Episode 84: Spirit of Adventure
A large public spectacle features
an heiress at its center, but all that attention comes with other warnings.
April 1932, Barbara Hutton serves
the primary role in the Spirit of Adventure charity pageant at Madison Square
Garden. The whole event is a family
affair, and many others participate over the night’s activities.
Other people and subjects include: Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton, E.F. Hutton, Franklyn Hutton, Irene Hutton, James “Jimmy” H.R. Cromwell, Phil Plant, Evalyn Walsh McLean, Gaston Means, Charles Lindbergh, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., Sophia Brownell Hutton, Eleanor Van Alen – Mrs. James “Henry” Van Alen, “Birdie” Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt – Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt, Amelia Earhart, George Palmer, Putnam, Eleanor Smith, Kermit Roosevelt, Vincent Astor, Captain Robert Bartlett, Walter Granger, Martin Johnson, Osa Johnson, George Eastman, bullfighter Sidney Franklin, Aubrey Van Nostrand, Mrs. Tony Biddle, Jr., Earl of Gosford, Countess of Gosford Beatrice Claflin Acheson, Mrs. “Georgia” Lucius Boomer, Florenz Ziegfeld, Mrs. Florence Ziegfeld – Billie Burke – Glinda the Good Witch The Wizard of Oz, Netflix The Diplomat, Joseph Urban, Fred Ward, June Blossom, Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, Lila Agnew Stewart, John Harkrider, Dean Jennings, socialites, exotic, adventure, explorers, historical explorers, retrospect, radium glowing costumes, bodyguards, arrest
Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Extra Notes / Call to Action:
New York
Adventure Club www.nyadventureclub.com
Check out
Gary Lawrance’s webinars on the Gilded Age mansions & owners
Share, like, subscribe
Publish Date: April 28, 2023
Length: 19:20
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: Red Sails In The Sunset by Casani Club Orchestra, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s
Section 2 Music: On The Beach At Bali Bali by Billy Merrin & His Commanders, Albums The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s & Tea Dance 2
Section 3 Music: Sing A Song of Sunbeams by Ronnie Munro & Orchestra, Albums Tea Dance 2 & The Great Bands Dance Bands Play Hits Of The 30s
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 084 – Spirit of Adventure
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.
00:31
Story Recap
Cobina Wright’s supper club provides plenty of entertainment, while the unsolved Lindbergh kidnapping keeps everyone on edge.
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
00:47
Spirit of Adventure
[Music Fade Out]
Episode Tag
A large public spectacle features an heiress at its center, but all that attention comes with other warnings.
01:00
[Music – Red Sails In The Sunset by Casani Club Orchestra, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s]
Section 1 – Story
[Music Fade Out]
01:13
Tuesday May 3rd, 1932, New York City – Madison Square Garden
The Charity Carnival is in full swing. An annual fundraiser for Judson Health Center. 15,000 in attendance with 1,000 involved as performers, all arranged on a grand scale pageant by Lila Agnew Stewart.
Under John Harkrider’s set design, the Garden transforms with this year’s dominant colors orangey-red vermillion, onyx, and gold through bunting, metallic paint, and 200 potted palm trees into something more reminiscent of a Metropolitan Opera set of “Tristan and Isolde.” Depending on the spot in the pageant, it’s a mixture Arabian Nights, Ziegfeld Follies, and burlesque. As the arena is semi-dark, costumes are treated with radium for a mystic, phosphorescent effect.
02:09
This evening’s theme is adventure. In the center of the stage the ship “Adventure”, a young handsome lad “The Spirit of Youth” is sleeping when he is awakened by the beautiful “Spirit of Adventure.” Thus unfurling an elaborate production of unending pageantry covering the real and imagined.
This year’s supreme role “the Spirit of Adventure” is assigned to none other than the chubby budding fashionista heiress Barbara Hutton. Similar to the pageant theme, Barbara herself recently returned from a world cruise tour with her stepmother Irene Hutton. Barbara wears a crown and shimmering dress, almost resembling a living Statue of Liberty. As Adventure, she inspires people to climb mountains, explore polar regions, and visit Coney Island.
