Hotelier Leona Helmsley Dies at 87

[Cooley Hurd]

Source: AP/Yahoo

NEW YORK - Leona Helmsley, the hotelier who went to prison as a tax cheat and was reviled as the "queen of mean," died Monday at age 87.

Helmsley died of heart failure at her summer home in Greenwich, Conn., said her publicist, Howard Rubenstein.

Helmsley and her husband, Harry, ran a $5 billion real estate empire that included managing the Empire State Building. She was tried in 1989 on tax evasion charges in a sensational trial that included testimony from disgruntled employees who said she terrorized both menial and executive help at her homes and hotels.

Her image was sealed when a former housekeeper testified that she heard Helmsley say: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070820/ap_on_re_us/obit_helmsley;_ylt=Aun99W517CjB2KAZlYuB.TOs0NUE

---

Too bad, she was SUCH a sweet lady...:sarcasm:

[Warpy]

1. I hope that at the end

she realized she really couldn't take any of it with her, and how little it all really meant.

Death, what a terrible imposition on such an important woman's time and talent.

[UpInArms]

2. "Only the little people pay taxes." ~ Leona Helmsley -- eom

[MADem]

36. The accompaniment to that is "Everybody dies!!" or "Ya can't take it wid' ya!" nt

[shain from kane]

3. I thought she died in prison. My condolences to Sherman. n/t

[reichstag911]

20. Sherman?!?

:spray:

[shain from kane]

27. You know, ran a string of dry cleaners, moved on up to the East Side. They were related, weren't

they?

[MADem]

37. George Jefferson? AKA Weezie's husband?

[shain from kane]

39. Sorry, I meant Sherman Hemsley. Not Helmsley. No relation. Never mind. n/t

[Rhiannon12866]

48. Somehow, I think that Sherman Helmsley would be insulted at the asssociation...

Him, I always liked... I even watched "Amen." :D

[reichstag911]

60. In all seriousness,...

...sophomore year of college I used to spend 4-day weekends at the estate in CT that landed Leona in the clink! She and Harry bought it from a college friend of mine's father. Nice digs. Dunnellen Hall at 521 Round Hill Rd., Greenwich, CT. Google Earth it.

[reichstag911]

59. What's our third president got to do with...

...Leona Helmsley? :crazy:

[reichstag911]

58. Moved on up...

...to a deluxe apartment in the sky, right? :P

[rasputin1952]

4. The "Queen of Mean" has left this plane for a more ethereal one...

I guess this planet is a tad better off.

Everybody dies, she just took some time from when her soul died, until her body followed.

[tanyev]

5. Wonder if she thought only the little people had to die?

[mwb970]

10. You took the words right off my keyboard!

No sympathy here. Good riddance.

[NJCher]

52. wine, meet keyboard

Wonder if she thought only the little people had to die?

Too funny.
:rofl:




Cher

[spinbaby]

6. I know a guy who had a cat named after her

Miss Helmsley was the nastiest cat imaginable. She lived with him for over a decade after he lured her into the house, but he was never able to touch her. The other cats didn't like her, either.

[HughBeaumont]

7. Wish I could say I'm sad about this, but I'm not.

Her heartless and acidic viewpoint of the "little people" sealed it for me.

Let's give condolences to her family.

Her . . . not so much.

[atreides1]

8. Two Words

Big Whoops!

[UpInArms]

50. I looked to see if you said

"buh - bye!"

:hi:

[0007]

9. I wonder if junior & Laura will attend the funeral? Will the services

be at St. Patrick's Cathedral or The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine?
:sarcasm:
:sarcasm::sarcasm:
:sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm:

[bluestateguy]

11. My condolences

to all of the people who suffered working for her and all of the people hurt by her flagrant violations of the law.

[mcscajun]

12. She follows 3rd husband Harry, who passed ten years ago, and who

had a nickname (at least up in The Bronx (NY) where he was univerally loathed) and which is unprintable at DU, or in the NY Times. Colorful, unusual, but unprintable.

[Occulus]

19. Aw, c'mon, show us the goods!

If it's racist or something, just let us know it's not your term and you never used it on anyone.

Just... just... don't TEASE us like that! :)

(only half sarcasm- I never knew that little tidbit you posted, and I'm deeply curious how bad a word could possibly be)

Oh, I might be able to ask someone I work with instead; he would have been living in that area about then...

[mcscajun]

21. It's not racist, not my term, but heard in The Bronx years ago.

Sorry, I can't break the rules here, and sorry if it comes off as teasing.

Suffice it to say he was NOT a well-liked man, nor was she an admired woman.

[gratuitous]

13. I, for one, am shocked

She died of heart failure.

[evilkumquat]

15. Let Me Be the First to Say It Here:

She died of heart failure...?

You mean... she HAD A HEART...???

Yeah, you all knew that crappy, predictable joke was coming.

I am just glad I got it off here, first.

Evil Kumquat

[Mad_Dem_X]

56. I knew somebody would say that! n/t

[DinahMoeHum]

14. Leona Helmsley - ANAGRAM - One Measly Hell

:evilgrin:

[nealmhughes]

16. Noted and then discarded, much like the pins holding down my new shirt's collar.

Following the adage of not speaking ill of the dead, I shan't speak of it at all.

