This book evolved from a story I wrote for New York magazine in August 2006. I began the research that led to that story a year earlier, in September 2005, before the legal fight began. Although I had contacts in Mrs. Astor’s world from previous magazine assignments, I did not come to this subject with any special arrangements or access, just an intense desire to understand what happened to this family.
Ultimately, I was able to speak to every major figure involved in this controversy. I interviewed more than 230 people, including Mrs. Astor’s family members, close friends, and former staffers. Many were initially reluctant to grant full cooperation. Only after ten months of phone calls did Philip Marshall agree to meet me in person and describe in detail the events that led him to sue his father. In her role as Mrs. Astor’s guardian, Annette de la Renta refused all press requests for a year, but six months after Mrs. Astor’s death, she spoke with me at length. David Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger also discussed the lawsuit and their friendship with Mrs. Astor in conversations at their respective offices.
Tony and Charlene Marshall, who met with me at their home in 2005 for my story in New York, declined to schedule a formal interview for this book but were nonetheless accessible. Tony granted me a half-hour phone interview in June 2007, and during a break in the surrogate’s court proceedings in Westchester in October 2007, the Marshalls sat and spoke to me for nearly an hour. Whenever I went up to them at events and asked questions, they took the time to answer. They graciously provided family photographs for the book.
The majority of my interviews were taped. When taping was not possible, for various reasons (such as the ban on tape recorders at courthouses or requests by individuals that I not record them), I relied on my notes. Most conversations were on the record, but a few people would agree to speak only on a background basis. During two years of reporting, I did multiple interviews with many sources.
In researching this book, I read numerous newspaper clippings and books, especially Brooke Astor’s two autobiographies, Patchwork Child (1962) and Footprints (1980), and Frances Kiernan’s invaluable The Last Mrs. Astor (2007). I relied on, and derived insights from, several types of documents not available to the general public:
The nurses’ notes written by Mrs. Astor’s caregivers from September 2003 to March 2004. As indicated in the text, these notes are far more than medical notations, since they include descriptions of Mrs. Astor’s state of mind and running commentary on the events that occurred at her two homes, Holly Hill in Westchester and 778 Park Avenue in Manhattan.
Schedules and phone message logs prepared for Mrs. Astor. These documents, some of which date back to 1990 and which conclude in 2005, have been verified for accuracy by members of Mrs. Astor’s household.
Letters written by Mrs. Astor and her family members to one another. Several of her close friends, including Vartan Gregorian, Liz Smith, and Annette de la Renta, shared personal notes that they received from Mrs. Astor.
Documents related to the 2006 guardianship lawsuit. Some documents were part of the New York State Supreme Court files (index no. 500095/06; the public files have been redacted). Others derived from legal discovery in that case but were never formally filed with the court; these documents subsequently became part of the proceedings in Westchester County Surrogate’s Court and New York County criminal court. Though some of these materials have been quoted in newspaper stories, I was able to make greater use of them at book length. In the chapter notes, for simplicity, I list these documents as related to the guardianship case.
Philip Graham, who acquired Newsweek with Brooke Astor’s blessing from the Vincent Astor Foundation in 1961, famously described weekly journalism as “the first draft of history.” A book like Mrs. Astor Regrets aspires to a higher level of accuracy than a news story written under unrelenting deadlines. But I also know something about the limitations of even the most careful reporter, and I make no claims to omniscience. That said, I have done my best to be meticulously accurate and fair-minded in telling the story that became Mrs. Astor Regrets.
PROLOGUE: TRIAL BY TABLOID
4 “She could make her will known”: Author phone interview with Lois Orlin, Jan. 24, 2008.
“She really loved”: Author phone interview with Sandra Foschi, Jan. 31, 2008.
1. THE ASTOR 100
6 The New York Times later took the unusual step: Alex Kuczynski, “100 Candles for a Darling of Society and Charity,” New York Times, Mar. 30, 2002. p. B1.
“She took on the Astor Foundation”: Author phone interview with Viscount William Astor, July 30, 2006.
7 “a very material-minded woman”: Author interview with Louis Auchincloss at his Park Avenue home, Nov. 16, 2008.
“Buddie was the love of her life”: Author phone interview with Nancy Reagan, Apr. 25, 2007.
“She always said Vincent was difficult”: Author phone interview with Barbara Walters, Jan. 18, 2008.
Her forty-two person staff: Judith Miller, “Old Money, New Needs,” New York Times Magazine, Nov. 17, 1991.
8 “She always wanted to be in the limelight”: Author interview with Philippe de Montebello at the Metropolitan Museum, Mar. 12, 2008.
“It always really helped”: Author interview with Peg Breen at New York Landmarks Conservancy office, Jan. 25, 2007.
“Once Brooke began giving”: Author interview with Howard Phipps at his Rockefeller Plaza office, June 12, 2007.
9 Vernon Jordan, the civil rights leader: Author interview with Vernon Jordan at his Rockefeller Plaza office, Apr. 9, 2007.
“The worst thing she could say”: Author interview with Linda Gillies, multiple interviews by phone and in person, Sept. 2005–Apr. 2008.
“Tony was always very nice”: Author interview with Nancy Kissinger at the Kissinger Associates office, Mar. 13, 2007.
“She didn’t like the same people”: Author interview with Vartan Gregorian at the Carnegie Corporation of New York office, Mar. 24, 2007.
“She was determined”: Author interview with Freddy Melhado at his Park Avenue home, June 13, 2007.
10 “to look like ballgowns”: Author interview with Albert Hadley at his office, Sept. 2005.
“She was talking so nicely”: Author interview with Robert Caravaggi at Swifty’s, Apr. 12, 2008.
“Brooke loved dressing up”: Author interview with Annette de la Renta at her Park Avenue home, Jan. 29, 2008.
“It was kind of genetic”: Author phone interview with Tom Brokaw, Mar. 27, 2007.
11 Forbes estimated Jane Engelhard’s fortune: “The Forbes Four Hundred,” Forbes, Oct. 28, 1985, p. 148.
“Brooke looked upon Annette”: Philippe de Montebello interview.
Brooke was wintering: Author phone interview with Brooke Astor’s landlords, Don and Ann Carmichael, Oct. 2006.
“Brooke always felt it was her duty”: Author phone interview with Oscar de la Renta, Feb. 2008.
12 Birthdays could be a dilemma: Vartan Gregorian interview.
Ten years later: “Marines Making Music, Cannon Firing Confetti,” New York Times, Mar. 8, 1992. p. 58.
“She had a ball”: Author phone interview with Oz Elliott, Nov. 2006.
“I ran back and threw my arms”: Videotaped Brooke Astor ninetieth birthday tribute, collection of Susan Trescher.
13 “I don’t feel old”: James Barron, “All This and Brooke Astor Too,” New York Times, Mar. 6, 1992, p. B3.
it netted $892,741: Citizens Committee of New York press office.
She sent a note: Author interview with Vincent Steffan at the Sea Grill, Mar. 14, 2007.
On New Year’s Eve: Author interview with David Rockefeller at his office, Dec. 18, 2007.
14 Several months before: Written description provided by David Rockefeller.
15 “There were rotating men”: Author interview with John Hart in Manhattan, Sept. 26 2006.
When the historian: Author interview with Barbara Goldsmith at her home, Mar. 15, 2007.
“When I got Linda to come”: Brooke Astor videotaped interview with Peg Breen, president of New York Landmarks Conservancy, Nov. 7, 1996. Courtesy of Landmarks Conservancy.
“Brooke was human”: Author interview with John Dobkin at his home, Sept. 15, 2005.
16 “Once something was over”: Author interview with Linda Gillies at her home, Sept. 12, 2005.
“We walked in”: Author interview with Marshall Rose at his office, Apr. 10, 2007.
“Brooke was a big flirt”: Nancy Reagan interview.
“She had an infatuation”: Tom Brokaw interview.
Peter Jennings was among: Party guests who predeceased Brooke Astor include Eleanor Elliott, Andrew Heiskell, Peter Jennings, Nancy Pierrepont, George Plimpton, Eben Pyne, Laurance Rockefeller, Abe Rosenthal, Bobby Short, and George Trescher.
17 “She could have kept”; Author phone interview with Naomi Packard-Koot, Feb. 8, 2007.
“We had a little game”: Author interview with Gregory Long at the Knickerbocker Club, Mar. 5, 2007.
She recalled playing tennis: Craig Wilson, “Astor’s Good Fortune,” USA Today, Dec. 3, 1993, p. 1D.
18 “Darn, I can’t”: Alex Kuczynski, “100 Candles for a Darling of Society and Charity,” New York Times, Mar. 30, 2002, p. B1.
“maybe just a little”: Author interview with Marian Heiskell at her home, Feb. 6, 2007.
“She was pretty much”: Author interview with Alex Kuczynski at her home, Apr. 3, 2007.
“beeswax and money”; Janine di Giovanni, “Party Girl of the Century,” Toronto Globe and Mail, Jan. 1, 2000, p. R9.
2. A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
19 Tony Marshall had a secret: Anthony Dryden Marshall letter to Dr. Howard Fillit, Dec. 26, 2000, New York State Supreme Court, index no. 500095/06.
20 “It was obvious”; Author interview with Alec Marshall at his home, Dec. 12, 2007. “My father took me”: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.
“Her health is pretty good”: Mary Voboril, “100 Reasons to Celebrate,” Newsday, Mar. 28, 2002, p B8.
21 “Nixon didn’t know”: Author interview with Ashton Hawkins at his office, July 16, 2007.
“I’ve got to go get my son”: Author interview with Steve Hamor, July 19, 2007.
Tony would later boast: New York State Supreme Court, index no. 50095/06, Anthony Marshall verification answer and cross petition, Sept. 19, 2006, p. 12.
Compound growth rate of 5.9 percent: Selena Maranjian, “105 Years Old, with $816 in the Bank,” Motley Fool, www.fool.com, Apr. 11, 2007.
22 reached $450,000: New York State Supreme Court, index no. 500095/06, p. 39.
“I think I’ll talk”: Alex Kuczynski. “100 Candles for a Darling of Society and Charity,” New York Times, Mar. 30, 2002, p. B1.
23 “I came up at lunchtime”: Author interview with Viscount William Astor, Dec. 26, 2007.
Brooke had never gushed: Author interview with Vartan Gregorian at the Carnegie Corporation, Mar. 24, 2007.
25 What a famous cast: Kuczynski, “100 Candles,” p. B1.
26 “The three aunties”: Author interview with Emily Harding at her home, Oct. 5, 2006.
“We always took a walk”: Author interview with Henry Kissinger at his office, Sept. 19, 2007.
