The Shepherd & His Lambs

The touch distinctly recalled 18th century Versailles. But in the jet age, sailing by flower-bedecked barges to a make-believe Cythera will no longer do. It must be by plane, with champagne corks popping all the way. The destination can be anywhere -- Acapulco, Moscow, Marrakesh. Last week it was Nassau, and for today's fete galante it was no moody grotto but the brand-new $55 million Paradise Island Hotel. Still, a touch of magic was called for, and the wand that summoned all the Beautiful People to court was held as usual by Serge Obolensky, 77, former prince and Imperial Russian Guards officer, international playboy, World War II OSS paratrooper, and currently the world's most aristocratic purveyor of public relations.

At his bidding the past week end, planes flew in from the Continent and London, from Los Angeles and New York, to disgorge bevies of international beauties every bit as dazzling as any courtesan painted by Watteau or Fragonard. Their names tumbled out of Burke 's Peerage, the Almanack de Gotha and the Social Register. From London, there was the Maharajah and Maharani of Jaipur, Lady Astor, and the young dandy Lord Lichfield; from Madrid, Count and Countess de Romanones-Quintanilla, and from Rome, Donna Allegra Caracciolo. Paris sent Princess Peggy d'Arenberg and Dubonnet-Maker Andre Dubonnet; from Manhattan flew Marylou Whitney (with a sequined bee on her bonnet), along with Newport's Jimmy and Candy Van Alen, Gardiner's Island's Robert Gardiner, Hollywood's Carol Channing and politics' Ted Sorensen and Richard Nixon.

Time to Leap. And why did they all come, 362 strong? Because, said Obolensky, "93 1/2% of them are my friends." And since all the bills were paid by the Mary Carter Paint Co. (which owns the new Paradise Island Hotel, along with A. & P. Heir Huntington Hartford, who retains 25%), the guests knew that le beau Serge would program their kind of weekend in the sun. He was there from the instant they entered Nassau customs, smoothing the way and shepherding them into the black and white Cadillac limousines. For entertainment, he arranged an "informal" dinner the first night, which all but a handful of ladies knew meant come in a gown, followed the next night by a black-tie ball (Meyer Davis music) and fashion show, with Marquis Emilio Pucci and Oscar de La Renta present to show their styles.

In addition to the white coral beach, Obolensky offered for diversion gambling at the casino until 6 a.m. In the afternoon, he organized an exhibition tennis match, pitting Pancho Segura and Dina Merrill against Pancho Gonzales and Janet Leigh. And when George (Paper Lion) Plimpton leaped onto the court with a cry of "Tennis, anyone?" the Beautiful People sensibly took it as a signal to leap back into their limousines and depart.

As the perfect host, Obolensky knew when to be present, when to be absent. Let the others game the night away; he spent the small hours working out last-minute details of the seating arrangements, always fully aware of every shifting allegiance and liaison. But let something go awry, and Obolensky was on the scene. No sooner had the power failed during one dinner than he ordered candles lit, soothing the party-goers with the assurance that candlelight was "far more romantic." By the end, the guests agreed that in all things great and small the planning had been perfect, the execution superb. "Fantastic!" exclaimed Countess Rodolfo Crespi as she departed. "So marvelous," cried Princess Luciana Pignatelli. "What fun," beamed Rebekah Harkness. As for Obolensky, he drew himself up to his full 6-ft. 3-in. height, then confessed: "I'm exhausted. Organizing all these beautiful women is tiring."

Organizing beautiful women to help publicize his clients (Piper-Heidsieck champagne, Haig & Haig Scotch, Manhattan Jeweler Harry Winston) is the way Manhattan-based Obolensky makes a living. When Alexander's department store in Manhattan decided to compete with rival Ohrbach's in copying original Paris dresses, they automatically turned to Obolensky, who pulled off a smash fashion show using models named Baroness Fiona Thyssen and Princess Ira von Furstenburg. "They were such good girls to do a favor," says Obolensky.

Daggers Between the Teeth. Still and all, it is a strange life for a man whose first two wives were Czar Alexander II's daughter Catherine and Vincent Astor's daughter Alice. Nonetheless, Obolensky, a gallant bachelor since 1932, continues to serve as a prized escort from Newport to Palm Beach. Age seems to have slowed him not a bit. He can still dance the night away, on festive occasions leaps up on a table and performs the lezginka with flaming daggers between his teeth.

Back from Nassau, Obolensky is now off to Paris and Rome to arrange parties for Alexander's president, Alexander Farkas; then he must fly down to Madrid to help an old pal, Angier Biddle Duke, the U.S. Ambassador to Spain, give a benefit ball for the Cancer Society. Wherever he goes, there will be entirely too many Beautiful People to round up to leave Serge much time for play. Unless what he does for a living is play enough for any man.

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