Read Madness Under the Royal Palms Online
Authors: Laurence Leamer
Chapter One
Barbara Wainscott blew out: Interview, Barbara Wainscott.
“a marvel indeed…”: William James,
The American Scene
, (1907), p. 426.
“the inordinate desire…”: Ibid, p. 434.
“It is not a good sign…”:
Palm Beach Daily News
, February 28, 1898.
Chapter Two
Barbara and David had already: Interview, Wainscott.
“refugee rags”:
Chicago Tribune
, April 19, 1941.
William alleged:
Wichita Eagle
, March 8, 1998.
He had charged: Interview, Dan Ponton.
“Strong contender…”
Palm Beach Post
, December 10, 1989.
“Prince Edward plans…”:
Palm Beach Daily News
, March 5, 1997.
“used to utterly utter…”:
New York Times
, January 30, 2000.
Chapter Three
“we of northern European…”: Fred Keller gave me almost complete access to his personal and legal files including the various, largely unpaginated versions of his memoir.
“I simply felt…”: Fred Keller memoir.
One evening Fred stood: Interview, Fred Keller.
“slapped me in the head…”: Paul Keller,
Isthmus
, unpublished manuscript, p. 139.Brian was the only son: Interview, Brian Bohlander.
“I was going to lose my kids…”: Interview, Fred Keller.
He told with relish: Ibid.
Fred ended up suing: Interview, Fred Keller and Paul Keller manuscript.
“Palm Beach Millionaire…”:
Palm Beach Post
, November 12, 2003.On one of the sheets: Document courtesy of Pene Latham.
“I am hoping…”: Ibid.
“You’re not ever…”: Interview, Pene Latham.
I’ve never been…”: Ibid.
He told her he would pay: Ibid.
Fred studiously observed: Interview, Fred Keller.
Chapter Four
“They see the old masters…”: Interview, Eddy Louis.
In Beirut, his father: Ibid.
Before the couple moved: Interview, Eddy Louis.
“I wasn’t really a”: Interview, Eric Purcell.
His mother shipped: Ibid.
“It’s a big mistake…”: Ibid.
Eric’s father was technically: Ibid.
One evening in February 1995: Ibid and court documents in the State of Florida v. Eric Pfenniger.
“We should talk,…”: Interview, Eric Purcell.
“Well, actually, I did, if the truth…”: Ibid.
She was diagnosed: Consultation Report, Kendell Eye Institute, Miami, November 7, 1995.
Eric declared himself insolvent: Interview, Eric Purcell and State of Florida v. Eric Pfenniger.
Chapter Five
“an albino raccoon…”: William Wright,
Ball: A Year in the Life of the April in Paris Extravaganza
(1972), p. 11.that was what she said: Interview, Mildred McLean. 48 Brownie is the only invitee:
Palm Beach Post
, December 30, 2002“Leave it alone…”: Interview, Mildred McLean. 50 “I was a big girl…” Ibid. 51 “She and I…” Ibid. 53 May 1953, she married:
New York Times
, May 7, 1953. 53 the interest on the fortune: Evalyn Walsh McLean,
Queen of Diamonds
(2000), p. 222.sent to Hewitt School:
New York Times
, June 12, 1966.“Men are lost here…”: Interview, Mildred McLean.
Chapter Six
Addison was the seventh: Caroline Seebohm,
Boca Rococo
(2002), p. 23.One day in 1917: Ibid., p. 150.
Singer was the next to youngest son: Peter Kurth,
Isadora: A Sensational Life
(2001), p. 249.“What do you see…”: Ibid, p. 157.
He was a gay man: Ibid., p. 201.
“Say anything you want about me…”: “The Florida Home” in
Arts & Decoration
(undated), Courtesy Historical Society of Palm Beach County.“I aim to please…”:
Palm Beach Post
, January 27, 1926.“unlawful for anyone…”:
Chicago Daily Tribune
, April 15, 1945.There was genial applause: Cocoanuts of 1924” in
Palm Beach Life
, undated, p. 17, Archives of Palm Beach County Historical Society.One year Brownie: Interview, Mildred McLean.
Three years later, in 1975:
New York Times
, July 8, 1975.James Sheeran, the witty publisher: Interview, James Sheeran.
Chapter Seven
Eddy said that touching: Interview, Eddy Louis.
