. Kerr met up at the show.
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Jen Atkin, a celebrity hairstylist, and Joey Maalouf, a make-up artist, perfect the bride’s appearance during the reception.CreditJaime Kowal for The New York Times
That is when Mr. Leahy and Ms. Kerr moved into the ambiguous “mixtape era,” in which for months they emailed and texted each other with coy “are we just friends or what” texts revolving around music.
For example, Ms. Kerr was visiting New York and texted Mr. Leahy a request for “walking around SoHo music.”
He sent her a link to “Love Me Again,” by John Newman. It has a club vibe but romantic lyrics. “I wanted to read into it,” Ms. Kerr said, but she figured (correctly, it turns out) that her new friend was a bit of a clueless guy who didn’t spend much time thinking about how a woman might react to such a song being shared with her.
Another time he emailed her a link to a Fleetwood Mac version of “Need Your Love So Bad.” After listening to it, Ms. Kerr said, “I called my friend Katie.”
“At that time,” she continued, “I just referred to him as ‘the supervisor.’ She knew I had a crush on him. She said, ‘How can it not mean something?’”
Mr. Leahy acknowledged that it might be difficult for a person to think he was not sending Ms. Kerr a message with this song. “I sort of thought, ‘Maybe it’s too much.’” But he shared it with her anyway. (This is the same man who sent her the song “BedBedBedBedBed, Vacationer Remix,” by Deleted Scenes, “during the friend phase,” Ms. Kerr said.)
The sky at sunset. Credit Jaime Kowal for The New York Times
Ms. Kerr played the game, too. She made Mr. Leahy a mix CD (handwritten liner notes and all) that she titled “Feynman Diagrams for All,” after Mr. Leahy told her in a text conversation that he thought the idea of Feynman diagrams — in which physicists map out the interactions of subatomic particles — was romantic.
On the mix, Ms. Kerr included the Mazzy Star song “I’ve Been Let Down.” It was “a bit of an Easter egg of my actual feelings,” she said.
Around this time, Ms. Kerr texted Mr. Leahy a photo of the drink menu from a bar, the Roger Room. She had focused on a drink named for the song “Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis,” which happens to be Mr. Leahy’s favorite Tom Waits tune. “This made me rethink things a bit,” he said, adding, “Hillary Kerr was clearly not to be trifled with.”
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There were toasts all around. Credit Jaime Kowal for The New York Times
In early 2014, Mr. Leahy invited her to a Bleachers concert. The band’s lead singer is Jack Antonoff, who is Ms. Dunham’s boyfriend. Ms. Dunham was at the concert as well, and on meeting Ms. Kerr, she said, “I’ve heard so much about you.” Ms. Kerr and Mr. Leahy shared their first kiss that night. He proposed to her on Polihale Beach in Kauai, Hawaii, on Jan. 1, 2016.
On Dec. 10, 125 friends and relatives gathered in Palm Springs, Calif., at the Colony Palms Hotel, which was opened in 1936 by the reputed mobster Al Wertheimer and whose poolside guests have included Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan, Kirk Douglas and Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Ms. Kerr walked down a grassy aisle in a mountain-framed courtyard wearing a structured lace Reem Acra dress, strapless with a bustier and a full skirt. Four musicians played “Once, With Feeling,” an instrumental song Mr. Leahy wrote for Ms. Kerr.
The bride with, from left: Eva Chen, Danielle Nussbaum, Susan Cernek, Leigh Belz Ray and Jane Herman. Credit Jaime Kowal for The New York Times
.Just minutes into the cocktail reception, a few of Ms. Kerr’s best friends descended upon her. Jen Atkin, the celebrity hairstylist and social media star, started fussing with the flower she had sewn into the bride’s hair. Joey Maalouf, the celebrity makeup artist who is a creator of the get-your-makeup-done-at-home service the Glam App, whipped out a tube of lip gloss and reapplied it to the bride’s pucker. He had done her makeup. “The look we went for is sickeningly stunning and perfect,” he said.
Guests mingled over drinks by the pool, which was framed by banquette tables lit from above by strings of bulbs. The sky turned pink before the stars appeared, and guests snapped photos and shared them with the hundreds of thousands who follow these members of the fashion-music illuminati (#imwithkerr and #letsgetleahyed).
“This looks like it’s art directed,” Eva Chen, the head of fashion partnerships for Instagram, said as she took it all in. She had worked as an assistant at Elle with Ms. Kerr.
With music so important to the bride and groom, dancing was a big part of the reception. Rick Redick, at right, dipped his partner, Kelly Goldsmith Shriner, as Melinda Kollus looks on. Credit Jaime Kowal for The New York Times
Friends of both the bride and the groom celebrated what they saw as a great match, based on passion not only for each other but also for music. Leigh Belz Ray, the features and news director at InStyle, was another former Elle colleague who made the trip. “Hillary loves music, and it’s not just a casual thing,” Ms. Ray said. “We used to say the ultimate fantasy was to become a music director, and now she’s married to one.”
After a romantic first dance to Solomon Burke’s “If You Need Me,” Mr. and Mrs. Leahy (she will use her maiden name professionally) settled into several hours of serious dancing to songs spun by a D.J.
And before they left for their Hawaiian honeymoon, Mr. Leahy completed his first important act as husband. He pulled together many of the songs that could be considered the soundtrack to their romance and made his wife a mixtape.
On This Day
When Dec. 10, 2016
Where Colony Palms Hotel, Palm Springs, Calif.
Flora The bride and groom were married under a white birch trellis, because white birch is the state tree of New Hampshire, where Mr. Leahy grew up and where his parents, Richard and Marie Leahy, reside. The structure was wrapped in white peonies, Sahara roses and camellia greens.
Readings Mr. Leahy’s family is Roman Catholic; Ms. Kerr’s parents, John and Carole Kerr, are more spiritual than religiously observant. Many of the guests had an artistic bent. The bride and groom planned accordingly. Marshall Goldsmith, an executive coach, author and lifelong family friend of Ms. Kerr, officiated. Friends and relatives stood to read poems from James Kavanaugh and Mary Oliver, as well as a passage from the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. “A little Catholic priest, a little lesbian Pulitzer Prize winner, a little equal rights for all,” Ms. Kerr explained after the ceremony.
