Episode 18: By Invitation Only
The time is finally here. A debutante is coming out. It’s going to be THE grand event everyone wants to attend. But first, things first, everyone must gather for tea.
The invitations have been sent, and soon we’ll learn who is in and out.
Events leading up to Louise Van Alen’s debutante ball puts everyone high alert as it becomes who has been invited and who hasn’t. Prince Alexis Mdivani, Frank Shields, Jakey Astor, and the Van Alen brothers make their ways at the necessary activities, while the invited Doris Duke and Prince realize Barbara Hutton is not included.
Archival music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Publish Date: November 26, 2020
Length: 20:58
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: Everything Stops For Tea by Mario “Harp” Lorenzi, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits Of The 30s
Section 2 Music: You Go To My Head by Joe Loss, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 3 Music: I Guess I Will Have To Change My Plans by Ambrose & His Orchestra, 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 018 – By Invitation Only
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.
00:25
Story Recap
Teen heiresses Barbara Hutton and Doris Duke desperately want to attend reigning It Girl Louise Van Alen’s debutante ball, and others are gathering for the event and tennis week. But it is Prince Alexis Mdivani who intends to win Louise’s heart.
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
00:46
By Invitation Only
[Music fade out]
Episode Tag
00:49
The time is finally here. A debutante is coming out. It’s going to be THE grand event everyone wants to attend. But first, things first, everyone must gather for tea.
The invitations have been sent, and soon we’ll learn who is in and out.
01:06
[Music – Everything Stops For Tea by Mario “Harp” Lorenzi, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits Of The 30s]
Section 1 – Story
[Music fade out]
01:21
All Newport is a buzz during the week of tennis and the horse show. Two young heiresses are making their debuts.
Yes, the week has finally arrived for reigning It Girl Louise Van Alen’s debutante ball.
Inside the Newport Casino locker room, the movie star handsome Frank Shields cools off after another tennis match. His banter is fun and jovial with Louise’s brothers Henry and Sam Van Alen and their cousin proud teen scion Jakey Astor.
“Come on, we’re gonna be late.” Henry commands the others. Frank hops up to leave as is.
Sam chuckles, “You can’t come to tea dressed like that. Mother would have a fit. You have to at least wear a sports coat.”
Frank pauses then he reaches into a Casino member’s open locker and throws on the coat which is a little short in the arms. Remember Frank is tall and long limbed. It’s ill fitting but passable enough to be acceptable.
The guys scramble to make it in time.
02:14
The tea party is full of women in their colorful dresses and hats. Everyone puts on their best manners. Society queen Daisy Van Alen walks around in arms with her favorite Uncle Frederick Vanderbilt, now her maternal aunt’s widow. In the hushest of tones, there are trickles of rumors they might marry in the near future.
Henry and Sam make their way through the crowd, working the room well-trained in all the proper social graces. They come up to their sister Louise who is being squired about by the haughty Russian Prince Alexis Mdivani, his arm now free from his long-acquainted sling. He is here to do what he does best – show off. Today’s prized possession being Louise.
While soaking up the attention of having the Prince on her arm, Louise is a little less thrilled at all the fuss with her coming out. A debutante has lots of social obligations to fill. It gets pretty exhausting. Her debut delayed by her own father’s death still lingers in the shadows.
Her tinge of sadness is broken by Frank’s more affable antics as he flirts with the other heiresses causing them to blush at his attention. He even charms the sophisticated supreme hostess Cobina Wright, who coyly swats at him to behave. Louise can’t help but chuckle. The Prince notices and scowls.
03:29
Over at Rough Point, awkward teen heiress Doris Duke plays the piano. While her friend the budding fashionista Barbara Hutton stares out at the window to the young gardener toiling away at the hedge. He is definitely cute and Doris’s secret crush. Barbara asks, “Will he be at your mother’s dance on Friday?”
Doris rolls her eyes and shakes her head no. The mention of another social event is enough to give her an anxiety attack, much less one centered around her.
Barbara frets, “Don’t worry – everyone is way more focused on the actual debutantes this week. We must get into Louise’s debut, even if we have to crash it.”
Doris stops playing. She hesitates then confesses, “I have an invitation.” She sees the look of shock in Barbara’s deep blue eyes. “It came this morning. Didn’t yours?”
Barbara shakes her head no. Her stomach sickens.
