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Family compact. (This City).(family of Rudy and Cathie Bratty, real estate entrepreneurs and society couple)(Toronto launch of Toro magazine by Christopher Bratty)
Bratty bunch It was hard to miss Christopher Bratty at the launch party for Toro, the men's magazine he's bankrolling, as he sauntered about Casa Loma in a ruffled tuxedo with monogrammed cuffs. Six-foot-four, with broad shoulders and slicked-back hair, the 33-year-old Bratty cut an imposing figure, but when his equally tall, slick brothers joined him in a rousing cheer for all things Bratty, the effect was positively overwhelming. With the high-profile launch of Toro, Bratty joined his parents, Rudy and Cathie, in the social spotlight they've commanded for two decades. Whether it's the Canada Loves New York campaign, the annual Venetian Ball or the opening of a new mall in Vaughan, the Brattys are there. Herewith, a look at one of the city's emerging dynasties, a clan whose members live with soap opera flair. How the House of Bratty became the talk of the town.
RAGS TO RICHES
Rudy's father, Donato, immigrated to Canada from Italy with a Grade 1 education and turned a small contracting company into a major developer of residential, commercial and industrial properties. Rudy graduated from Osgoode Hall, then practised law and joined the family business. Rudy and his cronies Marco Muzzo and Alfredo De Gasperis bought up tracts of farmland surrounding Toronto, anticipating the city's phenomenal growth spurts. By last year, the family fortune was estimated at $344 million.
THE COURTSHIP
Rudy Bratty met Cathie Sinclair almost 40 years ago while waiting for his girlfriend to leave a modelling audition. Cathie, a runner-up in the Miss Toronto beauty contest, was trying out for the same commercial as Rudy's gal. When Cathie emerged from the studio, Rudy asked, in the time-honoured fashion, "Haven't we met somewhere before?" Cathie ignored him and walked away. Undeterred, the 31-year-old Rudy pup sued her, and soon he and the 18-year-old Cathie were dating.
THE MARRIAGE
When Rudy asked for permission to wed Cathie, her father responded, "Are you going to marry her or adopt her?" Despite Mr. Sinclair's skepticism, the two tied the knot in 1964. Their first child, Matthew, was born in 1966, with Mark, Chris, Michael and Jennifer coming along over the next 10 years. After Mark's birth, in 1967, the family moved from a midtown apartment into the Etobicoke house Donato built.
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