The Gilded Gentleman

Carl is joined by Cornelia Brooke Gilder, noted Berkshire historian, author and Lenox native, for this special show which delves into the artistic and literary life of the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts as well as its role as a Gilded Age summer enclave. 

From the early 19th century the lush, green landscape of the Berkshire mountain inspired writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and artists such as Daniel Chester French. By the Gilded Age, the vast expanse of land was dotted with the sprawling estates of Vanderbilts, Morgans and Sloans, built by architects well known in Newport circles such as Richard Morris Hunt and Charles McKim. Throughout the 19th century, the Berkshires attracted a British artistic elite as well, from acclaimed actress Fanny Kemble to Henry James. 

In this episode, Carl and "Nini" (as she is known to all) discuss Berkshire history as well as three particular estates one can still see today - Ventfort Hall, the great Jacobean inspired manor owned by JP Morgan's sister, Edith Wharton's grand estate The Mount and the "cottage" Pine Acre, once owned by the family of Wharton's husband Teddy's. 

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Historian and scholar Connor Williams joins Carl for this look at the Gilded Age retreat of the Adirondacks.  A number of Gilded Age families came to this leafy paradise despite the dusty two day journey in an attempt to escape the city and recharge in nature.  

The Gilded Age saw the rise of the "great camps" -- extensive properties owned by families such as the Vanderbilts and the Morgans. While certainly not as lavish as their Newport cottages, these escapes still had elegant meals, fully stocked bars and dozens of domestic help to keep it all running.  

Great Camp Sagamore, once a Vanderbilt property, still welcomes visitors today on the shores of Raquette lake as it has for over 125 years. 

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Carl is joined by curator Frank Futral for a special on-location visit to the Vanderbilt Mansion in New York's Hudson Valley.  

Built for Frederick Vanderbil tand his wife Lousie by legendary firm  McKim, Mead and White, the mansion is a work of art itself combining classic Beaux Arts style with unique and rare architectural elements brought from Europe.  

Frank takes Carl on a room by room tour of the mansion to explain just how this magnificent house was built and just how it is very different from the great mansions of Newport. 

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To celebrate a month of diversity, courage and pride, we are rereleasing this episode which continues to be one of the most talked about shows on The Gilded Gentleman so far. 

The story of Murray Hall -- a Gilded Age bail bondsman, Tammany Hall representative and loving and devoted father -- is one that few know. It's a story that leaves you inspired and one that is impossible to forget and one that when you first hear it, takes you by surprise.  

Murray's story, like countless others nearly forgotten, is one that is deeply relevant in our modern world long after his own death in 1901. Murray Hall lived an extraordinary life in a small nondescript house in New York's Greenwich Village that still remains  as a testament to his story  today. 

Carl is joined by veteran journalist, writer and tour guide Michael Morgenthal for a journey through the pages of 19th century newspapers.  

Michael traces the history of several of our most well known newspapers today including the New York Post and the New York Times as well as how Gilded Age journalists and readers had - in their way - the (nearly) 24 hour news cycle that we are so accustomed to today. 

By the end of the Gilded Age there were over 20 daily newspapers published in New York City alone. Each has a slightly different focus, much as our papers do today, and they scooped their news in a variety of ways.  This episode takes a look at New York's newspaper history and just what it was like in the Gilded Age. Michael shares the story behind several influential figures including Alexander Hamilton  and famed poet and publisher William Cullen Bryant, leading up to the great wars for sensational journalism fought by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. 

In addition, you'll discover when newspapers adopted the popular tabloid size, and when actual advertising began to be used to create income.  

Carl visits the Museum of the City of New York where he's joined by Collections Manager for Costumes and Textiles, Elizabeth Randolph, to discuss the famous dress Alice Vanderbilt wore to her sister-in-law Alva'a ball, while inspecting the original dress itself. 

On the evening of March 26, 1883, Alva Vanderbilt threw her famous costume ball to officially open her new "Petit Chateau" on Fifth Avenue and to secure her place in Gilded Age society.  Her sister-in-law, Alice, not to be outdone, arrived at the ball and created  one of the most talked about fashion statements from the Gilded Age to today.  

Alice had the famed British-born Parisian couturier Charles Frederick Worth design a gown that represented "electric light" - a new idea in 1883.  Encrusted with gold and silver threads, Alice's gown caught the attention of not only the guests at the ball, but the press whose reports of her dress ranged from the credible to the outrageous. Jose Mora, the noted society photographer of the era, captured Alice in a famous photograph in which Alice, wearing the dress, holds a torch high above her head.  

