Byte Sized Biographies…

The dark reality behind the persona of one of America's most beloved public figures. Johnny's second wife Joanne, in 1960
On August 17, 1963, Carson, possibly feeling more secure professionally with more than a year under his belt at the new show, married his longtime girlfriend, Joanne Carson.  This despite years of fighting publicly, acrimonious vacations in which one of them left and went home early and numerous friends and acquaintances advising them not to tie the knot.  Even the ceremony and reception were odd.  Only a tiny number of participants witnessed the actual marriage, the couple’s parents not even invited.  The reception included only a few more individuals and was held at Johnny’s apartment, the guests mostly Tonight Show related staff like bandleader Skitch Henderson and producer Art Stark.  Johnny's third wife, Joanna
Joanna Carson was a former fashion model who had spent much of her life in the rarified company of extremely wealthy, sophisticated, older men.  Her companion before Johnny was the CEO and chairman of the Hertz Rent a Car corporation.  Johnny, still essentially a scotch drinking steak and potatoes Midwesterner, began to acquire a more diverse outlook courtesy of his latest wife.  Completely uninterested up to that point in travel, he began his annual pilgrimage to the Wimbledon tennis championships, featured prominently on the NBC broadcast back to the US.  He typically followed that up with several weeks on the Cap D’Antibes along the French Riviera, enjoying the fact that he went mostly unrecognized.  Instead of hard liquor he began to temper his alcohol intake with a fine Bordeaux or Montrachet.  But one constant, despite a well appointed Bel Air residence on St. Cloud Road, the Carsons never threw parties and were rarely seen socially, their house again a secluded refuge to escape from public exposure. Johnny and frequent guest, Angie Dickinson
It was hard to feel sorry for Carson, whose womanizing was so blatant that when Joanna convened a meeting in her home of the women’s Beverly Hills charity that she participated in, Johnny would single out at least one of the participants and strongly come on to them.  Upon signing the divorce papers, Johnny turned to his now ex-wife and said, “What I’ll miss most is not being able to talk to you.”  Carson certainly made good on his word, never speaking with Joanna Carson again. Henry Bushkin, in 2014, discussing his relationship with Johnny Carson Joan Rivers got her big break on the Tonight Show, but ultimately was exiled
Joan Rivers also was exiled when, in 1987, she accepted an offer from Fox Television to host a late night talk show that would compete with Johnny.  Rivers was already frustrated by NBC’s refusal to both offer her a contract as Johnny’s replacement host, and especially that she was not on an NBC list of stars to even be considered when and if Johnny retired.  Although other hosts and comedians attempted to compete with Johnny and still remained in Carson’s good graces, most notably Joey Bishop, Joan Rivers made the unforgivable sin of negotiating with Fox, putting together her show and never even telling Johnny about it in advance.  Her eleventh hour attempt to reach out to him on the eve of the program was rejected, assistants told that he would not take her call at any time in the future.  NBC President Fred Silverman, 1979If Silverman thought confronting Johnny publicly and even implying that his show was somehow deficient were effective negotiating tools, he was sorely mistaken.  Having never formally even met Carson as network president, Silverman did so on March 17, 1979.  Carson not only refused to work additional hours, he also told Silverman that he wanted off the show as soon as possible.  Although Silverman did remind him at this meeting that he had a contract through 1981, Carson publicly announced that he would be leaving the show on September 30, 1979, the seventeenth anniversary of the program.  Whether this was his actual intent, a negotiating ploy or merely a gesture designed to put an arrogant egotistical network executive in his place, the negotiations dragged on into May of 1980.  When they concluded, Johnny Carson had extracted the most favorable contract in the history of network television.   Johnny and his fourth wife, Alexis Maas
Following his retirement, Johnny Carson became even more reclusive, spending most of his time behind the gates of his massive Malibu mansion that overlooked Point Dume.  He spent a great deal of time on his private tennis court, especially built for him by NBC, one of the few of its kind in the vicinity.  His only companion, his fourth wife, who he married in 1987, Alexis Maas, a stunning blue eyed blonde he met while she was walking by his other Malibu beach house, which he eventually sold to John McEnroe.

