Episode 13: Richest Boy Meets Richest Girl
Parental conflict pushes an heiress into a match with a neighboring though equally challenging heir. The chance of finally having a loving warm maternal bond proves more than alluring.
After winning a lawsuit against her mother Nanaline, Doris Duke is pushed towards another heir and neighbor Huntington Hartford. However his relationship with his mother Henrietta complicates matters.
Archival music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Publish Date: October 1, 2020
Length: 18:29
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: The Younger Generation by Ray Noble, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s
Section 2 Music: Plain Mary Jane by Mrs. Jack Hylton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 3 Music: One In A Million by Brian Lawrance, Album The Great British Dance Bands
End Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
AS THE MONEY BURNS
Podcast by Nicki Woodard
Episode 013 – Richest Boy Meets Richest Girl
00:00
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast by Nicki Woodard. Based on historical research, this is a deep exploration into what happened to a set of actual heirs and heiresses to some of America’s most famous fortunes when the Great Depression hits.
Each episode has three primary sections. Section 1 is a narrative story. Section 2 goes deeper into the historical facts. Section 3 focuses on contemporary, emotional, and personal connections.
00:24
Story Recap
When teen heiresses Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton discover the secret romance between Louise Van Alen and Prince Alexis Mdivani, Barbara’s continual interference threatens their acceptance into Louise’s social circle and angers Doris. Meanwhile Doris is being pushed into inappropriate relationships by her socially ambitious mother Nanaline.
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
00:46
Richest Boy Meets Richest Girl
[Music fade out]
Episode Tag
00:48
Parental conflict pushes an heiress into a match with a neighboring though equally challenging heir.
The chance of finally having a loving warm maternal bond proves more than alluring.
01:00
[Music – The Younger Generation by Ray Noble, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s]
Section 1 – Story
[Music fade out]
01:13
Inside the tight wooden witness stand, an irritated Nanaline Duke endures a round of endless humiliating questions.
Attorney Charles Hughes requests, “Please state your relation to the plaintiff.”
“I am her legal guardian and mother.”
“And yet, your daughter is suing both you and the executors of her estate for attempting to sell property without her consent.”
“Yes, we were given a very generous offer that seemed better to divest of the property at this time.”
“Despite, her objection to the contrary. Miss Duke has also indicated she would then re-purchase the property outright at any auction. So then the wealth would merely be a redistribution of her own funds and not a profit. Correct?”
Nanaline replies, “Yes, of course, it is understandable that she has every right to preserve the residence in question. We were merely trying to make proper longterm financial decision in her best interest.”
“Miss Duke has inherited a substantial estate of nearly 56 million dollars, this is a ‘mere’ property sale of $1.6 million and would thus cause a transfer tax of $975,000. That does not seem financially wise.”
“We underestimated her sentimental attachment to the property.”
02:30
Nanaline’s ice cold stare is aimed directly at 14 year old Doris Duke, though young is incredibly determined for her age.
Everyone rises as the judge returns to the bench, he strikes his gavel to announce his proclamation –
“After much deliberation, the court has decided –”
02:47
“The first prize has been awarded to Mrs. Henrietta Hartford of Seaverge for her lovely display of blue cala lilies.…”
The 1927 wooden courtroom morphs into an outdoor podium stage filled with flowers and women in their lovely tea length dresses clapping in 1929 Newport.
Nanaline stares down her now 16 year old daughter Doris who yet again never fails at being an embarrassment.
With her characteristic Southern Grace, socialite Henrietta Hartford glides to the stage and accepts her award. Juggling several blue ribbons, she practically gloats over her multiple wins at this year’s flower show at the Tennis Casino. She feigns modesty amidst the applause.
03:29
During the celebratory reception, colonists enjoy perusing the street fair next to the Casino. Briefly distracted from the usual tennis matches, young male heirs hover about as all the prettiest debutantes perform their service duties at the surrounding bazaar. While the ever watchful Barbara Hutton keeps her eyes on the secret lovers, Doris is more comforted by the multiple displays of flowers.
