Episode 88: Precious Cargo
Two heiresses reunite on an ocean liner. Their paths and love lives are crossing over in more ways than one.
#DorisDuke, #BarbaraHutton, #WhiteStarLine, #HuntingtonHartford, #JohnJacobAstorVI, #Titansubmersible, #Titanic, #personaltruth
June 1932, while aboard the White Star Line ship traveling from New York to Europe, Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton have a chance to catch up on their complicated love lives. Other heirs and heiresses are traveling about to destinations for summer activities.
Other people and subjects include: Nanaline Duke, Franklyn Hutton, Irene Hutton, James “Jimmy” HR Cromwell, Huntington Hartford, Henrietta Hartford, Josephine Hartford Makarov, Vadim Makarov, John Jacob Astor VI aka “Jakey”, Madeleine Talmage Astor Dick, Princess Louise Van Alen Mdivani, Prince Alexis Mdivani, Daisy Van Alen, William “Sam” Van Alen, James “Henry” Van Alen, Elizabeth “Betty” Kent Van Alen, Elsa Maxwell, Phil Plant, Clinton Gardener, Lilian Gardener, Germaine “Ticki” Touquet, Sailing Baruch, Jr., Girolamo “Jerome” Rospigliosi, James Blakeley, Foster Blakeley, Grace Hyde Blakeley, H.G. Selfridge, New York Senator Elmer Quinn, Yale mystery man, Dick Bettis, Peter Storey, bodyguards, dangers, threats, White Star Line, Majestic cruise ship, Titanic, Bermuda yacht race, Newport, tennis, 1932 Olympics – Los Angeles, Dean Jennings, David Heymann, Philip Rensselaer, Mona Eldrige, Adela St. Rogers, historiography, plagiarism, fabrications, correcting dates, newspaper research, microfiche, apeman specimen, apewoman specimen, stowaway monkey, dangerous waters, Hulu documentary Queenmaker, Tinsley Mortimer, 1990s & 2000s celebrity heiresses, media celebrity, pseudonyms, personal truth, cult of celebrity, Titan submersible, OceanGate, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, Isidor Straus and Ida Straus
Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Extra Notes / Call to Action:
New York Adventure Club www.nyadventureclub.com
Thursday, July 13th, 8pm EST / 5pm PST – Waldorf Astoria Hotel Part 1: A New Standard of Luxury (pre-1929), Come learn more about the Astor family dispute behind the famous hotel and its construction as well as the hotel’s influence on luxury travel and fine dining. Connections to the Titanic as well as other events and famous people will also be explored. But all good things come to an end.
Thursday, July 20th, 8pm EST / 5pm PST – Waldorf Astoria Hotel New York Part 2: Manhattan’s Grandest Hotel (1931-present), The second version of this fine luxury hotel comes during the dawn of new era which will bring new challenges and excitement. A lingering Astor family connection adds to the saga until a new family the Hilton dynasty rises and takes over. More celebrities and events will add to allure of this hotel. Finally, updates reveal the recent renovations, an auction, and the future for the third incarnation.
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Publish Date: June 24, 2023
Length: 20:03
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: It’s Got To Be Love by Roy Fox & His Orchestra with Mary Lee, Album It’s Got To Be Love
Section 2 Music: Red Sails In The Sunset by Casani Club Orchestra, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s
Section 3 Music: A Reckless Night On Board An Ocean by Sydney Lipton, Album The Great 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 088 – Precious Cargo
Outline
Ocean cruise
graduation
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.
00:30
Story Recap
Reporting how the Great Depression will impact the upcoming presidential election, disinherited heir Neil Vanderbilt faces an angry mob in Indiana.
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
00:47
Precious Cargo
[Music Fade Out]
Episode Tag
01:00
[Music – It’s Got To Be Love by Roy Fox & His Orchestra with Mary Lee, Album It’s Got To Be Love]
Section 1 – Story
[Music Fade Out]
01:21
Glorious summer means plenty of travel, adventure, and possibly romance.
Once again, our heirs and heiresses will return to favorite elite hot spots crossing the ocean both ways.
Chubby budding fashionista Barbara Hutton has returned from one world cruise with her stepmother Irene Hutton only to sail off again alone. Barbara boards another ocean liner the Majestic without a parental chaperone.
01:48
The Majestic what an expensive cruise that is with so much wealth on board. In fact, it has not one heiress but two.
Also boarding that day, tall and now less awkward Doris Duke who is accompanied by her socially ambitious mother Nanaline Duke.
