In July of 1954, an obscure milk shake mixer salesman walked into a fast food restaurant in San Bernardino, CA. The restaurant was operated by two brothers named McDonald, the result of this interaction profoundly changed American culture, business and nutrition forever.
Ray Kroc in the Twenties.
Ray Kroc first interacted with Prince Castle as the Chicago based account manager for Lily-Tulip and sensing the enormous potential of the Multimixer device, he secured the national distribution rights for the machine in 1939. For two years he rapidly increased sales, his customers mostly the corner drug stores and soda fountains that were a mainstay of urban America.
Ray Kroc, Chairman, McDonald’s Corporation
Just as Kroc began to build national momentum for his sales distribution company, America entered World War II, a development that cut off two staples necessary for his continued growth. Civilian access to copper, a critical element of his Multimixer motors was halted, any supplies of this metal earmarked for military consumption. Sugar was also heavily rationed so that products like ice cream were virtually unavailable during wartime. Rather than shutting down, Kroc improvised, determined to tough it out until the end of the war. He found two additive products, consisting of mostly corn syrup and a chemical stabilizer that when mixed with chilled milk resulted in something that mimicked ice cream.
Richard McDonald
The McDonalds were not even the first to market specialty hamburgers in southern California. In 1937, a Glendale, California owner of a drive-in restaurant , Robert Wian, invented a double decker hamburger sandwich slathered with various condiments and toppings that was so successful, he called it the Big Boy, and prompted a restaurant name change to Bob’s Big Boy, eventually another successful nationwide hamburger chain. The McDonalds brothers would impact the rapidly evolving American fast food landscape by implementing some concepts that were, at the time, revolutionary. Although quite successful, their drive-in restaurant incorporated the car-hop delivery system, in which individuals, usually teenaged females offered curb or parking lot service on a tray, which was popular with teenagers but turned their location into a hangout where the parking lot was filled with leather jacketed youngsters who took up space for hours and also alienated older families with children who did not like such an atmosphere.
The Multimixer
It was in early 1954 that Kroc decided that at the very least, to try and buck up his sales numbers, he wanted to learn more about a restaurant run by two brothers in San Bernadino, California who had ordered ten Multimixers for their small Southern California location. He even asked his West coast rep how such a small restaurant could need enough machines to prepare as many as sixty shakes at a time and then decided he would go see for himself. If nothing else, this restaurant was generating orders from other hamburger joints that were trying to copy this business, called McDonalds, to duplicate their wild success.
The Original Mcdonald’s, San Bernardino, CA
As the carhop-hangout atmosphere dissipated, working class families began to descend on the restaurant in greater numbers, eating at a restaurant now a viable economic alternative. Children also enjoyed going up to the window, ordering and then bringing back the food to their car, all under the watchful eyes of their parents, a lesson in independence. The building itself was different with an octagonal shape and glassed in design from the roof to the countertop, the always immaculate kitchen, with its stainless steel, grills and efficient employees a revelation to most customers who had never set eyes on a restaurant’s interior. On the roof was a huge neon sign with the MacDonald’s name, and their mascot Speedy, the symbol for what they dubbed the, “Speedy Delivery System.” Within a year, the restaurant regained the same volume it had before its realignment. It further streamlined its production line process with customized tools, and extremely specific guidelines. And, perhaps to maintain a focused, completely businesslike approach, especially among younger employees, only males were hired. McDonalds mushroomed into a high volume, unique operation with eventually spectacular results.
Oldest McDonald’s still operating in the US, third outlet ever, built in 1953,
Ray Kroc was also not the first individual to discuss potentially franchising the McDonald’s name and concept. In fact, by the time Kroc approached them the brothers had actually sold fifteen franchises. Well, sort of. What they sold was a manual describing the Speedy Delivery Service, some building plans, one week of training with a store manager and the McDonald’s name for a fee of $1,000. They specifically did not provide any financial or business connection on any ongoing basis, the franchisee strictly on their own. Even this process was something that Mac and Dick did not pursue aggressively.
In July of 1954, an obscure milk shake mixer salesman walked into a fast food restaurant in San Bernardino, CA. The restaurant was operated by two brothers named McDonald, the result of this interaction profoundly changed American culture, business and nutrition forever.
Joan Kroc
Despite four decades and many years of dealing with a virtual absentee husband and serious anxiety over their household debt, Eleanor Kroc was still hanging in on the marriage. That is until, in 1961, when Kroc said he wanted a divorce. Ethel settled for the house, the Lincoln automobile and 30,000 dollars a year in alimony. Part of Kroc’s decision to divorce stemmed from a relationship that began when he met a potential licensee at an upscale restaurant. The keyboard player and singer at this restaurant was a stunning blonde named Joan Smith. Kroc was so smitten that he could barely focus on the meeting, with Bob Zien, who owned this restaurant, the Criterion. Zien hired Joan Smith’s husband Rawley Smith to manage his first McDonalds and entered into a partnership with Smith when Zien purchased a second franchise. Because the Smith’s were then part of the McDonalds corporate family, they frequently interacted with Ray Kroc, who eventually verbalized his romantic feelings to Joan directly. They agreed to leave their spouses, Kroc and Joan relocating to Woodland Hills, CA in late 1961. They needed to cohabitate for six weeks to be able to get a quickie Nevada divorce but five weeks into the arrangement, Joan balked. Her daughter disliked Kroc immediately and her mother was appalled. Kroc had already sold his ownership of his Prince Castle distribution company to senior executives for 150,000 dollars, essentially a loan, and was committed to relocating to the West Coast, anyway, to personally spearhead McDonald’s West Coast expansion. Joan eventually had second thoughts about breaking off the engagement, but by then Kroc had moved on.
Fred Turner, Ray Kroc’s protege and successor.
Kroc’s McDonald’s operation was mushrooming in size and he realized both his own personal limitations and that he needed to assemble a corporate structure to manage such a fast growing entity. He already identified Fred Turner as an individual he wanted to include in his inner management circle.
Ray Kroc, with Padres logo on polo shirt
Once he delegated the operation of McDonalds to Fred Turner, Ray Kroc became as much of a media personality and company spokesman as opposed to a serious hands on administrator, something he never really enjoyed anyway. He no longer had to worry much about business in any case.