It Girl Louise Van Alen dutifully works at the grab bag booth along with another fashionable debutante Evelyn Clarke, who winks and blows kisses to several admirers, including one Prince Alexis Mdivani. Louise pretends to not notice but secretly seethes as she stuffs another bag and hands it over for Evelyn to disperse. Louise has more than Barbara to worry about when it comes to the Prince’s attentions.
04:16
Seeing Doris review her prize winning arrangement, Henrietta makes her approach. “Dare I ask if you have an interest in gardening?”
“More like an interest in gardeners.” Barbara giggles to herself. Doris shoots her look to stay quiet.
“We are next door neighbors, my dear. You should come over and visit my hothouse. It is most interesting what can be cultivated under the right conditions.” Doris sheepishly blushes. Still Henrietta has a maternal warmth Doris so desperately craves.
Henrietta salivates over young Doris, “You know I feel children must be tended and cared for like gardens. To fully blossom, it takes lots of loving care. I only give my darling Huntington the best of everything.”
Doris shyly smiles. If only her own mother would feel the same way about her. Alas that will never happen she fears. Since winning her lawsuit, Nanaline has grown more distant and colder to Doris’s despair.
05:11
From a distance, Nanaline socializes with opera singer Cobina Wright and Society queen Daisy Van Alen. All three women approve of the botanical interaction.
As another wannabe social climber, Henrietta hopes this summer will seal her and her son’s entrée into capital “S” Society. Her son Huntington Hartford is the overly coddled, babyfaced heir to the A & P Grocery fortune. In Nanaline’s criteria of a potential spouse for Doris, he has the most rare and desirable quality – a sizable fortune equitable to Doris. As well, the ever needing to please and pliable Henrietta means Nanaline finds the situation most highly desirous even it means they are not immediately on the higher echelons of Society.
Nanaline could finally be rid of Doris.
06:00
Before the evening meal, guests roam about the beautiful Seaverge estate. The cool summer breeze makes a walk on the grounds delightful. Doris and Huntington roughly stay next to each other in order to appease their mothers. They look absolutely miserable standing together in silence.
Louise quips, “I can hear the headlines now Richest Boy Meets Richest Girl – A Match Made in Stockbroker Heaven.”
Jakey adds his two cents, “Hunt would have had much more in common with Barbara, since both being heirs of mercantile fortunes. Grandmother always thought the best couples came from equal social tiers.” Jakey eyes the Prince, who blows off the innuendo.
The disaffected Prince replies, “Then he should woo her with poetry.”
Jakey’s and the Prince’s remarks cause Louise to think. That’s exactly what she needs – Barbara to find romance with another guy. Huntington could be perfect.
06:57
Each with their own agendas, the young heirs gather around the non-couple.
Huntington looks out over the cliffside. In the distance he spots the luxury yacht Nourmahal. That’s the life for him. One of exploration. He turns to Jakey. The proud young scions chat about their future yachts. Doris sees the excuse to slip closer to Barbara and the more fun loving Van Alen brothers.
Louise interjects, “Barbara you must regale us again with what happened last week on your little expedition on the open sea.” Barbara grows bright red thinking she’s being made fun of by Louise.
Huntington hovers near Barbara wanting to learn more about her sailing excursion. He dreams of adventure on the high seas. He wants to be a writer and considers himself a bit of a wordsmith. He might actually be a perfect match for Barbara.
Jakey inches closer to Doris. He too has an interest in learning how Doris maneuvered her lawsuit against her mother, only he has to be very discreet in his inquiry.
07:59
Before the teens can get their conversations going, dinner is served for the 50 some odd guests.