The shocking story behind the biggest swindle in the history of Wall Street. Madoff, leaving Federal court during his prosecutionAgent Cacioppi was so taken aback by Madoff’s candor and unusual cooperation he called his office to determine what he should do next.  Typically, a subject with Bernie’s sophistication and community stature would refuse to answer questions and stall, at least requesting time to speak with or even have an attorney present before answering any questions.  Madoff’s admissions to the agents were an unexpected response.  The agent was told to arrest Madoff and bring him to FBI offices at 26 Federal Plaza.  Ruth MadoffUpon graduation from college, Madoff briefly attended Brooklyn Law School but unlike his brother Peter, who graduated from Fordham Law School, he dropped out after a year.  He did pass the requisite exams to not only sell financial securities but to also operate his own securities brokerage firm, which he formed in 1960, calling it Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.  By then, Madoff was already married to Ruth Alpern, the daughter of a successful accountant, Saul Alpern.  Another occasional fable that Madoff spun was that his working capital came from his summer jobs installing sprinklers and as a lifeguard.  He frequently left out the fact that his father in law not only lent him fifty thousand dollars, he also gave him a desk in his firm’s office and referrals of all of Saul’s client base. Bernie Madoff's brother, Peter MadoffBy the early seventies, several personal events greatly affected Madoff, the sudden and relatively early death of both of his parents and the inclusion of his brother Peter into his growing business entity.  Between July 1972 and December 1974, Ralph and Sylvia would both die suddenly before their sixty-fifth birthdays an event that probably prompted the elder Bernie to take his younger brother under his business wing.  Peter was a critical employee who became more operations and technology oriented, helping to keep the firm’s broker dealership on the cutting edge of upgraded technology in a securities market environment that was undergoing a technological revolution.  And Peter would also assume the role of chief operations officer, a critical responsibility in any brokerage firm but even more so within Bernard L. Madoff investment securities. Andrew Madoff
Mark MadoffHis sons, Mark and Andrew, newly minted graduates of the University of Michigan and Wharton respectively were both now working for the firm, albeit on the broker dealer side of the business.   Official mug shot on day of arrestAvellino claimed that all of the money was there and was in the hands of his money manager, Bernard Madoff.  As soon as he had heard of the SEC inquiry, Madoff tried to get ahead of what he knew was coming.  Not only an SEC demand for the return of the assets but a possible scrutiny of his trading history to determine whether or not he in fact was running a legitimate money management firm, with ongoing investment in the markets.  To do this he tasked one of his employees, Frank DiPascali, the individual who already was involved in producing investor statements that were most likely either distorted if not out right falsified, to reconstruct trades for all of the Avellino and Bienes accounts that would demonstrate the profits necessary to generate the claimed returns.  These fictitious trades also had to stand up to SEC scrutiny.  Amazingly, Madoff’s conversations concerning his trading strategies and DiPascali’s creation satisfied the SEC, however they did get a court order to force Madoff to return what were illicitly collected funds.

The shocking story behind the biggest swindle in the history of Wall Street. Harry Markopolis, testifying before Congress
But, if many of Madoff’s clients were happy to not question  his returns and process, the cynical, highly competitive and data driven world of Wall Street always invited scrutiny of its biggest stars, even if this was the result of envy or alienation.  In Harry Markopolos, one found an individual motivated by both market place rejection and a competitively brilliant grasp of financial marketplace analytics.  In 1999, Markopolos was employed as a portfolio manager by Rampart Investment Management, a small Boston, Massachusetts options trading shop that managed a modest amount of money.  Markopolos was quite familiar with Bernie Madoff, his firm having marketed a split-strike conversion product that he helped develop.  Unfortunately, the product did not generate particularly good returns and was eventually scrapped, Markopolos additionally both intrigued and frustrated by repeated stories of the phenomenal performance generated by Bernie Madoff.  If you’re so smart, why the hell can’t you do what Bernie does? His hard boiled, Boston sales compatriots constantly needled him.  To a quant like Harry Markopolos this was the ultimate put down and challenge, but there wasn’t much he could substantively do about it. Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet
That changed when a senior co-worker named Frank Casey, returned from a New York sales call he had taken with Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet at Access International Advisers.  Villehuchet not only managed money for some of Europe’s most high profile aristocrats he was literally a member of the French nobility himself.  In his sixties, he was a client of Bernie Madoff’s since 1985, and rebuffed Casey’s sales pitch with glowing accounts of Madoff’s consistent high returns and reporting process that purported to send daily updates of all transactions performed on behalf of Access’s accounts.  Casey then played the only sales card he had left, asking why Rene-Thierry allowed Madoff to hold the securities he purchased on Access’s behalf himself, as opposed to a third party custodian which was required for registered investment managers.  Villehuchet’s answer was simple.  Bernie Madoff wasn’t a registered money manager, so he was not required to do so and the Frenchman was dismissive of any of Casey’s concern, saying he trusted Madoff implicitly.  The meeting quickly terminated with at least Villehuchet providing a copy of his returns and portfolio performance.  Casey subsequently got seven years of such performance from Broyhill Securities’ All Weather Fund, another Madoff feeder fund and tossed this information on Markopolos’ desk. Madoff conspirator, Frank DiPascali
This article was quickly followed up by another piece in the much more formidable business publication, Barrons, written by Erin Arvedlund.  Again, although not accusatory, it was certainly skeptical of Madoff with similarly specific questions.  Madoff’s response to these articles was to have Frank DiPascali construct a fake in-house computer terminal that supposedly was a trading platform connected to other trading counter parties, in fact it was connected to another employee’s in house terminal, hidden in another part of the office, all of these simulated trades completely bogus.  Another DiPascali creation was a supposed live screen of an account at the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, known as the DTC, where securities owned by Madoff purchased during alleged trades were being held in his account.  The fake reproduced the DTC’s logo, fonts, formats even the type of paper used for actual DTC reports. Mark Madoff's Nantucket home
On December 11, 2010, on the second anniversary of his father’s arrest, Mark Madoff committed suicide by hanging himself from his apartment ceiling with a dog leash.  At the time of his death he was the subject of nine federal lawsuits, including suits brought by trustee Picard.  His wife had already changed her and their childrens’ last name to Morgan.  Unlike Andrew he seemed deeply sensitive to allegations that he knew about the fraud.  His body was discovered by his stepfather in law when he rushed to the apartment after Mark’s wife received some alarming e-mails, Madoff’s 22 month old son and pet dog left alone in the apartment.  This suicide, did not stop the relentless Picard, who then filed suits against Mark’s ex-wife and current spouse to recover funds deemed ill gotten gains.  Bernie Madoff in prison, 2017
Upon sentencing Bernie Madoff was sent to the Federal Correctional Institution at Butner, North Carolina.  He occasionally granted interviews that were mostly self-serving with Madoff blaming his behavior on the culture of Wall Street or getting in over his head on something he never meant to pursue on a long term basis.  He expressed exasperation with his clients who he labeled as greedy, especially the big four, three of whom were now dead.  Although he continued to correspond with his wife, his two sons allegedly never spoke to him again, after he confessed his role in the fraud, one of few developments in his life that actually seemed to disturb him.  Although initially accounts of him being assaulted in prison circulated in the media, he eventually referred to Butner as a relatively pleasant place akin to a college campus, his main objection to prison the sheer boredom it entailed.

Long before Harry and Meghan, a much more serious crisis and scandal enveloped the British monarchy and the House of Windsor, the abdication of Edward VIII King George V and his family, The Prince of Wales, far left
The future Edward VIII, known within his immediate family by the nickname of David, was born on June 23, 1894.  His father, George V, did not become the king until 1910, then anointing David, his eldest son, with the title of Prince of Wales, next in the line of royal succession. David was educated as a cadet at the Royal Naval College, went on to Oxford and also joined the Royal Navy.  When war broke out in 1914 he was assigned to a safe but extremely tedious post at Allied headquarters in France.  Although on paper Great Britain emerged victorious from the Great War, the cost in both casualties and expense was enormous. Across Europe, many royal dynasties were either rendered obsolete or even completely destroyed including the ruling houses of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Imperial Russia, the latter most disturbing as the Romanovs were literally exterminated by the Bolsheviks.  Wallis, aged 10
Actually born Bessie Wallis Warfield, on June 19, 1896, Wallis’ parents came from prominent Maryland families.  Unfortunately, Wallis’ father died of tuberculosis only months after her birth and her mother Alice’s family had disowned her as a result of the marriage, probably because her daughter was conceived out of wedlock.  The infant and her mother then were supported by her deceased husband’s wealthy brother and her mother’s sister Bessie, until 1908 when Wallis’ mother remarried.  Her uncle paid for a prep school education and Wallis was socially prominent and attractive enough to be designated as a Baltimore debutante, although the outbreak of World War I suspended such frivolity.  Not wild about some of the suitors hanging around Wallis in Maryland, her mother decided it might be a good idea to send her to Pensacola, Florida, where her cousin, Corinne was married to an officer who was the commander of the Naval Air Station in Pensacola.  Also feeling that Wallis was competitively trying to get married, her mother also figured that dropping her daughter into a brand new environment might slow Wallis down. The Prince of Wales, 1919