That means a total of fortunes is over $100 million. That would be $2.2 billion in 2023. Incorrectly, newspapers estimate the two ladies at roughly a similar amount in fortunes with Barbara being slightly larger. Precious cargo indeed during times of great financial strife for much of the world. The Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder heightens the fears. However no extraordinary measures seem to be taken. Ocean travel comes with plenty of other dangers – falling overboard or crashing amongst the rocks.
The Majestic is another White Star Line vessel, with its sister ship being the ill-fated Titanic.
02:49
6:00pm June 3rd, 1932 the Atlantic Ocean
The ocean liner Majestic departs New York for Cherbourgh, France. It will take nearly 10 days to reach its destination.
The two former friends once nicknamed the Gold Dust Twins, 19 year olds Barbara and Doris reunite on the cruise and catch up on the more personal aspects of their lives. Since the 1929 Newport summer and their 1930 debutante balls much has happened in the young heiresses’ lives. Though each has yet to achieve the biggest goal of a young debutante – matrimony.
03:25
A humiliation in one sense. Yet commendable that they have not entered unhappy unions. Both have become hot commodities. They are regularly mentioned with potential fiancées. Embarrassingly, Doris cancelled her previously intended trip after false reports pronounced her engaged to 36 year old New York Senator Elmer Quinn, whom she had never met. Barbara too is plagued with press claiming that millionheir Phil Plant is trying to reunite with her on this very trip, yet he remains firmly in New York. What isn’t reported is Barbara’s more recently failed romance with a Yale scholarship student who was enamored of the blue-eyed beauty at a dance only to be horrified to learn of her staggering true wealth.
04:09
Both young ladies have been linked to a Blakeley brother – a set of dapper Park Avenue lads and popular society sons of famed Broadway actress, singer, and star Grace Blakeley Hyde. Oldest by only a year James Blakeley is rumored to be attached to Barbara who demurs he is only a friend, while younger Foster Blakeley has been linked to Doris back in the Fall 1931, but she is now supposedly engaged to Sailing Baruch, Jr. Doris hints that Stotesbury stepson and older man James “Jimmy” HR Cromwell has repeatedly shown interest despite a recent news article hinting at his potential engagement to another socialite divorcee.
04:48
Each young lady is on the edge of scandal. Doris has been spotted jumping in and out of cabs to various hot spots in New York. Her mother Nanaline remains a constant chaperone for the international trips and prestigious social events, but Doris can force a bit more freedom to visit clubs including those in Harlem which horrify Nanaline. Doris cannot resist the lure of great music.
05:12
Barbara too confesses to some rebellious episodes. Their obvious increase in security since the Lindbergh kidnapping means constant surveillance by bodyguards. At the recent Spirit of Adventure pageant, there were two never more than 10 feet away from her. Barbara hints that she got rid of one young and studly bodyguard by letting him seduce and ravage her for a day then casually and flippantly revealing it to her father Franklyn Hutton and stepmother Irene Hutton. The young man was promptly dismissed, but Barbara is still reported in New York being chauffeured around in an armored car.
05:48
Now her chauffeur Clinton Gardiner will serve as her primary bodyguard, as he is deemed “safer” by the Hutton standards since his wife Lilian also serves in Barbara’s entourage. Barbara might be traveling sans parents, but she still has her own entourage including Clinton, Lilian, and of course her never too far, ever present motherly French governess Ticki Touquet. Franklyn and Irene will join them later in the summer.
06:15
When Doris asks about Prince Alexis Mdivani, Barbara replies they remain close friends, but she has accepted his marriage to Louise Van Alen last year. Still Barbara thinks he is the more ideal than other men. Barbara sincerely hopes not to find herself in another Rospigliosi predicament where another overly ardent aristocrat pursues her. Doris agrees as she too gets plenty of less than glorious offers. Doris would prefer encountering a monkey on board the ship than another amorous pursuer after her wealth.
They giggle then sigh. It’s been over a year since their debuts, and time is ticking towards old maid status. Far more fashionable, but still more bridesmaids than brides.
07:00
In contrast, two other eligible male heirs will also disappoint the fresher crop of debutantes. Elsewhere proud scion John Jacob Astor VI, aka Jakey, graduates from St. Georges in Newport. For the summer, Jakey will be on a world tour, but his trip will start off from America’s West Coast crossing the Pacific Ocean then all the way around the world. His first oceanic voyage was more disastrous but survived in his mother’s womb aboard the ill-fated Titanic. His mother Madeleine Talmage Astor Dick will accompany him for part of the European leg of his trip as well as his younger brothers. Jakey will eventually find his way to Harvard. There he will socialize more with fellow heir and richest boy Huntington Hartford.
