Margaret Atwood, Ann-Marie MacDonald and Atom Egoyan Help Celebrate Salah Bachir's Memoir ″First to Leave the Party: My Life with Ordinary People … Who Happen to be Famous″ at a Star-Studded Fundraiser

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Oct 24, 2023, 07:09 ET

In solidarity with the trans community, the book is the first to feature pronouns on the cover

TORONTO, Oct. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - More than 200 people attended a sold-out, star-studded fundraiser to celebrate the launch of the book First to Leave the Party. The gala was held at The 519 with Tynomi Banks as the M.C. and included a reading by Ann-Marie MacDonald and performances by music legends Lorraine Segato and Carole Pope. "It's fitting that the launch be held at the 519 to showcase the essential work that they do," said Bachir, a lifetime patron. "The 519 has been dedicated to the health, happiness, and full participation of the 2SLGBTQ-plus community for close to 50 years. Its work and influence have reverberated around the world."

Literary icon Margaret Atwood at the launch of ‘First to Leave the Party’ Atwood describes the book as “captivating”. Photo credit: George Pimentel (CNW Group/Phamous Characters)

Salah Bachir with renowned filmmaker Atom Egoyan at the book launch of ‘First to Leave the Party’ Photo credit: George Pimentel (CNW Group/Phamous Characters)

Award-winning novelist, playwright and actor Ann-Marie MacDonald, who recorded the audiobook of ‘First to Leave the Party”, read a chapter at the book launch. Photo credit: George Pimentel (CNW Group/Phamous Characters)

The book is a marvelous and compulsively readable collection of stories from the life of Salah Bachir — philanthropist, art collector, and movie industry insider. His deep involvement in the film and art worlds made him a friend, companion, confidante, and sometimes lover to so many — including Marlon Brando, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Tyler Moore, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Edward Albee, Diahann Carroll, Orson Welles, Aretha Franklin, Norman Jewison, and Elizabeth Taylor. The book also includes personal letters and messages from many celebrities.

Legendary filmmaker Norman Jewison says that Bachir "has the biggest Lebanese heart," and Elton John and David Furnish say, "Salah Bachir is the biggest-hearted philanthropist, with a rock-star life." It's a unique story of life, love, fame, and philanthropy, told in 54 short chapters that highlight Bachir's encounters with the celebrities that helped shape him.

Reviews for First to Leave the Party have been lavish, with literary icon Margaret Atwood leading the charge: "Sweetly and directly, Salah recounts his amazing life, entwined with so many amazing lives. I'm honoured to be included! (And happy that #marlonbrando comes out of it well!)" And director Atom Egoyan, who contributed one of the book's forwards, says: "Salah is the patron saint for all of us who are full of curiosity, hungry for celebration, horny for fun, and who won't stop until every need is fulfilled. His appetite and passion for life is voracious. His ability to transform those passions into making life better for others is even more impressive."

The audiobook was recorded by Ann-Marie MacDonald, the award-winning novelist, playwright, actor, and author of the bestselling novels Fayne, the Oprah Book Club selection Fall on Your Knees, and The Way the Crow Flies. "I wanted Ann-Marie to narrate the audiobook, as I was so moved by her novel Fall on Your Knees, where I saw my own mother in her portrayal of a Lebanese mother. I was thrilled when she agreed to do it!", said Bachir.

Kim Cattrall also weighs in: "The glamorous Salah Bachir has led an extraordinary life, as evidenced by his memoir — always championing important causes for countless individuals and charities close to his heart," says the timeless star of Sex and the City. "His drive and actions have made the world a better place." Stage and screen star Alan Cumming writes: "Salah Bachir's encounters with stars over the years opens on a backyard garden barbeque with Marlon Brando, and bread continues to be broken with icons as fascinating and seemingly disparate as Muhammad Ali and Liberace, Margaret Atwood and Cesar Chavez, Andy Warhol and Princess Margaret, to name just a few. But the literary coup is that the biggest, brightest star we encounter is the author himself."

First to Leave the Party is published by Penguin Random House Canada and is available at Amazon and wherever fine books are sold, or visit salahbachir.com to find a local retailer.

SOURCE Phamous Characters