Padres home during Kroc’s tenure, Jack Murphy Stadium
In 1973, a golden opportunity presented itself to Kroc that for him was the perfect outlet. Based on his mid-western middle class Chicago roots, Kroc loved baseball and the Chicago Cubs and once his net worth became considerable, he made several inquiries into actually buying the team. The long time owners, the Wrigley family were not interested in selling but in San Diego, the owner of baseball’s Padres, C. Arnholt Smith was battling his own bank’s failure, IRS demands for back taxes and fraud and embezzlement allegations. He quickly sold off the Padres to a group intent on moving the team to Washington, DC but when the city of San Diego sued to block the deal, Smith couldn’t afford to wait. Ray Kroc emerged as a civic hero quickly ponying up 12 million dollars for the team.
Swimming meet, Kroc Center, San Diego, CA
After many years of very visible philanthropy, Joan Kroc began to step out of the limelight finding that with each gift or charity event, she was besieged by countless requests and pleas from thousands of determined individuals and organizations. She never stopped giving money away, she just became much more spontaneous and anonymous, not wishing to spend her time fending off the public and frequently inspired by some news report of a particularly dreadful event. She also spent much of the late nineties working with the San Diego chapter of the Salvation Army to create a community center, a kind of athletic and fitness facility, library auditorium, outdoor swimming pool and even an ice rink all rolled into one. In 2002, 87 million dollars later, this 12 acre, 132,000 square foot facility became a reality, the Salvation Army Kroc Center.
In 1770, the French people greeted Austrian Marie Antoinette as the beautiful and future French queen. Twenty-three years later they guillotined her as the most reviled woman in France.
Marie Antoinette as a young girl
In Europe, with most political powers ruled by monarchies, the best method of insuring a stable alliance with another ruling dynasty was through marriage. Maria Theresa aggressively forged alliances with the French Bourbons dynasty through marriages of her daughters Maria Amalia and Maria Karolina to the rulers of the Italian duchies of Parma and Naples. But her most ambitious union was reserved for her youngest daughter, Maria Antonia.
Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria and Marie Antoinette’s mother
Maria Theresa gave birth to sixteen children, unusually thirteen survived into at least early childhood, including the second youngest, Maria Antonia. As the house of Hapsburg was decidedly Roman Catholic all ten of the Empress’ daughters had the first name of Maria, an acknowledgement of the Virgin Mary. Maria Theresa was a workaholic who spent most of her days focused on the affairs of state, but she closely supervised the tutors and nannies who were responsible for her children’s upbringing and education. Her strong work ethic and stubborn determination were fortunate personality traits. Only months after her ascension, many of the European monarchs who had formally agreed with her father to recognize her as his heir renounced this agreement, perhaps sensing weakness. Frederick the Great’s 1740 invasion of the Austrian province of Silesia set off an eight-year war that eventually involved all of the great powers of Europe. It was not until 1748 that diplomacy resolved this conflict, and firmly established Maria Theresa as de facto Holy Roman Empress and Archduchess of Austria, but Prussia and Frederick remained hostile and within eight years another war broke out. The Seven Years War strengthened Austria’s profile in Europe but the immense cost of this conflict convinced the Empress that diplomacy was a much more reasonable way to maintain political power and preserve her domain.
Louis XV
In Europe, with most political powers ruled by monarchies, the best method of insuring a stable alliance with another ruling dynasty was through marriage. Maria Theresa aggressively forged alliances with the French Bourbons dynasty through marriages of her daughters Maria Amalia and Maria Karolina to the rulers of the Italian duchies of Parma and Naples. But her most ambitious union was reserved for her youngest daughter, Maria Antonia. Approximately the same age as the heir to the French crown, the grandson of France’s King Louis XV seemed an obvious match and serious negotiations began between the two courts to make this wedding happen. A special tutor, the Abbe Jacques de Vermond was brought to Vienna’s Hofburg palace from France to improve the teenager’s language skills and overall social polish, underlining the serious nature of the discussion. A French dentist even surgically and painfully straightened her teeth. But this was only the beginning of a process demanded by Louis XV, that focused obsessively on the physical appearance of France’s potential queen. Louis’ womanizing exceeded that of even his royal contemporaries, the famous mistresses Madame Du Pompadour and Madame Du Barry among the dozens of women achieving notoriety during his fifty-nine-year reign.
Hofburg Palace
In April of 1770, Maria Theresa packed off her daughter as well as the Abbe de Vermond, by then subtly cultivated as the Empress’ eventual eyes and ears once the marriage took place and Maria Antonia began a journey that proved emotionally overwhelming. This trip started on April 21, 1770, in the main courtyard of Vienna’s Hofburg, the sprawling palace of Austrian emperors and in this case the Empress, Maria Therese. The empress’ daughter was placed in a magnificent gilded carriage, saluted by a crowd of patrician well-wishers and Swiss Guard ceremonial rifle volleys, and then sent off while all of the church bells of the city pealed in a congratulatory farewell.
Versailles
Although Marie’s Austrian royal family lived in the sprawling Hofburg complex and also constructed the impressive Schonbrunn Palace on the outskirts of Vienna, probably nothing prepared her for the grandiosity of the seat of the French monarchy. Built by Louis XIV as not only a statement of his national superiority and absolute power, the king also wished to contain all of the members of his court under one roof. Hundreds of apartments were provided for those members of French society who were prominent enough to merit such status. But Louis’ ostensible generosity concealed an underlying motive, that of keeping the nobility under his literal eye and stripping them of any political power or even ability to unite against his absolute rule. Thousands of inhabitants lived within the palace, which could hold as many as ten thousand residents but typically housed between two and four thousand occupants.
Petit Trianon
Louis XVI also attempted to remove any legacy of the former mistress, the Madame de Pompadour, by officially presenting his wife the Petit Trianon, a small chateau on the grounds of Versailles, formerly built and occupied by De Pompadour. Initially, the ascension of the new king and his beautiful wife was greeted by the public with happiness and the young couple was popular, the staggering deficits and disastrous foreign policy of Louis XV rendering him a bad memory. It was hoped that a new reign would also bring new attitudes and a new direction.
