Tim and Nina on their 25th
wedding anniversary. | SILVER WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Power Blackout of 1977:
When the Smoke Cleared,
I Found Myself Married By Tim Boxer
Photos by Dov Israeli  EW YORK in summer ‘77 is notable for several cataclysmic events. The Son of Sam murder spree gripped a terrified metropolis. An eight-day heat wave had the thermometer spiking above 100. A 25-hour power blackout paralyzed the greatest city in the world, sparking a wild orgy of looting and burning. It was the summer of wild abandon at Studio 54.
Aaron and Lois David at the
celebration. | Then the unexpected happened. I’d been working as assistant to syndicated Broadway columnist Earl Wilson of the New York Post. I, who covered gala film premieres, star-studded premieres on Broadway, nightclub openings – interviewing and photographing stars, celebrities and gorgeous models – set my sights on one true love and married her. I found a brunette beauty at an event for Faberge. My pickup line was irresistible: “How would you like to come to a party for Telly Savalas?” How was I to know that Kojak was Nina’s favorite show? Off we went to the wrap party for TV’s hottest drama series, where I almost lost my date. I surmised that Telly was paying too close attention to my girl. 
Gabriel and Rebeka Boxer. | There was only one thing to do. On June 12 I married Nina. I don’t believe in long engagements. That gives people the opportunity of finding out each other’s character before marriage – which is never advisable. Now, instead of going out to all the celebrated bold-face parties by myself, I had my own beautiful model/assistant/wife by my side. Nina met them all – Ronald Reagan at the White House, Cary Grant, Robin Williams, Omar Sharif, Pierre Trudeau, Rock Hudson. You name them, she’s met them, helped interview them, even posed with them. For a couple of years we produced a weekly celebrity talk show on Manhattan Cable, called Traveling With The Stars. I did the interviews and Nina handled the video camera. Milton Berle once stopped an interview to give Nina some pointers about shooting. After all, he was Mr. Television. 
Gregory and Reny Naham with
sons Stephen and JR. | This summer Nina and I celebrated our silver anniversary with a few friends at the Cho-Sen Island Chinese Restaurant in Lawrence, Long Island. Over the years I’ve learned a lot. I can honestly say that if it weren’t for marriage, I could go through life thinking I had no faults at all. Is that bad? When I met Nina, she was a secretary for George Barrie of Faberge. Ever since, I’m the one who’s been taking dictation. Mind you, at home I run the show. But Nina writes the script. I found out pretty quick that marriage isn’t a word – it’s a sentence. Someone once asked me, Don’t you and your wife ever have a difference of opinion? Sure we do, but I don’t tell her about it. Nina has always been a great homemaker. Do you know how she keeps the kitchen so immaculate? She never goes in. 
Chaim and Linda Israeli with the Boxers. | Yet she’s writing a cookbook. It will be in two parts. Part one will have all the recipes, and part two will have the antidotes. Yes, man is incomplete until he is married. Then he is really finished. Don’t misunderstand. I love Nina. You gotta love a woman who’d put up with these cracks. My thanks to Henny Youngman, Milton Berle and Robert Orben for helping me formulate my thoughts on wedded bliss. | 