Huntington is seated at the head of the table with his mother adjoining to his right. Doris has been positioned directly on his left with the Prince on her other side. Further down the table, Barbara sits among the Van Alen brothers directly across from Louise and Jakey. Nanaline and Daisy are scattered about. Cobina sits apart from her husband as is customary to encourage conversation, only Bill is sitting next to a very pretty young lady whom he is all too happily chatting up. Everyone watches the other wishing they could switch places.
The courses are served – appetizers, soup, salad,… All the finest. While most guests enjoy wine, Huntington sips his milk.
08:46
Then the main course is served, a thick juicy steak with appropriate sides. The guests eagerly dig in, only to see Huntington not moving. He sits there patiently like a bored little child king.
Henrietta reaches over and cuts his steak all the while merrily chatting with her guests. Everyone pauses both in politeness and in shock.
Doris glances down towards Barbara who ducks her head to avoid laughing. She nearly loses it when one of the Van Alen brothers pokes her.
Once Henrietta is done, she returns to her plate.
Huntington takes his first bite, and all proceed to eat.
09:22
[Music – Plain Mary Jane by Mrs. Jack Hylton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music fade out]
09:34
It really is no surprise that those with money prefer to keep their children’s marital prospects within other moneyed families. Thus both Nanaline Duke and Henrietta Hartford would gladly have merged their two offspring together. Both Doris and Huntington were each worth the equivalent $100 million (roughly today $1 billion).
Nanaline’s overall plan in 1929 is to marry off Doris to another sizeable fortune. Doris would live off her husband’s, and her fortune could be diverted to half brother Walker. The contingency plan is that Nanaline would build an equivalent fortune on the stockmarket to then hand over to Walker.
10:10
However such plans are never so easily executed. One, Walker is in the midst of a scandalous divorce with a showgirl, so Nanaline must clean up that mess and quickly. Two, Doris isn’t so easily willing to relinquish prized family assets, as seen when at 14 she sued her mother in court and won the right to choose which properties and other items could be sold or maintained.
Lastly, Doris and Huntington seem to have absolutely zero interest in each other.
10:40
Huntington Hartford, formerly George Huntington Hartford II, is the heir to the A&P Grocery store fortune. His grandfather George Huntington Hartford originally started as clerk then rising to partner of The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, an establishment that served specialty tea inside novelty Mandarin Chinese designed shops with a cashier sitting in a gilded pagoda. As a clerk, George suggested they sell tea in bulk for 30 cents a pound when their competition sold it for $1 in what he termed a “club plan.” From there, the business quickly expanded into a chain of stores on the eastern seaboard. A further boost came when the company moved west to Chicago after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. George was also the pioneer of a “gift with purchase” sales promotion. His partner Gilman retired in 1878 though retained 50% ownership. When Gilman died in 1901, George bought out his estate the next year.
11:36
George had 5 children – 3 sons and 2 daughters. Two sons John and another George went into the family business which they turned into the highly profitable A&P Grocery store chain.
Second son Edward was not as prone to business more interested in invention and living the good life. He had declared, “One Hartford ought to be a gentleman.” Still he held an honorary position within the family business but focused more on education and climbing Society’s ladder. Edward patented for the automobile the Hartford shock absorber, adapted from the part he saw on a motorcycle. The part became standard automotive equipment and for a time might have outearned more than the grocery empire.
12:16
In 1902, Edward met and married Henrietta Pollitzer, a dark eyed South Carolina belle whose maternal family had a long line of governors while her father was an Austrian Jew who emigrated in 1860. A lineage Henrietta tried to hide as it had barred her own entrance into high society for which she would forever try to regain. She would use her maternal last name Guerard. Edward was thrilled by his even more socially ambitious wife. They first had a daughter Josephine in 1902 then later a son Huntington in 1911. They lived lavishly, far more than the rest of the family.
12:52
By 1910, A&P had expanded to 291 stores and was making $20 million a year in profit.