02:59
Her companion “the Spirit of Youth” is Aubrey Van Nostrand, the handsome lad who once survived a dangerous ice floe in 1923 and more recently was a star football player for his Pierson High School team in Long Island. As Youth, Aubrey dreams of adventure and becoming an explorer. Together Adventure and Youth travel the seven seas, represented by the over 1000 other participants.
03:27
Plenty representatives from past and present. Christopher Columbus, Francis Drake, Ponce de Leon, Magellan, La Salle, de Soto,… on stage mix among the live audience members paleontologist Walter Granger, Kermit Roosevelt (President Theodore Roosevelt’s son who explored the Galapagos Islands with Vincent Astor in Spring 1930), Captain Robert Bartlett both the companion in Robert Peary’s Artic expeditions and a survivor of the March 1931 “Viking” ship explosion in Newfoundland, Canada. George Palmer Putnam and his wife Mrs. George Putnam, known to many as Amelia Earhart, already famous for her earlier crossing Atlantic flight though as a passenger and who will soon make her solo pilot transatlantic flight on May 20th, 1932. Her rival for the feat Eleanor Smith is also present. Among naturalists, photographers, and filmmakers, the husband-wife team Martin Johnson and Osa Johnson are without their well-known critters, they explored their third African safari and Nile River trip with friend, the recently deceased George Eastman.
04:40
Famous dancers, debutantes, and celebrities perform. Upon Youth’s awakening by Adventure, Fred Ward dances with Miss Carolyn Widman, and Ward will return again in the Oriental section. His regular partner June Blossom performs later in the Atlantic portion of the program. Other society butterflies portray other roles. In Monte Carlo, Lassie Honeyman serves as a live roulette wheel. Brooklyn bullfighter Sidney Franklin won fame in the matador rings in Mexico and Spain and dances in a simulated bullfight with recent debutantes Mariquita and Patricia MacManus. A Zulu episode contrasts a French polka and a re-enactment of the coronation of the Emperor and Empress of Mexico. Other scenes include the Orient, the Artic, Africa, Venice, Lido, Palm Beach, Vikings, Aztecs,… Some even perform as an iceberg and even a small penguin.
In the Oriental section, Barbara wistfully wishes she could recite Chinese poetry in Chinese. She longs for adventure and loves studying cultures.
05:49
Waltz contest judges include Joseph Urban (theatrical designer who also was in charge of Barbara’s debutante ball) and Florenz Ziegfeld of the Ziegfeld Follies. Among the vice chair counsel, James “Henry” Van Alen’s wife Eleanor joins Mrs. Tony Biddle, Jr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt, also known as “Birdie” Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt. Other prominent boxholders are the Earl and Countess of Gosford and Mrs. William Randolph Hearst.
06:18
A fashion show is supervised by Barbara’s cousin Sophia Brownell Hutton, aka Mrs. Curtis Hutton. Judges include Aunt Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton and Barbara along with the second American dollar princess Countess of Gosford Beatrice Claflin Acheson, the new Waldorf-Astoria hotel’s Mrs. “Georgia” Lucius Boomer, Follies madame Mrs. Florenz Ziegfeld (also known as actress Billie Burke – who will later be more popularly known as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz) and several others…
At midnight, E.F. Hutton, Franklyn Hutton, and heir to two fortunes James “Jimmy” HR Cromwell are in the panel of judges of the bathing suit contest. The still single Jimmy might be looking for his next wife among the bevy of beauties.
07:08
As people mill about and mingle, two men stay fairly close to Barbara. Her bodyguards look like other attendees, maybe a little burlier, but are never more than 10 feet away from her. The one adventure Barbara isn’t interested in experiencing – kidnapping.