As distraught as Barbara, Doris dreads being alone at such a big event. “I’m sure yours will come. I can’t go there by myself.”
In bursts Doris’s French governess Jenny, who throws on a record and pulls the girls to the center of the floor.
High in spirits, Jenny intends to make sure her young ward and her friend survive the week. “Come on, Mademoiselles, we need to practice.”
Jenny corrects them on the latest dance steps. Barbara is decent but morose, and Doris has two left feet.
04:55
Back at the Tennis Casino, Frank and the Van Alen brothers return for their next round of matches. There’s a bit of commotion in the locker room. A member has had his wallet stolen. When it is noticed that Frank is wearing his jacket. Politely, Frank removes the jacket returning it apologetically with the untouched wallet tucked inside the pocket. The older member laughs at the innocence of it all and agrees no charges nor further actions needed. The guys suit up and hit the courts.
05:23
Meanwhile the Prince and Louise stroll through the Wakehurst rose garden. The silence between them is both romantic and threatening. The forbidden feel of holding hands away from everyone’s gaze. The heat is palpable under the glaring sun, and yet they can barely contain themselves. An inevitable kiss pulling them together, when another gardener briefly intrudes then leaves.
Louise turns away and caresses a red American beauty rose. The velvet petals emanates its alluring fragrance. This might be her week, but she has other concerns.
“I hope you are enjoying your visit. I’m sure you’re more than ready to go back.” She avoids asking her most pressing question.
“I belong here with your family. Always so nice and inviting.” He places his hand over hers as he sniffs the rose.
“My family loves having you around. It wouldn’t be right if you missed my event.”
“I would never miss your special day. It’s going to be quite a celebration. Have all the guests replied?”
“Yes, mother is very strict about protocol.”
“Will Barbara be attending?”
Louise distracts herself with another flower. “She hasn’t been invited.”
Prince Alexis disapproves, “And why not?”
“Because I didn’t want her pestering you about Silvia at my party.”
“Isn’t that a little cruel? Barbara is a sweet girl and can’t really do any harm. She can be a very loyal friend. How is she going to handle being excluded?”
Frustrated Louise pulls away. “I only wanted to protect you.”
He takes her hand and kisses it gently. “And so you shall, I will not leave your side the whole evening.”
His eyes scan for privacy then kisses her on the lips. She melts. Such is his power.
07:16
[Music – You Go To My Head by Joe Loss, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music fade out]
07:30
The time has finally arrived. Oh, but figuring out this moment took some digging.
Louise Van Alen is mostly a footnote in Barbara Hutton’s tale. Not more than a few sentences glossing over what was such a formative time in life. A quick and dismissed reference, their stories forever linked, but Louise is overshadowed by the larger narrative of fortunes and love gone awry.
Yet Louise was front and center in the beginning. Back then, if anyone would bet on who would have the larger, grander, romantic happily ever after – Louise Astor Van Alen would be the sure bet.
08:04
Her name says it all. Named after her maternal aunt who married into the Vanderbilt clan, Louise is an also Astor, and not just any Astor. Louise and her brothers are technically first cousins once removed from Jakey and his siblings. How to explain generational relations and dynamics among cousins can be tricky. So I simplified the relations referring as first cousins.
Louise Van Alen’s great grandmother and Jakey Astor’s grandmother was the grand reigning Society queen Caroline Astor who ruled the New York elite during America’s Gilded Age.
08:38
She was born Caroline Webster Schermerhorn, from an old Dutch shipping family originating from the early English and Dutch settlers also referred to as the Knickerbockers, for the short trousers and culottes worn by the early Dutch.
Caroline was a stickler for protocol. She was respectful of the rules of Society and enforced them. She was not prone to gossip nor scandal actually shunning such topics in her presence. She would not confide in anyone, nor would it have been wise to confide too many personal details in her. Friendly, never intimate, and dignity was a big issue. Caroline was never known to speak an unkind word. Her favorites would be requested to sit with her on her red velvet sofa which served as her throne during her fancy balls.
09:19
When she married William Backhouse Astor, Jr. in 1853, his father offered them half of an empty lot on 34th St and Fifth Ave in New York. The young couple built a modest Georgian brownstone – and at the time it was considered improper to display one’s wealth externally via their homes, though the interiors could be over the top opulent.