27 personal assets of $120 million: Brooke Astor’s will, Jan. 30, 2002, Surrogate’s Court of the State of New York, County of Westchester, file no. 2127/2007.
suspended from practicing law: Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, N.Y. 217 A.D.2d 74, 634 N.Y.S. 2d. 51, Nov. 16, 1995.
28 “She lived with that painting”: Author phone interview with Florence Irving, Apr. 2008.
now the artwork was on display: Author interview with George Soros, Mar. 26, 2008.
“I didn’t want to sell it”: Author interview with confidential source.
“We did not grow up”: Author interview with Alec Marshall at his home, Dec. 12, 2007.
“Brooke was fond of them”: Interview with Ashton Hawkins at his office, July 16 2007.
“Philip was very nice”: Author interview with John Hart in Manhattan, Sept. 26, 2006.
“They could not be”: Author interview with Suzanne Kuser in Washington, D.C., June 28, 2007.
29 “Philip’s courses”: Author interview with Kevin Clark in Manhattan, Dec. 2, 2007.
Her clothes were couture: Author phone interview with Elizabeth Corbett, of Chez Ninon, July 2007.
30 “She wasn’t a grandmother”: Author interview with Gregory Long at the Knickerbocker Club, Mar. 5, 2007.
“I liked Tony”: Author phone interview with Barbara Walters, Jan. 18, 2008.
“She wasn’t totally there”: Henry Kissinger interview.
“Oscar did this phenomenal dress”: Author interview with Paul LeClerc at the New York Public Library, May 17, 2007.
31 The waiters served: Alex Kuczynski, “Grandest of Dames Turns 100 in Style,” New York Times, Apr. 1, 2002, p. B3.
“Everybody knew that Brooke”: Author phone interview with Robert Pirie, Sept. 2007.
“Charlene brought over the flowers”: Barbara Walters interview.
“Brooke had some kind of altercation”: Author interview with Liz Smith in Manhattan, Jan. 23, 2007.
32 Tony Marshall had prepared: Author phone interview with Tony Marshall, June 21, 2007.
33 “It was a magical night”: Vartan Gregorian interview.
“You looked around”: Author interview with John Dobkin in Manhattan, Sept. 19, 2006.
“precious asset”: “Brooke Astor: A Precious Asset,” Hartford Courant, Apr. 5, 2002, p. A16.
“she has had everything”: “Brooke Astor’s Century,” New York Times, Mar. 30, 2002, p. 14.
“On Saturday”: Nicholas Wapshott, “The So-Called ‘Melting pot’ of New York Is No Such Thing.” Times (London), Apr. 5, 2002, p. 14.
3. DISASTER FOR MRS. ASTOR
34 At Holly Hill the morning after: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.
36 “I’ll never forget”: Author phone interview with Nan Starr, Feb. 2008.
“He said he did not intend”: Author phone interview with Alec Marshall, Feb. 2008.
gardeners had plowed: Author phone interview with Steve Hamor, Feb. 2007.
37 On Monday morning: Philip Marshall interview.
38 “I offered to barricade myself”: Author interview with Daniel Billy, Jr., in Manhattan, Apr. 10, 2007.
39 “Tony asked me”: Steve Hamor interview.
“I drove up the driveway”: Author interview with Sam Peabody at his home, Apr. 17, 2007.
Three days earlier: Author interview with Ira Salzman at his office, Dec. 4, 2006.
40 On Monday afternoon: Author phone interview with Helen Peterson, Jan. 2008.
41 “I knew that Philip”: Author interview with Tenzing Chadotsang in Manhattan, Dec. 14, 2007.
“At that point”: Philip Marshall interview.
41 Annette is an early riser: Author interview with Annette de la Renta at her home, Jan. 29, 2008.
Annette was horrified: Helen Peterson, “Battle of N.Y. Blue Bloods!,” Daily News, July 26, 2006, p. 1.
“sad and deplorable”: Ibid., p. 6.
42 “The apartment is shabby”: Annette de la Renta affidavit, New York State Supreme Court, Philip Marshall application of “Guardians of the Person and Property of Brooke Astor,” order to show cause, index 500095/06.
“That’s when I knew”: Nan Starr interview.
43 “Reporters were outside”: Author interview with Sandra Gelbard in Manhattan, Oct. 3, 2007.
“we had to pull down the shades”: Author interview with Bob Pyle in Northeast Harbor, July 19, 2007.
“I thought the New York Post”: Author interview with Charlene Marshall at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sept. 29, 2007.
“I thought he had a case”: Author interview with Suzanne Kuser in Washington, D.C., June 28, 2007.
“I felt terrible”: Author phone interview with Nancy Reagan, Apr. 25, 2007.
“I’m just appalled”: Author interview with Viscount Astor, July 30, 2006.
They were accused of finagling millions: Serge Kovaleski and Mike McIntire. “A Former Aide tells How Spending Habits Changed,” New York Times, Aug. 1, 2006, p. 1; Serge Kovaleski, “Mrs. Astor’s Son Is Accused of Mishandling Millions,” New York Times, Sept. 7, 2006, p. A1; Serge Kovaleski and Mike McIntire, “Mrs. Astor’s Guardians Question Legitimacy of Will’s Amendments,” New York Times, Sept. 13, 2006, p. B1.
44 there was an uproar: Serge Kovaleski, “Major Error is Reported in Tax paid by Mrs. Astor on Sale of Painting,” New York Times, Sept. 24, 2006, p. 37.
“My mother has always”: Anthony D. Marshall press release, July 31, 2006.
“I thought they were all friends”: Author phone interview with Tony Marshall, June 21, 2007.
“I don’t know Philip”: Author interview with David Rockefeller at his office, Dec. 18, 2007.
“Nobody said”: Author interview with Henry Kissinger at his office, Sept. 19, 2007.
45 “a disturbed attention-getting”: Author phone interview with David Richenthal, July 2006.
“I am perplexed”: Mike Wallace statement, July 31, 2006, issued by Kenneth Warner, attorney for Tony Marshall.
“When I read about it”: Author phone interview with Mike Wallace, Nov. 8, 2006.
“I was dumbfounded”: Author interview with Brenda Husson at St. James’ Church, July 2, 2007.
“If David Rockefeller”: Author phone interview with Oz Elliott, Nov. 2006.
“parricidal intervention”: William F. Buckley, Jr., “Sonnytime,” Universal Press Syndicate, Aug. 8, 2006.
“What they’ve done”: Author interview with Daniel Billy Jr. in Manhattan, Mar. 3, 2008.
46 “As we have learned”: U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, Chairman Gordon H. Smith, Sept. 7, 2006.
“She never went out”: Author interview with Louis Auchincloss at his home, Nov. 16, 2006.
47 “Look at the marvelous sauces”: Marilyn Berger, “Being Brooke Astor,” New York Times, May 20, 1984.
“The American Astor Family”: Cleveland Amory, Who Killed Society? (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1960), p. 468.
“She loved to get to know”: Author interview with Gregory Long at the Knickerbocker Club, Mar. 5, 2007.
4. “I MARRIED A TERRIBLE MAN”
49 “She took books”: Author phone interview with Linda Gillies, Apr. 2008.
50 “My mother used to say”: Videotape of Andrew Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy awards ceremony, Dec. 10, 2001, courtesy of Carnegie Corporation.
“No one knew what to do”: Author interview with Annette de la Renta at her home, multiple interviews, Jan. 29, 2008–July 2008.
51 “Keep in mind”: Author phone interview with Robert Pirie, Sept. 2007.
“Part of the problem”: Author interview with Ashton Hawkins at his office, July 16, 2007.
On April 27: “Elaborate Weddings Mark the Spring Season,” Washington Post, Apr. 27, 1919, p. S6.
52 Brooke would later tear up: Brooke Astor, Footprints (New York: Doubleday, 1980), p. 38.
Brooke’s paternal grandfather: “Admiral Russell’s Services,” New York Times, Mar. 22, 1896.
“extraordinarily able”: Arthur Krock, “Russell of the Marines Justifies Cleveland’s Faith,” New York Times, Feb. 22, 1934.
“Mrs. Russell was jolly”: Author interview with Ivan Obolensky in Manhattan, Oct. 11, 2007.
53 “I revered Miss Madeira”: Mort Sheinman and Lorna Koski, “The Last Queen,” Women’s Wear Daily, Aug. 14, 2007, p. 1 (excerpts from 1991 interview).
54 “We were a totally miscast pair”: Astor, Footprints, p. 39.
“She told me that she ran”: Author interview with Liz Smith in Manhattan, Jan. 23, 2007.
“She was naughty”: Author interview with Philippe de Montebello at the Metropolitan Museum, Mar. 12, 2008.
“When I can’t sleep”: Brooke Astor, The Bluebird Is at Home (New York: Harper & Row, 1965), p. 17.
55 “If only I were younger”: Author interview with Vernon Jordan at his office, Apr. 9, 2007.
Faircourt, the family’s grandiose: John Turpin and W. Barry Thomson, New Jersey Country Houses: The Somerset Hills, vol. I (Far Hills, N.J.: Mountain Colony Press, 2004); author visit to Faircourt, July 2007.
55 notorious robbery: “Adroit Thief Drugs Then Robs Kuser,” New York Times, Nov. 2, 1921; Astor, Footprints, pp. 57–58.
56 “Dryden was fast-drinking”: Author phone interview with Andrew Kravchenko, July 2007.
“Having not participated”: Astor, Footprints, p. 51.
“Now, Bob dear”: Author interview with Bob Pyle in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 19, 2007.
“She wanted to talk”: Author phone interview with Sandra Graves, Sept. 2007.
57 “One day he knocked me down”: Marilyn Berger, “Being Brooke Astor,” New York Times Magazine, May 20, 1984.
“a trust fund”: Mrs. Lester Perrin to Suzanne Kuser, n.d. Courtesy of Suzanne Kuser.
58 “I hardly ever saw”: Author interview with Suzanne Kuser in Washington, D.C., June 28, 2007.
“He once created”: Kravchenko interview.
“I had an affair:” Eileen Simpson interview with Brooke Astor, June 15, 1996, New York Public Library, Vincent Astor Foundation collection.
Buddie Marshall finally left: Frances Kiernan, The Last Mrs. Astor (New York: W. W. Norton, 2007), p. 73.
“I was quite shocked”: Mrs. Lester Perrin to Suzanne Kuser.
59 “I didn’t like it”: Author interview with Tony Marshall at his home, Sept. 16, 2005.
“At the age of six”: Tony Marshall, speech to U.S. Marine Corps University Foundation, Russell Leadership Award ceremonies, Oct. 26, 2005, transcript.
