Attempts to reach Mr. Balazs through the general managers at his hotels were also unsuccessful. Mr. Balazs stepped down as chairman of the Standard chain’s board in March to focus, he said then, on his luxury properties. PhotoIt was spring 1991, Sarah recalled, and Mr. Balazs was visiting Los Angeles and asked her to dinner in Koreatown. At the time, Mr. Balazs was married to Katie Ford, the daughter of Eileen and Gerard Ford who started Ford Models, and with whom Mr. Balazs has two children. (Another former employee had a similar story of Mr. Balazs once pinning her against an elevator wall and trying to kiss her.

Source: New York Times November 09, 2017 18:11 UTC