Barbara is chosen for this event as it is very much a family affair especially with Post cereal heiress Aunt Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton as the chairwoman personally selects her niece for the honor. Her father Franklyn Hutton protests her participation thinking it might draw too much attention. Since her elaborate debutante ball, Barbara has been a constant target of publicity and criticism. Her recent brief engagement to Broadway playboy and millionheir Phil Plant added more attention. Barbara got a small taste of the limelight and its harsh glare.
Barbara scans the crowd to see if Phil might be about. He recently bought an old inn and might be reforming his bad boy ways.
08:13
In all the pictures, Barbara looks less than happy, though the accolades indicate she performs adequately.
In the finale, The Spirit of Youth embraces the Spirit of Adventure, and they kiss. The supposedly still innocent Barbara convincingly goes along. This will be her one and only big showbiz performance.
By summer, Barbara will once again find herself on another high seas cruise…
08:43
A few days later,…
May 5th, 1932, Washington, D.C.
Former FBI agent Gaston Means is arrested in relation to Evalyn Walsh McLean and her missing $100k that was to be used in the recovery of the Lindbergh baby.
Maybe not all attention is good attention, and some adventures should be avoided.
09:11
[Music – On The Beach At Bali Bali by Billy Merrin & His Commanders, Albums The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s & Tea Dance 2]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music Fade Out]
09:27
All in a photo – a picture is worth a thousand words. The photo of Barbara Hutton as the Spirit of Adventure is a popular image that appears from her youth. Mostly undocumented and often out of context. The photo generally appears when talking about her debutante ball which was in December 1930, while the Spirit of Adventure event actually occurs two years later in May 1932. A youthful photo still but contextually mistaken and seemingly odd with the heavily costumed nature.
10:00
Her full face is remarked as being lovely, while her eyes betray a certain level of misery. Something one can notice in many photos of her throughout her lifetime. When the photo is full body, it shows her figure. For the time, she is unfashionably considered a little heavy, though not by today’s standards, and for the fashionista the contemporary styles back then are not flattering for her figure. Many comment in positives and negatives about her – beautiful eyes, larger breasts, lacking the slender figure desired from the more popular flapper silhouette.
10:37
In this same close up photo, Barbara Hutton wears a halo – tiara – crown of spikes like the Statue of Liberty. Now I have discovered a few additional photos showing other costumes, and one of Barbara with her co-star the handsome Aubrey Van Nostrand. I will make these available via social media accounts for @asthemoneyburns on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
11:03
Among her 4 biographies, only two of her biographies reference the experience – 4 paragraphs in one with more about the family dynamics, and a smaller 1 paragraph in a second biography which seems to be an abbreviated version of the first.
The big details come from a few newspaper articles from the time period. Three articles gave tons of details mostly names of various participants as performers or spectators. In one, the long list reads like a Who’s Who much like the one list giving all the attendees at Barbara Hutton’s debutante ball. The names often given for women are their married names, thus requiring a little more effort to reconnect and identify them – i.e. Mrs. George Putnam is Amelia Earhart.
11:49
I know that all might seem trivial. And in one instance, it sort of is. It’s a large party and not one of consequence. However it still illustrates who mingles with whom and what would be considered adventurous, exotic, amusing, and fascinating back then for the elite. Sometimes we get so myopic in our current circumstances, that we are unaware of how complex and open those in the past might have been. These links to past others not so distant or trivial but rather somewhat identifiable and relatable.
It is also amazing how the ongoing effects from the Lindbergh kidnapping bleed into the story. Two separate articles reference the bodyguards with the veiled reminder that kidnapping is possible. In particular in her first biography by Dean Jennings published in 1968, the section references Franklyn Hutton’s protesting her participation, but that is not directly contextualized with both the Lindbergh timing and the past issues with her debutante ball. But the past always lingers into the present and even the future.
12:57
I have really striven to reconstruct this past from the Great Depression in ways that we can relate and begin to interpret not as singular or individual events, but as something and with people we might associate or participate at least on some familiar level and not judging from a distant past lens. Still I was struck and thrilled when I realized how much has overlapped with what I have already told.
