An heiress has her hands full battling the tax man while flirting with a new aristocratic suitor. May 1933, Doris Duke finds herself with another potential aristocratic suitor the impoverished Earl of Warwick, but she has more potential trouble coming from the IRS trying to collect more taxes on her estate. Other people and subjects include: Nanaline Duke, James HR Cromwell aka “Jimmy,” John Jacob Astor VI aka “Jakey,” James “Buck” Duke, Edward E.T. Stotesbury, Eva Stotesbury, Evalyn Walsh McLean, Walker Inman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Donna Christina Torlonia (Cristina / Christiana / Cristiana,…), Elsie Moore Torlonia, Earl of Warwick Charles Guy Fulke Greville, William Rhinelander Stewart, Greta Garbo, Lili Damita, Amelia Earhart, Colony Club - Manhattan, New York City, Hollywood, Supreme Court, appeal, reject, Internal Revenue Service – IRS, tax evasion, Atlanta Penitentiary, Byzantine Empress Irene, French Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, British Queen Elizabeth I, Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, chess set, Il Duce Benito Mussolini, Rachele Guidi Mussolini, Clara Petacci, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, mistress, wife, stepsister, dictator, World War II, California Railway Commission, gas rate cuts, Los Angeles, Chicago and Indiana radio stations, air waves, Jamaica ginger, ginger extract, Prohibition, jake, partial paralysis, *ginger paralysis (referenced not directly mentioned), castor oil extract, phosphate poisoning, Spain, Germany, Italy, Morrocco, jake walk, jake dance, jake leg, John Addis, A.C. Addis, Kansas wholesale grocers, President of Hub Corporation Harry Gross, The Untouchables TV Series Season 2, illusion, delusion, social media, retelling stories, supernova explosion, Baltimore bridge, right side of history, dark sides of history, chaotic times Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
An heiress has her hands full battling the tax man while flirting with a new aristocratic suitor.
May 1933, Doris Duke finds herself with another potential aristocratic suitor the impoverished Earl of Warwick, but she has more potential trouble coming from the IRS trying to collect more taxes on her estate.
Other people and subjects include: Nanaline Duke, James HR Cromwell aka “Jimmy,” John Jacob Astor VI aka “Jakey,” James “Buck” Duke, Edward E.T. Stotesbury, Eva Stotesbury, Evalyn Walsh McLean, Walker Inman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Donna Christina Torlonia (Cristina / Christiana / Cristiana,…), Elsie Moore Torlonia, Earl of Warwick Charles Guy Fulke Greville, William Rhinelander Stewart, Greta Garbo, Lili Damita, Amelia Earhart, Colony Club - Manhattan, New York City, Hollywood, Supreme Court, appeal, reject, Internal Revenue Service – IRS, tax evasion, Atlanta Penitentiary, Byzantine Empress Irene, French Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, British Queen Elizabeth I, Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, chess set, Il Duce Benito Mussolini, Rachele Guidi Mussolini, Clara Petacci, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, mistress, wife, stepsister, dictator, World War II, California Railway Commission, gas rate cuts, Los Angeles, Chicago and Indiana radio stations, air waves, Jamaica ginger, ginger extract, Prohibition, jake, partial paralysis, *ginger paralysis (referenced not directly mentioned), castor oil extract, phosphate poisoning, Spain, Germany, Italy, Morrocco, jake walk, jake dance, jake leg, John Addis, A.C. Addis, Kansas wholesale grocers, President of Hub Corporation Harry Gross, The Untouchables TV Series Season 2, illusion, delusion, social media, retelling stories, supernova explosion, Baltimore bridge, right side of history, dark sides of history, chaotic times
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Extra Notes / Call to Action:
Proud Stutter by Maya Chupkov
https://www.proudstutter.com/
https://pod.link/1588336626
“Rock of Hope” documentary fundraiser
Crowdfund Campaign Link: seedandspark.com/fund/rock-of-hope-film#story
Hashtag: #RockOfHopeFilm
Instagram: @mayachupkov, @misterjayjordan
Facebook: mcsharone
X: @MayaSharona
LI: MayaChupkov
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45lTDJNP7BA&t=2s
Share, like, subscribe
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Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: There Isn’t Any Limit To My Love by Ambrose, Album It’s Got To Be Love
Section 2 Music: The Younger Generation by Ray Noble, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s
Section 3 Music: I Must See Annie Tonight by Brian Lawrance, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s
End Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
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AS THE MONEY BURNS
Podcast by Nicki Woodard
Episode 112 – An Earl And A Duke
Outline
Earl suitor
Taxes & the Supreme Court
Series Tag
00:00
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast by Nicki Woodard. Based on historical research, this is a deep exploration into what happened to a set of actual heirs and heiresses to some of America’s most famous fortunes when the Great Depression hits.
