Cinzano of the vermouth market in Europe was measured in the low single digits, sales that placed it a distant second to Martini. As a result of a 1997 merger, Grand Metropolitan became Diageo; two years later, Diageo sold Cinzano to the privately held Gruppo Campari. The Cinzano bicycling team had a central role in the film "Breaking Away". Cinzano was well known in Britain for its humorous television advertisements featuring Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins. One of these featured the pair on a plane journey, with Rossiter accidentally hitting the "recline" switch on Collins chair, causing her to spill a
Joan Collins 25 years. Collins serves her former school, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, as the Honorary President of the RADA Associates. Collins has established herself as a successful author. In addition to her bestselling novels, including "Prime Time" and "Love & Desire & Hate", she has also written six lifestyle books, including "The Joan Collins Beauty Book", as well as memoirs, including "Past Imperfect". To date, she has sold over 50 million copies of her books which have been translated into 30 languages. In the 1990s, Collins was embroiled in a high-profile legal battle with the publisher Random House, which