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France
Marginalized politically, with her husband’s chief advisors hostile to Austria, Marie Antoinette immersed herself in a pastime meant to underline her status as the court’s most important female. She began the practice of weekly masked, costumed balls, centered around various themes, her costumes sparing no expense and distinguishing her from her guests with spectacular clothing. Her husband, perhaps guilty at his ongoing sexual disinterest allowed her to spend fantastic amounts on her wardrobe and the parties themselves which frequently lasted until dawn. These exercises were undertaken to at least publicly maintain the façade that Marie Antoinette enjoyed great influence with the king and she hoped over time to regain the same political prestige as that of Louis XV’s mistresses.
Louis XVI
Mortality suddenly intervened in the spring of 1774 to permanently change the relatively vapid routine of the heir and his wife. On April 27, Louis XV went hunting with his entourage but suddenly felt too sick to even leave his carriage. By May 3 even he acknowledged that the red lesions on his body were indicative of smallpox. The king lasted another week, many accounts stating that in his final hours he uttered the phrase “Apres moi, le deluge,” After me, the deluge, a supposed acknowledgement that the financial excesses and utter governmental mismanagement of France could only result in catastrophe. Like many storied quotations, this one most likely never occurred but it should have and it was a fitting admonition for especially the now Louis the XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Princess de Lamballe
On the 19th of August, the Commune removed all eight non-royal members of the entourage. Most were eventually released unharmed, one, Marie, Princess de Lamballe, a close friend and confidante of Marie Antoinette, who had faithfully remained with the Queen during her recent ordeals was dragged before an impromptu September 3rd Commune tribunal at her new prison location. These tribunals, a violent response meant to liquidate any prisoners formerly associated with the monarchy, were convened as a result of the Austro-Prussian offensive that initially made great progress in its intent to overturn the Revolution. Asked to swear loyalty to the new government and to denounce the King and Queen, the Princess de Lamballe affirmed the former but refused the latter, stating that whether she died then or shortly thereafter was not worth her honor and dignity. Released into the courtyard she was beaten and stabbed to death by a mob assembled to execute those condemned by the tribunal with the words, Let them go,” the victim unaware that this was actually a death sentence. The Princess’ body was beheaded, disemboweled and her remains paraded through the city on pikes, this procession reaching the Temple with the intent to display this grisly artifact to the King and Queen. Although she did not see this display, Marie Antoinette fainted upon hearing about the fate of her former friend. This killing, and hundreds of others that occurred during this incident became known as the September Massacres.
Henriette Campan
Convinced that he was on the verge of a great political restoration and even deluded enough to believe that Marie Antoinette was physically attracted to him, De Rohan now reached out to the jewelers, who were also blinded by their zeal to unload the necklace. With, unbeknownst to him, forged letters in hand from the purported Marie Antoinette, requesting that the Cardinal act as her representative, a deal was negotiated whereby the necklace would be paid for in installments. Of course, the transaction was to occur amidst the utmost secrecy, a condition De La Motte could not emphasize enough. The necklace was secured by the Bishop, he then was instructed to turn it over to an individual described as a valet of the Queen, in fact Nicholas de la Motte, who hastily fled to London. By the time the alleged count arrived in England, the diamonds had been pried out of their settings, many damaged during the process, but still able to be fenced. Jean De La Motte briefly fended off both the Cardinal and the jewelers by forwarding token sums as “installments,” but by July of 1785, with Marie Antoinette having never worn the elaborate necklace publicly or reaching out to the Cardinal to acknowledge his noble deed and De La Motte no longer making any installments, both parties decided that it was time to act. A letter dictated by the Cardinal, and signed and sent by Boehmer was meant to subtly remind the Queen of both her new acquisition and financial obligation. But Marie Antoinette was so baffled by the July 12th letter that after discussing it with her first lady in waiting, Henriette Campan, she burnt it, thinking only that Boehmer was somehow trying to peddle her some more jewelry. Disturbed and now alarmed by any lack of response Boehmer waited until the 3rd of August before showing up at Henriette Campan’s residence. Campan was so shocked by first his insistent claim that the queen had made such a byzantine purchase and the details surrounding those involved, that she decided against informing the queen herself, advising that Boehmer should take the matter up with the Minister of the Royal Household.
The Duchesse de Polignac
In 1775, the Comte and Comtesse de Polignac, like many other members of the French nobility, visited Versailles to pay their respects to the new king and queen. Although aristocratic the couple had fallen on hard times and were deeply in debt. The Comtesse, Yolande Gabrielle de Polignac, was extremely pretty and immediately ingratiated herself with Marie Antoinette, who encouraged her to spend more time at court. The Polignac debt was quickly taken care of by the king and upon the birth of Marie’s first child, Gabrielle was named governess, a lucrative official position. The post also came with a palace apartment, in this case a luxurious spread of thirteen rooms. Her husband Jules de Polignac also received several paid court positions as well as the title of Duc de Polignac. Other family members received considerable pensions paid out for virtually no responsibility. Because Marie enjoyed her company, Louis XVI was enthusiastic about such expense, if only to placate his wife. When Gabrielle’s daughter married into another noble family, the king paid the dowry, equivalent to millions of dollars today. Marie Antoinette’s affection for her best friend was further underlined by the assignment of one of the cottages constructed in the faux village of the Petit Trianon to Madame de Polignac, in an area that was physically off limits to all but the most prominent members of the French court. Gabrielle’s new son-in-law was immediately named captain of the guards, her brother in law ambassador to Switzerland. The de Polignac’s became quite unpopular at court, they did their best to exploit their new positions, and isolated other courtiers from Marie, as no one could enter her inner circle without the Comtesse de Polignac’s approval. Their initial lowly status made their receipt of such largesse a point of deep resentment amidst the intensely status conscious world of Versailles. This animus prompted external gossip about such extravagance, the De Polignac’s hated by the public as much as Marie Antoinette herself. With no guarantee of their personal security, the entire extended family fled the country on July 15, one day after the storming of the Bastille.
