Madness Under the Royal Palms (32 page)

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, unpublished manuscript, p. 139.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.