Mrs. Astor Regrets (49 page)

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 
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.

[>]
 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.

[>]
 Several months before: Written description provided by David Rockefeller.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 "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

[>]
 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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 What a famous cast: Kuczynski, "100 Candles," p. B1.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 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.

[>]
 Tony Marshall had prepared: Author phone interview with Tony Marshall, June 21, 2007.

[>]
 "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

[>]
 At Holly Hill the morning after: Author interview with Philip Marshall, multiple interviews, July 28, 2006–June 2008.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 On Monday morning: Philip Marshall interview.

[>]
 "I offered to barricade myself": Author interview with Daniel Billy, Jr., in Manhattan, Apr. 10, 2007.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 On Monday afternoon: Author phone interview with Helen Peterson, Jan. 2008.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 "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
"

[>]
 "She took books": Author phone interview with Linda Gillies, Apr. 2008.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 "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.

[>]
 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.