As early as the age of sixteen, discussion concerning an appropriate mate for the Prince of Wales began.  An obvious candidate, the daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm, eighteen year old Viktoria Luise, rejected him as too young.  He received some additional leeway when George V issued a 1917 proclamation allowing royalty to marry a non-royal subject, the first time even the potential for a commoner to achieve such status became possible.  This edict, at the height of World War I, also originated the term , “the House of Windsor,” changing the dynasty name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, an attempt to obfuscate the British monarchy’s German connection and to encourage future relationships outside of the German nobility.   Edward VIII's last public appearance as King, with his mother Queen Mary
Things came to a head in mid-November when Baldwin also informed Edward that if he insisted on the marriage, the government would resign.  Edward responded by threatening to abdicate if he was not allowed to marry Wallis Simpson.  On November 16, at a private dinner he informed his mother Queen Mary of his intention, a revelation that shocked her, no one in the Windsor family really believing that Edward would seriously consider such a drastic course of action, over a common, American divorcee.  Wallis Warfield Simpson, Herman Rogers chateau, days before the abdication
Edward, with Churchill
Only a few miles out of Fort Belvedere, Brownlow attempted to persuade Wallis to head for his manor house in Lincolnshire, explaining that she might better influence the king if she could maintain some reasonable proximity.  In actuality, this was a desperate attempt to keep Wallis Simpson involved, officials like Churchill understanding how persuasive she could be.   The Duke and Duchess with Hitler at the Berghof, 1936
The Duke and Duchess were greeted on October 11 in Berlin and escorted by ministers like Robert Ley and Joachim Von Ribbentrop.  That evening they dined with both Albert Speer and Joseph Goebbels.  Everywhere, the couple went they were treated with extreme deference, including Wallis Simpson who was continually addressed as your Royal Highness, a title she did not officially deserve as well as the subsequent curtsies.  Other meetings followed with Herman Goering and even Hitler himself, photos from this historic event splashed on front pages all over the world.  Several times the couple engaged in the Nazi salute, behavior they would come to regret.  To any members still part of her inner circle Wallis maintained that they were merely tourists and the Duke insisted that the visit was not official.  Throughout the visit, British consular officials were instructed that they were not to meet or assist the couple in any official capacity.

Long before Harry and Meghan, a much more serious crisis and scandal enveloped the British monarchy and the House of Windsor, the abdication of Edward VIII The Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson, 1935
By mid-1934, even British high society insiders were aghast at what, “the little man,” as David was scornfully known as behind his back, had actually taken up with.  When the Royal family deliberately deleted the Simpsons from the Royal guest list for the wedding of David’s brother, George, in November of 1934, the Prince of Wales personally interceded to get them reinvited.  Probably thinking that a good offense is the best defense, Wallis showed up in expensive jewelry and a tiara that certainly her husband could not afford and could have only been gifted by David.  Outraged, King George V then personally barred the couple from any subsequent, official Royal events but the relationship blatantly continued, with Wallis receiving cash and gifts, usually gems that today would be on the order of tens of millions of dollars.   Edward's official letter of abdicationFinally, Edward called her back and personally told her that the abdication was inevitable.  Wallis Simpson’s unromantic and blunt response, recorded by French secret police, was predictable.  “You goddamned fool!”  Inexplicably, Edward decided to give up his throne, allegedly over Wallis Simpson, without even involving her in the decision or even formally asking her to marry him during this time period or even subsequently.  On December 11, he proceeded with his famous speech, explaining his decision to abdicate, allegedly over his relationship with Wallis Simpson.  Even his subsequent departure from Britain was haphazard, Edward now officially the Duke of Windsor, winding up at an Austrian mansion owned by a Rothschild, a personal favor to Lord Brownlow.  Because Wallis Simpson was still technically married, the Duke and Wallis would have to remain separated until the Simpson divorce was final. Chateau de la Croe, Cap D'Antibes, RivieraWith no diplomatic or professional responsibilities, the Windsors than turned to figuring out exactly where they wanted to live, eventually settling upon the the Chateau de la Croe, a large mansion sized estate on the Cap D’Antibes.  