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Authors: Meryl Gordon
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manners but total disrespect and a lack of decency." He charged that Rockefeller and Kissinger "have given undeserved credence to my son Philip's charges against me and stirred up a massive media campaign."
Tony was stunned by the betrayal of these people he knew—or at least thought he knew. As an ambassador in the Nixon administration, he had reported to Kissinger, then the secretary of state. Through his mother, Tony had known and socialized with the entire Rockefeller family for decades. He and Annette both served on the board of the Metropolitan Museum, and they were often thrown together at Brooke's larger parties. "I thought they were all friends," Tony later told me, and then, without prompting, he conceded, "Of my mother's."
Rockefeller and Kissinger, who have spent their lifetimes in the public eye, serenely took the high road, declining to respond to Tony Marshall's criticisms and authorizing Rockefeller's veteran public relations adviser Fraser Seitel to handle the media. Even more than a year later, when Rockefeller and Kissinger spoke with me, they avoided directly criticizing Tony and pointedly praised Philip. In a lengthy conversation in his art-filled office on the fifty-sixth floor of Rockefeller Center, Rockefeller insisted that he became involved because he was concerned about Brooke's "personal comfort and happiness." He added, "I don't know Philip well, but I felt his motives were totally unselfish and caring for his grandmother. I've been very impressed." Kissinger, speaking at his Park Avenue office several blocks away, explained, "Nobody said, 'Let's get all these names together and really do a job here.' When we were caucusing among ourselves, it was entirely on the issue of how can we make life better for Brooke in her final years?"
Thanks to the star power arrayed against the Marshalls, only a few of their friends were willing to support them openly. David Richenthal, the lead partner in Delphi Productions, the couple's theatrical venture, was their staunchest vocal defender. He lashed out at Philip, calling him "a disturbed attention-getting young man who is acting irrationally." The CBS newsman Mike Wallace, who had met the Marshalls when he profiled Brooke Astor for 60 Minutes, issued a formal statement saying, "I am perplexed by the attacks leveled against Anthony. I believe they are completely undeserved." Wallace later told me, "When I read about it, I said, 'This is horseshit.' I've spent time with these people. They seemed reasonable and not greedy." At St. James' Church, Rector Brenda Husson was convinced that the Marshalls were innocent of all charges. "I was dumbfounded," she says. "It just did not line up with anything I knew either about them or about their relationship with Brooke. I'm very aware of regular visits and ongoing care."
The controversy dominated conversations and created schisms. Eleanor Elliott, a former Vogue editor who had attended Brooke's hundredth birthday party, wrote a note of support to the Marshalls, declaring that she was not a fair-weather friend. But her brother-in-law Oz Elliott thought the charges were probably credible, saying, "If David Rockefeller got involved, there must have been more fire than smoke."
For a son to take his father to court is a stunning act of familial disloyalty. William F. Buckley, Jr., Brooke's neighbor at 778 Park Avenue, described Philip's lawsuit in his syndicated newspaper column as a "parricidal intervention." Tony told close friends that he could not fathom his sons' behavior. As Daniel Billy, Jr., says, "What they've done is biblical in their betrayal." Alec did not join in the lawsuit, but in his father's eyes he was as culpable as Philip. As Billy adds, "By not taking sides, he's taken sides."
The Marshalls descended into a nightmarish existence in which everything they had ever said or done was scrutinized by the press. They were villains in the tabloid drama, and they confided to friends that strangers called in the
Tony was stunned by the betrayal of these people he knew—or at least thought he knew. As an ambassador in the Nixon administration, he had reported to Kissinger, then the secretary of state. Through his mother, Tony had known and socialized with the entire Rockefeller family for decades. He and Annette both served on the board of the Metropolitan Museum, and they were often thrown together at Brooke's larger parties. "I thought they were all friends," Tony later told me, and then, without prompting, he conceded, "Of my mother's."
Rockefeller and Kissinger, who have spent their lifetimes in the public eye, serenely took the high road, declining to respond to Tony Marshall's criticisms and authorizing Rockefeller's veteran public relations adviser Fraser Seitel to handle the media. Even more than a year later, when Rockefeller and Kissinger spoke with me, they avoided directly criticizing Tony and pointedly praised Philip. In a lengthy conversation in his art-filled office on the fifty-sixth floor of Rockefeller Center, Rockefeller insisted that he became involved because he was concerned about Brooke's "personal comfort and happiness." He added, "I don't know Philip well, but I felt his motives were totally unselfish and caring for his grandmother. I've been very impressed." Kissinger, speaking at his Park Avenue office several blocks away, explained, "Nobody said, 'Let's get all these names together and really do a job here.' When we were caucusing among ourselves, it was entirely on the issue of how can we make life better for Brooke in her final years?"
Thanks to the star power arrayed against the Marshalls, only a few of their friends were willing to support them openly. David Richenthal, the lead partner in Delphi Productions, the couple's theatrical venture, was their staunchest vocal defender. He lashed out at Philip, calling him "a disturbed attention-getting young man who is acting irrationally." The CBS newsman Mike Wallace, who had met the Marshalls when he profiled Brooke Astor for 60 Minutes, issued a formal statement saying, "I am perplexed by the attacks leveled against Anthony. I believe they are completely undeserved." Wallace later told me, "When I read about it, I said, 'This is horseshit.' I've spent time with these people. They seemed reasonable and not greedy." At St. James' Church, Rector Brenda Husson was convinced that the Marshalls were innocent of all charges. "I was dumbfounded," she says. "It just did not line up with anything I knew either about them or about their relationship with Brooke. I'm very aware of regular visits and ongoing care."
The controversy dominated conversations and created schisms. Eleanor Elliott, a former Vogue editor who had attended Brooke's hundredth birthday party, wrote a note of support to the Marshalls, declaring that she was not a fair-weather friend. But her brother-in-law Oz Elliott thought the charges were probably credible, saying, "If David Rockefeller got involved, there must have been more fire than smoke."
For a son to take his father to court is a stunning act of familial disloyalty. William F. Buckley, Jr., Brooke's neighbor at 778 Park Avenue, described Philip's lawsuit in his syndicated newspaper column as a "parricidal intervention." Tony told close friends that he could not fathom his sons' behavior. As Daniel Billy, Jr., says, "What they've done is biblical in their betrayal." Alec did not join in the lawsuit, but in his father's eyes he was as culpable as Philip. As Billy adds, "By not taking sides, he's taken sides."
The Marshalls descended into a nightmarish existence in which everything they had ever said or done was scrutinized by the press. They were villains in the tabloid drama, and they confided to friends that strangers called in the
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