Vera had told her closest: Interview, Mimy Laudau.
“Okay, that’s my face…”: College project by Renee Fadiman.
“three or four glances…”:
Palm Beach Daily News
, March 9, 1997.The four-times-married cereal heiress: Nancy Rubin,
American Empress: The Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post
(1995), pp. 348–9.Fadiman was an austere: Interviews, Jeffrey and James Fadiman.
“You’ll never be pretty…”: Interview, James Fadiman.
“My mother equated…”: Interview, Jeffrey Fadiman.
They could not abide: Interviews, Jeffrey and James Fadiman.
In October, after the death: Interviews, Eddy Louis and Jeffrey and James Fadiman.
“I want the pills…”: Interview, Jeffrey Fadiman.
“Oh please…”: Interview, Meaghan Karland.
“Get the fuck out of the way…”: Palm Beach Police Department Incident Report, May 2, 1998.
“I’ve got more balls than you!…”: Interview, Eddy Louis.
Sergeant Diana Burfield drove: Palm Beach Police Department Incident Report, May 2, 1998.
“CIVILIAN CHAPLAIN ARRESTED…”:
Palm Beach Daily News
, March 31, 1999.The following Sunday, the editorial cartoon: Ibid., April 9, 1999.
Chapter Eight
David picked Barbara: Interview, Barbara Wainscott.
Jonathan could not conjure: Interview, Jonathan Berger.
Three times a day: Interview, Barbara Wainscott.
Lehmanns, Warburgs, and Seligmans: Stephen Birmingham,
Our Crowd
(1967), p. 402.Jewish entrepreneur, A.M. Sonnabend:
New York Times
, May 14, 1944.“We must at any cost…”:
Palm Beach Life
, April 1979, pp. 71–2.The following year:
New York Times
, February 12, 1964.In early 1965, the Anti-Defamation League:
New York Times
, March 13, 1965.“You guys have a lot…”: Discussion, Richard and Susan Nernberg.
“eight million dollars, plus three million: Donald Trump,
The Art of the Comeback
(1997), p. 64.“You don’t understand the demographics…”: Interviews, Paul Rampell and Robert Moore.
suing the town for fifty million:
Palm Beach Post
, November 6, 1997.“One…two…three…four…five…six…”: Interview, Nanci Hewitt.
Chapter Nine
Tony has seen the movie: Interview, Tony Senecal and
Charleston Daily Mail
, May 30, 1997.Just before the club opened: Interview, Tony Senecal.
“concentration”:
Miami Herald
, April 22, 1998 and Robert Frank,
Richistan
(2007), p. 116.He was picking up the phone: Interview, Tony Senecal.
The story got into the newspapers: Interview with B&T member, OTR.
became the company’s best-selling perfume line: Interview, Michael Gibbons.
One day a woman arrived: Interviews, Steve Greenwald and David Day.
a tacit agreement: Interview, Tony Senecal.
Trump’s own Boeing 727:
Miami Herald
, April 8, 2007.sue Palm Beach County:
Palm Beach Post,
June 15, 1995.The county promised:
Palm Beach Post,
September 4, 1996.Nothing pleased them: Interview with caddy, OTR.
killed the rare bird:
Palm Beach Post
, January 13, 2001.In February 2007, club: Interview, Tyler Buchanan and Tyler Buchanan, Plaintiff, vs. Irving Stein, Defendant in the court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.
Chapter Ten
his two Mercedes-Benz 560Sls:
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
, April 2, 1990.Until the last few years: Interview, Eles Gillet.
“When the Whitneys get here…”: “Weddings, Parties and People,” by Earl Blackwell,
Town and Country
, April 1965, p. 20.One evening she rode: “Gentlemen Prefer Marylou” by Michael Shnayerson,
Vanity Fair
, August 1995, p. 155.The day after:
New York Times
, September 14, 1963.Marylou was such a socially unacceptable match:
New York Times
, November 25, 1967.“at least five press agent…”:
Vanity Fair
.“You know you have to let a man…”: Jeffrey L. Rodengen,
The Legend of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
(2000), p. 123.“He loved for me to…”: Interview, Marylou Whitney.
“If he was morose…”: Ibid.
“I know you’re a friend…”: Rodengen, p. 137.
“the frightening spectre of old age…”: C.V. Whitney,
High Peaks
(1977), p. 103.