“I’m totally for abortion”: Regina Nadelson, “Wednesday Women: Dollar Duchess,” Guardian, June, 8, 1988.
“In my day”: Author interview with confidential source.
“He was very shy”: Author interview with Samuel Peabody at his home, Apr. 17, 2007.
60 “My grandfather said”: Author interview with Tony Marshall at Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, Oct. 19, 2007.
General Russell also called the Brooks School: Astor, Footprints, p. 232.
Tony went to war: Marshall, speech to U.S. Marine Corps University Foundation.
When his father learned: Astor, Footprints, p. 232.
“I led a platoon”: Tony Marshall interview, Oct. 19, 2007.
61 “Brooke was in a dither”: Louis Auchincloss interview.
“I didn’t really want”: Tony Marshall interview, Sept. 16, 2005.
62 “She got a lot of money out of him”: Author interview with confidential source. Dryden finally took Tony to court: Astor, Footprints, p. 232.
“The boy was another”: Brooke Astor, The Last Blossom on the Plum Tree (New York: Random House, 1986), p. 5.
“From his first spanking”: Anthony D. Marshall, Dash (New York: Vantage, 2001), p. 15.
“Dryden used to call”: Author phone interview with Elizabeth Wheaton-Smith, May 17, 2007.
63 “Brooke was supporting him”: Louis Auchincloss interview.
64 “Who the hell”: Author phone interview with Cynthia Meanwell, July 2007.
“They’ve changed things around”: Tony Marshall interview, Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, Sept. 5, 2007.
5. AN AMERICAN ROMANCE
66 Brooke was left with: Frances Kiernan, The Last Mrs. Astor (New York: W. W. Norton, 2007), p. 102.
“She was feeling”: Author interview with confidential source.
67 Astor’s sprawling real estate empire: “Son is Chief Heir,” Washington Post, May 7, 1912.
memory of being locked: Brooke Astor, Footprints (New York: Doubleday, 1980), pp. 303, 278–79.
“Always Kept Under Guard,” Washington Post, July 17, 1904.
product of Ava Astor’s illicit affair: Justin Kaplan, When the Astors Owned New York (New York: Viking, 2006) p. 150.
“She was a tigress”: Interview with Ivan Obolensky in Manhattan, Oct. 11, 2007.
68 “The perils of being young”: “Good Mate for Astor,” Washington Post, May 23, 1913
“She is a typical”: “Vincent Astor Is Wed,” Washington Post, Nov. 8, 1913.
“Mr. Astor was shocked”: “Vincent Astor Dies in his Home at 67,” New York Times, Feb. 4, 1959.
69 “Any crank”: Jonathan Alter, The Defining Moment (New York: Simon & Shuster, 2006), pp. 168–71.
“Fun with Friends,” Time, Apr. 9, 1934.
At a Washington dinner party: David Grafton, The Sisters (New York: Villard, 1992), p. 39.
70 “The word got out”: Ivan Obolensky interview.
“I was terrified”: Author interview with Reinaldo Hererra at his home, May 2007.
“If you have the slightest doubt”: Vincent Astor to Brooke Astor, bound volume for Brooke Astor’s one hundredth birthday party. Courtesy of David Rockefeller.
71 “It was important”: Author interview with Barbara Goldsmith at her home, Mar. 15, 2007.
“Vincent would to go this sanitorium”: Ivan Obolensky interview.
“If she married him”: Author interview with Louis Auchincloss at his home, Nov. 16, 2007.
“only a few relatives”: “Mrs. Marshall Wed to Vincent Astor,” New York Times, Oct. 9, 1953.
72 “I asked him what I should do”: Author interview with Tony Marshall, Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, Oct. 17, 2007.
73 “Tony clearly loved those days”: Author interview with Frances Fitzgerald at her home, Apr. 11, 2007.
“She did not approve”: Author phone interview with Winthrop Aldrich, Feb. 2008. (This is not the same Winthrop Aldrich mentioned by David Rockefeller in Chapter 1.)
“I saw very little of Tony”: Astor, Footprints, pp. 303–4.
74 “At ten-thirty A.M.”: Author phone interview with Elizabeth Wheaton-Smith, multiple interviews, May 17, 2007–Mar. 2008.
74 “Vincent had a boat”: Author phone interview with James McCabe, July 20, 2007.
“He was tall and gruff”: Author phone interview with Emily Harding, Feb. 2008.
“Vincent had one of the early VWs”: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 31, 2006–June 2008.
he revised his will: Vincent Astor will, May 15, 1957.
75 “I don’t think I can stand”: Elizabeth Wheaton-Smith interview.
“You are the luckiest”: Barbara Goldsmith interview.
76 “I’ve had it”: Ivan Obolensky interview; Kiernan, The Last Mrs. Astor, pp. 144–45.
“He used to change”: Astor, Footprints, pp. 323–24.
77 “‘Vincent drank so much’”: Astor, Footprints, pp. 323–25; Kiernan, The Last Mrs. Astor, pp. 139–45.
“Please Help”: “Please Help Poor John Jacob Astor,” Washington Post, June 21, 1959.
“Vincent Astor had died”: Author phone interview with Albert Hadley, Apr. 2008.
6. WHITE-GLOVE PHILANTHROPY
78 “Vincent told me”: Videotaped interview with Brooke Astor by Peg Breen, president of the Landmarks Conservancy, Nov. 1984. Collection of the Landmarks Conservancy.
79 “Brooke was perfectly aware”: Author interview with Philippe de Montebello at the Metropolitan Museum, Mar. 12, 2008.
During the city’s newspaper strike: Author interview with Robert Silvers, June 2008.
“outdoor living rooms”: “Mrs. Astor Sponsors Outdoor Living Rooms,” Washington Post, Mar. 6, 1966.
“Brooke really came into her own”: Author interview with Howard Phipps at his office, June 12, 2007.
80 “Mrs. Astor came frequently”: Author phone interview with Marie Ridder, June 2007.
“She had this wonderful personality”: Author phone interview with Elizabeth Corbett, July 2007.
“I thought it was wonderful”: Author phone interview with Nancy Reagan, Apr. 25, 2007.
“If I go up to Harlem”: Marilyn Berger, “Being Brooke Astor,” New York Times, May 20, 1984.
81 “Brooke, to her ever-loving credit”: Author interview with Peter Duchin, Nov. 1, 2006.
“There was consternation”: Author interview with Ashton Hawkins at his office, Sept. 2005.
“She was not a snob”: Philippe de Montebello interview.
82 “I went to things”: Author interview with Liz Smith in Manhattan, Jan. 23, 2007.
“If you are an Astor”: “Mrs. Astor Sponsors Outdoor Living Rooms.”
“Vincent was a very suspicious man”: Dana Kennedy, Associated Press; “The Grand Mrs. Astor, a Young 90, Works Hard at Giving Away Money,” Los Angeles Times, Mar. 22, 1992, p. A3.
I knew he was hard up“: Caroline Seebohm, No Regrets (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997), p. 280.
83 “Hiring the actor Frederic Bradlee”: Author interview with Alexandra Schlesinger, Feb. 1, 2007; “Mrs. J. H. Russell, Mother of Mrs. Vincent Astor, Dies,” New York Times, Apr. 1, 1967.
“She made a big effort”: Author phone interview with James McCabe, July 20, 2007.
“bathed in a glow”: Enid Nemy, “Emeralds Cast Their Glow on a Night of Oriental Splendor,” New York Times, Dec. 2, 1976, p. 58.
“I was invited”: Brooke Astor, “Not at the Party,” New York Times, Mar. 2, 1970.
84 “I was desperately upset”: Author phone interview with Elizabeth Wheaton-Smith, multiple interviews, May 17, 2007–Mar. 2008.
“I don’t think we saw it coming”: Author phone interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.
85 “Visiting my father and grandmother”: Author interview with Alec Marshall at his home, Dec. 12, 2007.
“Philip was artistic”: Author phone interview with Toby Hilliard, Aug. 2007.
86 “I’ve got to give my father credit”: Philip Marshall interview.
“svelte, sixtyish”: Judy Klemesrud, “The Goal of Brooke Astor: Easing the Misery of Others,” New York Times, June 16, 1968.
87 “I’m sure that her contributions”: Author interview with Henry Kissinger at his office, Sept. 19, 2007.
“Brooke bought”: Author interview with Suzanne Kuser in Washington, D.C., June 28, 2007.
“Anybody who wants to be an ambassador”: Richard Reeves, President Nixon: Alone in the White House (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001), p. 462.
“Brooke used to say”: Author interview with Louis Auchincloss at his home, Nov. 16, 2006.
“I was a friend of Dick Nixon”: Author interview with Tony Marshall at his home, Sept. 16, 2005.
Marshall contributed $20,000: Morton Mintz, “Nixon Got $1 Million Donation,” Washington Post, Nov. 3, 1972.
“Anthony [Tony] Marshall”: “Suzy Says,” Chicago Tribune, Dec. 16, 1969.
“You can make it”: Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Dec. 12, 1969, transcript.
88 “Madagascar was not one”: Author phone interview with David Newsom, July 3, 2007.
“We wondered”: Author phone interview with Pamela Walker, Nov. 2007.
“I had brought my ratty clothes”: Philip Marshall interview.
“He was persona non grata”: Suzanne Kuser interview.
89 “in a supposed coup”: “Little Black Lies: Spy Groups Increase Use of False Material to Put Enemy on the Spot,” Wall Street Journal, Sept. 25, 1971.
“aggressively attempted”: Jim Hoagland, “Malagasy Demonstrators Quietened After Power Is Transferred to Army,” Washington Post, May 22, 1972.
Languishing in the tropics: Mintz, “Nixon got $1 Million Donation.”
“I suspect the influence”: David Newsom interview.
89 “Tony was competent”: Henry Kissinger interview.
90 He did some consulting work: Author interview with Tony Marshall, Sept. 16, 2005.
his rate of return lagged: Selena Maranjian, “105 Years Old, with $816 in the Bank,” Motley Fool, www.fool.com, Apr. 11, 2007.
“You could often”: Author interview with Linda Gillies, Oct. 2007.
“My father had plenty of room”: Alec Marshall interview.
91 “The wives couldn’t get along”: Suzanne Kuser interview.
“lots of proposals”: Judy Klemesrud, “The Private Moments of a Public Benefactor,” New York Times, June 14, 1980.
“delightful”: Eden Ross Lipson, “Fairy Godmother,” New York Times Book Review, Sept. 7, 1980, p. 14.
“A lot of us knew”: Howard Phipps interview.
92 “She asked all of the boards”: Author interview with Ashton Hawkins at his office, July 16, 2007.