07:46
Nanaline along with Newport neighbor and smothering mother Henrietta Hartford was pressuring a match with Huntington and Doris, who both gladly escaped that union. Last year Huntington secretly eloped only to have it revealed by Fall 1931, the now married Huntington will make the rounds of tennis tournaments in the Northeast including at Newport. While Huntington’s sister Josephine Hartford Makarov (Makaroff) joins her husband the Caviar King Vadim Makarov (Makaroff) in a Bermuda yacht race before joining the Newport yachting activities. In Bermuda, Josephine is “the only woman to tar on any of the 27 boats.” Sadly, they rank #11 in the competition. Henrietta will focus on her hot houses for the upcoming floral shows. Huntington himself entertains getting his own yacht.
08:31
Astor cousins the Van Alen clan will gather at their Newport home Wakehurst for more yachting and tennis activities. Socialite queen Daisy Van Alen and middle son William “Sam” Van Alen with his wife Elizabeth “Betty” Kent are already at Wakehurst. By August, eldest James “Henry” Van Alen and his wife Eleanor and their son will return from their European tour, as well as youngest Princess Louise Van Alen Mdivani and her husband and longtime family friend Prince Alexis Mdivani who live in Paris will also come for a visit. The latters all crossing the ocean in the opposite direction.
09:06
Soon the Majestic itself will be used to transport European athletes to the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. As Barbara will once again make her way to Biarritz, Doris will spend some time in London then Cannes.
Many dangers await them in their travels, but the short term risks from kidnappers, rogue waves, rocks, icebergs, and other hazards are no match to the long term detriment of fortune hunters who target their hearts.
09:37
[Music – Red Sails In The Sunset by Casani Club Orchestra, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music Fade Out]
09:55
Our story and real-life characters are deeply affected by the Great Depression, but the biggest damage comes most from the disappointed dreams and betrayals involving love and romance. As the saying goes, money doesn’t buy love.
It might seem like I am harping or over aggrandizing the effort to reconstruct the past by correcting or dating certain incidents. But I am now reaching a series of events which will have a profound lifelong impact on some of our main characters.
10:25
The jumbled mess both shows the emotional chaos and turmoil surrounding the decisions, and all the lies, scandals, and subverted truths further add and perpetuate the drama. It also confirms the fears honest and reputable men had in associating with either heiress as they would be readily connected and possibly engaged in the press thus only bringing on potential scandal.
10:47
Regularly, I consult 4 biographies on Barbara Hutton (1 contemporary mid 1960s and 3 posthumously) and two extensive contemporary 1938 articles. Doris Duke has 5 biographies, all posthumously and one recent as of 2020. Plus endless articles via journals, magazines, and especially newspapers.
Now the latter can definitely be incorrect but narrows down the timelines. Mistakes are often made when either biography references the other heiress. Getting the age or some other element wrong about Barbara when discussing Doris, and vice versa. Each heiress also had a mini-series based on them, which is how I first came to learn about both women.
11:30
Barbara’s mini-series Poor Little Rich Girl starring Farrah Fawcett is based on her biography by David Heymann. Unfortunately, that book has proven to be fairly problematic. First, he plagiarizes heavily the first two biographies, and even worse Heymann completely fabricates other scenarios and loads it with seemingly factual details from Barbara’s private journals and diaries. The latters which have never been proven or noted to exist except through Heymann’s claims.
The first and only biography published during her lifetime Barbara Hutton (1968) written by Dean Jennings heavily favors a future disgruntled husband. The second biography Million Dollar Baby (1979) is written by Barbara’s friend and former companion Philip Van Rensselaer, another heir to privilege. The last biography In Search of A Prince (1988) author Mona Eldridge is Barbara’s former social secretary and interviews many associates.
12:27
Elsa Maxwell wrote a 1938 Cosmo article series, but Elsa is not the best on facts but provides a lot of names like Phil Plant. Another 1938 article series is by Adela St. Rogers and is the only thing written that involves a direct interview with Barbara as a source for the material discussed. As noted, 3 previous Elsa, Mona, and Van Rensselaer are all longer term associates to Barbara so they each might have discussed situations and people over different periods but not for immediate literary or historical documentation. All would be written several years after their conversations.
13:05
Thus through all this, I try to reconstruct the basic timeline and discrepancies in Barbara’s overly complicated love life, which is about to go haywire…
Phil Plant is an American heir with ties to Broadway and has a dangerous playboy reputation for more than just breaking hearts. Elsa and Adela mention him as well as the biographies by Jennings and Heymann for less than 2 pages each, but the other two biographies never mention Plant as a suitor. Newspapers confirm their romance but mislead and refute a current reconnection in 1932. Elsa also mentions James “Jimmy” Blakeley who might be the current story timeline paramour and admirer but defers to him as only a friend in Barbara’s eyes. Other news articles hint *that Barbara has a rumored romance back in New York despite her recent travels.
