Leon Bing is a family friend I used to deeply idolize when I
was a kid. I was too young to know her
biography or to have read any of her books, but what I admired about her was
her artistic lifestyle, her cool house with the pretty knickknacks and her
devil may care personality and beautiful clothes. I managed to figure out Twitter well enough
to get back in touch with her recently, and to ask for this great and
enlightening interview, which includes the best beauty tip I’ve ever heard, a
must-do for renegade girls!
Ms. Bing is a model turned writer who worked with iconic
fashion designer and gay activist Rudi Gernreich in the 1960’s, and later became a journalist
for L.A. Weekly, before writing several critically acclaimed non-fiction
books. Much of her personal history is
covered in her memoir, Swans and Pistols: Modeling, Motherhood, and Making It in the Me
Generation, so our interview focuses more on preferences and inspirations.
What were
your favorite and least favorite things about modeling?
Favorite thing about modeling: getting the clothes I
showed at a discounted price. Oh – and my hourly rate, which was pretty
damn good. And, of course: being paid to show off.
Least favorite things: Not very many. I had a
good career and I knew that was a lucky break. Modeling, contrary to
what many people think, is a fairly easy gig. Show up on time. Hope for a great dresser who will get you out
on the runway on time and looking good. Keep your hair well trimmed and
clean and don’t gossip in the dressing room.
What were
your favorite and least favorite things about the social scene of the 1960s?
I liked the fact that I could pretty much pick and
choose socially, and since I’m not an avid party-goer, I mostly just hung with
my friends. I didn’t like when guys asked me out only because I was a
model. Those jerks never scored.
You are a
strong, smart and successful woman – I am unsure if you’d consider yourself a
feminist, now or in the 60’s, so instead of that term I’ll use “empowered,” and
ask you this – what was it like to be an empowered woman in the 60’s in the
fashion world?
I don’t know if I was “empowered”, but I was treated very,
very well when I was working in fashion in the 60’s. I always felt
respected both as a woman and as a model.
Do you have
any story from your modeling and/or social career that you’d like to share that
you think was just a perfect, crazy and typifying moment in time?
No single moment. But a couple of doozies show up in
the memoir. Well, more like shockers.
How do you
feel about contemporary culture? What
are your favorite recent films, writers, bands, fashion designer?
I’m okay with contemporary culture, even though I bitch a
lot. But then, I always did. About my favorite films and writers,
et al: I have rather catholic tastes: I very much like Hilary
Mantel, Joan Didion, Antonia Fraser, Scott Turow, and David Sedaris. I
re-read Henry James often. For films? That’s a little
tougher. Lot of dreck out there lately. The last movie I liked was The
Iron Lady; Meryl Streep was great as Margaret Thatcher (whose ultra
conservatism drove me nuts). Just ordered the series House of
Cards on Netflix. Saw the PBS version years ago and loved it.
For TV, although you didn’t ask: I’ve seen every episode of The
Sopranos more than twice, and wept when James Gandolfini
died. I also like Breaking Bad. Favorite bands:
Florence and the Machine, and everything Van Morrison has ever sung.
Fashion designer? Three: the late, great Gernreich, Armani and
Donna Karan. Great tailoring is as
important as design. But I pretty much live in beat-up 501’s, t-shirts,
and boys’ pajama bottoms and wife-beaters when the weather is too damn hot.
What is your
favorite book you’ve written and why?
Favorite book I’ve written is Do or Die. Probably
because A: it was the first book about the L.A. gangs, B: it’s never been out
of print, and C: because it’s still relevant.
When you were
interviewing members of the rival Los Angeles-based gangs the Bloods and the
Crips, for your 1992 book Do or Die, did you ever come to feel
completely at ease with those you spent time with on a regular basis? Could you say you grew to genuinely like any
of the gang members, and vice versa? And
did getting to know them have any impact on your ethical stances; for instance,
were you 100% anti-violence until you saw how it can be a necessity for some
people, or any ethical changes like that?
Yeah, I was at ease with the gang members (both Crips and
Bloods) I interviewed and got to know. I made some good friends and am
still in touch with some of the guys. One just got married to the sweetest
girl; he’s been in prison for nearly twenty years (sentenced at 18) and I love
him like a son. He’s up for parole soon, and we’re hoping...
What gave you
the idea for your book Smoked: About
the Kids Next Door? Did it start with
a sociological interest in the lives of affluent youth, or did an interest in
them grow from hearing their story in the news?
Smoked started out as an assignment from my editor
(Bob Love) at Rolling Stone. But then HarperCollins wanted it as a
book. I wish I’d done more research on that one; it could and should have
been a better book.
Does
your book Wrongful Death, A: One Child's Fatal Encounter
with Public Health and Private Greed, about a young
teen who commits suicide while supposedly being closely watched in a
psychiatric facility, feel like an extension of the themes in Do or Die
and Smoked? I see a motif of
youth in distress in all 3 books, for instance, and I wonder if this is a particular
instance of yours?
I guess there is a theme of youth in distress in my first
three books, but the real reason for writing A Wrongful Death was
my outrage at corporate greed. Christy Scheck’s tragic death while on a
suicide watch in one of those for-profit psychiatric units was the heart of the
story, and I extrapolated from there.
Did you enjoy
working as a journalist for L.A. Weekly?
Do you read that publication, and if so, any thoughts? (Personally, I’m really disappointed in the
sloppiness of a lot of their blog journalists’ writing. I used to love reading it when I was a
teenager, but ever since a shockingly blasé treatment of journalist Lara
Logan’s sexual assault at the hands of several Egyptian protesters during the
time of Mubarak’s overthrow, I haven’t respected it as a paper anymore.)
I truly enjoyed (and was very lucky) to do my first pieces
of journalism for the L.A. Weekly. I had a brilliant editor -- Eric
Mankin – and I worked with a great photographer,
Howard Rosenberg, who remains one of my closest
friends. There’s a whole chapter about breaking in as a writer in Swans
and Pistols.
What are you
working on these days?
I’m currently at work on a long piece about an ex-bullshark
of a gangbanger who has turned his life around in a nearly unbelievable
way.
You’ve stayed
so, so beautiful and glamorous. Any
fashion or beauty tips to pass along?
I don’t know about “beautiful and glamorous” (I’ll have to
remember that the next time Gareth Seigel (my Mister for nearly 11 years:
smart, gorgeous, and an extraordinary photographer and person who makes me pee
my pants laughing) but my biggest beauty tip is NEVER use soap on your face
and/or neck. Just Lubriderm and a warm washcloth. Filth would seem
to be the answer here. Filth, and a great sex life.
Any thoughts
you’d like to leave us with?
I guess my parting shot would have to be this: If you
want something badly enough, then go after it with everything you’ve got.
Just make sure you can deliver the goods.