“Ronnie was under the table”: Author phone interview with Nancy Reagan, Apr. 25, 2007; John Duka, “The Elite Welcome Reagan, Who Offers Toast to the City,” New York Times, Dec. 10, 1980.
93 “She could talk”: Author interview with Vartan Gregorian at his office, Mar. 24, 2007.
“By virtue of her prestige”: Author interview with Paul LeClerc at the New York Public Library, May 17, 2007.
“You had to be tough”: Author phone interview with John Meaney, June 2008.
94 “It was Brooke’s way of saying”: Author interview with John Hart in Manhattan, Sept. 26, 2006.
“It was traffic”: Nancy Reagan interview.
95 “How am I going to find”: Author phone interview with Oscar de la Renta, Mar. 2008.
“Brooke was always”: Author interview with Annette de la Renta at her home, Jan. 29, 2008.
“She was a hellion”: Author interviews with Betsy and Victor Gotbaum at their home, Jan. 13, 2008.
96 Jane Pinto-Reis Brian: Douglas Martin, “Jane Engelhard, 86, Fixture in Society and Philanthropy,” New York Times, Mar. 3, 2004.
His death, on the cusp: “Fritz Mannheimer, Financier, Is Dead,” New York Times, Aug. 11, 1939, p. 19; “Action Follows Shortly after Mannheimer’s Death,” New York Times, Aug. 12, 1939, p. 3.
“cigar-smoking German Jew”: “Post-War Story,” Time, Aug. 21, 1939.
97 “pure-gold bracelets”: Stephen Grover, “C. W. Engelhard, Industrialist, Dies at 54,” Wall Street Journal, Mar. 3, 1971, p. 8.
“I didn’t know”: Author phone interview with Susan O’Connor, Mar. 2008.
“People think Annette”: Oscar de la Renta interview.
“one could not infer”: John Heminway, “At Home on the Range,” Town & Country, Aug. 1997, p. 78.
98 “Brooke admired Jane”: Author phone interview with Robert Silvers, Mar. 2008.
“Her stepfather adored her”: Betsy Gotbaum interview.
“We had the nannies”: Susan O’Connor interview.
“She’d make everybody laugh”: Author phone interview with Elise Lufkin, Mar. 2008.
99 “People practically committed suicide”: Liz Smith, Dishing (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005), pp. 67–71.
“I loved her”: Annette de la Renta interview (multiple interviews).
“enormous chocolate cake”: Oscar de la Renta interview (multiple interviews).
“They are among”: Enid Nemy, “They Look Alike, They Dress Alike, They Like Each Other Very Much,” New York Times, Apr. 1, 1967, p. 16.
100 “Annette was unquestionably”: Author interview with John Richardson at his home, June 5, 2007.
“Brooke was a better mother”: Author phone interview with Florence Irving, Apr. 2008.
“They could be unguarded”: Author interview with Randy Bourscheidt in Manhattan, June 8, 2007.
“Jane gathered into herself”: Robert Silvers interview.
“When my mother moved”: Susan O’Connor interview.
101 “My wife died”: Oscar de la Renta interview.
“Astor herself”: Julia Reed, “Brooke Astor. The Last Empress,” Manhattan Inc., Sept. 1988.
“It was unpleasant”: Annette de la Renta interview.
Oscar and Annette: “Mrs. Reed Weds Oscar de la Renta,” New York Times, Dec. 28, 1989.
“I was a little nervous”: Betsy Gotbaum interview.
“Brooke was clinging”: Oscar de la Renta interview.
102 “They were playing”: Robert Silvers interview.
“She leaned over”: Author phone interview with Tom Brokaw, Mar. 27, 2007.
“Why couldn’t Mr. Clinton”: Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Journals: 1952–2000 (New York: Penguin, 2007), p. 719.
“I think there was a moment”: Howard Phipps interview.
“Tony was always trying”: Author interview with Viscount William Astor, Dec. 26, 2007.
“She unraveled to the point”: John Meaney interview.
103 “Brooke said, ‘Go out’”: Philippe de Montebello interview.
But that autumn: Linda Gilles interview.
“My son is not an Astor”: Geraldine Fabrikant, “Brooke Astor Has a Year’s Worth of Giving Left,” New York Times, Dec. 18. 1996, p. A1.
104 “I’d see her pull herself:” Author interview with confidential source.
“He was always giving her grief”: Author interview with Robert Pirie, Sept. 2007.
7. THE PERILS OF CHARLENE
105 When Mrs. Astor awoke: Author interview with Alicia Johnson in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 17, 2007.
106 “Maine was perfect”: Author interview with Judy Miller in Manhattan, Apr. 2007.
“The house in Maine”: Author phone interview with Barbara Walters, Jan. 18, 2008.
106 “They were fighting”: Author interview with Betty Halpern in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 19, 2007.
“This party was not”: Author interview with Bob Pyle in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 19, 2008.
107 “She was hell on wheels”: Judy Miller interview.
“She was terrible”: Author interview with Freddy Melhado at his home, June 4, 2007.
“They wanted me to dissuade her”: Author phone interview with Naomi Packard-Koot, Mar. 2008.
“She would be sitting there”: Alicia Johnson interview.
108 “Mrs. de la Renta”: Brooke Astor phone logs, 1990–92; Brooke Astor summer calendar schedules, 2000–2002.
“George went every summer”: Author phone interview with Susan Trescher, Jan. 2007.
“By the time I left”: Author interview with Paul Pearson in Manhattan, Mar. 21, 2007.
“Christopher is outstanding”: Joel Schumacher, Jan. 22, 1990.
109 “Brooke read it”: Author interview with John Hart in Manhattan, Sept. 26, 2006.
“She would get into”: Alicia Johnson interview.
“Brooke couldn’t talk on the phone”: Author phone interview with Emily Harding, Mar. 2008.
110 “We were both nutty”: Author interview with Nancy Pyne in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 19, 2007.
“Is this another thing”: Author phone interview with James McCabe, July 20, 2007.
“I don’t know why”: Author interview with Gerrit Lansing in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 18, 2007.
“She’d be right on top”: Author interview with Steve Hamor in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 18, 2007.
“‘You’ll have a job here’”: Author interview with Steve Hamor Jr. in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 18, 2007.
111 “The high point came”: Author interview with Robert Pirie, Sept. 2007.
“Sometimes I lie down”: Marilyn Berger. “Being Brooke Astor,” New York Times, May 20, 1984.
“Brooke told me”: Author interview with Marshall Rose at his office, Apr. 10, 2007.
“I didn’t understand”: Author interview with Peggy Pierrepont, May 11, 2007.
113 “You have to provide”: Author interview with Frances Fitzgerald at her office, Apr. 11, 2007
“I liked the fact”: Author phone interview with Paul Gilbert, Jan. 6, 2008.
“We admitted later”: Author interview with Tony Marshall at Westchester County
Surrogate’s Court, Oct. 19, 2007.
114 “He could walk”: Author phone interview with Oscar Johnson Small, Jr., Jan. 2008.
“The father and mother”: Author phone interview with confidential source.
“He was a born salesman”: Paul Gilbert interview.
“Charlene had a childhood”: Author interview with confidential source.
115 “What happened in that house”: Author interview with confidential source.
“Charlene would come by”: Oscar Small interview.
“The grandmother saved Charlene”: Author interview with confidential source.
“Charlene was very funny”: Author phone interview with Anne Miller Moises, Jan. 2008.
116 “I remember sitting”: Author phone interview with Gail Townsend Bailey, Jan. 2008.
117 “She was very outgoing”: Paul Gilbert interview.
“There was no air conditioning”: Author interview with Mary Lou Scott in Manhattan, Oct. 9, 2007.
“Charlene and Paul were warmly received”: Bob Pyle interview.
“Charlene was more talkative”: Author interview with Gunnar Hansen in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 19, 2007.
118 “My mother died in Charlene’s arms”: Author phone interview with Pattie O’Brien, Jan. 17, 2008.
“We converted our living room”: Paul Gilbert interview.
“We had them to dinner”: Frances Fitzgerald interview.
“Francis is very charming”: Paul Gilbert interview.
119 “It was a renewal”: Tony Marshall interview, Oct. 19, 2007.
“I got to work”: Author interview with Sandra Graves in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 19, 2007.
“If you’re a minister’s wife”: Author interview with Dot Renaud in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 19, 2007.
120 “I was telling everyone”: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.
“I was very much in love”: Author phone interview with Nan Starr, Mar. 2008.
“We were broke”: Paul Gilbert interview.
“Charlene’s husband”: Sandra Graves interview.
121 “Quick? You moved out”: Paul Gilbert interview.
“This winter was”: Paul E. Gilbert, Personally Speaking (Maine: Horizon, 1996), p. 72.
“She has said the marriage”: Author interview with Sam Peabody at his home, Apr. 17, 2007.
“One of the sad things”: Author phone interview with Pamela Walker, Nov. 2007.
“I’d talk to her”: Author interview with Alec Marshall, Jan. 2008.
“It was hard”: Philip Marshall interview.
122 “She didn’t go to her parish”: Author interview with Ashton Hawkins, July 16, 2007.
“Charlene was talking about”: Philip Marshall interview.
“Was she a gold digger”: Author phone interview with Nan Lincoln, July 2006.
123 Living in a studio apartment: Vicky Ward, “In Mrs. Astor’s Shadow,” Vanity Fair, Dec. 2007, p. 240.
“She had a miserable beginning”: Author interview with confidential source.
“I was not invited”: Alec Marshall interview.
“When Tony and Charlene married”: Written description from Suzanne Harbour Kahanovitz, July 2006.
124 “Brooke was never hostile”: Freddy Melhado interview.
“My impression was”: Author interview with Henry Kissinger at his office, Sept. 19, 2007
124 “Charlene is one of those people”: Author phone interview with Viscount William Astor, Dec. 26, 2007.
“Tony and Charlene would be staying”: Author interview with John Dobkin in Manhattan, Sept. 19, 2006.
125 “Mrs. Astor used to tell”: Alicia Johnson interview.
“Brooke assigned them”: Ashton Hawkins interview.
“She thought Charlene was taking”: Author interview with Liz Smith in Manhattan, Jan. 23, 2007.
“I loved sitting next to”: Author interview with Patricia Roberts at her home, Sept. 25, 2007.
“She behaved like a summer person”: Gunnar Hansen interview.
126 “Chris said”: John Hart interview.
“My grandson, Philip Marshall”: Brooke Astor’s will, Jan. 30, 2002, Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, file no. 2127/2007.
127 “We went by”: Nancy Pyne interview.
8. THE PAINTING VANISHES
128 “An exhilarating picture”: Brendan Gill, “A Party for Brooke,” New Yorker, Apr. 21, 1997.