Each episode has three primary sections. Section 1 is a narrative story. Section 2 goes deeper into the historical facts. Section 3 focuses on contemporary, emotional, and personal connections.
00:29
Story Recap
Barbara Hutton and Prince Alexis Mdivani are finally engaged, and Cobina Wright hostesses once again her Circus Ball.
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
00:44
An Earl and A Duke
[Music Fade Out]
Episode Tag
An heiress has her hands full battling the tax man while flirting with a new aristocratic suitor.
01:00
[Music – There Isn’t Any Limit To My Love by Ambrose, Album It’s Got To Be Love]
Section 1 – Story
[Music Fade Out]
01:18
Plentiful fortunes attract all sorts of attention. One never knows who might show up next… a long lost relative, a friend in need, a potential suitor, or inevitably the tax man.
Yes, the tax man, in the United States Uncle Sam has come collecting taxes again. There has been a heavy push to collect taxes on the wealthy, and that means anyone can come under fire which this time means…
01:45
Richest girl in the world Doris Duke who may be young, but she is no pushover. And she will fight all the way up to the Supreme Court.
The tall and less awkward heiress is finding her way in this world. In fact, she has become both a fashion icon and one to watch when it comes to suitors – of which she has many according to the press.
02:09
Wednesday, May 3rd, 1933, Manhattan
Smooth faced, boyishly handsome, but impoverished the Earl of Warwick Charles Guys Fulke Greville is among her potential admirers. Returning from a Hollywood trip, he remains sans mustache, which he lost recently after a dare from the one and only starlet Lili Damita in Palm Beach. The Earl is seeking financial opportunities and might consider the silver screen. Tall with brown eyes the Earl of Warwick lunches with his host William Rhinelander Stewart at the Colony Club, who sports a red carnation in his buttonhole. They are seated across from Doris, who notably dresses exquisitely and most inconspicuously. Her blue eyes matching her plain blue tailleur and white blouse topped by a small, high crowned blue straw hat. She is without the seemingly requisite sable or silver fox which wraps around all the other gals at the club.
03:08
Doris keeps her European sensibilities intact. At other times, spotted wearing Chanel. She too is likened to Hollywood glamour and compared most notably to the slim and aloof Greta Garbo. Very much a duke in name without the royal and aristocratic attachments. A little irony since her family comes from the humblest of origins, and Doris can be as simple and unaffected and actually prefers that to stuffy society rules and protocols. Doris dreads a potential return to Newport for the summer and would prefer another European excursion, but alas there are a few engagements she must attend first.
Could the dollar princess become another American dollar princess the press and public love so much? Will Doris eventually join the ranks of many heiresses before her along with the soon to be married Barbara Hutton – her former Gold Dust twin who has blossomed since their 1930 debutante balls.
04:04
Monday, May 8th, 1933
The Supreme Court has agreed to review 4 cases for appeal. Among them is one by Internal Revenue Service IRS seeking to recover additional taxes of $9 million (today in 2024 that would $219.2 million) for the Duke estate set up by Buck Duke in 1924 with his death following in the year 1925. The arguments to be heard will be over which year taxes should be applied. This could impact the two trusts setup for Doris which are quoted in a 1927 audit claims $53 million though by 1933 now speculated as nearly $30 million (that would be estimates of $951 million down to around $720 million in 2024 – the reversal may take into account the impact of and losses due to the Crash). Later this year 1933, Doris will come into her majority when she turns 21 and thus possession and control of both trusts.
05:05
Already the board of tax appeals and third circuit court has ruled against the IRS, but the government need for more government money is ever pressing so another attempt is made. Regardless paid or not, Doris remains one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.
Could anyone blame a certain Earl if he did find her more appealing?
05:25
Her wealth and tenacity also appeals to one particular potential stepfather-in-law. As Philadelphia’s repeatedly highest tax payer, financier E.T. Stotesbury admires Doris for her tenacity and strength. He hates the idea of paying taxes and is under investigation for tax evasion. Nothing outrages him more than the notion of taxes. Though he still will not openly admit his coiffeurs have depleted as he dips into the principal of his JP Morgan accounts. His idealistic and impractical stepson James HR Cromwell, aka “Jimmy,” with the aid of his mother Eva Stotesbury and Hope Diamond owner Evalyn Walsh McLean have targeted Doris as his proper second wife. E.T. approves of someone else footing the bills.
06:11
Jimmy and Doris have a hot and cold romance, partially fueled by which way Doris’s mother reacts to the situation. It seems Doris can fend off multiple suitors and the tax man, but there is one person she does bend to and that is her socially ambitious mother Nanaline Duke. And yet, Doris cannot fully abide by her mother’s wishes either. Nanaline wants an equal or larger fortune, title or not. Impoverished nobility especially with expensive estates have little appeal to Nanaline, who wants the Duke funds diverted to her darling son and non-Duke heir son Walker Inman. Whenever Nanaline seems unkeen on a suitor, his appeal increases in magnitude to Doris.