13:56
Adela has the chronology that feels the most trustworthy. She is the first to reference a potential unnamed Yale scholarship and honor student only slightly older who met Barbara briefly at a dance but then scared off when learning about her wealth.
In Jennings and Heymann’s biographies, Dick Bettis is identified as the Yale scholarship man whom Barbara had been enamored but rejected her due to her immense wealth. I have tried to confirm the name, but the only Dick Bettis I find is a high schooler who is both a football captain and tennis star at around that time circa 1933-1935 making that one far too young to be viable as an older college man.
14;35
Heymann’s false tales also contain more vulgar and salacious details. Claiming Barbara mentions romping with a bodyguard in rebellion to her father and stepmother. Also a quite intricate story about Barbara’s seduction by a tennis instructor, former Cambridge student, and British aristocrat Peter Storey – unable to find any other record of him. Motherly governess Ticki plays chaperone decoy for the evening, while the escapade supposedly occurs on August 2nd, 1929.
15:04
AN ACTUAL DATE AND IT IS SO WRONG. I mean technically so unlikely that it is in all practicality impossible. Barbara’s presence is documented in several news articles, late July 1929 in Southampton’s and New York area, then in August in Newport, with more stories in Southampton and New York through the end of the year.
Barbara often made annual pilgrimages to Biarritz, but that seems to veer towards late August and September as would be the season when many royals and aristocrats gather at go around the same time. However in 1929, more than 4 articles place her firmly in Northeastern America for a 3 week window around the date, and with travel primarily via ocean liner taking about 7 – 10 days no way for her to go and come back to have one titillating incident. The jet set era comes after World War II.
16:02
Now Heymann wrote and published in 1983 & 1984, so he did not have the electronic archive resources of our modern era. The same ones I could use to dispute his claims.
I should note by now I have collected over 5000 news articles and still going. The first time I ever did newspaper research was in 1986 for an English class assignment when I had to get a copy of the front page for my date of birth. My dad and I went to the downtown Houston Public Library and had to use the microfiche system. All through high school, college, grad school, and even my 4 years as a History Channel documentary researcher had to use the same access to historical news articles. I would use a printed index book or electronic database to look up topics then dates and publications, then get these physical reels and run through a machine scrolling to the correct page. By college, Lexis-Nexis could digitally provide news and magazines articles but only about 30 years prior to about late 1970s or early 1980s. Now of course, we have many more abundant electronic resources all at our fingertips.
I say that to note all research by her biographers would have had similar methods and limitations. Most places would have New York Times but not smaller local papers. With modern sources, I have a much larger array to sort and sift and with speed and agility where the other would have been much clumsier.
17:31
And with that I would like to note a few other related news stories I also accidentally spotted…
A May 1932 article about a seaman washed overboard on the White Star Line Doric near Lisbon.
Several May & June 1932 articles detailing the other various and well-known personages traveling aboard the Majestic, early retailer HG Selfridge, explorers, entertainers, businessmen including 3 oil executives from 3 different companies on one trip, and more… Makes one a bit nervous as today’s time we discourage such public disclosure on social media.
18:06
A June 1932 ad promoting White Star Line cruises at prices 50% from the previous 1931 year. Will post that to social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also note a separate article indicates Malibu rentals are also going for rare bargain prices.
A June 1932 article about rising underworld crime references Doris slipping in out of casinos (not today’s gambling institutions but back then social clubs like for tennis, dancing, and dinner) and Barbara riding around in an armored car.
A June 1932 article about White Star Line ship Ferndale runs aground during a fog and crashes on some rocks off the coast of Africa. The Majestic itself will be heavily damaged by an enormous wave in 1934.
18:53
A June 1932 article mentions how a former 500,000 year old ape-man specimen has now been determined to be an ape-woman.
And my favorite couldn’t resist a wink, the prior year August – September 1931 articles, a stowaway monkey terrorizes the Majestic and is finally captured after 10 days. No further details on breed nor its relocation. Practically the same story recycled over 7 publications. Darn it, I really wanted more on that one.
There are plenty of dark stories to tell, which is why we can appreciate occasional levity and modern sensibilities.