By the mid-1910s, Edward’s fortune from his automotive patent was beginning to decline while A&P Grocery was thriving. He got into a dispute with his brothers over the splitting of profits, and the brothers confronted their father threatening to leave the business if Edward prevailed. In 1915, the elder George had no choice but set up a trust equally divided at 20% for each child, but Edward was barred from participation in the business.
13:28
Edward was outraged and pulled away from what had prior been a very loving and interactive family. Edward also began to immediately suffer all sorts of ailments, burning in his eyes, pains in his legs,… Some illusions indicate hypochondria or psychosomatic ailments.
13:45
When their father died in 1917, his two brothers George and John had complete control. Edward withdrew further barely seeing his own children. By now his wife Henrietta devoted much of her attention to their young son Huntington with his perfect blond curls and looks like Little Lord Fauntleroy. In contrast, his older sister Josephine was tall, awkward, unattractive, but intelligent. Her mother had little interest in her. The age difference and different nannies meant the siblings had very little contact and interaction growing up.
14:17
By 1922, Edward would die alone in a hotel room, riddled with fevers and delirium. He wrote a one line will leaving everything to his beloved wife – which was essentially a house in New Jersey and a few worthless patents. As for the Hartford trust, his portion of the fortune was given directly to his children as per the elder George’s will with Henrietta supervising. Josephine would escape her mother by marriage in 1923. Despite both being childless, the uncles nevertheless had no interest in their nephew and instead continued to focus on the business.
14:52
In 1923, A&P surpassed Sears & Roebuck in annual volume.
Now Henrietta was left in full charge of Huntington and his estate. Some indicate at minimum it was like a covert incest relationship, where he essentially served for her as de facto spouse in public. She would use his fortune to buy her way into Society, and that maneuvering included buying the Newport cottage Seaverge in 1927 then hosting a fabulous party in 1928 – which yielded the intended results. In 1929, Huntington and his mother Henrietta were invited to join the Social Register – the same year as Doris Duke & Barbara Hutton.
15:31
Like other guardians to heirs with tremendous estates, Henrietta would find herself in court petitioning to increase Huntington’s allowance or getting approval for another large purchase – declaring that he need to not be deprived of the equivalent status or luxury in life of similarly wealthy peers.
When it came to petitioning the court, it was a very rare occurence of heirs suing their parents or guardians at this time as Doris did, but it certainly won’t be the last. Blood might be thicker than water, but greenbacks and gold are a whole other matter.
16:02
[Music – One In A Million by Brian Lawrance, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music fade out]
16:18
Isn’t it amazing how powerful FOMO can take hold of anyone? The endless posturing and busy lives many lead in trying to appear important and desirable. The fear of missing out definitely takes over the lives of the wealthy, especially the idle rich with ample funds and a bottomless need to be entertained.
Prior to the pandemic, we were under the barrage of Instagram, Facebook, and other social media posturing amongst our modern social climbers displaying picturesque and wonderfully exciting lives,… Maybe they were real, more than likely mostly illusions. Perfect during the momentary snapshot, but otherwise empty and frivolous under the feigned preening and fake laughter.
17:00
And now, there’s not so much the same kind of FOMO, because who’s missing out on what now when most are living highly secluded and often under still stringent lockdown restrictions. We are a little more equalized under the reduced options, and good fortune is considered mere basic economic survival and if you’re lucky enough to realize you actually like the person you are stuck with.
Yet, there is a strong and restless longing for the days of freedom and options. When things open up, there will likely be a strong backlash and an even more elaborate over the top indulgence will re-surge. It’s the cycle of history after periods of austerity. After all that’s how the Roaring Twenties got started.
Hook
17:40
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
There’s a lot of commotion when a $100 grand goes missing, but why is that a problem for multi-millionaires?
Until then…
Credits
17:51
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast written, produced, and voiced by Nicki Woodard, based on historical research. Archival music has been provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, check out their website at www.pastperfect.com.
Please come visit us at As The Money Burns via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Transcripts, timeline, episode guide, and character bios are all available at asthemoneyburns.com.
18:29
THE END