University of Utah grad Bill Marriott at 76 is taking his staid hotel chain in a hip direction, according to the London Times. More shocking, Eagle Scout Bill is hanging with a new wild-and-crazy buddy.

In a testament to the spirit of change that animates successful business leaders, Mr Marriott recently acquired a new and quite unusual best friend. His latest — improbable — bedfellow is Ian Schrager, the enfant terrible of 1970s New York...

Marriott and Schrager are launching a chain of a dozen high-end, super-trendy hotels called Edition. The first will open in Los Angeles in 2010, then in Paris and South Beach, Miami. Who'd a thought Bill had it in him?

It has been described as one of the strangest pairings in capitalism: the upstanding Mormon who started life as heir to the root beer stand in Washington DC owned by his father, and patiently built one of the world's best-known brands; and the fast-living New York party king, the aging monarch of style and creator of the modern “boutique” hotel, who once spent time in a federal prison for tax evasion.

Though never to be confused with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, Bill told the Times that he and I-man can party:

Earlier this year we announced the new Edition name in LA and we had a big party. It was so noisy you couldn't hear yourself speak. I was asked to say a few words and I said this was the craziest party I've been to since high school.

Bill says Ian (above) is so crazy he never wears a tie!