Hassam, America’s best-known: Ilene Susan Fort, “The Flag Paintings of Childe Hassam,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1988.
129 “The curator felt”: Author interview with Ashton Hawkins at his office, July 16, 2007.
“Every time I went”: Author interview with Philippe de Montebello at the Metropolitan Museum, Mar. 12, 2008.
Dating from 1992: Brooke Astor wills, 1992, 1993, 2001.
130 “It was a picture”: Author interview with David Rockefeller at his office, Dec. 18, 2007.
“I didn’t even have to ask”: Author interview with Annette de la Renta at her home, multiple interviews, Jan. 29, 2008–June 2008.
“‘Tony says’”: Author phone interview with Viscount William Astor, Dec. 26, 2007.
“At the time the exhibition was arranged”: Anthony Marshall Verified Answer and Cross-Petition, New York State Supreme Court, file no. 500095/06, Sept. 19, 2006, p. 35.
131 “I remember her delight”: Author phone interview with Peggy Pierrepont, May 11, 2007.
“Tony Marshall was at a dinner”: Author phone interview with Gerald Peters, Aug. 13, 2007.
“It worked out well”: Ibid.
“I was touched”: Annette de la Renta interview.
132 “I want to see you”: Author interview with Everett Fahy at the Metropolitan Museum, Apr. 12, 2007.
“What can I do for you”: Author interview with Vartan Gregorian at his office, Mar. 24, 2007.
“He stressed”: Brooke Astor phone logs, Oct. 22, 2002.
“She really didn’t know”: Author phone interview with Louise Grunwald, Apr. 2007.
“She always looked wonderful”: Author phone interview with Oscar de la Renta, Mar. 2008.
“You told Mr. Rockefeller”: Brooke Astor phone logs, Oct. 21, 2002.
133 “A cook had fallen down”: Author phone interview with Naomi Packard-Koot, Feb. 8, 2007.
“When Mrs. Astor began to lose”: Author phone interview with Marciano Amaral, Jan. 2007.
134 Relatives of that Park Avenue widow: The estate of Elisabeth Von Knapitsch, Surrogate’s Court of the State of New York, New York County, file no. 299/00, settlement stipulation, Jan. 27, 2003.
A similar case involving another: The estate of Sam Schurr, Surrogate’s Court of the State of New York, New York County, file no. 1121/P2002.
135 “Young Frank is a charming man”: Author interview with Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., at his home, Feb. 1, 2007.
“Frank appeared one day”: Author phone interview with Frederic Kass, June 2008. limitations of connections: Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Robert Kennedy and His Times (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978), pp. 375–376, 683–685.
136 was later censured and fined: Edgar J. Driscoll, Jr., and David Abel, “Francis X. Morrissey, at 97, was Judge, Longtime Kennedy Confidant,” Boston Globe, Jan. 2, 2008, p. B9.
“I’m one of the people”: Author phone interview with Nancy Colhoun, Aug. 2007.
137 “It’s blatantly improper”: Author phone interview with Stephen Gillers, Apr. 2008.
stack of character references: Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department, Lexis 11762, Nov. 16, 1995.
138 yearly income of around $150,000: New York State Department Disciplinary Committee, First Judicial Department, Supreme Court Appellate Division, Apr. 9, 1998.
“He was devastated”: Author phone interview with Chuck Merten, Nov. 2006.
Morrissey claimed that: New York State Departmental Disciplinary Committee, First Judicial Department, Supreme Court Appellate Division, Apr. 9, 1998, transcript, pp. 83–84.
“my name is the same”: Ibid., pp. 113–14.
139 embroiled in other legal controversies: Serge Kovaleski, “Lawyer Charged with Astor Case Has Been Accused of Other Improprieties,” New York Times, Dec. 1, 2007, p. B1; Serge Kovaleski, “Many Clients of Astor Lawyer Left Him Bequests in Their Wills,” New York Times, Jan. 4, 2008, p. B1.
“Frank can read”: Author phone interview with Peter J. Kelley, Dec. 26, 2007.
140 Sam Schurr, an economist: The estate of Sam Schurr, Surrogate’s Court of the State of New York, file no. 1121 P2002, affidavit of Donald Novick, Nov. 19, 2003,; affidavit of Stephen Rubin, June 27, 2003.
The Renoirs were actually: Brasswell Galleries, sales inquiry listing.
“There was no one”: Author phone interview with Margot Adler, July 2007.
141 “Dearest, Darling Annette”: Brooke Astor to Annette de la Renta, Nov. 2002. Collection of Annette de la Renta.
142 She scheduled her annual: Brooke Astor’s schedule, Jan. 28, 2003; “Mrs. Astor leaves
Holly Hill for Westchester Airport. Virginia Melhado and Bunny du Pont will meet you at the Palm Beach Airport.”
142 Four days before: “Dinner in Mrs. Astor’s honor at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Marshall.” Feb. 1, 2003.
“miles of scenery”: Walter Kerr, “Theatre: Electric ‘Extremities’ and a Muffled Alice,’” New York Times, Jan. 2, 1983.
“I swore I’d never”: Jesse McKinley, “He Is His Own Producer and Much More,” New York Times, Dec. 17, 2003.
143 “Charlene’s a delightful person”: Author phone interview with Mary Rodgers Guettel, Mar. 20, 2007.
Tony also had a real fear: Anthony Marshall to Terry Christensen, Oct. 3, 2001, guardianship files.
144 “I always saw them bristle”: Naomi Packard-Koot interview.
“At Holly Hill, we’d sit in the library”: Author phone interview with Sophie Marshall, Apr. 2008.
145 “I didn’t give her important jewelry”: Author interview with David Rockefeller at his office, Dec. 18, 2007.
“Would you take”: Naomi Packard-Koot interview.
“What can I do for Tony?”: Francis X. Morrissey, Jr., to Anthony Marshall, Mar. 4, 2004, guardianship files.
146 informed Tony by letter: Henry Christensen III to Anthony D. Marshall, Apr. 28, 2003, guardianship files.
“I was very keen”: Anthony D. Marshall memorandum, “Meeting with Terry Christensen,” Feb. 11, 2004, guardianship files.
“It was really sudden”: Naomi Packard-Koot interview.
148 “I wasn’t expecting”: Philip Marshall interview.
“It felt to Philip”: Author phone interview with Nan Starr, Mar. 2008.
149 “Dear Tony”: New York State Supreme Court, file no. 500095/06, Brooke Astor to her son, Aug. 12, 2003.
150 “rift between the Marshalls and Mrs. Astor”: Christopher Ely notes, guardianship files.
“seemed to want me”: Ibid.
“I told her”: Ibid.
151 “John, I’m gaga”: Author interview with John Hart in Manhattan, Sept. 26, 2006.
9. THE TREACHEROUS CODICILS
152 “He used to go visit Brooke”: Author interview with Catia Chapin at her home, Mar. 19, 2007.
153 Vincent Astor had so disliked: Author phone interview with Linda Gillies, Apr. 2008.
“Everything was fine:” Author interview with Alice Perdue in Manhattan, Oct. 3, 2007.
Alicia Johnson . . . noticed: Author interview with Alicia Johnson, July 2007.
“I knew there was no way”: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.
154 “I did think it was odd”: Alice Perdue interview.
“All the nurses got dressed up”: Author interview with Minnette Christie in Manhattan, Jan. 14, 2008.
“Suppose I’m taking her”: Author interview with Pearline Noble in Manhattan, Jan. 14, 2008.
“I started in Holly Hill”: Author phone interview with Beverly Thomson, Aug. 29, 2007.
155 “I just wanted to put down”: Pearline Noble interview.
“She is dead set”: Pearline Noble, nurses’ notes, Sept. 25, 2003.
“A very restless night”: Minnette Christie, nurses’ notes, Sept. 28, 2003.
“Mrs. Astor would tell me:” Minnette Christie interview.
156 “Mrs. A. curtsied”: Pearline Noble, nurses’ notes, Sept. 30, 2003.
“This is how you do it”: Ibid.
“The first thing that struck me”: Author interview with Moises Kaufman at his office, Apr. 5, 2007.
“The theatre is a little like”: Robert Hofler, “Delphi Predictions,” Variety, Dec. 15, 2003.
157 the ultimate civilian medal: Jesse McKinley, “He Is His Own Producer, and Much More,” New York Times, Dec. 17, 2003.
“periods of confusion and illusions”: Minnette Christie, nurses’ notes, Dec. 13, 2003.
“Periods of confusion”: Minnette Christie, nurses’ notes, Dec. 14, 2003.
“Paranoia, undecipherable words”: Pearline Noble, nurses’ notes, Dec. 17, 2003.
“She was on automatic pilot”: Author phone interview with Barbara Goldsmith, Mar. 2008.
158 “I have enjoyed”: First codicil of Brooke Astor’s will, Dec. 18, 2003, Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, file no. 2127/2007.
“Wanted to know who”: Pearline Noble, nurses’ notes, Dec. 18, 2003.
“they are putting her away”: Minnette Christie, nurses’ notes, Dec. 19, 2003.
159 “Brooke didn’t know”: Barbara Walters, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 21, 2009.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe”: Vartan Gregorian, The Road to Home (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003), p. 277.
160 “She extended her arm”: Francis X. Morrissey, Jr., memo, Jan. 19, 2004, guardianship files.
161 He met with Mrs. Astor: G. Warren Whitaker memo, “Re: Brooke Russell Astor Codicil execution date,” Jan. 12, 2004, guardianship files.
162 “Golden boy & tutor”: Pearline Noble, nurses’ notes, Jan. 12, 2004, 4 P.M.
“They started to pull”: Pearline Noble interview.
“four men are in the house”: Minnette Christie, nurses’ notes, Jan. 12, 2004.
“It has not been easy”: New York State Supreme Court, file no. 500095/06.
163 But Dr. Pritchett later stated: Court evaluator’s report, Dec. 2006, guardianship files.
The experience was so traumatic: Pearline Noble interview.
“On entering our apartment”: Anthony D. Marshall, “Subject: Meeting with Terry Christensen,” Feb. 11, 2004, guardianship files.
163 “I did not describe”: Author phone interview with Terry Christensen, Feb. 2008.
164 “Presumably you determined”: G. Warren Whitaker to Terry Christensen, Feb. 13, 2004, guardianship files.
Worried about what: Anthony D. Marshall, “Memorandum to files. Re: Terry Christensen. Subject: Brooke Astor. Can the situation be resolved without litigation? Even if the opinion that it could be, would it be good judgement to prepare documents with which to proceed if Terry Christensen does not cooperate? Who/ how should Terry Christensen be faced with the issue? (In a friendly manner: by Francis Morrissey? By Warren Whitaker, who has acted as BA’s lawyer? By Ken Warner?)”
