Alphonse W. Salomone, Jr.

Alphonse W. Salomone Jr. (sometimes misspelled Salamone; 1919—March 16, 1993) was a Canadian-American hotelier of Italian descent, referred to by Ward Morehouse III as "one of the country's most respected hotelmen". He is best known for being the Vice President of the Hilton Hotel Corporation's Eastern properties and the manager of the prestigious Washington and New York Hiltons, and New York's Plaza Hotel, Ritz-Carlton, and the Waldorf Astoria New York.

Early life and background Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Salomone was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. In Knoxville he began working for the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville as a young man in the 1930s. In World War II he was promoted to a major, earning a Bronze Star for fighting in five battles in Europe. In 1982, he was honored with the Gold Key Award by the Avenue of the Americas Association.

As the manager of the Plaza, Salomone was written into the Eloise series of books written by Kay Thompson, who was a long-time resident of the hotel. Salomone first appeared in print in Eloise: A Book for Precocious Grown-ups, published in 1955. Tim Curry later lent his voice as Salomone in the 2006 animated series. Salomone, who was also a friend of Thompson, was quick to realize that publicity for the series of Eloise books also meant publicity for the Plaza. He was always ready to assist Thompson and her publisher in their ventures. Thompson wrote the last of her Eloise books, Eloise Takes a Bawth in the 1960s, but it was not published until 2002-some years after her death. Salomone appears again in this book, as he shows the small girl the flood she inadvertently caused while playing in the bath.