“A Feast, Texas-Sized,” from the New York Times, February 7, 1984 © 1984 The New York Times. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the copyright laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this content without express written permission is prohibited.
Diana McLellan, Diana Hears column, Washington Times (February 2, 1984). Copyright © 1984 The Washington Times LLC. This reprint does not constitute or imply any endorsement or sponsorship of any product, service, company, or organization.
Marge Crumbaker, “Herring-Davis Wedding Truly a Glamorous Affair,” Houston Post (August 13, 1985). Reprinted by permission.
Marge Crumbaker, “Joanne Herring to Wed Millionaire Lloyd Davis,” Houston Post (July 12, 1985). Reprinted by permission.
Stacy Meier, “A Honeymoon around the World in Six Weeks,” Dallas Morning News (August 19, 1985). Reprinted by permission of reference editor.
“Charlie Wilson’s War: Meet Charlie’s Better Half,” Telegraph (January 2008). © Telegraph Media Group Limited 2008. Reprinted by permission.
“The Woman Who Waged Charlie Wilson’s War Lends Her Skills to Red Cross Women Leaders.” Houston Red Cross press release. Reprinted by permission of Red Cross of Greater Houston.
Invitation from Mr. and Mrs. John Schiller to prescreening reception of Charlie Wilson’s War. Reprinted by permission.
“Belle of the Cold War,” Houston Chronicle. Reprinted by permission.
The Quaid-i-azam award—the highest honor Pakistan gives to a civilian. It means “great leader.” I never dreamed of being decorated for my services. Much less having two important ambassadors give me parties to celebrate! This moment was special to me because of the friends who cared and came. In this photo are four of the top figures of my life and the time (l–r): Ann Duncan, wife of Energy Secretary Charles Duncan; Alan Shepard in the back, the first American in space; Robin King, who made the Afghan documentary that got Washington interested, and Henry Kissinger. (Joanne Herring Personal Collection.)
Julia Roberts played me in Charlie Wilson’s War, and for the Los Angeles premiere, I borrowed an emerald necklace. I was humbled by Julia Roberts’s unassuming star power and blinded by the flashbulbs. (Robin King)
At the Los Angeles premiere of Charlie Wilson’s War, December 10, 2007. I loved my borrowed “jools.” Mmmm—green, the color of money. (David Gabber/PR Photos)
My grandmother Ruth McGill holding my mother, Maelan McGill.
My father, William Dunlap Johnson, captain of the football team at Texas A&M University, was the first All-American from the Southwest Conference. The hero of my life.
The three-year-old future ambassador to Pakistan. From little girl to honorary man?
The River Oaks Elementary School class of 1938. I’m the ugly duckling in the first row, fifth from the left. I was the tallest, skinniest child in the class, male or female. (Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library)
In high school, things got better. The ugly duckling began to change.
Bridal portrait from my first marriage, to Bob King, in front of the fireplace of the family home. (GH Gittings Archive)
COPYRIGHT HOUSTON CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
In my natural habitat—in front of the mahogany wood bar in our Rivercrest home. This photo, part of a photo shoot from the Houston Chronicle, won an international photography contest. (Jim Johnson)
COPYRIGHT HOUSTON CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
“Pardon me, Princess! I’m the ‘King’ around here,” Coke, our lab, seems to be saying as I mount the stairs of our Rivercrest home with Princess Grace and Prince Rainier. (Jim Cox)
Deep in “debauchery” at the orgy. From the Roman holiday party I gave in 1959, before I started giving parties with a purpose. Covered in Life magazine, Bob King and I are dining on a roman couch.
“The King who was queen.” That’s what the press called me when I started my TV career. This is my publicity photo for Channel 11.
The icon, Barbara Walters, and me. She was, and is, wonderful.
I’m dressed as Marie Antoinette, making my own French connection.
Mardi Gras photo of me on the set of the movie The Thief Who Came to Dinner, filmed in Houston. They cut my scene, but I still get $1.68 every time it plays!
COPYRIGHT 1966 HOUSTON CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Houston Chronicle photo of Majia, my horse, and me in the Rain in Spain outfit I wore at the Feria of Seville with Princess Grace and Jackie O. (Roger Powers)
Dancing into the future, as I began the Bob Herring years. Here I’m in front of the stairway of our River Oaks home, looking over my shoulder, but never looking back. (Peter Moody Meyer)
The King (Bob Herring) and I with King Hussein of Jordan. He had an entourage of fifty men so I invited fifty beautiful women, who came from all over the world. My invitations to Jordan were fervent.
His Majesty Hassan II of Morocco, wearing the white hat.
Prince Saud, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, is one of the handsomest and most brilliant men I have ever met. (Copyright 1976/Jimolivephotography.com)
General Zia, president of Pakistan, was one of the greatest minds and kindest hearts I ever encountered. He was a great friend of the United States and a champion of free enterprise for his people.
Somewhere, among the mujahideen. My eight-foot-tall bodyguard complete with captured Kalashnikov. (Robin King)
At the White House with the Reagans. It was the first night they introduced the controversial new china. I felt the controversy was ridiculous because their friends paid for it.