“I considered publicly”: Terry Christensen interview.
Executors’ fees: “Brooke Russell Astor Estate Planning,” G. Warren Whitaker to Anthony D. Marshall, Mar. 2, 2006, guardianship files.
165 Two years later: Serge Kovaleski, “Recollections of Witnesses to Astor Wills Are Cloudy,” New York Times, Nov. 1, 2006.
“I agree with Charlene”: Francis X. Morrissey to Anthony Marshall, Mar. 4, 2004, guardianship files.
“Her son arrive”: Pearline Noble, nurses’ notes, Mar. 2, 2004.
“me and the driver will protect”: Pearline Noble, nurses’ notes, Mar. 4, 2004.
166 “She wouldn’t get out of the car”: Author interview with Nancy Kissinger at Kissinger Associates, Mar. 13, 2008.
“David Rockefeller told me”: Author interview with Henry Kissinger at his office, Sept. 19, 2007. (Note: David Rockefeller does not recall this story.)
167 “She looked like a deer”: Author phone interview with Nan Starr, Mar. 2008.
Charlene later insisted: Vicky Ward, “In Mrs. Astor’s Shadow,” Vanity Fair, Dec. 2006, p. 243.
“She played possum”: Author phone interview with Marciano Amaral, Jan. 2007.
168 “She was always frail”: Author phone interview with Sandra Foschi, Jan. 31, 2008.
“Ever since I was a little girl”: Minnette Christie interview.
“To me, just writing this”: Philip Marshall interview.
169 grandmother’s many wills: Brooke Astor’s wills, 1992–2002, Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, file no. 2127/2007.
Philip “acted strangely”: Ward, “In Mrs. Astor’s Shadow,” p. 235.
“A man”: Pearline Noble interview.
170 “Pearline, I’m toast”: Annette de la Renta interview.
“Mrs. Astor would stroke her hair”: Minnette Christie interview.
“She was like a child”: Pearline Noble interview.
“I went to see her”: Author interview with Vartan Gregorian at his office, Mar. 24, 2007.
“I would go to have tea”: Author interview with Philippe de Montebello at the Metropolitan Museum, Mar. 12, 2008.
171 “Chris was wonderful”: Author interview with David Rockefeller at his office, Dec. 18, 2007.
“After Chris was fired”: Author phone interview with Barbara Goldsmith, Mar. 2008.
“During the past two years”: Anthony D. Marshall letter of recommendation for Christopher Ely.
Mrs. Astor had left Ely: Brooke Astor will, Jan. 30, 2002, Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, file no. 2127/2007.
“I thought it was a little late”: Philip Marshall interview.
172 “We showed her a picture”: Minnette Christie interview.
10. “I DIDN’T KNOW IT WOULD BE ARMAGEDDON”
174 “I remember going”: Author interview with Annette de la Renta at her home, multiple interviews, Jan. 29, 2007–July 2008.
“Brooke was sitting there”: Author phone interview with Bob Silvers, Mar. 2007.
“I started saying”: Author interview with John Richardson at his home, June 5, 2007.
“She didn’t recognize me”: Author phone interview with Viscount William Astor, July 2006.
175 “We had a perfectly cordial:” Author interview with David Rockefeller at his office, Dec. 18, 2007.
“We were upset”: Annette de la Renta interview.
176 “What I said”: David Rockefeller interview.
“If I had not heard”: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.
“We were told”: Author phone interview with Beverly Thomson, Aug. 29, 2007.
“She did not leave”: Author interview with Pearline Noble in Manhattan, Apr. 10, 2008.
177 “When I die”: Ibid.
Brooke Astor’s mortality: Francis Morrissey/G. Warren Whitaker letter to files, Aug. 23, 2005, guardianship files.
“I was a driver”: Author phone interview with Marciano Amaral, Jan. 2007.
“Tony said that he was terribly sorry”: Author interview with Alice Perdue in Manhattan, Oct. 3, 2007.
178 “Ambassador Marshall”: Author interview with Daniel Billy, Jr., in Manhattan, Mar. 3, 2008.
“You’d make an appointment”: Author phone interview with Robert Pirie, Oct. 22, 2007.
182 “I think of my grandfather”: Tony Marshall speech to Marine Corps University Foundation, Oct. 25, 2005, transcript.
“NO ONE is to be”: Daniel Billy, Jr., memo to staff, Dec. 9, 2005, guardianship files.
183 “If you put me”: Marciano Amaral interview.
“They said there’s no way”: Pearline Noble interview.
“heartfelt thanks”: Charlene Marshall to Brooke Astor, Dec. 20, 2005, guardianship files.
“They could see that she was declining”: Author phone interview with Peter J. Kelley, Dec. 26, 2007.
184 the Juilliard school received: Serge Kovaleski. “In-Law’s Charity Has One Donor, Astor, and Few Public Details,” New York Times, Aug. 8, 2006, p. B1.
184 “If I want to see my father”: Author interview with Tenzing Chadotsang in Manhattan, Dec. 14, 2007.
“I did not want my father”: Philip Marshall interview.
186 “We weren’t saying anything”: Author interview with Pearline Noble in Manhattan, Jan. 14, 2008.
“Chris egged me on;” Philip Marshall interview.
“I thought, ‘Oh, good’”: Alice Perdue interview.
“It was really tearing Philip up”: Author phone interview with Toby Hilliard, Aug. 2007.
187 “Dear Mr. Rockefeller”: Philip Marshall to David Rockefeller, Mar. 6, 2006.
With permission of Philip Marshall.
188 “I talked to Annette”: David Rockefeller interview.
189 “I was amazed at how much;” Annette de la Renta interview.
“I wasn’t going to fake it”: Philip Marshall interview.
“I guess it was a fantasy”: Author phone interview with Nan Starr, Mar. 2008.
190 “No one wanted him”: Tenzing Chadotsang interview.
“Philip is mild-mannered”: Author phone interview with Sam Adams, July 2006.
“People ask me:” Philip Marshall interview.
“He spent a long time”: Author phone interview with Marta Grabowska, Sept. 12, 2007.
Invoices from CodeShred: Leslie Gordon Fagen, for JP Morgan Chase Bank, Reply Affirmation in Support of Temporary Guardian’s Application, Supreme Court of the State of New York, file no. 5000095/06, Sept. 12, 2006, p. 9.
“If you consider a scrap”: Daniel Billy, Jr., interview.
191 “It was very traumatic”: Author phone interview with Oscar de la Renta, Mar. 2008.
“In a way it was a good thing”: Author interview with John Richardson at his home, June 5, 2007.
“I thought I was doing”: Annette de la Renta interview.
192 “We knew the trickiest part”: Philip Marshall interview.
“I want to visit”: Ibid.
“Philip was the most stressed out”: Nan Starr interview.
“I had to believe”: Author interview with Henry Kissinger at his office, Sept. 19, 2007.
“I was freaking”: Philip Marshall interview.
193 “I said, ‘Let’s call a meeting’”: Author interview with Beverly Thomson, Aug. 29, 2007.
“I saw two big plastic containers”: Marta Grabowska interview.
“It was hot and stuffy”: Author phone interview with Sandra Foschi, Jan. 3, 2008.
“Make no mistake”: Author interview with Ira Salzman at his office, Dec. 4, 2007.
The lawsuit would charge: In the Matter of the Application of PHILIP MARSHALL for the Appointment of Guardians of the Person and Property of BROOKE ASTOR, an alleged Incapacitated Person, Supreme Court of the State of New York, file no. 500095/06, index.
194 “Dr. Pritchett later stated”: Court evaluator’s report, 2006, guardianship files. “When she was feeling well”: Author phone interview with Sam Karalis, July 2007.
195 “All the money stuff”: Ira Salzman interview.
“Her diet is inadequate: Guardianship lawsuit, ibid.
“If we weren’t effective”: Philip Marshall interview.
196 “I knew it was something weird”: Author interview with Susan Robbins, Oct. 2006.
197 “I thought it would be taken care of”: Annette de la Renta interview.
“I’m worried”: Philip Marshall interview
“No, Philip”: Ira Salzman interview.
11. BLUE-BLOOD BATTLE
199 “She was perfectly fine”: Author phone interview with Marta Grabowska, Sept. 12, 2007.
“I worked with Mrs. Astor”: Author phone interview with Beverly Thomson, Aug. 29, 2007. (Note: Thomson originally signed an affidavit supporting Philip Marshall’s lawsuit. But after she lost her job as one of Brooke Astor’s nurses, she filed a new affidavit on behalf of Tony Marshall.)
“I thought she had fluid”: Author interview with Minnette Christie in Manhattan, Jan. 14, 2008.
“For a person”: Author interview with Dr. Sandra Gelbard in Manhattan, Oct 3, 2007.
“very elderly people”: Author interview with Susan Robbins at her office, Oct. 2006.
200 “Mrs. Marshall burst in”: Author interview with Pearline Noble in Manhattan, Apr. 10, 2008.
“This was like nothing”: Sandra Gelbard interview.
“She weighs seventy-three pounds”: Adam Lisberg, Julian Kesner, and Nancy Dillon, ‘Emaciated Brooke’s Chart,” Daily News, July 31, 2006, p. 3.
201 “Winslow went out”: Author interview with Nan Starr, Mar. 2008.
They had to endure: Todd Venezia, Jana Winter, and Ayesha Akram, “‘Evil’ Son Sees Astor in the Hospital,” New York Post, July 29, 2006, p. 7.
“I thought, oh my God”: Author interview with Moises Kaufman at his office, May 15, 2007.
202 “shocked and deeply hurt”: Anthony D. Marshall statement, July 27, 2006, issued by Stephanie Pillersdorf, Citigate Sard Verbinnen.
When the Daily News: Helen Peterson, “I Am Son Kind of Wonderful,” Daily News, July 28, 2006, p. 7.
“In these family fights”: Author phone interview with Harvey Corn, Nov. 2006.
203 “Are you kidding?”: Susan Robbins interview.
“There was a guard”: Ibid.
204 “She was stable to go”: Sandra Gelbard interview.
No one had the courtesy: Timothy Williams, “Son Not Notified as Mrs. Astor Goes to Westchester,” New York Times, July 30, 2006.
“I touched him on the knee”: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.
205 “Ordinarily, it would have been”: Vicky Ward, “In Mrs. Astor’s Shadow,” Vanity Fair, Dec. 2006.
205 “Charlene was seething”: Philip Marshall interview.
“Mrs. Marshall was trying”: Pearline Noble interview.