Joseph II, Emperor of Austria
But neither Marie or her husband would be respected as dutiful monarchs if the continued sexual reticence of the king prevented any progress in the process of producing an heir. When Louis XVI’s younger brother married and produced a son in 1775, this only increased the pressure on the sovereigns to behave accordingly. This issue became so serious especially for the Austrian court because they would lose any connection to the French throne if Marie Antoinette did not give birth, that it was decided that Maria Theresa’s son, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and heir to the Austrian throne would visit his sister to attempt to get to the bottom as to what exactly was holding up the process. Although happy to see any relative, the Queen was also apprehensive as her elder brother frequently could be insensitive and critical and had already admonished her in numerous letters over the current situation. In April of 1777, travelling incognito as Count Falkenstein to avoid any embarrassing attention over his mission, the Emperor also resorted to a plain wardrobe and an absence of medals and decorations. To avoid the time wasting rituals of Versailles, he stayed in a nearby hotel, maximizing his interaction with both his sister and Louis XVI. He spent a great deal of time with his sister but also had some frank discussions with the king as to what exactly was required in this situation. Whatever difficulty or apathy that formerly plagued the king subsided and shortly after her brother’s visit, Marie Antoinette was able to report to her mother that more than seven years after his wedding day, Louis XVI successfully consummated his marriage.
Maria Therese, Marie Antoinette’s daughter
Maria Therese was able to survive the excesses of the Revolution, eventually exchanged for various French dignitaries imprisoned throughout Europe. France would then undergo the Reign of Terror, the ascendance of Napoleon and the Napoleonic wars that resulted in a restoration of the Bourbon dynasty in 1814. Louis XVI’s brother, the Comte de Provence was crowned Louis XVIII after Napoleon’s exile to Elba. His reign interrupted by the one hundred days and Waterloo, he ruled until 1824, when he was succeeded by the Comte D’Artois, Louis XVI’s youngest brother as Charles X, a ruler so odious and reactionary that he prompted a second popular revolution, an event that caused his abdication. Officially, his son, known historically as Louis XIX, reigned for twenty minutes, while Marie Therese, the daughter of Marie Antoinette, now married to the prospective king of France, begged him not to abdicate. He refused, signing off on any claim to the throne, but in this final flickering twilight of the French monarchy, Marie Antoinette’s daughter reigned briefly as the last Queen of France.
In 1770, the French people greeted Austrian Marie Antoinette as the beautiful and future French queen. Twenty-three years later they guillotined her as the most reviled woman in France.
The Comtesse De La Motte
The affair of the Diamond Necklace had its origin in a piece of jewelry that was commissioned by Louis XV in 1772 and meant as a gift for his mistress, the Madame Du Barry. He requested that the royal jewelers Charles Boehmer and Paul Bassenge create a diamond necklace that exceeded anything previously produced. On spec, the two men took great pains to assemble a creation that incorporated a great number of exquisite diamonds in a staggeringly large and ornate necklace. Called, “The Slave’s Collar,” and consisting of over 2800 carats of diamonds, the worth of this necklace today has been estimated to be as high as one hundred million dollars. Unfortunately, the King died before this accoutrement could be finalized, the jewelers now stuck with a very expensive piece of jewelry and an extremely small pool of potential buyers, the most obvious Louis XVI. But twice, in 1778 and again in 1781, for one reason or another both the King and Marie Antoinette declined to purchase the necklace. Unsold, this became the basis of an elaborate confidence scheme hatched by a socially and financially ambitious woman who called herself the Comtesse Jeanne de la Motte.
The Cardinal De Rohan
By late 1784, Jeanne had ingratiated herself as the mistress of the Cardinal de Rohan, not only a member of the powerful de Rohan noble family but a former diplomat deployed in Vienna to the court of Maria Theresa. Unfortunately, his dissolute lifestyle and anti-Austrian bias earned him the antagonism of the Empress, who in turn delivered her opinion of the Cardinal to Marie Antoinette. Upon Louis XVI assuming the throne, De Rohan, most likely upon the urging of the Queen, was hastily recalled. Understanding that the Cardinal was desperate to improve his status within the French court, Jeanne de La Motte convinced De Rohan that she was well connected to especially Marie Antoinette. In fact, through a forger, fellow huckster and also feigned aristocrat Armand Retaux de Villette, Jeanne was able to access the French Court. She further convinced de Rohan that the Queen had officially acknowledged her and that Marie Antoinette held her in high esteem. De Rohan then began what he thought was a correspondence with the Queen, receiving letters in return that were actually forged by Retaux de Villette. Blinded by his ambition, De Rohan did not hesitate when Jeanne began asking for loans and even produced signed letters which requested that he help the Queen secretly acquire the, “Slave’s Collar,” to avoid public and even Louis XVI’s awareness of such an exorbitant purchase, an acquisition that might inflame hostility over royal expenditures even further. To add further credibility to the scheme, De La Motte and Retaux de Villette staged a nocturnal, secret liaison between the Cardinal and a woman he thought was Marie Antoinette. In fact, the two confederates hired a prostitute who resembled the queen, Nicole d’Oliva, the three arranging to meet the Cardinal in a remote corner of the gardens of Versailles. In the darkness, d’Oliva, dressed fashionably, approached the Cardinal, handed him a rose and breathlessly intoned, “You know what this means, the past will be forgotten” before quickly and stealthily retreating.
A zirconium replica of the “Slave’s Collar”
Convinced that he was on the verge of a great political restoration and even deluded enough to believe that Marie Antoinette was physically attracted to him, De Rohan now reached out to the jewelers, who were also blinded by their zeal to unload the necklace. With, unbeknownst to him, forged letters in hand from the purported Marie Antoinette, requesting that the Cardinal act as her representative, a deal was negotiated whereby the necklace would be paid for in installments. Of course, the transaction was to occur amidst the utmost secrecy, a condition De La Motte could not emphasize enough. The necklace was secured by the Bishop, he then was instructed to turn it over to an individual described as a valet of the Queen, in fact Nicholas de la Motte, who hastily fled to London. By the time the alleged count arrived in England, the diamonds had been pried out of their settings, many damaged during the process, but still able to be fenced.
Louis XVII
Marie Antoinette’s son and heir, the dauphin Louis Charles, already considered by royalist emigres as the de facto Louis XVII, was treated just as brutally. After his mother’s execution, he was placed in a solitary, damp cell, fed through the bars, with little interaction with his jailers. He endured such conditions for sixth months, until a change in government allowed for the improvement of his confinement. By then he had contracted tuberculosis, the ailment which killed him on June 8, 1795, aged ten years old.