With my parents and my sons, Beau and Robin, the night Bob and I were named Cultural Leaders of the Year. Sadly, Bob was too ill to attend. It was an empty evening without him. I used the opportunity to speak on free enterprise, to the delight of the audience, who felt the talk was well-timed and needed as the Soviets were moving. (Betty Jukes)
My broken leg, broken heart, and broken dreams begin to mend at a party in Denmark with Ambassador John Loeb and Her Majesty, the Queen of Denmark. (Ambassador John Loeb)
Laughing again with Charlie Wilson (l) and Senator John Tower (r) at the Paris Air Show. (John W. Craddock Jr.)
Nancy Reagan checks my dress (because it resembles hers). Ronald Reagan shakes hands with Charlie Wilson.
My favorite president, George H.W. Bush.
On Air Force Two with Vice President George H.W. Bush.
With President George H.W. Bush, President George W. Bush, and Governor Jeb Bush at the Bush Ranch in Crawford, Texas. (Joanne Amos / Reflections Photography / Washington, D.C.)
Front row, third from the right, among these amazing women—Barbara Walters; Liz Smith; Beverly Sills; Nancy Kissinger; Carolina Herrera; Marva Collins; Ann Fowler Arledge; Comtesse Michel d’Ornano, mayor of Deauville; Duchess of Bedford; Hillie Merritt Mahoney; Me; Helen Boehm; and Shirley Lord Rosenthal. (Birmingham Southern College)
H.R.H. Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia was the star of a banquet given for me by the marine commandant and Mrs. P.X. Kelly. I gave my best Washington party for the prince and his wife, Princess Haifa. Please read the articles about the party in chapter 22. You’ll laugh, I promise.
In the arms of my last husband, Lloyd Davis, on our around-the-world honeymoon—in a yurt in Mongolia, with all the yak butter we could eat.
Calendar photo of me and a couple of salukis from the movie Charlie Wilson’s War, in which two greyhounds escort Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks (playing me and Charlie Wilson) upstairs. (Brett Chisholm)
Walking into the surprise dinner dance my “brother” Larry Brookshire gave for me to celebrate the Texas premiere of the movie Charlie Wilson’s War. (Jillhunterphotography.com)
Saying good-bye at Charlie’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery, February 23, 2010. My final farewell. Everyone from t
he whole of Charlie Wilson’s War stayed back with us and waited patiently. When the Wilson family left the gravesite, all of us stood on the pathway reminiscing as, one by one, each major player went up to Charlie’s casket to say good-bye alone. I was touched by everyone’s love on that cold, gray day. (Paul Erikson)
HRH Prince Jean de France at Houston luncheon where the money was raised to fund the model village. Penny Lloyd, HRH, Joanne Herring, Susan Krohn, and Margaret Alkek Williams. Houston raised the money! (Michelle Watson/CatchLight Group)
Beau King as a young adult on the ski slopes. My daredevil son! (Stanisse King)
Portrait of my precious family—Beau, Stanisse, and my grandsons, Beau and Beckett. (Stanisse King)
Robin with the mujahideen in Afghanistan, making the film that engaged Charlie Wilson in the Afghan war. (Joanne King Herring)
Charlie Fawcett and my son Robin King at the movie premiere of Courage Is Our Weapon. It was that film by my son Robin that opened wide the eyes of the world to the reality of the Soviet atrocities in Afghanistan.
COPYRIGHT HOUSTON CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Robin King, who made the film that changed the world, in front of the family home—the Mount Vernon replica that he purchased from the family trust when he was twenty-nine years old. (Betty Tichich)
Contents
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Dedication
Acknowledgments
1. Julia Roberts Played Me… the Bipolar Tart
2. Uncle George, Me, and Revolutions
3. Duckling with Dyslexia
4. Swan with Swain
5. What Southern Girls Do: We Get Married
6. A Brush with Death and New Life
7. A Roman Orgy
8. The Fairy Tale Becomes Untrue
9. Dining on Dead Deer
10. King of the Airwaves
11. Chased, Chaste, and Conquering Spain
12. Real Royalty, the Ritz, and the French Connection
13. Kings of Heart
14. Dilemmas: Divorce, Debt, Dates, and Bangladesh
15. Bob Herring: A Great Man Is Hard to Find
16. The Mating Dance of the Whooping Crane
17. Exotic Adventure in the Middle East
18. They Called Me “Sir”
19. Cross-Dressing in Afghanistan
20. When Dreams Die
21. Laughing Again… with the Wildest Man in Texas
22. Bye-Bye, Charlie
23. Down the Rabbit Hole
24. Red-Carpet Ready
25. Afghanistan… Again
Afterword
Permissions
Photo Insert
Copyright
Copyright
As with all books, this one contains the opinions and ideas of the author. It is intended to tell her life story as she best remembers it, and any confusion in regard to names, dates, or locations is unintentional. The author, writer, and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any inaccuracies in the events, names, dates, and places cited in this book.
Copyright © 2011 by Joanne King Herring
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Permissions information appears here.
Center Street
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com
www.twitter.com/centerstreet
Center Street is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Center Street name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
First eBook Edition: October 2011
ISBN: 978-1-599-95382-3
Diplomacy and Diamonds Page 24