Initially, this was where Wallis had wanted to get married, in May of 1938, they leased the property.  Shortly thereafter they began the process of ingratiating themselves with whatever local members of French and American members of high society would accept their dinner invitations, the Duchess spending most of her time planning these dinner events.  For a year and a half, life revolved around furnishing their new home and their socializing, events that always began with a formal introduction by servants of Wallis Simpson as Her Royal Highness.  If the Duke and Duchess were living the lives of the idle rich this was essentially on someone else’s dime. The Duke and Duchess, 1963As the sixties dawned, shunned by the British aristocracy, no longer of much interest to anyone in the US other than facilitators of best dressed lists, on the eve of a generation more interested in personalities like the Beatles, the Windsors began to fade from public relevance.  Other than the occasional White House invitation, they became politically invisible. The Duke of Windsor on the links
As the sixties ticked by the Windsors devolved from world famous celebrity status to an existence seemingly out of a Dickens novel.  Despite their immense wealth, they openly paid their servants twenty per cent less than the going rate stating that it was a privilege to work for them.  This despite homes crammed with every possibly amenity for both the Duke and Duchess and their guests, toilet tissue literally unrolled and folded into squares.  The Duke and Duchess at the Nixon White House
By then the Duke’s health was deteriorating rapidly.  One eye was mostly closed due to complications from cataracts, circulatory issues were now pronounced after a lifetime of heavy smoking which also eventually caused throat cancer, arthritis forcing him to limp along with a cane and preventing him from golf or even working in the garden.  By May of 1972, the end was clearly approaching, signaled by the first and only visit to the Duke’s Paris home by Queen Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Phillip and accompanied by Prince Charles.  It lasted a perfunctory thirty minutes.  To one of the last of the many American socialites who spent time with the Windsors in their last years he reflected, “The duchess gave me everything that I lacked from my family.  She gave me comfort and love and kindness.” The Duke of Windsor's grave, FrogmoreThe Duke of Windsor’s body was flown to Great Britain and dignified with the usual ceremonies, including lying publicly in state at St. George’s Chapel, on the grounds of Windsor Castle the traditional burial place for British Kings and Queens since Henry VIII.  The Duchess of Windsor was flown to these ceremonies separately where she interacted with the rest of the Royal family who treated her with chilly dignity.  Although as a former King of England the Duke of Windsor was entitled to burial at St. George’s, he was instead interred by previous agreement at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore Estate.  This cemetery was established to handle the overflow from the Royal Vault at St. George’s as space there became restricted for actual monarchs and those in direct succession.  Frogmore Estate is owned by the British Royal family and is only open to the public six days out of the year.  In addition, the royal burial ground which contains the Duke of Windsor’s gravestone is restricted from public access by a high iron fence, for the former Edward VIII a kind of British Royal Siberia.  The duchess of Windsor's grave, FrogmoreThe Duchess of Windsor’s modest April 29, 1986 funeral ceremony at St. George’s Chapel was well attended by members of the royal family.  However, her coffin had no flag or standard and its plaque omitted the HRH title before her name inscribed as Wallis, Duchess of Windsor-1896-1986.  The hearse containing her coffin proceeded along private roads to exclude any public acknowledgement.  Only fifteen individuals were present at her graveside ceremony, including the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, but the Queen Mother on the advice of Queen Elizabeth did not attend.  The Duchess of Windsor was buried side by side with her husband at Frogmore, the only commoner in the cemetery, her headstone also omitted the HRH title, the Duke and Duchess of Windsors’ social, political and geographic exile now eternally complete.

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 Bernadino. 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 still operating McDonald's 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. 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 … Continue reading Ray Kroc, McDonald’s Mastermind (Part One) →

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 succesor
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 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.  Padre's home during Kroc's ownership, The 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 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. 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, … Continue reading Ray Kroc, McDonald’s Mastermind (Part Two) →

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.  The 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.  The 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