Louis XVIII
Louis XVI’s brother, the Comte de Provence was crowned Louis XVIII after Napoleon’s exile to Elba. His reign interrupted by the one hundred days and Waterloo, he ruled until 1824.
Charles X
Louis XVI’s youngest brother as Charles X, a ruler so odious and reactionary that he prompted a second popular revolution, an event that caused his abdication.
Marie, in mourning garb in the Temple
Back at the Temple, Marie Antoinette was not formally told of her husband’s death but the noise and tumult from the street down below told her and her family everything they needed to know. From that day on, she received and wore black mourning clothes and descended into a hopeless depression.
Marie Antoinette, in the Conciergerie
On July 3rd, Marie’s status took an ominous turn when she was informed by her jailers that she was to be separated from her son. Additional Austrian victories now placed Paris in even greater danger. As a result, at two o’clock in the morning on August 2, Marie Antoinette was transferred to the Conciergerie, a much more secure and foreboding courthouse and prison. There was no attempt to spruce up her new environment or disguise its intent, the damp brick, bed, rudimentary chair and bucket toilet of a prison cell. A hapless attempt by royal sympathizers within the prison known as the Carnation plot only served to tighten the security around Marie Antoinette. From then on armed sentries remained in her cell, subdivided with a simple wooden screen which did little to protect Marie’s modesty.
An enduring American legend, hear what actually happened at the Battle of the Alamo
David Crockett
By 1817, after emerging from the military, David situated his family in Lawrence County, Tennessee as one of the area’s first inhabitants. Making a living as a professional hunter, mostly of wild bears, Crockett also began to involve himself in local politics, serving as a county commissioner and eventually as a state appointed justice of the peace. He also served several terms in the state legislature and was eventually elected to the US House of Representatives in 1826. He was re-elected to a second term in 1828 but ran into trouble when he emphatically opposed Andrew Jackson’s plans to relocate native Americans, an especially unpopular stance in Jackson’s home state of Tennessee. Defeated for re-election in 1830, he was returned to Congress one more time in 1833. It was during this time period that Crockett co-wrote an autobiography entitled, “A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee,” an attempt to take advantage of popularity generated by an 1831 play entitled, “The Lion of the West,” about a larger than life pioneer named Nimrod Wildfire, but obviously fashioned after Crockett. It was during his publicity tour promoting this book’s publication that a quote attributed to Crockett discussing his immediate political future appeared in numerous newspapers, “I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not, they might go to hell, and I would go to Texas.”
Jim Bowie
Bowie became nationally famous after an incident that occurred on September 19, 1827 known as the Sandbar Fight. The conflict, essentially a violent, murderous brawl between two competing business and political entities competing over elected offices and business interests in Central Louisiana resulted after a duel that occurred on a sandbar situated on what was then neutral territory along the Mississippi River, near Natchez, Mississippi. Initially two men, Samuel Wells and Dr Thomas H. Maddox, fought a formal duel that typically concluded with shots fired but no injuries. While these two individuals seemed content to bury the hatchet, several other members of each contingent had a history of animosity and violent interaction. A spontaneous gunfight broke out in which Jim Bowie was first wounded in the leg, sending him to his knees. Bowie then got up and unsheathed the large hunting knife he always carried for protection and lunged after the individual who shot him, Robert Crain. Bowie was knocked to the ground again when Crain hit him with the butt of his now empty pistol. Norris Wright, an individual who had previously tried to shoot Bowie on another occasion, then fired an errant pistol shot and followed that up with a sword cane attempt to stab Bowie in the chest. The thin blade apparently stuck in Bowie’s sternum, while he then mortally plunged his 9 by 1.5 inch knife into Wright’s mid-section, ripping upward. Wright bled out quickly while other assailants continued to stab and shoot at Bowie, but he successfully fought off his attackers, suffering two bullet wounds and seven knife wounds, including the sword cane that was impaled in his chest. In total, two men were killed, four injured, including Bowie who needed months to recuperate.News of this sensational episode spread initially through regional and then national newspapers, with the focus on Bowie, his outsized knife as well as aggrandizing tales of roping alligators on the bayou and similar exploits, transforming him into a frontiersman in the fashion of Daniel Boone. Subsequently, business boomed in the production of Bowie styled knives and Bowie himself wore one, sheathed, for the rest of his life.
William Travis
Smith then turned to the individual designated as officially responsible for recruiting soldiers into the newly elected provisional government’s army, William B. Travis, and ordered him to reinforce the garrison at San Antonio. Travis was previously supposed to round up as many as one hundred men into a cavalry force, which he would lead as a lieutenant colonel. Of the three most famous individuals killed at the Battle of the Alamo, Jim Bowie, David Crockett and William Travis, Travis was by far the most obscure at the time of the incident.
Santa Anna
Fifteen years earlier, in 1821, a lengthy military insurgency was able to unofficially establish Mexico’s independence from Spain. Although Spain sporadically attempted to reassert control over the country, all of these efforts ultimately failed. However, the Mexican government and political situation remained both violent and unstable. From this chaos emerged the general and warlord, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, a military figure who achieved national prominence for his role in defeating Spanish attempts to reclaim Mexico. Santa Anna eventually consolidated political and military authority and in 1835, dissolved the Mexican constitution attempting to transform the Mexican government from a loosely autonomous group of Mexican states into an entity controlled by a federal government.
General Urrea
While Santa Anna casually headed east toward what he believed would be an eventually similar destruction of both the Texian government in San Felipe, Texas and any remnants of a Texian army, Fannin was ordered by Sam Houston to abandon Goliad and head east towards Victoria, Texas. He was pursued by another army commanded by General Jose de Urrea, which originated in Matamoros and was proceeding directly toward Goliad.
