VANITY FAIR

No 420

August 1995

Features

PLAGUE WARRIORS As families and hospital workers hemorrhaged to death, a SWAT team of medical experts from around the world converged on Kikwit, Zaire, to try to stem the bloody contagion of the Ebola virus. At the center of the epidemic, Laurie Garrett charts the horrifying progress of the disease and describes the epic courage of the men and women fighting this mysterious, relentless killer. 85

YOUNG AND RESTLESS Keanu Reeves continues speeding toward superstardom with the release of A Walk in the Clouds, his first foray into big-time sensuality. Michael Shnayerson traces Reeves's excellent adventures thus far—the rock 'n' roll nights, the family trauma, and the Buddhist meditations of Hollywood's ever doubting, like, Hamlet. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz. 94

MARY, QUEEN OF SPOTS Since the death of her spoiled and willful husband, who controlled great estates inherited from the Vanderbilts and Whitneys, Marylou Whitney has come into her own. Between her unforgettable entrances (via hot-air balloon and dogsled) and her unforgettable utterances, Michael Shnayerson finds the toast of Saratoga sparring with environmentalists over the fate of her 52,000-acre Whitney Park in the Adirondacks. Photographs by Eric Boman. 102

ALL IN THE FAMILY As Britain's Lord Shawcross serves up Life Sentence, his memoir of half a century in public life, Snowdon spotlights the celebrated Nuremberg prosecutor and his globe-trotting son, William (Sideshow) Shawcross, while Henry Porter marks their common ground. 110

THAT SINKING FEELING A ballooning budget of $200 million has made Waterworld the most expensive movie in history. Will MCA/Universal's oversize aquacade lend new meaning to the words "Dead Sea" and drown the career of its star, Kevin Costner? In a tale that never flounders, Charles Fleming explores the depths of Hollywood hubris. 112

ALICIA IN WONDERLAND Her Aerosmith videos helped make Alicia Silverstone a teenage magnet for big-screen offers. With three films opening soon, the new Lolita vamps it up with Michael Musto and Michael Roberts. 118

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WOODWARD AND ... WALSH Watergate legend Bob Woodward and fledgling reporter Elsa Walsh found love at first sight 15 years ago, in the Washington Post newsroom. Hilary Mills discovers Walsh emerging from her best-selling husband's shadow with a book of her own. Photographs by Jonathan Becker. 122

I NEVER SANG FOR MY MOTHER In her lyrics, Carly Simon hinted at family secrets—the smoldering legacies of her father, a founder of Simon & Schuster, and her beautiful, anguished mother, who kept a live-in lover. Marie Brenner gets the full story. Portrait by Brigitte Lacombe. 128

Columns

TROUBLE ON THE COURT Frank Deford backhands the men behind the stars of women's tennis, investigating a high-stakes psychodrama of greed and abuse. Photograph by Richard. Corman . 40

ON GOLDEN POND Forsaking the breaking waves, mud slides, and forest fires of Malibu, Hollywood's tycoons and leading ladies are invading the Hamptons' greenest pasture: Georgica Pond. Jennet Conant studies the habitat. Illustration by Tim Sheaffer; photographs by Jonathan Becker. 60

IF THE GLOVES FIT ... Dominick Dunne watches Ito's courtroom snap out of its DNA-induced sleep as O.J. is confronted with gruesome autopsy pictures and tries on a murderer's gloves. 64

Vanities

THE PASSION OF SALMA HAYEK Daly news; George Wayne purrs over Julie Newmar; "Naked" Nicolas Kent; Cannes camera. 75

Et Cetera

EDITOR'S LETTER: Journey to the hot zone 18

CONTRIBUTORS. 22

LETTERS: Love letters. . 30

CREDITS 161

PLANETARIUM: Hold back your roars, Leo. 162

SOCIAL STUDY: Bill Blass sews up the Proust Questionnaire . . . 164