From what I’ve read here, on Twitter, at BravoTV, on Facebook and other blogs, the general consensus is that Aviva Drescher’s father has bigger problems than an overactive libido.   That Aviva and Bravo decided to air his outrageous and very unfunny nonsense is even more unsettling.   George Teichner was a very successful financial advisor – an accountant for Woody Allen and The Beatles.   He has owned homes around the world, including Highland House, an island retreat once owned by Oscar Hammerstein.  His penthouse on Collins Avenue in Bal Harbour is now being listed for just under $5 million.  It doesn’t matter what his accomplishments and accumulated wealth are, however.   For the millions of people who saw him on the Real Housewives of New York City, Mr. Teichner will forever be known as the dirty old man who insults female dinner guests with his lewd talk – that and the fact that he molested Sonja Morgan.

George had his share of accomplices and cheerleaders as he demonstrated his perversities.   Mario and Ramona Singer, even Carole Radziwill, laughed along with him as he discussed squirting orgasms and made obscene gestures with his tongue during this “high society” dinner party.  Ramona flaunted her perfectly toned backside for his entertainment.  His target was Sonja, however, because that was the plan set in place by his daughter, so, for her, he saved his most disgusting and lewd behaviors.   The cabana scene made me feel sorry for Sonja, in part because she was the brunt of the others’ jokes and because no one could see how uncomfortable and upset she was.  She had to save herself from the advances and finally, the assault by George while her friends and his family laughed.  I’ve looked at the clip from that scene again and I’ve posted the link to it.  I didn’t see anything which indicated to me that Sonja was having one bit of fun with this man.  To me, she just looked like she wanted to escape as far and fast as she could away from him.

http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city/season-5/videos/georges-boner

I’ve tried to see his actions from the perspective that he might be suffering from some type of disorder that leaves him unaware of how he acts, or unable to control himself.  If there’s anything to that theory, then what Aviva and Bravo joined in on was simply cruel.  On the other hand, there is also a part of me that thinks that George has had a very long history with trying to have his way with women – no romance, no sweet seduction – just take whatever you want because you can.  We don’t know how Aviva described Sonja to her father in advance of her arrival.  We know that Bravo has gone out their way to give her the “slutty” edit.  She is, indeed, bawdy and overly flirtatious, but this episode left me feeling that she had been victimized – by a whole bunch of people.

Aviva, in one of her talking heads, told us that her parents had a warm and loving relationship for 45 years.  She told the Wall Street Journal that her mother died from alcoholism, something Aviva attributed to her childhood accident.  That’s a lot of guilt for a daughter to carry and it might not even be the truth.   If George was as lecherous throughout his life as we saw him acting in Miami, then there might be a little more to her mother’s illness.   Certainly, a terrible accident and injury to one’s child can change the way a lot of parents move foreward.  Who knows how this affected this family’s dynamic?

Aviva gave away a little more about herself in the Journal article, which made her sound haughty and condescending.  She commented that Bethenny Frankel was much too open and forthcoming about her sex life with her husband, and how such confidences could have a negative effect on the family.   “I would say your family is not your priority if you choose to go that direction”, said Ms. Dresher, who acknowledged that Ms. Frankel was instrumental in helping her get the job. “I don’t think this woman understands the consequences this is going to have on her family. Would my husband put up with that? Not for a nanosecond.”*   This from a woman who thinks dear old Dad is just the funniest little devil in South Beach.

Aviva was married to Harry Dubin, who thanks to the endless conversations about him, we know was a cad.  We’re getting the clear message that George is also a cad – well, maybe even more than that.  Now Aviva is married to Reid who is not even allowed to undo two buttons on his dress shirt.  Aviva wants Reid to be wherever she is, even when he is the only man at the event.  It just could be that after watching her father and her husband jump from conquest to conquest, she’s determined to keep this one on a very short leash.  I imagine that trust, or the lack of it, is a big issue for her, but even the mildest mannered of men are going to rebel if they’re paying for the sins of the father in law and ex-husband.

Aviva said that wanted to use this television experience to bring awareness to amputees.  I commented in an earlier post that I didn’t think Bravo was the place to take that message.  Already, her prosthetic legs have become a part of the storyline – so much so, that they could be considered part of the cast. In the same WSJ piece, she stated “Ultimately, I decided to take the job as a means to help other people who have artificial limbs or other physical challenges, with the consequence of being made into a caricature. Which is guaranteed. I’m taking the good with the bad.”*  She’s got that part right.  They all become caricatures eventually, and there’s going to be much more bad than good.  Bravo assigns the roles, edits them to fit and there’s nothing any of the Housewives can do about it.   BravoTV’s  female dynamic duo, Lauren Zalaznick and Frances Berwick, together with the emotionally stunted Andy Cohen, will take their lives and turn them into something unrecognizable.  The contracts, we’ve since found out, leave cast members with little say in how they are portrayed and what they have to endure.  Just ask Sonja – she was just treated like trash and no one uttered a word or came to her defense.  For NBC Universal, it’s all just fun in the name of ratings.  Good luck Aviva, and keep your father away from the cameras and any more of your girlfriends, before one of them decides he’s not all that funny.

* http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303830204577444520381566282.html

Empress