A typical Bowie style knife
By 1830, Bowie, hearing of land speculation opportunities in Texas, set out for the territory. He formally introduced himself to such prominent locals as Stephen F. Austin and then, after taking an oath of allegiance to Mexico, began acquiring cheap land grants, ultimately setting in San Antonio de Bexar. There he began romancing the nineteen year old daughter of Juan Martin Veramendi, the wealthiest businessman and politician in the region. Bowie eventually married Ursula de Veramendi, went into business with his father in law and professed to be a wealthy and successful businessman in his own right, selling his holdings outside of Texas. However, after his land sales in Arkansas were ruled fraudulent, he relied mostly on his relatives for both housing and living expenses. Involving himself in the secessionist politics of the region, Bowie was a firm believer in creating a Texas independent from Mexico.
An enduring American legend, hear what actually happened at the Battle of the Alamo.
James Fannin
Fannin’s typically sluggish retreat left him out in the open and resulted in a March 19 battle near Coleto Creek only a few miles east of Goliad. Fannin’s men successfully repulsed repeated Mexican attacks but suffered many wounded troops that they could neither treat or transport. The following morning, with another Mexican attack imminent, Fannin surrendered with Urrea only promising that he would try to intercede with Santa Anna to spare any prisoners, although most of the Texians, who in a written agreement were officially categorized as prisoners of war, believed that they were to be pardoned.
Knife allegedly used by David Crockett at the Alamo
While even some Mexican accounts have David Crockett inflicting dozens of casualties, many with his bare hands and a rifle butt, several eyewitnesses claimed he was actually captured alive and subsequently executed with the half dozen defenders Santa Anna personally ordered killed only minutes after the battle’s conclusion. Susannah Dickinson did say in several interviews that she saw Crockett’s mutilated body in the plaza, after the battle, his distinctive fur cap lying at his side.
Sam Houston as a US Senator
Sam Houston emerged as the leading political figure in Texas, winning election over Stephen F. Austin as President of the Republic of Texas and ultimately Houston was elected to the US Senate. While loyal to the state of Texas, he personally opposed secession from the Union and died in 1863 before the end of the Civil War.
San Jacinto Memorial column at the site of the Texas battlefield
Charging out of wooded areas which concealed their initial advance, Houston’s troops, shouting Remember the Alamo and Remember Goliad inflicted a lopsided 18 minute victory, much of it spent massacring surprised and unarmed fleeing Mexican troops, over 600 killed and 700 taken prisoner. Santa Anna escaped for the moment; he was caught the following day, hiding along the river bank dressed in a private’s uniform and slippers. Only his value as the de facto ruler of the Mexico prevented his immediate execution.
The Alamo today
Today, most of the former Alamo complex has been swallowed up by downtown San Antonio. The only remaining structures are the former mission chapel, familiar to most Americans and part of the Long Barrack, with two small courtyards in between. However, the distinctive oval roof line over the front entrance of the chapel building was not added until 1849. Initially, after the Texas revolution the military used the chapel as a warehouse, other parts of the complex were used by private interests for commercial purposes. The chapel eventually reverted back to the Catholic Church who sold it to the state of Texas.
The true story about the man who contributed mightily to the destruction of one of America’s greatest 20th century icons.
Elvis and the Colonel, on set.
According to Colonel Tom Parker personally, he was born in early 1900, in Huntington, West Virginia and began working in touring carnivals at a very young age. He served in the military, eventually developed and promoted his own carnival acts and graduated to first promoting and then managing country musicians until obtaining the exclusive management contract of Elvis Presley in 1954. While he was always able to obscure his true beginnings, his singular accent was ascribed to his origins in rural Appalachia. In fact, although slight, his accent was Dutch because Colonel Tom Parker was not born anywhere near West Virginia, he was not even born in the United States. He was born Andreas Van Kuijk on June 26, 1909, in Breda, The Netherlands, the seventh of eleven children of Maria and Adam Van Kuijk.
Elvis, Jailhouse Rock, 1968, NBC special
Initially conceived as a Christmas special by Tom Parker, both Elvis and the shows creative team of Steve Binder and Bones Howe agreed that they wanted a more stripped down return to Elvis’ musical roots and were able to convince Parker to generally accept moving away from Elvis singing Christmas carols, most likely because that was something Presley wanted no part of. Once they got that general agreement, Elvis made the creative decisions on his own with a great deal of input from Binder whose perspective Presley respected. The resulting special, with a tanned, refreshed Elvis in an especially remarkable leather outfit, among other wardrobes, performing an extended medley of some of his most popular or distinctive hits was the highest rated television show of the year, the program also a critical hit.
Graceland
With Elvis on the road and her husband engaging in various romantic adventures as a result of his newfound notoriety, Gladys Presley, already a heavy drinker, began to consume alcohol on a daily basis and abuse sleeping pills. Quite domineering in her relationship with Vernon, it is believed as she deteriorated physically, her husband, in Elvis’ absence began to be much more physically abusive. Her son’s fame was also troubling and overwhelming, her fear that an hysterical crowd might eventually harm or even kill Elvis. Depressed because her neighbors disliked her habit of raising chickens and feeding them on the front lawn of Graceland, Gladys never really adjusted to her family’s radical transformation, once telling her friend, “I wish we had stayed poor.”
Elvis and Priscilla, shortly after the birth of his daughter.
While in Germany, Presley also met Priscilla Beaulieu, a fourteen year old daughter of an Air Force officer stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany. Because of her youth, her relationship with Presley was extremely restrained until 1962, although her ability to then visit Elvis and ultimately live at Graceland while Priscilla attended a local Catholic High school, was conditional upon an agreement that the couple eventually marry.
Joe Esposito, circa 2010
Because some of the Memphis Mafia especially Joe Esposito, were conduits to the Colonel, he was fully aware of Preley’s restlessness and anger over his stalled career. He also was mindful that at some point, Elvis’ public might completely tire of the formulaic nonsense that was now the mainstay of Elvis’ income stream. He began discussions with NBC for a television special live performance that would be billed as Presley’s comeback as an entertainer.
Lamar Fike, circa 2005
Another close associate of Presley, Lamar Fike, was in Portland, Maine, also to help get ready for the tour. He was attempting to get some sleep after taking a redeye from Los Angeles when there was a loud knock on his door, a voice telling him intently that the Colonel needed to see him right away, despite Fike’s protestations. Entering the Colonel’s hotel room, he noticed other employees avoiding his gaze as Parker hung up the phone. In an unemotional tone of voice, the Colonel explained that Fike needed to go to Memphis and be with Vernon Presley, Elvis’ father and that Elvis was dead. Like many members of the entourage and even Elvis himself, Fike’s relationship with Parker at this point was at best, ambivalent, in Fike’s case, he frequently expressed concern over Elvis Presley’s physical condition. Parker typically ignored such entreaties, maintaining whenever forcefully pressed on this concern “that the only thing that mattered was getting Elvis ready to appear on stage that night.”
