Akio and I received an invitation from Former US Foreign Secretary, Henry Kissinger to spend the weekend at his house in Connecticut, which turned out to be a lovely, spacious mansion in the suburbs.

When making friends abroad we would often be invited to lunch or dinner at their club, followed perhaps by an invitation to their town house. As a closer friend, the height of hospitality is an invitation to someone’s country home.

At Henry’s country home, was the actor Robert Wagner and his partner, the actress Natalie Wood, who were also invited, and these photos was taken at that time.

After dinner we had a lively conversation that went on until late. It wasn’t all politics or the economy, but covered our hobbies, movies, new equipment being used in filmmaking and so on.

Henry was such a huge soccer fan that he would have to catch the World Cup, no matter where it was, and Akio had previously presented him with Sony’s largest television so he could watch the games. He set it up in the den of his Manhattan home and I remember him often talking of enjoying watching soccer games on it.

The next morning, we visited the studio of a local sculptor that Henry was supporting.

Subsequently, Robert Wagner visited our apartment in New York. He was truly a sensitive and considerate gentleman and he brought some flower art for me.

As it was November and very cold, Robert also said he had something he wanted to give us. He made us stand on some paper and took impressions of our feet, and then some days later he sent us some sheepskin slippers to wear in the house. I still have them and every winter they bring back those warm memories.

Yoshiko Morita, 24 March 2009

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Henry Kissinger (1923-)
Secretary of State and National-Security Adviser under the Nixon and Ford Administrations. A scholar of international politic he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.

Robert Wagner (1930-)
American actor and film producer. Active in movies since the 1950s, his many credits include “The Towering Inferno” and “The Pink Panther”.

Natalie Woods (1938-1981)
American actress. Debuting in 1943, she shot to stardom in “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) and was nominated for a Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in “Rebel without a Cause” in 1955. She died accidentally in 1981.