Interior Designer. Eccentric when it came to his own look and a charismatic personality who loved to create what people had never thought was possible. What the New York Times called a "fixture of society in Paris and New York" all began as a "daydream." Born to Jean (Rosen) and Jacob Besser, parents of modest means, Robert Dennis Besser, as he was named at birth, developed an early interest in his body and health. His mother, an insurance salesman, with a strong early interest in natural foods and healthy eating, seeded what would for her son be a lifelong dedication to fresh vegetable juice and exercise. When he was just fifteen he met Edgar de Evia who was the research assistant to Dr. Guy Beckley Stearns and would go on to become the noted photographer. He became a testing subject for this medical research and when his parents and younger brother moved to Florida he stayed in New York City living with de Evia and his mother Miirrha Alhambra. He would often say that he saw his first lampshade in this home, as he grew up with a bare bulb being adequate. When de Evia became established in photography, as his business and life partner, he was also part of an elegant and glamorous lifestyle. Andy Warhol, a dinner guest at the Rhinelander Mansion several times in the nineteen fifties, did a painting of him. Meeting the mother of Monty Clift at Sunny Health Bar would lead to a lasting friendship with "Aunt Sunny" and "Uncle Bill" who would have dinner in the de Evia home. Melvin Sokolsky would later describe meeting him at the gym and said "I discovered that Edgar was paid $4000 for a Jell-O ad, and the idea of escaping from my tenement dwelling became an incredible dream and inspiration." This partnership would flourish for almost two decades from the Rhinelander mansion at 867 Madison Avenue in New York City to "Quiet Corner" on Hill Road in Greenwich, Connecticut, the home of Clyde Fitch. It was on this base that he and the late Vincent Fourcade, grandson to the French banking family, and named an Archetectural Digest "Legend," built their new business. From 1960 the firm of Denning & Fourcade would become known for colorful extravagance and over the top opulence. Clients beginning with the Ogden Phipps family; Henry Kravis, whose home, and their decorating, was parodied in the 1990 movie "Bonfire of the Vanities" with Tom Hanks; Jayne and Charles Wrightsman; Henry Kissinger; Oscar de la Renta and Jean Vanderbilt, to name only a few, began to roll in. Soon they were established and known for creating an established and 'old money' atmosphere anywhere. For thirty years they were courted on both sides of the Atlantic. He kept the fragrance Sous Le Vent in his automobiles to remind him of Lillian Bostwick Phipps who always wore the scent. He 'reinvented' himself to use his own word, after Fourcade's death from AIDS in 1992 Taking a lighter approach with more emphasis on effect and comfort than signed pieces of furniture, he used to laugh at how he would coach his early clients with decorating their children and grandchildren's homes. He was listed in the AD100, top hundred decorators by Architectural Digest for a number of years and his jobs appeared not only in their pages, but those of every major magazine with home interiors. During the last decade of his life he tired of Paris, giving up his home there and was content in the familiar surroundings of his home and offices in the Lombardy Hotel in New York City. Continuing to go to the gym every day of the week he would insist that his personal trainers push his limits. His abs, he would brag, were tighter in his seventies than they had ever been. He and Edgar de Evia would continue to use a private language with made-up words, much as Ben Affleck and brother Gerry, and were constant dinner companions until the latter's death at 92 in 2003. A self made man, from his early change of name, to a nose job before he was twenty, he never hesitated to change with the knife what exercise alone could not accomplish. From the bare light bulb which was sufficient in his childhood, he would become the lord of lighting and atmosphere for the wealthy with fringe on every lampshade. His impact will live on in private homes and his rooms that are today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He died in his apartment in New York City.
Interior Designer. Eccentric when it came to his own look and a charismatic personality who loved to create what people had never thought was possible. What the New York Times called a "fixture of society in Paris and New York" all began as a "daydream." Born to Jean (Rosen) and Jacob Besser, parents of modest means, Robert Dennis Besser, as he was named at birth, developed an early interest in his body and health. His mother, an insurance salesman, with a strong early interest in natural foods and healthy eating, seeded what would for her son be a lifelong dedication to fresh vegetable juice and exercise. When he was just fifteen he met Edgar de Evia who was the research assistant to Dr. Guy Beckley Stearns and would go on to become the noted photographer. He became a testing subject for this medical research and when his parents and younger brother moved to Florida he stayed in New York City living with de Evia and his mother Miirrha Alhambra. He would often say that he saw his first lampshade in this home, as he grew up with a bare bulb being adequate. When de Evia became established in photography, as his business and life partner, he was also part of an elegant and glamorous lifestyle. Andy Warhol, a dinner guest at the Rhinelander Mansion several times in the nineteen fifties, did a painting of him. Meeting the mother of Monty Clift at Sunny Health Bar would lead to a lasting friendship with "Aunt Sunny" and "Uncle Bill" who would have dinner in the de Evia home. Melvin Sokolsky would later describe meeting him at the gym and said "I discovered that Edgar was paid $4000 for a Jell-O ad, and the idea of escaping from my tenement dwelling became an incredible dream and inspiration." This partnership would flourish for almost two decades from the Rhinelander mansion at 867 Madison Avenue in New York City to "Quiet Corner" on Hill Road in Greenwich, Connecticut, the home of Clyde Fitch. It was on this base that he and the late Vincent Fourcade, grandson to the French banking family, and named an Archetectural Digest "Legend," built their new business. From 1960 the firm of Denning & Fourcade would become known for colorful extravagance and over the top opulence. Clients beginning with the Ogden Phipps family; Henry Kravis, whose home, and their decorating, was parodied in the 1990 movie "Bonfire of the Vanities" with Tom Hanks; Jayne and Charles Wrightsman; Henry Kissinger; Oscar de la Renta and Jean Vanderbilt, to name only a few, began to roll in. Soon they were established and known for creating an established and 'old money' atmosphere anywhere. For thirty years they were courted on both sides of the Atlantic. He kept the fragrance Sous Le Vent in his automobiles to remind him of Lillian Bostwick Phipps who always wore the scent. He 'reinvented' himself to use his own word, after Fourcade's death from AIDS in 1992 Taking a lighter approach with more emphasis on effect and comfort than signed pieces of furniture, he used to laugh at how he would coach his early clients with decorating their children and grandchildren's homes. He was listed in the AD100, top hundred decorators by Architectural Digest for a number of years and his jobs appeared not only in their pages, but those of every major magazine with home interiors. During the last decade of his life he tired of Paris, giving up his home there and was content in the familiar surroundings of his home and offices in the Lombardy Hotel in New York City. Continuing to go to the gym every day of the week he would insist that his personal trainers push his limits. His abs, he would brag, were tighter in his seventies than they had ever been. He and Edgar de Evia would continue to use a private language with made-up words, much as Ben Affleck and brother Gerry, and were constant dinner companions until the latter's death at 92 in 2003. A self made man, from his early change of name, to a nose job before he was twenty, he never hesitated to change with the knife what exercise alone could not accomplish. From the bare light bulb which was sufficient in his childhood, he would become the lord of lighting and atmosphere for the wealthy with fringe on every lampshade. His impact will live on in private homes and his rooms that are today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He died in his apartment in New York City.
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
There is no plot information for this memorial. Your photo request is more likely to be fulfilled if you contact the cemetery to get the plot information and include it with your request.
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.