“Charlene is a Leo”: Author interview with Daniel Billy, Jr., in Manhattan, Mar. 3, 2008.
206 “I know that I am right”: Anthony Marshall statement, July 30, 2006.
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly answer”: Cara Buckley, “Socialite’s Son Pays a Visit, Then Lashes Out at Those Accusing Him of Mistreatment,” New York Times, July 31, 2006.
“No protégée of Brooke Astor”: Joseph Goldstein, “The Melodrama over Mrs. Astor Enters a Second Bitter Act,” New York Sun, July 31, 2006.
“I understood that Charlene”: Author interview with Paul Saunders, Jan. 29, 2008.
207 “When you go to see her”: Justice Stackhouse’s remarks, court file, transcript.
208 “Someone got in there”: Susan Robbins interview..
“The couch referred to”: Harvey Corn legal papers filed in guardianship lawsuit.
“We don’t know who did it”: Adam Lisberg, “Sofa from Truth Say Astor Kin,” Daily News, Sept. 13, 2006, p. 6.
209 “I was on Philip’s side”: Author interview with Suzanne Kuser in Washington, D.C., June 28, 2007.
“Mr. Marshall told me”: Author interview with Steve Hamor in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 19, 2007.
210 “philanthropist now appears”: “The Brooke Astor Effect,” New York Times, Aug. 7, 2006, p. A14.
“Mr. Marshall has been lovingly devoted”: Kenneth Warner and Harvey Corn, letter to the editor, New York Times, Aug. 11, 2006, p. A14.
12. THE ART OF SHUNNING
214 “I debated”: Author phone interview with Tony Marshall, June 16, 2007.
“I averted my eyes”: Author interview with Philippe de Montebello at the Metropolitan Museum, Mar. 12, 2008.
“It was an unpleasant situation”: Author interview with Annette de la Renta at her home, Jan. 29, 2008.
“By my being there”: Tony Marshall interview.
215 “She certainly came to me”: Author interview with Brenda Husson at St. James’ Church, July 2, 2007.
“She’d sit in the back of the church”: Author interview with Sam Peabody at his home, Apr. 17, 2007.
216 “You would think that people”: Author phone interview with Christopher Meigher, Mar. 2008.
“Was Mrs. Astor competent”: Leslie Gordon Fagen for J. P. Morgan Chase, Reply Affirmation in Support of the Temporary Guardian’s Application, Supreme Court of the State of New York, index no. 500095/06, Sept. 12, 2006, p. 5.
As part of the ongoing blizzard: Anthony Marshall, Verified Answer and Cross-Petition, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Sept. 19, 2006.
217 “were furious at me”: Author interview with Freddy Melhado at his home, June 13, 2007.
218 “If anyone deserved a painting”: Author phone interview with Viscount William Astor, Dec. 26, 2007.
Tony abruptly admitted: Harvey Corn to J. P. Morgan Chase, Aug. 28, 2006, Supreme Court of the State of New York, index no. 500095/06.
“My client was outraged”: Author phone interview with Alan Pollack, Dec. 21, 2007.
“I consider Chris and Philip”: Annette de la Renta interview.
219 “I loved him”: Susan Robbins interview.
“She was so great”: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.
220 “was a smoking cannon”: Susan Robbins interview.
“It was an oh-my-God moment”: Author phone interview with Ira Salzman, Mar. 2008.
“I don’t know what’s the matter”: Anthony D. Marshall to Dr. Howard Fillit, Dec. 26, 2000, Supreme Court of the State of New York, index no. 500095/06.
222 “We knew it was”: Paul Saunders interview.
“on a witch hunt”: Kenneth Warner, Attorney’s Affirmation in Response, Supreme Court of the State of New York, index no. 500095/06, Sept. 22, 2006, p. 7.
“Mrs. Astor was obviously”: Harvey Corn, Affirmation in Opposition to the Motion of Susan Robbins, Sept. 14, 2006, p. 7.
During the three emotional hours: Neil Weinberg, “The Father, the Son and High Society,” Forbes, Oct. 9, 2006, p. 46.
223 In the full transcript: Courtesy of Neil Weinberg.
224 “The term I would use”: Author interview with David Rockefeller at his office, Dec. 18, 2007.
“Every time there was something”: Author phone interview with Barbara Walters, Jan. 18, 2008.
“They were deathly afraid”: Author interview with Paul Saunders in Manhattan, Jan. 29, 2008.
“I wanted a standstill”: Author phone interview with Harvey Corn, Feb. 2008.
225 “That’s when I said”: Susan Robbins interview.
“Susan didn’t want”: Paul Saunders interview.
“I have known Mrs. Astor”: Stefanie Cohen, “Astor Great Society War Ends as Son Cedes Fight for Brooke,” New York Post, Oct. 14, 2006, p. 9.
226 Yet the actual legal agreement: Supreme Court of the State of New York, file no. 500095/06, stipulation and settlement order, Oct. 13, 2006.
“There will be a battle royal”: Vicky Ward, “In Mrs. Astor’s Shadow,” Vanity Fair, Dec. 2006, p. 230.
“Tony said those had been gifts”: Author phone interview with Grace Richardson, May 2007.
227 “due to the deterioration”: Serge Kovaleski; “Expert Says Mrs. Astor’s Signature Was Forged,” New York Times, Oct. 20, 2006, p. B1.
“I thought he was brilliant”: Susan Robbins interview.
228 “When I spoke to the doctor”: Author phone interview with Lois Orlin, Jan. 24, 2008.
“I kept telling everyone”: Author interview with Minnette Christie in Manhattan, Jan. 14, 2008.
“Come on, Mrs. A.”: Author interview with Pearline Noble in Manhattan, Jan. 14, 2008.
229 “I recited it every time”: Author phone interview with Sandra Foschi, Jan. 31, 2007.
“They’d wheel her”: Author phone interview with Alec Marshall, Mar. 2008.
“You could see her eyes light up”: Author phone interview with Naomi Packard-Koot, Mar. 2008.
230 “Fortunately, I really don’t think”: Author interview with David Rockefeller in Manhattan, Dec. 18, 2007.
“Mr. Rockefeller would hold her hand”: Author phone interview with Noreen Nee, Jan. 2008.
“When I would give her communion”: Author phone interview with Rev. Charles
Pridemore, Aug. 2007.
“It was tense”: Noreen Nee interview.
“All the staff came to him”: Author interview with Sam Peabody at his home, Apr. 17, 2007.
231 “They sang for her like a band”: Pearline Noble interview.
“We didn’t have to be so formal”: Author interview with Sophie Marshall, Apr. 2008.
“If I knew that things”: Minnette Christie and Pearline Noble interviews.
232 On December 4, 2006: Justice John Stackhouse ruling on legal fees, Dec. 4, 2006, Supreme Court of the State of New York, index no. 50095/06, court evaluator Sam Liebowitz report; guardianship files.
233 “My understanding is”: Author interview with Henry Kissinger at his office, Sept. 19, 2008.
234 “She threw herself”: Author interview with Louis Auchincloss, May 2007.
“As you may know”: Charlene Marshall, “A Letter to the People of St. James,” St. James Epistle, Dec. 2006.
“We went, we made our excuses”: Author interview with Paul Gilbert, Jan. 6, 2008.
235 “It has nearly destroyed him”: Author interview with Catia Chapin at her home, Mar. 18, 2007.
“I don’t know Tony Marshall”: Author phone interview with Chuck Merten, Nov. 2006.
“I’ve never had a lot”: Author phone interview with Richard Estes, July 19, 2007.
236 “So much has changed”: Philip Marshall to Tony Marshall, Mar. 18, 1993. Collection of Philip Marshall.
237 “I said no”: Paul Saunders interview.
238 “She does spend a lot of time sleeping.”: Associated Press, “Quiet 105th Birthday for Socialite Astor,” Mar. 30, 2007; Ethan Rouen and Celeste Katz, “Mrs. Astor Snoozes Thru B’day Visit by Embattled Son,” Daily News, Mar. 31, 2007, p. 10; Jill Culora. “A High 105 for Brooke,” New York Post, Mar. 25, 2007, p. 21. Jill Culora, “A High 105 for Brooke,” New York Post, Mar. 25, 2007, p. 21.
David Rockefeller carried: Serge Kovaleski, “Flowers, Not Fanfare for Brooke Astor’s 105th,” New York Times, Mar. 31, 2007, p. B2.
“She knew that everyone”: Annette de la Renta interview.
“My grandmother was taking it all in”: Philip Marshall interview.
13. A WONDERFUL LIFE
239 “I am very distressed”: Alec Marshall to Tony Marshall, May 2007.
Quoted with permission from Alec Marshall.
240 “I thought this was the only chance”: Author interview with Alec Marshall at his home, Dec. 12, 2007.
“Trust me, they’re shunned”: Author interview with Clare Stone in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 18, 2007.
“It was almost like”: Author interview with Betty Halpern in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 2007.
241 “They have a lot of nerve”: Author interview with Dot Renaud in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 2007.
“We came up the day before yesterday”: Author phone interview with Tony Marshall, June 16, 2007.
“When the Marshalls came up”: Author phone interview with William Bigelow, July 2007.
“She grabbed my hand”: Author interview with Noreen Nee, Mar. 2008.
“When I first went in the room”: Author interview with David Rockefeller at his office, Dec. 18, 2007.
242 “I was there”: Author phone interview with Charles Pridemore, Aug. 2007.
“heartless and hostile”: Tony Marshall, affidavit filed in Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, file no. 21227/2007, Aug. 2007.
“I told Tony”: Author interview with Annette de la Renta, multiple interviews, Jan. 29, 2008–July 2008.
“He glared at us”: Author interview with Minnette Christie in Manhattan, Apr. 10, 2008.
243 “There was a bit of a scare”: Author phone interview with Philip Marshall, Aug. 12, 2007.
“She was sweating”: Author interview with Minnette Christie in Manhattan, Jan. 14, 2008.
“I will never forget”: Author interview with Pearline Noble in Manhattan, Jan. 14, 2008.
244 “She’s traveling” Minnette Christie interview.
“I have lost”: www.nytimes.com, Aug. 13, 2008.
“Brooke left the world”: Ibid.
“He was able to cradle her”: Corky Siemaszo, “Socialite and Philanthropist Brooke Astor Dead at 105,” Daily News, online ed., Aug. 13, 2007.
“The Marshalls got there”: Charles Pridemore interview.
245 The New York Times immortalized: Marilyn Berger, “Brooke Astor, Wry Aristocrat of the People, Is Dead at 105,” Aug. 14, 2007, p. 1.