Myths about the dress have circulated for years - that there was a concealed battery back in the bodice, that the dress itself somehow "lit up", and on and on.  Miraculously, the original dress survives today and is in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York. With deep gratitude and thanks to the Museum, I was allowed to see the actual dress and record this interview with Elizabeth Randolph. With the dress laid out before us, we explored the story of what's true, what's not, and just what effect (both visual and social) Alice would have made wearing the dress on the night of Alva's ball. 

Renowned historian and author Richard Jones delves deeply into one of the world's most fascinating unsolved series of murders.  True crime fans may think they know the major elements of the grisly set of Jack the Ripper murders and the resulting investigation, but this show uncovers some angles and aspects that shine a wider light into these horrors of late Victorian London. 

Carl and guest Richard Jones delve into all aspects of the crimes themselves - from what happened, to what clues were and weren't at each murder site, to how the police attempted to quickly find the killer, and to how the press manipulated and were responsible for giving us the impressions of the case we have today.   

Richard shares his insights and analysis on possible suspects, why these murders were unlike any others up to this point, and most importantly, offers deeply human insight into just who the victims were themselves - which may surprise you.  Don't miss this insightful look into a set of crimes that still grips the public nearly 150 years after they occurred.

Royal historian and author Tracy Borman returns to The Gilded Gentleman following her appearance on Crown & Scepter: The Coronation Show last year.  

Tracy is a noted historian and a frequent guest and commentator on the BBC as well as many documentaries and programs internationally.   Tracy's most recent book "Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter That Changed History" serves as the basis for this episode, along with Tracy's insights on the mother daughter relationships in the lives of two modern monarchs - Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II.  

Mother daughter relationships can be loving, supportive and at times challenging.  In this episode, Tracy Borman discusses several royal mother/daughter relationships that may have changed history.   Elizabeth I was barely three years old when her father Henry VIII ordered her mother's execution for failing to provide a royal male heir.  Tracy's revelatory new research and insight explains just how Elizabeth honored, and even emulated her mother throughout her own long reign and how she continued to dispel myths that had been created by a malicious court. 

Like Elizabeth I, neither Queen Victoria nor Queen Elizabeth II ever thought that they would be queens themselves and Tracy offers additional in-depth insight as to how these women - along with their own mothers influenced the throne. 

Just over a year ago, as Broadway opened a revival of the classic Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd, The Gilded Gentleman was honored to sit down with one of the stars of the original 1979 Broadway production.

Sarah Rice, who went on to a distinguished career in opera as well as leading roles in musical theatre, originated the role of Johanna playing opposite such Broadway legends as Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou. 

Sarah covered how she got started in theatre, came to New York with two cats and a piano to join the cast of the original The Fantasticks, and then was cast in her career changing role as Broadway's first Johanna.  Perhaps most fascinating in Sarah's chat with Carl were her reminiscences and recollections of being directed and prepared for the role by the great masters Hal Prince and Stephen Sondhiem themselves.  Sarah ultimately became one of today's most important interpreters of Stephen  Sondheim's music.  

Sarah passed away suddenly earlier this winter and her loss is a profound one for those who knew her personally and those who were touched by her beautiful voice and many appearances on stage.   

As a tribute to her memory and her artistry, The Gilded Gentleman is revisiting the interview portion of last Spring's show as a tribute to her memory. 

Join Carl and  British country house historian Curt DiCamillo for a look into the world of the Edwardian country house.  Audiences became fascinated in these houses through the blockbuster Julian Fellowes series "Downton Abbey" and his earlier film "Gosford Park",  with their colliding worlds of upstairs and downstairs and interlocking social dramas. 

Curt discusses this fascinating period in British history and how the country house in Edwardian times brought society closer to a modern age. Curt explains how country houses as estates for the British aristocracy evolved over centuries and how they reached their height in the reign of King Edward VII, who took the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria. 

The country house greatly expanded during this time and some interiors reflected influences from Britain's growing empire.  Grand dinners, shooting parties, and elegant tea parties were all backdrops to great social intrigue and sometimes scandal.  

In this show, Curt shares several examples of great Edwardian country houses (including one current royal estate), what they looked like, how they operated, and how they can be visited today.  The Edwardian period was a glittering one, much like America's Gilded Age, but a short one, which vanished from view as Britain and Western Europe entered a world-changing war.  

Related show with Curt DiCamillo:  The British Crown Jewels: History and Mystery