Some time ago, this Web site mentioned a new book which gives Elton credit for convincing Donatella Versace to give up her drug habit.
According to Deborah Ball's House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder and Survival, the rocker showed up at a private dinner party to mark the birthday of Donatella's daughter. When he walked in, some attendees were delighted, thinking this was a surprise visit for Allegra Versace, but Donatella knew she hadn't invited him. Instead, Elton, Allegra and several others led the designer to another room for an intervention while assistants discreetly asked the other guests to leave.
Ironically, when Elton decided to get clean many years prior, Gianni Versace and his sister supported him. In fact, as soon as the singer completed rehab, he headed for Donatella's vacation home in St. Tropez.
The book mentions how Elton supported Antonio D'Amico after the murder of his famous boyfriend.
The entertainer phoned frequently, ''gave him a cocker spaniel puppy to keep him company, and invited him for holidays, birthdays and concerts.''
The author can be dismissive and repetitive at times: Elton, at one point, resembled ''an aging schoolboy''; someone else looks like ''a schoolgirl''; a sixty-something Versace relative is called ''an old lady'' a couple of times; and a majority of the photos (including two with Elton) have been seen before.
One of Ball's best moments is when she describes how the friendship between Elton and Gianni developed. It turns out that the musician was already a fan, purchasing as many as a hundred of the designer's silk print shirts in London in one visit. So when he entered the Milan store, the manager called Gianni, who ''hustled down'' and ordered the establishment shut down for the afternoon so that Elton could have some privacy. Over dinner that night, the two bonded, with Elton feeling comfortable enough to confide in him.
The book is also good at describing how Versace's upbringing prepared him for his career as well as what goes on behind the scenes at catwalks.