245 “The accusation of”: Barbara Ross, Adam Lisberg, and Corky Siemaszo. “Fight over Brooke Fortune,” Aug 15, 2007, p. 8.
Mrs. Astor “was not competent”: Serge Kovaleski, “Astor’s Guardians Challenge Her Last Wills, Citing Incompetence,” New York Times, Aug. 16, 2007, p. B1.
246 “For someone who is supposed to”: Barbara Ross, Peter Kadushin, and Corky Siemaszo, “Astor Family Feud Heats Up as City Buries a Legend,” Daily News, Aug. 17, 2006, p. 5.
I was at my mother’s bedside": Author interview with Tony Marshall, Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, Sept. 5, 2007.
“I thought it was tacky”: Author phone interview with Philip Marshall, Aug. 2008.
“It was unclear”: Author interview with Paul Saunders in Manhattan, Jan. 29, 2007.
247 “In a perfect world”: Author phone interview with Annette de la Renta, May 2008.
“There was no need”: Author phone interview with Susan Robbins, Aug. 2007.
list of guests: Eric Konigsberg and Serge Kovaleski, “Funeral A-List: New Version of Mrs. Astor’s 400,” New York Times, Aug. 15, 2007, p. B1.
248 “Our side didn’t leak”: Author phone interview with Daniel Billy, Jr., Aug. 2007.
“It was a roomful of people”: Author interview with Henry Kissinger at his office, Sept. 19, 2007.
“I was pretty much planning”: David Rockefeller interview.
249 “I suggest maybe”: Cindy Adams. “Victim’s Sister Rips Planned O.J. Book,” New York Post, Aug. 22, 2007, p. 14.
250 “My father walked over”: Author interview with Alec Marshall at his home, Dec. 12, 2007.
“I couldn’t be more honored”: Author phone interview with John Hart, Aug. 2007.
252 “It was as if”: Author interview with confidential source.
253 “It was perfectly pleasant”: Author phone interview with Emily Harding, Aug. 2007.
“It’s as if Tony”: Author interview with confidential source.
“We just stopped by”: Lorena Mongelli and Lukas Alpert, “Secret Burial for Brooke,” New York Post, Aug. 19, 2007, p. 15.
“I never thought”: Author interview with Ramon Acosta, Dec. 12, 2007.
14. FAMILY PLOT
255 “We connected straight up”: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.
“I feel a bit like”: Author interview with Susan Robbins, multiple interviews, Sept. 5, 2007.
“This is a nightmare”: Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, Sept. 5, 2007, transcript.
258 “Brooke specifically didn’t want them”: Author phone interview with Robert Pirie, Sept. 2007.
“Torturous”: Author interview with Charlene Marshall at Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, Sept. 5, 2007.
259 “I’m eighty-three”: Author interview with Tony Marshall at Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, Sept. 5, 2007.
“I didn’t think he looked well”: Author interview with Philip Marshall, Sept. 5, 2007.
260 “We were not invited”; Author interview with Tony Marshall at the Metropolitan Museum, Sept. 28, 2007.
261 “Brooke said, ‘Oh’”; Author eyewitness account, New York Public Library, Sept. 11, 2007.
“All we do is”: Author interview with Charlene Marshall at the Metropolitan Museum, Sept. 28, 2007.
“the most extraordinary thing”: Author phone interview with Viscount William Astor, Dec. 26, 2007.
262 “All the help”; Author interview with Alice Perdue at the Metropolitan Museum, Sept. 28, 2007.
“I’d rather say things”: Author interview with Chris Ely at the Metropolitan Museum, Sept. 28, 2007.
263 the couple had attended: “Sightings,” New York Post, Dec. 31, 2007, p. 11.
“If one didn’t know”: Author interview with Marilyn Berger at her home, Nov. 14, 2007.
“They are the death of civilization”: Author interview with Tony Marshall at Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, Oct. 18, 2007.
264 “I adore him”: Author interview with Charlene Marshall at Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, Oct. 18, 2007.
“That was perfectly acceptable”: Author interview with Paul Saunders in Manhattan, Jan. 29, 2007.
265 “If it wasn’t for Philip”: Author interview with Dan Castleman in Manhattan, Jan. 8, 2008.
266 “When I had a terrible nosebleed”: Steve Fishman, “The Curse of Mrs. Astor,” New York, Nov. 19, 2007, pp. 22–27, 106–9.
267 “Philip has not looked”: Author phone interview with Nan Starr, Mar. 2008.
“I thought of going downstairs”: Author phone interview with Alec Marshall, Mar. 2008.
268 “I sincerely hope”: Melissa Grace, “Astor Grandson: Show Dad Mercy,” Daily News, Nov. 28, 2007, pp. 5–6.
“swindling Mrs. Astor”: Robert M. Morgenthau press conference, Nov. 27, 2007, author eyewitness account and transcript.
270 “Whose suit is that?”: Author interview with Shirley Shepard in Manhattan, Nov. 27, 2007.
271 “They may have arrested”: Author phone interview with Viscount William Astor, Dec. 26, 2007.
“He was ashen”: Author interview with confidential source.
272 “I can argue”: Author phone interview with Philip Marshall, Dec. 1, 2007.
“I think that Tony”: Author phone interview with Paul Gilbert, Jan. 6, 2008.
“Charlene was so hostile”: Author phone interview with Frances Kiernan, Dec. 2007.
273 “Girlsie is a total princess”: Author phone interview with Molly Flint, July 1, 2008.
274 “My grandmother used to”: Author interview with Alec Marshall, Dec. 12, 2007.
277 Opris “was upset”: Laura Italiano, “Battle ‘Royal,’” New York Post, Feb. 26, 2008, p. 15.
15. THE PEOPLE V. ANTHONY MARSHALL
279 “It was a jury of peers”: Author interview with confidential source, May 2009.
“I’m up in the mountains”: Author phone interview with Philip Marshall, Apr. 26, 2009.
“I’m just going to tell the truth”: Author phone interview with Alec Marshall, Apr. 2009.
280 “Anthony Marshall’s preoccupation”: Elizabeth Loewy, Manhattan Supreme Court, Apr. 27, 2009.
“Some of us look”: Andrea Peyser, “ALL FOR WIFE’S LOVE OF MONEY,” New York Post, Apr. 28, 2009, p. 10.
“Prosecutor in Brooke Astor Case Points Finger”: New York Times, Apr. 28, 2009, p. A19.
“loyal and devoted son”: Frederick Hafetz, Manhattan Supreme Court, Apr. 28, 2009.
281 “hard-working lawyer”: Thomas Puccio, Manhattan Supreme Court, Apr. 28, 2009.
“Cousin Brooke”: Viscount William Astor, Manhattan Supreme Court, Apr. 29, 2009.
“She was not snobbish”: Philippe de Montebello, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 4, 2009.
“had trouble remembering”: Graydon Carter, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 20, 2009.
“I’m the only person”: Author phone interview with Annette de la Renta, May 3, 2009.
282 “I thought it was”: Author phone interview with Annette de la Renta, May 14, 2009.
“marker”: Author interview with Elizabeth Loewy, May 2009.
“I didn’t think”: Henry Kissinger, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 7, 2009.
“that man”: Joel Seidemann, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 7, 2009.
“a little vague”: Barbara Walters, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 7, 2009.
283 “I just go home”: Author interview with Tony Marshall, Manhattan Supreme Court, July 9, 2009.
“These lawyers”: Author interview with Charlene Marshall, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 22, 2009.
John Eligon: “Not On Trial but Being Judged as a Villain,” New York Times, May 7, 2009, p. 1.
“They can say”: Author interview with Richard Osterweil at his home, June 22, 2009.
284 “she was having trouble”: Alec Marshall, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 19, 2009.
“I walked out”: Author phone interview with Alec Marshall, July 3, 2009.
“They never visited”: Philip Marshall, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 19, 2009.
“The court reporter’s machine”: Justice A. Kirke Bartley, Jr., Manhattan Supreme Court, May 20, 2009.
285 “He couldn’t find his way”: Charlene Marshall, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 22, 2009.
“my husband”: Christopher Ely, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 9, 2009.
“The only man”: Angela Moore, Manhattan Supreme Court, July 9, 2009.
286 “no good”: Dr. Rees Pritchett, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 24, 2009.
“My son is nothing”: Dwight Johnson, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 18, 2009.
“He was so unfortunate”: Miranda Kaiser, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 9, 2009.
“Did you see”: Author interview with Francis Morrissey, June 9, 2009.
“She’d rather have Boysie”: Dr. Kevin O’Flaherty, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 4, 2009.
“What the f”: Elizabeth Loewy, courtroom argument before Justice Bartley, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 13, 2009.
“She’s killing him!”: Elizabeth Loewy, courtroom argument before Justice Bartley, Manhattan Supreme Court, May 12, 2009.
“enabling . . . giving in”: Elizabeth Loewy, Manhattan Supreme Court, April 27, 2009.
287 “They are accusing this honorable”: Frederick Hafetz, Manhattan Supreme Court, Apr. 28, 2009.
“A lot of people”: Henry “Terry” Christensen, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 1, 2009.
“Did you think”: Elizabeth Loewy, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 1, 2009.
“I gave 15 years”: Christensen, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 4, 2009.
288 “I last looked”: Author phone interview with Elizabeth Wheaton-Smith, June 11, 2009.
“You never know”: Author phone interview with Alec Marshall, July 3, 2009.
289 “This is so twisted”: Author phone interview with Philip Marshall, June 15, 2009.
“They looked”: Lia Opris, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 30, 2009.
290 “I was on trial”: Author phone interview with Pearline Noble, July 17, 2009.
“That’s all?” Author interview with Christopher Ely, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 10, 2009.
“He did not do one thing”: Author interview with Charlene Marshall, Manhattan Supreme Court, June 29, 2009.
291 “Mother’s feelings”: Tony Marshall letter to Terry Christensen, Feb. 3, 2004.
EPILOGUE: A SUNSET IN MAINE
292 “We were freer”: Author phone interview with Nan Starr, Apr. 2008.
293 “She had all these trinkets”: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.
“Every time we went to see Gagi”: Author interview with Sophie Marshall, Apr. 2008.
“And not drink:” Winslow Marshall e-mail to author, Apr. 2008.
293 “She loved the little girl”: Author interview with Alicia Johnson in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 2007.
294 “I’d never met any of them”: Author interview with Annette de la Renta, multiple interviews, Jan. 29, 2008–July 2008.
“Brooke and I”: Nan Starr interview.
“She was a little offended”: Author interview with David Rockefeller in his office, Dec. 18, 2007.
“She was impressed”: Sophie Marshall interview.
295 “It was really, really important”: Nan Starr interview.