Vintage Miami Beach Glamour: Celebrities and Socialites in the Heyday of Chic

by Deborah C. Pollack, Paul S. George PhD Resident Historian History Miami Museum (Foreword by)

Overview

From roughly 1930 to 1960, Miami Beach attracted an exclusive colony of socialites, who mixed with Hollywood celebrities and dignitaries, such as Winston Churchill, as effortlessly as tonic mixes with gin. Elizabeth Taylor announced her ill-fated engagement to the son of a former ambassador in Miami Beach. Other movie stars, such as Veronica Lake, were filmed in the enclave. Beautiful model Bab Beckwith, the first Orange Bowl Parade queen, dated John F. Kennedy while he was in Miami in 1944. Speedboat king Gar Wood bought his mistress a $100,000 bayfront home and then sued to force her to vacate the property. A tumultuous affair between John Jacob Astor VI and Lucille Stiglich led to the young model serving time in the Miami Beach jail. Deborah C. Pollack delves into an era filled with excitement, style, humor and panache.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467141581
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	01/28/2019
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	1,130,908
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Deborah C. Pollack's books include Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South (with "Miami, Miami Beach, and Coral Gables" as one of the chapters); Palm Beach Visual Arts; Felix De Crano: Forgotten Artist of the Flagler Colony; Bad Scarlett: The Extraordinary Life of the Notorious Southern Beauty Marie Boozer; and Laura Woodward: The Artist Behind the Innovator Who Developed Palm Beach, which won an award from Florida Memorial University for making "a significant contribution to advancing the awareness of women's history." Pollack's essays are included in the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and Central to Their Lives: Women Artists in the Johnson Collection. Articles have appeared in such periodicals as the American Art Review, Tequesta (scholarly journal of HistoryMiami), Antiques and Art Around Florida and The Tustenegee (the Historical Society of Palm Beach County journal).

Table of Contents

Foreword Paul S. George, PhD 5

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

1 Introducing Count George du Manoir and His Miami Beach 13

2 The Fashionable Life at Private Clubs, Hotels and Parties 20

3 The Sporting Life in and around Miami Beach 39

4 Miami Beach Personalities: The High-Flying du Ponts, Talented Firestones and the Remarkable Shirley Cowell 47

5 A New Versailles and a Second World War 55

6 The Count's Friend Hosts the Winston Churchills 59

7 Hialeah Memories 65

8 Hollywood Comes to Miami Beach 73

9 "Blimping Along Over Miami Beach" 83

10 Intriguing Stories behind Miami Beach's Most Beautiful Faces 88

11 Nightclubbing with the Rich and Famous 108

12 Destinations of Miami Beach's Colony: "La Habana Cuba," Nassau and the Florida Keys 113

13 Miami Beach Culture for the Rich and Not So Rich 119

14 The Count's Friendships with Other Influential South Floridians 128

15 Miami Beach Holidays with Jane Fisher, "Suzy" the "Tango Queen" and an Ice Cream Soda 130

16 The Miami Beach Club Crowd during the Off-Season 138

17 Scandals Brush the Beach 141

18 A Farewell to the Count's Miami Beach 150

Notes 155

Bibliography 177

Index 183

About the Author 191