Plenty more human monkey business to come…
19:38
[Music – A Reckless Night On Board An Ocean by Sydney Lipton, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music Fade Out]
19:55
In the new 2023 Hulu documentary Queenmaker, the story covers several celebrity heiresses and the various media outlets that surrounded them. The rise of the new It Girl of the 90s & 00s. The doc refers to the whole adage that a proper society lady should only be mentioned in the press 3 times within her life – birth, marriage, and death. Incorrectly attributing that rule is broken in the 1990s with the rise of media celebrity especially beginning with Tinsley Mortimer. Yes, that was a long prevalent rule originating more from the Gilded Age era but of course would be broken numerous times in other ways even back then.
20:35
Though previous gossip columns used pseudonyms so that only those truly in the know would be able to identify the actual persons involved, that anonymous protective layer stripped slightly before the 1929 Crash, and the Great Depression made a significant increase in the open dissection of the early media celebrities – mostly the wealthy then shifting more to entertainers as motion pictures became a dominant cheap escape. Photos and newsreels further complicate anonymity.
21:05
Maybe it is also a good time to talk about personal truths. Personal truth means how an individual sees and relates to their circumstances. It can be highly subjective and skewed through a prism that bends and distorts realities. As in when we take an offense to an innocuous situation, such as someone being curt in line is taken as a personal affront when you are merely a passerby.
Personal truths can be empowering when they allow us to acknowledge and deal with complexities. As in your feelings contradict the expected result, you achieve a goal but feel depressed rather than elated, or an anticipated disappointment actually brings relief. You can win a prize for a career accomplishment only to realize the personal relationship costs in the process. You might have feared failing at a task only to feel pride in having tried even if confirming the doubt.
21:57
What the cult of celebrity often disconnects from is reality. Yes, it is fun to dream about what life might be like with different circumstances. Yet that does not invalidate that there are darker sides to something that seems so bright.
And in all irony, those who have it all might secretly wish they had the chance to face the challenge in the exact opposite circumstances. A rich kid might dream of adventure on a dime. Especially those famous not by choice might fantasize about anonymity or regular and normal interactions.
22:34
What really gets even darker is when those on the outside in anger then try to impose their fantasy versions upon those who suffer the negative consequences. We have to allow for ambiguities and contradictions within ourselves and others. Forcing it to be otherwise is indeed enforcing and perpetuating lies, which in the end are less fulfilling and potentially harmful individually and societally.
Bright fantasies can turn into dark nightmares. The search for love leaves behind a trail of broken hearts.
23:13
*After recording and during editing this current episode, the submersible Titan was on its way to visit the ocean floor wreckage of the White Star Line and Majestic sister ship the Titanic. On board are 2 billionaires British explorer Hamish Harding and Pakistani born now British citizen Shahzada Dawood and his 19 year old son Suleman Dawood, French diver and frequent Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate CEO and multimillionaire Stockton Rush. Stockton’s wife is the great great granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, co-owners of Macy’s department store and the wealthiest couple to die on the Titanic.
The submersible disappeared less than two hours in the water on Sunday, June 18th, 2023. On the afternoon of Thursday, June 22nd, 2023, it has been announced debris from the submersible has been located. There are no survivors. I am noting this event as it crosses over many of the themes and similar events including the Titanic covered throughout this series.
24:22
If you haven’t caught them yet, my two webinars on the first and second Waldorf-Astoria hotels return to New York Adventure Club. Come check out – Part 1 on Thursday, July 13th, 2023 and Part 2 on Thursday, July 20th, 2023 at 8pm EST / 5pm PST. Topics include plenty of presidents, royalty, celebrities, underworld figures, and even Lindbergh’s banquet and the Titanic tragedy. Weblinks are available at www.nyadventureclub.com and the News | Events section at asthemoneyburns.com. The fee is $10 each, live with one week access after.
Thursday, July 13th, 8pm EST / 5pm PST – Waldorf Astoria Hotel Part 1: A New Standard of Luxury (pre-1929), Come learn more about the Astor family dispute behind the famous hotel and its construction as well as the hotel’s influence on luxury travel and fine dining. Connections to the Titanic as well as other events and famous people will also be explored. But all good things come to an end.
Thursday, July 20th, 8pm EST / 5pm PST – Waldorf Astoria Hotel New York Part 2: Manhattan’s Grandest Hotel (1931-present), The second version of this fine luxury hotel comes during the dawn of new era which will bring new challenges and excitement. A lingering Astor family connection adds to the saga until a new family the Hilton dynasty rises and takes over. More celebrities and events will add to allure of this hotel. Finally, updates reveal the recent renovations, an auction, and the future for the third incarnation.
If you enjoy As The Money Burns, then please share, like, & subscribe.
Hook
25:10
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
Annual summer competitions and events are in full swing, and a once unfashionable heiress is now as notably stylish as a queen.
Until then…
Credits
25:29
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.
25:58
THE END.