The true story about the man who contributed mightily to the destruction of one of America’s greatest 20th century icons.
Elvis, Aloha From Hawaii
The Colonel, understanding that the lack of international touring was a major irritant for Elvis, then devised an ingenious plan to circumvent his personal abhorrence of such a tour. He made a deal with various television networks all over the world for Elvis to appear in a live format for live international satellite transmission to countries including Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, South Vietnam, the Phillippines and Australia. Because the Super Bowl would take place on the same day, January 14, 1973 and because special attention and additional material was to be supplied for the version shown in the United States, the American edition of the show appeared on April 4. Elvis became excited about this novel showcase, lost twenty-five pounds in the month leading up to the show and also cut way back on his pharmaceutical consumption, evident when he hit the stage in a specially designed American eagle jumpsuit, this preparation helping to produce an iconic appearance. The show was again NBC’s highest rated program of the year and the subsequent release of a live double album sold a half million copies in two weeks, startling numbers in the age of vinyl.
Linda Thompson in 2018
Linda Thompson, the Tennessee beauty queen that became Elvis’ official girlfriend after his marriage dissolved, hoped that Presley’s ability to get himself into some semblance of normal sober shape might be a permanent transition. But only hours after the concert ended in the early morning, Presley was again so narcotically intoxicated he could not even get off of his hotel room balcony to accompany his entourage to the USS Arizona memorial. Thompson herself would personally witness Presley’s final harrowing descent and bizarre behavior that transformed him into a tragic monstrosity.
The four engine jet that flew Elvis’ entourage across America.
Despite his resurgence, Elvis Presley’s spending habits, large payroll and maintenance of both Graceland and a succession of households in Bel-Air and Beverly Hills necessitated a great deal of cash. While his live shows were lucrative, they entailed transportation eventually aboard a Convair 880 four engine jet, named the Lisa Marie after his only daughter, which transported a large entourage of security and band members to most shows.
The Las Vegas Hilton
With financial necessity having forced Kirk Kekorian to sell the International to the Hilton Hotel Corporation, Presley spent his time at what was now the Las Vegas Hilton, isolated In his hotel suite, avoiding Colonel Parker, who he rarely spoke to, Parker spending most of his time at the gaming tables running up a debt that eventually reached thirty million dollars. Stories of Presley spontaneously shooting out television sets and streetlights were absolutely true, the paranoid singer usually armed with several handguns, once coming within inches of accidentally shooting Linda Thompson while she was using the bathroom.
Elvis, Rapid City, South Dakota, only weeks before his death.
By August of 1977, Elvis Presley, 6 feet tall, weighed 350 pounds, 175 pounds more than what he weighed only four and a half years earlier during his Aloha from Hawaii concert. His heart was three times its normal size and his nervous system routinely contained as many as twelve separate types of mostly narcotic medication, including several types of opiates. His remarkable tolerance of these medications was the product of massive abuse that stretched back over two decades.
Colonel Parker on Nightline, interview plugging an Elvis convention years after Elvis’ death
Following the circuslike funeral and public outpouring of grief after Elvis Presley’s death, life went on normally for Colonel Parker and Presley’s immediate family. A year later, a convention was held at the Las Vegas Hilton, organized by Tom Parker, that included a dedication of a statue of Elvis in the lobby, separate admission to an Elvis re-creation for a fifteen dollar additional charge, appearances by Priscilla and Vernon Presley, and the Colonel signing an autographed poem for a buck a throw. Over a million dollars came in in 1978 for merchandise profits at least half paid to Parker.
For twenty years, Whitey Bulger terrorized Boston with the full collusion of the FBI. On the run for sixteen years, he was eventually arrested on June 22, 2011.
Whitey, mug shot, early fifties.
Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen Bulger was arrested ten times, for crimes ranging from larceny, drunk in public and assault and battery. Only once were charges ever pursued to the point of a criminal conviction and even then, Whitey was able to get the charge reduced on appeal. It is no wonder that he developed an arrogant disdain for the criminal justice system and a sense of invulnerability. Unfortunately, this mentality only increased the severity of his transgressions. In May of 1948, Bulger and two accomplices enticed a young female into Whitey’s car and attempted to rape her at a beach in Dorchester. The girl fought back and was kicked to the curb, but not before getting the license plate. All three teens were quickly arrested. Again, Bulger plead guilty to a lesser assault charge, paid a fine and avoided a serious prison term. Within two months, he was arrested again, this time for a drunken assault in a diner that turned into a brawl with the police who showed up to arrest him. Again, he plead guilty to the lesser charge of public drunkenness, paid a modest fine and walked away.
Whitey, Alcatraz mug shot
Despite Bill Bulger’s vehement and relentless involvement, including an eleventh hour visit to DC to the Director’s office for an unscheduled, in person request for a last minute reprieve, on November 13, 1959, Whitey was flown commercial, with federal marshals, from Baltimore to San Francisco. From there, in leg irons, he was placed on the small ship that transported him to the center of San Francisco Bay and the Rock. This was an especially isolating development for Whitey for in the late fifties transcontinental flight was a luxury the Bulger family certainly could not afford. He would have to rely on letters only, the occasional visit from his brother or other family members now an impossibility.
John Martorano
On May 27, 1981. In broad daylight, at a country club in Tulsa, Martorano followed Roger Wheeler to his car in the parking lot and as Wheeler got in Martorano pulled the door open, put a bullet right between Wheeler’s eyes and hopped into a getaway car driven by another Winter Hill mobster. Tulsa investigators quickly determined that criminals from Boston were probably involved, but when they and Oklahoma City FBI agents contacted Boston FBI, they got nowhere.
Kevin Weeks
Gradually, even the highest level coke and pot dealers were invited to the upstairs office of the Triple O’s Bar. There, Whitey would be waiting, usually with at least Kevin Weeks, a former bouncer that Whitey took under his wing, gradually relying on him as one of his top enforcers.
