The Glitterati in Switzerland

THE GLITTERATI IN SWITZERLAND - There were many entertainers who made their homes on the shores of Lake Geneva; the list is impressively long and star-studded: David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Keith Richards, Christopher Lee, Van Johnson, Nol Coward, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Elizabeth Taylor, Roger Moore, Richard Burton, Alistair MacLean, Peter Ustinov, Audrey Hepburn, Yul Brynner, William Holden, Capucine, Coco Chanel, Georges Simenon, Charlie Chaplin, Graham Greene, George Sanders, James Mason, Vladimir Nabokov and many others; all international artists whose work continues to dazzle. They were rightly called the Glitterati: their lives were glamorous, dramatic and headline-grabbing. But, if they believed they could escape professional pressures and lead quiet, orderly existences in Switzerland, they soon found out they would have to think again. David Bowie: his open marriage led to a Swiss divorce. Keith Richards: entered a Swiss clinic to come off heroin. Christopher Lee: saw the mountains reach the foot of his bed. Van Johnson: his violent behaviour caused his wife to leave. Nol Coward: 'Boxers' with Niv began with Bloody Marys la gare. David Niven: his wife refused to be buried with him. Princess Diana: loved to ski but was homesick for England. Peter Sellers: his chalet was a fortress of technology and garden gnomes. Elizabeth Taylor: loved and lived with several husbands in Gstaad. Roger Moore: fell out with David Niven's widow on the eve of the funeral.