13:23
With all those names, so many stories came rushing to my head. Now I had no idea when I plotted this episode in the timeline that it would trip over so many previous storylines.
Other referenced episodes:
Episode 34: Anchors Away (Aweigh) Kermit Roosevelt and Vincent Astor explore the Galapagos Islands
Episode 45: The Butterfly Effect several former debutantes become shopgirls
Episode 46: No Expense Spared and Episode 47: The Dark Side of the Moon Barbara Hutton’s debutante ball
Episode 51: Millionheir the dangerous Broadway playboy Phil Plant
Episode 53: A Stroke of Luck the deadliest Hollywood film happens when a ship The Viking explodes with Captain Bartlett aboard, also covers the race to explore the Artic
Episode 69: Big Shot a triple homicide decades later related to Barbara Hutton’s fortune
Episode 75: Fiery Eruptions a volcano erupts during a honeymoon and racial tensions in Hawaii
Episode 80: A Mess of Things George Eastman’s final days and his love of exploring Africa
So much adventure from the past brought back to life in the present. Now only to see what the future will bring.
14:48
[Music – Sing A Song of Sunbeams by Ronnie Munro & Orchestra, Albums Tea Dance 2 & The Great Bands Dance Bands Play Hits Of The 30s]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music Fade Out]
15:06
By now, if you are a regular listener, I’m sure that you are more than aware that I have a rather nostalgic personality and memory.
I always prefer anecdotes to illustrate and make a point. A good anecdote fleshes out more information than a plain and simple fact. I am also very drawn to stories that point out connections and interactions.
My one complaint about regular history is the singular focus and angle of stories. In that the same stories are told over and over and with little open perspective. Of course, that is somewhat necessary when getting into certain details and especially when first introducing a subject.
15:45
However to get into more deeper levels, it is very useful to have more information. I.e. Christopher Columbus discovered America in an effort to find a better route to India and China. The new route had to avoid the previous channels, which were controlled by rivals. That’s the basic story. Yet digging deeper is to learn about several empires in Turkey, Persia, and India with a rich and vibrant history. As well, the changes that happen in both societies as they interact.
Large events have a long reach, either by direct connections and experiences as well as the psyches of those who hear about the event from afar. Cases in point, wars, the Titanic, 9/11, and the pandemic.
16:30
While the details of this charity event are superfluous and rather trivial, the overall perspective is all the interaction of people rarely mentioned in each others’ stories and as well how people viewed the world around them.
And after so many years of being isolated and cutoff, it makes you wonder when will we again be interacting without hesitation. Yes, it is happening, but our psyches are still in recovery.
16:58
By the way, the new April 2023 Netflix series The Diplomat starring Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell starts off with Keri’s character walking into the US ambassador’s London headquarters which is noted to be previously owned by Barbara Hutton. Thanks to my childhood bff for catching this and pointing it out to me… The facts are true but the mismashed order and context are not. The Lindbergh kidnapping fears, her baby boy, and UK residency all did happen but with a few years gaps in between. Nor is there any explanation as to her donating that home to the embassy and why – something we might explore later.
17:41
Darker days are ahead both in our tales and in our lives. How will we all adjust, and can we keep a spirit of adventure and discovery to help us move forward back into the positives…
17:55
Need more adventure then check out New York Adventure Club. For those living or visiting New York City there are several live tours, and online they have daily live presentations on a variety of topics – keep a look out for Gary Lawrance’s webinars as he will bring back to life Gilded Age mansions and their owners. Webinar presentations are $10 each, live with one week access afterwards. Available at www.nyadventureclub.com.
If you enjoy As The Money Burns, then please share, like, & subscribe.
Hook
18:31
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
When the most famous unsolved crime goes from kidnapping to murder, those previously offering help turn into prime suspects.
Until then…
Credits
18:51
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 Goodpods, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Transcripts, timeline, episode guide, and character bios are available at asthemoneyburns.com.
19:20
THE END.