The lavish entertaining Caroline would become known for came later. She abided by the rules that the senior female / matriarch within a family does the lavish hostessing. She deferred to her mother-in-the-law Margaret Astor, until the Mrs. Astor passed away in 1872. Caroline yielded her future title to her sister-in-law Charlotte, being the senior female and wife to the firstborn son John Jacob Astor III. The more charitable and simpler Charlotte however was not interested in entertaining nor was she as socially exclusive in her relations and friendships.
10:12
Therefore Caroline quickly took over the role of hostess. Renovating her brownstone in the back to include a new ballroom. The very ballroom which could hold 400 people, the one she used along with her right hand Ward McAllister to decide who was in and out of respectable high society. Caroline’s invite was the clear and indisputable arbiter of someone’s social status.
10:34
Her husband William was uninterested in entertaining and was prone to spend more time upon his yacht the Ambassadress, the largest & most luxurious in its day. Caroline would mention that she wasn’t a very good sailor so she never went aboard. The response meant to deflect and warn against any further inquiry or suggestion to the reality – William was a horrific womanizer who often entertained lesser women those unlikely to ever attend his wife’s illustrious balls like chorus girls.
Meanwhile Caroline focused on entertaining, wearing elaborate diamond jewelry and luscious dresses in dark colors either black or a regal purple.
11:10
The irony of her exclusionary tactics would backfire when the formidable Alva Vanderbilt threw her 1883 Winter’s Ball. The very one Alva forced Caroline to finally break her vow to never invite a Vanderbilt into her home. Alva leveraged their teenage daughters. When Carrie Astor failed to get an invite, she was so distraught. Caroline had to rectify the situation – politely implying the invitation might have been overlooked. However Alva clarified it was no oversight but that she could not invite someone whose parents she had not properly met. Promptly, Caroline was forced to issue an invite for tea that meant the Vanderbilts now officially joined the 400, and even Caroline attended that grand Winter’s Ball in an elaborate costume.
Such is the nature of all Society events — the importance of protocol and invitations. The need to see and be seen in all the right places.
12:00
Louise Van Alen was one of the biggest debutantes of her year, but the first prevailing question has been which year. One source says 1930, another 1929. Her father passed away in May 1927 shortly before her originally intended debut. Thus delaying her event as socially appropriate.
The event was coordinated with tennis week in Newport, perfectly timed since her brothers already were tied to that sport. Her oldest brother James Henry Van Alen would serve in place of her father in announcing Louise. Longtime family friend Prince Alexis Mdivani was invited to attend as her escort for the evening. It is mentioned Louise tried to shun a bigger dance and wanted something far simpler like a tea. Debutantes often would participate in several stages of activities for the season as well as the week of their actual debut. The debut was essentially the announcement that a girl was ready for marriage.
12:52
After a lot of digging the facts were solidified with a few more details. Louise’s official debut was on Saturday August 25th, 1928. There were a few receptions earlier that week. Then a formal dinner for 40-50 at the Van Alen Newport cottage Wakehurst, followed by another distant relative and family friend Alva’s nephew and Alice Vanderbilt’s grandson William H. Vanderbilt III hosted a ball of 300 at Oakland Parks – Clambake Club to also celebrate tennis week and his own special event the Horse Show. Louise was celebrated over and over and later in New York too.
Both Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton needed to be part of the event before their own debuts. It would be the coming out most girls would dream about.
13:36
[Music – I Guess I Will Have To Change My Plans by Ambrose & His Orchestra, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music fade out]
13:49
Social exclusion is never fun. And somehow it doesn’t seem to be a one and done situation and can come back at any time. In our current lockdown era, it feels strangely similar as we stay perpetually sequestered in our small bubbles.
Over my lifetime, I’ve gone through several periods of isolation, partially self-imposed during rough times and at other times accidentally as I’ve always struggled with finding a place and groups where I fit in.
14:15
Junior high had the normal complications of adolescent angst compounded with switching from private to public school and several personal and family issues which I haven’t fully revealed. My private school was at my church but curricula only went to 5th grade. I had 14 classmates, and we splintered off to the various public schools as divided by the streets and districts. I was ready for the experiences of the much larger public school system with a significantly higher variety in subjects and a lot more kids.
I had participated in school, church, and various sports activities with classmates in grades above and below and only briefly here and there within my actual grade. Junior high I started off barely knowing anyone in my classes. Not easy as this is when girls are their most clique-ish with the various passive aggressive and other Mean Girl tactics making any situation feel like perpetually walking through a minefield.
15:05
It didn’t help that my parents split up near the end of 5th, my oldest brother left the state due to issues with addiction and a failed marriage, and then there was the looming IRS audit threatening to take away the only home I’ve ever known. Whatever the surface of my life might look like, inside it felt like hell. How could I trust the girls I barely know to understand and not use all that other stuff against me in those moments of adolescent viciousness.
I knew the first year would just be learning who’s who. I made a few attempts to reach out that failed, and between visitations with my father, alternated with visitations with my young nephew and niece (my mom took my brother’s custody visits), and an ongoing best friend relationship that has lasted to this day – I kept busy. Besides church and gymnastics, I would also attend the local monthly dances and did school drama competitions. I was on the periphery of the popular set but never fully in.
15:56
I knew it would take time, but then there was moment after moment. On Monday, I would learn there was party here and there for which I wasn’t invited. They would dismiss my exclusion in thinking I was busy with my bff. Yes, I usually was with her, but we would make our arrangements last minute to give us both the chance to socialize with our new classmates at our different schools (though proximity meant the groups could overlap and mingle).
I could understand why I wouldn’t be invited with a particular girl, and that was fine. In any group, there was always one primary girl who didn’t like me, thus I wouldn’t get included. My offenses were being too nice, always doing my homework, and overall a goody goody. The other girls would admit those were ridiculous reasons, and yet I was still not included. Exclusion at one event meant forgotten for another. Then another, then another, in the end it meant none.
16:49
After 2 years, I finally had a chance to point out to one classmate after she told me all the details about her upcoming party for a week but never invited me. She defended the same reason that I was never at the other events and would likely be with the bff, and I pointed out how hurtful that was. She apologized, and I got invited.
The day of her party, my mom got mad at me for not cleaning my room. Yes, it had gotten messier than usual but never was a problem before. I cleaned up but took shortcuts for once in my life, tucking clothes under the bed. My mom was furious and grounded me for one of only 2 times in my whole life. I begged her to punish me afterwards crying how hard it was to finally get invited. She wouldn’t budge. She apologized years later not realizing what I was going through nor why she got so mad.
17:40
Didn’t matter. It was over. I gave up. My private hell got so much worse over the next few years especially high school. It was hard enough to keep my head above water, much less try to be accepted by people who didn’t even care. They were teens too stuck in their own dramas and lacking self-awareness beyond their own myopic lives.
I don’t blame them. I didn’t fit in. I didn’t realize I would have to reach out more, but I desperately needed to feel invited in. The timing and situations were all wrong. Had my life been simpler I could have conquered better those landmines. Instead I had far too much to deal with, and I needed to ensure I got through all that without additional damage. I focused on academics waiting for the next chapters of life – college and adulthood.
18:25
Only life remained bumpy, and periods of isolation and exclusion would repeat several more times. But I made a point if I was invited, I would do my best to show up. Always grateful to be considered and included.
For the last 2 years, I was in the process of rebuilding a social circle reconnecting with old and making new friends all too isolated by adulthood and the often weird social and career dynamics in Hollywood when the pandemic broke out.
Alas will have to see what happens next year…
18:57
Getting restless already? Check out New York Adventure Club’s multiple virtual tours and webinars for only $10, live with one week access afterwards. Next Thursday December 3rd, I will be hosting one on the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel 1931 to present, featuring an exclusive look at the renovations and future spoilers for Cobina Wright and Jakey Astor’s storylines. For tickets and more information, you can go to www.nyadventureclub.com or for my webinars specifically the Press & Events section at www.asthemoneyburns.com.
19:31
I would like to mention another podcast Armchair Historians with Anne Marie Cannon. She interviews guests about their favorite moments in history covering topics like World War II, African American entrepreneur and self-made millionairess Madame CJ Walker, the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and the Amityville horror. You can find the different episodes via her website www.armchairhistorians.com. Her next episode features an interview with me discussing my experience and process in making As The Money Burns. A link to my interview can also be found in the Press & Events section at asthemoneyburns.com website.
Hook
20:08
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
A debutante’s coming out is a never ending list of nonstop activities. Before the big dance, dinner is served for the most exclusive guests.
Wanna see what the fuss is all about?
Until then…
Credits
20:25
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 available at asthemoneyburns.com.
20:58
THE END.