ailing Sonia who took the White House by storm

Sad news today that Lady Sonia McMahon, widow of ex-Prime Minister Sir Billy McMahon is in the private wing of St Vincent's Hospital being treated for cancer. It's the third time Sonia has faced treatment and she has successfully fought of the disease before.
At 77 there is no keeping the much loved society figure down. Only late last year she recovered after a fall down the gangplank of media mogul Paul Ramsay's cruiser at a birthday party on Sydney Harbour and was soon back out on the party and charity circuit. Sonia is a regular at the Melbourne, Sydney and Ascot horse racing meets.

Lady Sonia at the White House with Richard Nixon

It was in 1965 when Lady Sonia and her husband Sir Billy, the then Prime Minister paid a visit to the Richard Nixon White House and the snaps of their ascent /descent of the White House stairs for a state dinner went flashing around the world making front page news as everyone asked who was the stunning 6ft blond in a revealing dress with slits up the side. The Washington Post has described the gown as the most talked about fashion item ever to be seen in Washington. That dress is now stored in the Powerhouse Museum.

Sonia was 20 years younger than Sir William when she married him in 1965 when he was 57. It has long been rumoured that Sir Billy was gay and had been advised by Liberal Party founder and Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies to marry if he wished his career in politics to advance. Lady Sonia and Sir William subsequently had 3 children.

Son Julian McMahon is a former model and the star of the US series Nip Tuck and is currently working in South Africa on the film The Smell Of Apples with Gillian Anderson.

Sonia & son Julian McMahon at Johnny Baker's funeral

Lady Sonia & Priscilla Presley

Julian fell out with Lady Sonia when against her wishes he married Danni Minogue in a short lived marriage in the late 1990's.

Sonia also faced legal battles when daughter Debra challenged the will of her late father and demanded a share of his estate. Estranged from her mother for several years, Debra turned to Spiritualism and alternative religious beliefs.
Julian has returned to Sydney to be by his mother's bed-side and was at the funeral of the late society walker Johnny Baker in August 2009 where Lady Sonia and her 3 children appeared united once again.

tabloid fantasies..

A devastating tale in the Murdoch tabloid, the Daily Telegraph of the sale of the late Johnny Baker's Edgecliff apartment.

It reports : "Now, with the passing of the legendary society "walker", Baker's executor has listed his small but fashionably located flat with expectations of $700,000 plus. Its online listing with Century 21's Tony Moses has brought an outpouring of tales."

Oh really ?. Why would a slew of society maidens-all who live in lavish Eastern Suburb's mansions give a toss about Bake's apartment being flogged ?.

The fact that Century 21 are huge advertisers with News Ltd is entirely co-incidental. Spoting free plugs for the Teles' advertisers is like looking for the endless mentions of Murdoch's cable TV channel Foxtel. Too easy.

Lady Sonia McMahon and the late Bakes.

Johnny Baker signs off

Bakes

It was a send-off Johnny Baker would have loved-particularly as he planned most of it before he passed away, nipping in the bud a small funeral followed by a large memorial weeks later on the quite reasonable grounds he wouldn't be around to attend it. Held at St Joseph's in Sydney where Baker had attended mass every morning he was in town.

A billionaire or 2, plenty from the big end of town , football players and a touch of Hollywood. The perfect 'Bakes' get-together that included many of the ladies Johnny had accompanied to endless shindigs with Ros Packer, Jane Ferguson , Ainslie Gotto, Lady Arwill, film producer Rebel Penfold Russell and Lady Sonia McMahon who was accompanied by her actor son, 'Nip Tuck' star Julian McMahon.

Lady Sonia & Julian McMahon (copyright the Shuttle)
Penne Peacock (copyright the Shuttle)

Former Texas beauty queen Penne Peacock , best pal of Laura Bush flew in for the funeral. The Duchess of Cornwall sent flowers. Tears were followed by laughter when the mega-rich Paul Ramsay told a series of anecdotes of he and Bake's world tours that started off with a chance meeting 30 years ago when Johnny said-"you've got the cash, I've got the friends, we should holiday together". And so they did 2 or 3 times a year for the next 3 decades.

It can't be said much better than Mark McGinness's excellent obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald : Discreet charms of a man about town