[MilesColtrane]

17. Holy Crap.

I had no idea she sued her son's widow for his estate.

That could be the scummiest thing I've ever heard.

I don't think having vast amounts of money makes people assholes, but it sure makes them bigger ones.

She'll probably be reincarnated in Sudan.

[LeFleur1]

18. Re: Only the Little People Pay Taxes

Yeah, Leona said it, but all of those rich crooks think it. Their actions prove it. Her opinion on paying taxes is by no means a solitary one. Her mistake was speaking the belief outloud so all of the little people could hear it. Most of the wheeler dealer corporate tax evaders know enough to keep their mouths shut.

[ronnykmarshall]

26. What an evil heartless creature.

The article also says that her son' widow was financially ruined because of it.

[colorado_ufo]

49. AND, note the number of children/grandchildren!

I think she only had one child, so these unbelievable actions affected all subsequent generations! On the bright side, they were never indebted to her or affected by her money.

[Donnachaidh]

33. don't assume she'll be back in human form

After all the vileness she unleashed on the world, I'm inclined to believe she'll come back as a dung beetle. :shrug:

[BonnieJW]

40. Yep, she did.

Left his widow and FOUR of her own grandchildren penniless. They were the only grandchildren she had and by doing this lost all contact with them. She now has 12 great grandchildren and I'm betting she never saw any of them.

[sandyj999]

22. Her Heart Failed Years Ago....

I think she just "nastied" away.

[Dukkha]

23. can she claim her death on her 2008 return?

bye.

[ronnykmarshall]

24. Such warm, and loving woman.

[kestrel91316]

29. Leona Helmsley and Cruella DeVille: separated at birth.

[smirkymonkey]

30. Please warn us before frightening us like that!

:scared:

[mountainvue]

45. She looks like The Joker. n/t

[havocmom]

25. Her arrival in Hell probably lowered the temp there by 10 degrees

Wonder if she thought only the little people die too.

[kestrel91316]

28. Her gravestone needs to read:

"Only the LITTLE PEOPLE pay taxes."

Lest we EVER forget.

[devilgrrl]

31. Gee, what a drag.

:sarcasm:

[ronnykmarshall]

32. I know ..

I haven't stopped crying since I heard. Oh wait, that's laughing!

[NJCher]

54. and...and...

I had just gotten over the death of Jerry Falwell. And now this!



Cher

[rocktivity]

34. Story of her life

She almost didn't get her start as a model--she was rejected for being too flat-chested. So she went home, got a new hairdo, stuffed her bra, and re-applied the next day claiming she was her sister!

:headbang:
rocknation

[Itchinjim]

35. Poster girl for the Reagan '80s

Typified the "I got mine, screw you Jack" attitude nurtured by St. Ronnie. I bet Leona and the Gipper are comparing notes in Hell right now.

[Twillig]

41. "I got mine, screw you Jack" --That is not how they think actually.

For some 'people' it's "I got mine, give me yours."

I read once where Heller said to Vonnegut (two famously well-to-do authors) about some
grossly rich greed-head. "I've got something he'll never have."

"Enough."

[Seabiscuit]

38. The "Queen of Mean" is off to find a new sugar daddy.

[Kagemusha]

42. What is it they say? Only the good die young?

Reading this headline almost makes be believe it.

[shain from kane]

46. "Live fast, die hard and leave behind a good looking corpse." She failed. Of course, she didn't

have much looks to work with. Been ugly for a long time.

[Skittles]

53. but then you remember Lee Atwater

:puke:

[NJCher]

57. interesting

That they both died at the age of 87.



Cher

[superconnected]

43. a drop in the bucket considering her billions --->

"The Helmsleys' financial excesses overshadowed millions in contributions for medical research and other causes. In recent years, she contributed $25 million to New York Presbyterian Hospital, $5 million to Katrina relief and $5 million after Sept. 11 to help the families of firefighters.

Yet Helmsley nickel-and-dimed merchants on her personal purchases, stiffed contractors who worked on her Connecticut home and terrorized both menial and executive help at her homes and hotels, detractors say."

[dweller]

44. and so it goes ... n/t

dp

[Rhiannon12866]

47. K&R. Hope that this prompts the Suzanne Pleshette TVM...

I got a kick out of that, with the fake teeth and all, and I always liked the actress...:D

[flamingyouth]

51. Well, it's refreshing to see a celebrity death we can all agree on.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

55. Bet the chocolate on her pillow in Hell melted!!!

:rofl:

[Seabiscuit]

61. If there is a Hell, Helmsely reserved herself a special place in it with her word and deeds.

Of course, Hell is nothing but a fabrication utilized by those who feel the need for revenge against those they were powerless against in life.

So Leona will have to construct her own special hell in the afterlife, if there is one.

Then again, the notion of an "afterlife" is nothing more than a fabrication utilized by those unhappy with the life they've lived on Earth.

So, WTF? Maybe Leona Helmsley is just finally, gone forever, thank God.

But that assumes there's a God. The notion of a "God" is nothing more than...........

:evilgrin: