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Eloise, the forever-6-year-old terror of the Plaza Hotel, who has taught generations the meaning of "room service" and "charge it, please," is back, creating havoc in a new book and TV series.
Eloise in Hollywood (Simon & Schuster, $17.95), to be published Tuesday, is based on the bratty but lovable character created by Kay Thompson, who died in 1998.
Eloise, an animated series, began this month on the Starz Kids & Family cable network (Sundays, 6 p.m. ET/PT) with Lynn Redgrave as the voice of the long-suffering nanny and Mary Mouser (Mark Harmon's daughter on NCIS) as Eloise.
Purists may cringe, but other classic children's characters, including Madeline and Curious George, have continued as series long after their creators' deaths. Elizabeth Law, associate publisher of Simon & Schuster, says, "This is Eloise's moment to shine."
Published in 1955, Eloise was subtitled A Book for Precocious Grown Ups but was a hit with kids. With Hilary Knight's illustrations, three more books were published until Thompson, an actress, singer and voice coach to Judy Garland, seemed to lose interest or feel overshadowed by her creation.
Thompson and Knight's final book, Eloise Takes a Bawth, wasn't published until 2002. It was based on a draft left at Thompson's death. The books have sold 5 million copies.
The new book, authorized by Thompson's niece and nephew, is written by screenwriters J. David Stem and David N. Weiss (Rugrats in Paris) and illustrated by Ted Enik, who copied Knight's style. Knight drew part of the cover.
"We're up-front that Kay Thompson didn't write the book," Law says, "but to a child, we hope ... it has ... the same unstoppable Eloise."
The story, in which Eloise rides a train from New York to Hollywood, is inspired by Knight's 1957 visit to the set of Funny Face, which starred Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire and Thompson in a role based on fashion editor Diana Vreeland.
Thompson's goddaughter, Liza Minnelli, has said she is Eloise's inspiration.
Law notes that Thompson said, "'Eloise is me. I am Eloise,' but who knows where writers get their inspiration?"
Tess Weitzner, 11, who has been to tea at the Plaza in homage to Eloise, says the new book is "surprisingly similar to the others." She calls it "a great Eloise adventure where she could find plenty of mischief and adults to bother" but adds: "No one but Hilary Knight could have made Eloise's face look just like the mischievous sneaky self that she is."
Is Hollywood the start of a new Eloise franchise?
It's "a selective continuation of Kay Thompson's legacy," Law says. More are likely, including Eloise in London, which Thompson and Knight discussed.
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