06:52
Oh, heiresses too and maybe even more have rebellious sides. Maybe the upcoming May Ball hosted by the new First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt will provide better options.
In other news tidbits,…
Most popular female after dinner speaker is aviatrix Amelia Earhart.
Elsewhere Princess Donna Christina (Christiana / Cristina / Cristiana) Donna Cristina Torlonia (Christina, Cristiana, Christiana)) Torlonia is seen about town and lunching with her mother a famous American dollar princess Elsie Moore Torlonia. It seems Christina’s romance with the proud scion John Jacob Astor VI, aka Jakey, has faded as both their mothers wish the youths to remain unattached a little longer.
Over in the Atlanta Penitentiary, model inmate convicted on tax evasion Al Capone has no special privileges and is reportedly both industrious and excellent in his work as a gardener.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Money and power are ever so fleeting…
07:54
[Music – The Younger Generation by Ray Noble, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music Fade Out]
08:12
The purpose of this section is to give a chance to further explain details that might enhance or distract from the primary story but are nonetheless relevant to understanding some aspect of the story or the world as it existed. Now sometimes I drill down how I found a story or explain the debates when sources or information contradict and why one might seem more accurate or not.
Obviously, I do a lot of research for each episode. Sometimes I have an overabundance, and the irony is when that happens when I think a story seems more confined or slim then it grows quite corpulent as I flesh out explanations or contextualize people who have somehow appeared or reappeared in the story. Sometimes those appearances occur only in an adjacent column thus screaming a larger contemporaneous timeline context.
09:02
As mentioned previously, I have seen an increase in news articles mentioning Barbara Hutton and Doris Duke comparatively within the last few months. I am also seeing a lot of other historical references that bear noting. I myself have always tried to remember the parallels and contemporaries in history, especially as whenever there are more interactions. Byzantine Empress Irene to French and Holy Roman Emperor Charlamagne – he proposed to her, British Queen Elizabeth I to Russian’s Ivan the Terrible – ditto and he sent as a gift a chess set with an elaborate queen piece, and so on… I can’t help it. It’s quite a compulsive tendency of mine.
Now what I am noticing more and more are the rise of many conflicts and situations hinting and leading to World War II. I make notes and when possible and definitely when necessary try to point them out.
09:55
Case in point, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on May 7th, 1933, features an entire page with photo dedicated to Signora Rachele Guidi Mussolini – yes, that’s right Mussolini’s second wife. Considered even then as the least known wife of a famous husband. One tidbit highlighted – she was Il Deuce’s stepsister before becoming his sweetheart and wife.
Now I must admit the only thing I ever knew about this woman previously came when I was logging footage for a company that did over 100 hours of History Channel a year. That footage was of the bodies of Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci being hung upside down and spit on by Italians in the town square. A decade or more later, Mussolini’s body is dug up and reinterred, and the funeral procession is held by his surviving children and wife. WHAT???? Yeah, wife, she lived long after him. I came up with the motto then and there – Better to be a wife of a *world conquering dictator but never his mistress. The mistress always winds up dead, but the wife might be allowed to live and with some relative peace as she is not expected to be responsible for her husband’s actions.
11:13
Another note is partially due to all the recent court cases in the press these days. It is interesting to see mention of the Supreme Court in relation to Doris Duke and taxes as well as other cases. One reviewed case involves gas rate cuts for public utilities in Los Angeles by the California Railway Commission which the Supreme Court upholds. Another pending case is over radio stations from Chicago and Indiana in conflict over the control of airwaves and limiting competition between the locations.
11:45
So far in 1933 before the summer break, the Supreme Court will review 4 cases for appeal while rejecting many others. One case rejected involves two Kansas wholesale grocers who sold to pharmacists and other suppliers an extract of Jamaica ginger, commonly known as jake, to be used as a substitute for alcohol. Unfortunately, this ginger extract ends up causing partial paralysis for hundreds of people who drank it in replacement of an intoxicating beverage. In 1930, people would lose feeling in their feet or leg muscles causing a distinctive gait known as the jake walk or jake dance. It mostly impacts the calf muscles as well the muscles between the thumb and fingers.