Whitey, Atlanta mug shot
In July of 1956, there was no cushy Club Fed where Whitey could serve out his time in relative penal comfort. Instead, he was sent to the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta, a huge, forbidding edifice that had housed the likes of Al Capone, Mickey Cohen and Vito Genovese. By comparison Whitey Bulger was a two-bit, bank robber, not exactly intimidating at 5’10”, 150 pounds and other than a few hoodlums back in Boston not particularly well connected. After thirty days of quarantine that was mandatory for every new inmate, Bulger was assigned to one of the eight man cells that comprised most of the tiers of the prison.
The Triple O’s Lounge, today it is an upscale Italian restaurant
Although Bulger had shot some gangster rivals to death in his early battles with the Mullens, his hands on violence began to ramp up in the late seventies, probably as a result of his newfound power as the most powerful criminal in South Boston. This attitude was evidenced in the matter of Louie Latif, a bookmaker and drug dealer who began to behave erratically, first by murdering several business associates who caught him stealing and then by dealing cocaine. Both behaviors were not only repeatedly unsanctioned by Bulger, Litif also refused to pay rent. Summoned to the upstairs office at Triple O’s, Litif was pointedly warned that he was crossing a very serious line. Litif responded that as long as he and Whitey were friends, he didn’t have a problem. Bulger fixed him with what must have been a terrifying stare and responded, “We’re not friends anymore.”
For twenty years, Whitey Bulger terrorized Boston with the full collusion of the FBI. On the run for sixteen years, he was eventually arrested on June 22, 2011.
Louis Litif, murder victim
Litif got off with this stern warning but then made the mistake of telling Bulger that he was going to murder his bookmaker partner, a last straw. On April, he was invited to the Triple O’s where Bulger stabbed him repeatedly with an ice pick and Steve Flemmi shot him in the head. His body was found in the trunk of his car, in garbage bags, abandoned on a South End street. In another example of his macabre sense of humor Whitey explained to associates afterwards that Litif, known as a flashy dresser, was wearing green underwear after they stripped his body. Therefore, they made sure that they used green garbage bags, so that Louis would be found, color coordinated.
Brian Halloran, murder victim
Only a few months later, a Southie criminal named Brian Halloran tried to extricate himself from some serious criminal charges by going to the FBI, with details tying Bulger and Flemmi to the murders of Louie Litif and Roger Wheeler, even claiming to be an eye witness in both cases. Although Halloran was at least embellishing if not outright lying about his presence at the Wheeler slaying, he was close enough to Callahan to be able to secretly record potentially incriminating conversations. He pleaded to be allowed into the witness protection program and the agent handling his case figured he would run that by supervisor John Morris, to see what he thought. Morris immediately told Connolly who told Whitey Bulger.
The Haunty, 799 3rd Street, South Boston
With two bodies now buried in its basement, Whitey Bulger began referring to the Nee house as the Haunty. The cellar would have another permanent guest, Deborah Hussey, Steve Flemmi’s quasi-stepdaughter. Although he and Marion Hussey never married, he lived within the Hussey household and was perceived as the father in the family. That is, until Deborah Hussey revealed that Flemmi had molested her sexually, beginning when she was a young teenager. As an adult, Debbie developed a serious drug addiction and resorted to prostitution to feed her habit. Arrested on numerous occasions, she frequently named dropped both Flemmi and Bulger to the police. She also took to hanging around the Triple O’s and demanding drinks from the customers or hitting up Southie dope dealers for freebies, bragging that she had connections to Whitey, another big red flag. Bulger believed her to be a dangerous loose cannon and began pushing Flemmi to do something about it. In early January, 1985, Flemmi did. He got her to meet him by feigning guilt over what had happened between them and the general situation with her mother. He asked to make it up to her by taking her clothes shopping and telling her he was thinking of buying her her own place. Why don’t we drop by and take a look and see if you like it? The house in question was The Haunty.
FBI agent John Connolly
Ambitious, Connolly was fully aware that for the FBI, the American Mafia to the exclusion of all other organized crime entities was the paramount target of Federal law enforcement. Aware that Steve Flemmi already had provided information, Connolly set his sights on forming the same relationship with Whitey Bulger. Thus far in his brief FBI career in New York, Connolly received high praise during his ongoing evaluations with the stipulation that he had not developed any confidential informants. The agent, knowing Whitey from the old neighborhood and willing to cut ethical and professional corners, understood that developing Whitey as a Top echelon informant could be, within the bureau, a career maker.
FBI Supervisor John Morris
In the cat and mouse game of criminal informant, it quickly became clear that the lines were being blurred as to who was the cat and who was the mouse. John Connolly introduced Bulger and Flemmi to his newly installed supervisor within the FBI’s Boston Organized Crime Unit, John Morris. Connolly also arranged for regular dinners at Morris’ home in Lexington, Mass, dinners that included Whitey showing up with cases of very expensive wine, that always got left behind. Morris was blown away by Connolly’s ability to gain access to two such high level informants and was also manipulated by Whitey’s slick Robin Hood façade of claiming to abhor drugs, detesting the Mafia and keeping his neighborhood free from hard drugs like cocaine and heroin and the junkies and pushers who came with such pestilence. All of these claims were either ultimately self-serving or outright lies, but Morris was taken in.
Whitey’s apartment building, Santa Monica, his apartment was the last apartment, 3rd floor, all the way to the right.
In the late afternoon of June 22, 2011, in Santa Monica, California a property manager name Josh Bond was sitting in his office at the Embassy Hotel. Picking up the phone, Bond punched in the number of tenants from another property across the street, the Princess Eugenia Apartments at 1012 3rd Street, only blocks from the Pacific Ocean.
Steve Flemmi, government witness
Whitey also made the most crucial connection of his criminal career when he began to interact with Stephen Flemmi, a member of the Winter Hill Gang who had ambitions of bigger and better things. Nicknamed “The Rifleman,” based on two Army tours of duty in Korea, in which he earned both a Bronze and Silver Star, Flemmi also had an ongoing relationship with longtime Boston FBI agent Paul Rico who specialized in developing informants in the New England criminal underworld.