12:28
In 1931, brothers John Addis and A.C. Addis are convicted by the government for the outbreak and supplying the bootleg product in their Kansas region, and it is their appeal that is denied. That is a regional issue, but the affliction has a much larger radius. For the larger core problem, it is the President of Hub Products Corporation Harry Gross considered most responsible for the incident when he tries to substitute the *more expensive castor oil additive with a cheaper phosphate, one that was used in thinning plastics and paint thinning. The outbreak occurred in 1930, and mostly effects the extremities in the hands and feet. At first the newspapers and the Supreme Court indicated several hundreds if not 1000s were impacted by the Addis brothers, but later estimates of the whole problem put the number between 30-50,000 around the country. Mostly people of lower income or immigrant status. While for some the results were temporary or partial, many were permanently impacted. Overall victims received little to no compensation.
13:32
Of course, several songs are recorded in the early 1930s referring to this incident with Jake Walk or Jake Leg in the titles. Harry Gross and his business partner are fined $1000 each (essentially $24k in 2024) and given a two year suspended jail sentence. This incident will be featured as a plot in two episodes of the American tv series The Untouchables during Season 2. A similar phosphate poisoning outbreak occurs again in 1959 in Germany, Spain, Italy, and Morrocco.
History is indeed a strange bedfellow. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
14:14
[Music – I Must See Annie Tonight by Brian Lawrance, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music Fade Out]
14:33
There’s a strange dichotomy happening in these stories. The primary stories focus on a set of young heirs and heiresses as they move into adulthood with all its pending promises and heartaches yet to come.
Because these are real people, and ones that have been dead for at least 2 decades or more, we have plenty of distance and potentially the full knowledge of their lives. At least certain aspects of their lives. But as they were rich and famous, we have far more information than the average person would have been known to us – except maybe in today’s social media, more might be known per se though you have to wonder what might be illusion or delusion even to oneself.
15:16
Our heirs and heiresses are definitely is the enviable moment of life, and so far so much to look forward to… Only we know the truth, we know the points along the way and the ends. We also know other world and personal events that will collide and detour even the best laid and well-funded plans. Because for most of their lives, money was never an obstacle as in not having enough. Only the polar opposite of too much, except in one case and that is by relative comparison. Strange how money amplifies both good and bad, complicating, multiplying, and obfuscating so much.
15:59
It does something internal when retelling their stories of love, hope, and promise on a granular level while knowing the darkness that will come. Re-experiencing a form of hope and naivety heading towards more troubling times and desperate situations. Even if one crisis is averted or might have been averted, another inevitably comes in its place, and the collision ever so much louder and brighter. Could it be a supernova explosion the death of an old star giving birth to a new one, or the demolition of an essential necessity like the Baltimore bridge?
16:40
It is somewhat cathartic, when looking at one’s own troubles to know that others struggle in similar ways. While also possibly trying to figure out is there something that can be learned and used to benefit our own situations even if only to understand someone closer to us.
In contrast to looking at these stories, our near future to the end of our lives is unknown. Both the pleasures and the pains before us. I mean we can sort of know societally we are obviously in rocky times. Social upheaval is quite rampant, and the only small consolation we have is knowing that in time things will move on, but at what cost and at what time can only be determined in hindsight.
17:28
It's so funny the common phrase and justification today – is being on the right side of history. A very loaded and misguided phrase, because any true exploration of history will reveal dark and twisted paths. Good intentions gone awry, bad things sometimes leading to better situations. It’s all in what we can make of it – if in just the need to move on and re-establish control and hope.
Our stories are not over yet, both heirs and heiresses as well as our own. Plenty of interesting twists and turns are afoot. So stay tuned…
18:08
My friend and fellow podcaster Maya Chupkov hosts Proud Stutter, which features people with verbal disabilities doing extraordinary things. Maya is now spearheading a documentary “Rock of Hope” to help inspire those with stuttering. They need assistance raising the last $24k to finish the film. If you are interested in contributing to this worthwhile cause, check out Proud Stutter at www.proudstutter.com.
Links in the notes and transcript. Information will also be available via As The Money Burns website and social media.
Proud Stutter podcast
https://www.proudstutter.com/
https://pod.link/1588336626
“Rock of Hope” documentary fundraiser
Crowdfund Campaign Link: seedandspark.com/fund/rock-of-hope-film#story
Hashtag: #RockOfHopeFilm
Instagram: @mayachupkov, @misterjayjordan
Facebook: mcsharone
X: @MayaSharona
LI: MayaChupkov
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45lTDJNP7BA&t=2s
If you enjoy As The Money Burns, then please share, like, & subscribe.
Hook
18:49
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
Pending nuptials bring more attention to a royal fiancée and his questionable lineage.
Until then…
Credits
19:05
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast written, produced, and voiced by Nicki Woodard, based on historical research. Archival music has been provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, check out their website at www.pastperfect.com.
Please come visit us at As The Money Burns via Goodpods, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook (now Meta), or Instagram. Transcripts, timeline, episode guide, and character bios are available at asthemoneyburns.com.
19:38
THE END.