From "Megan Marshack Dies at 70; Was With Nelson Rockefeller at His Death/She was at the center of rumors about the former vice president’s last moments, but she remained silent about their association until she wrote her own obituary" (NYT)(noting that Marshack's brother said she'd signed a nondisclosure agreement).
"In interviews [for a] book, Rockefeller associates said it was an open secret that Mr. Rockefeller and Ms. Marshack were having an affair. He was married at the time to Margaretta Rockefeller, who was known as Happy...."
Who cares about Vice Presidents? The only thing interesting at this point is the irony of the nickname of the wife he cheated on. And the odd detail of the Chinese food containers. And the resurrection of the "Chorus Line" lyric...
I don't even have a tag for Nelson Rockefeller. I only started this blog in 2004, but there was a time — and I guess it was more than 20 years ago — when "Rockefeller Republican" was shorthand for... oh, who cares anymore? Kiss that day goodbye.
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The well-known killer was that Rockefeller had the wrong shoes on the wrong feet, indicating a dressing operation after he died.
The name "Happy" reminds me of our discussion of "Kick" Kennedy. Everyone used to have cool nicknames. I'm jealous.
Also, Chorus Line needs to die in a fire.
The issue was her delay in calling for help.
These days we call them “Country Club Republicans.” Some are leaving the party over Donald Trump and the influx of working class and middle class voters. They are not missed.
The show Emergency ran on NBC from 1972-79.
On 2/10/79, the opening of SNL was Don Pardo voicing over a title card "Emergency starring Megan Marshack will not be seen tonight so that we may bring you this special presentation."
The card had the then current logo of NBC and a picture of Ms. Marshack.
It was always obvious that Nelson died happy...sans Happy.
Wasn't there an iconic photo of Nelson Rockefeller shooting the finger with a wolf-like smile on his face, at some heckler?
Back in the saddle again
Back where a friend IS A FRIEND!
It's amazing that Wikipedia describes the political position of Rockefeller Republicans as "Center-Center Right"
Beautiful, Ice Nine. Beautiful. You nailed it: Nelson nailed Megan and died a happy man.
Marshack waited an hour after the "heart attack" before calling for an ambulance. Prior to calling the ambulance, she called her friend Ponchietta Pierce, a journalist for WNBC-TV, to ask for advice. It was revealed after the autopsy that Rockefeller had a pneumatic implant below the equator to provide the assist that the "little blue pill" would supply in the early 2000's.
Rockefeller was of an era in which, get this, there were liberal republicans and conservative democrats, each group constituting a minority of the party to which they belonged, but each also in perfectly good standing within that party.
found dead... nude, amid containers of Chinese food....
Yeah, but he was alive again an hour later.
I remember when he was governor of New York State, but I don't remember him being V.P. For a Republican, he sure spent a lot of money building stuff. People called it his "edifice complex" and I vaguely recall a couple of jokes about his "erections" popping up all over the state.
Kate said...
“Everyone used to have cool nicknames. I'm jealous.”
I blame the demise of baseball.
“Three fingers” Mordecai Brown. “Lefty” Gomez. “Ears” Mossi. “No Neck” Williams. “Oil Can” Boyd. “Catfish” Hunter. “Shoeless Joe” Jackson. Charlie Hustle. Big Papi. “Babe” Ruth.
For Gerald Ford.
Nelson Rockefeller greets his fans
New York Magazine: “Nelson thought he was coming, but he was going.”
Like Ford he was never elected, being appointed and confirmed by Congress per the 25th after Ford was elevated to the Presidency by Nixon's resignation. I think it's telling that Ford or the GOP et al then chose Bob Dole to run with Ford in 1976 rather than keeping Rockefeller.
Nice
Pretty certain that country club republicans refers to a much different type of voter than Rockefeller republicans, but then as Ms. Althouse says, who cares anymore. That world is gone. At the time, I Lived a block and a half from the townhouse where he died. No one thought he died alone, certainly not the NY newspapers, tho The NY Times was more respectable in those days and probably was the only rag bot to print details.
New York developed rigorous academic standards and an excellent public university system at the instigation of Nelson R. He did a great job for the traditionally ignored residents of upstate. How do we know that Happy begrudged him his happiness?
MSG and amyl nitrite claimed another one…
Happy was his 2nd wife. His mistress that resulted in his divorce from Wife #1.
Nelson cheated on Happy over and over again - it was well known in Republican circles back then (and I, a mere college student attending the national Young Republican convention one year, heard it all). I also heard that it took both Happy and Megan to drag poor naked Nelson away from the "library" to a different room where they dressed him.
The wags had great fun juxtaposing 'Happy' with 'died happy' - but nobody bothered to ask Happy what exactly she might be happy about. It might've made a better story.
Called 'em that in those days, too. I remember the 'Republican Grassroots' and the fight between the Bushies (HW variation) and the Reganites in 1980. (I'm a bit too young for the Goldwater gang). Remember that GHWB was the first to call Regan's tax cut proposals 'voodoo economics'.
She signed an NDA? lol. I thought Rockefeller Republican referred to trust fund Republicans like Nelson and John Danforth whose granddaddies were productive. Money buys a lot. But not dignity
That was what I remembered.
Actually, the most recent Rockefeller Republican was Bloomberg. You remember that squishy, little gob, right? It turns out that being a successful Republican politician from New York requires that you be a closet Communist.
" ....Rockefeller had a pneumatic implant below the equator...."
So the 'rigor' had set in, before the 'mortis', then.
Nelson Rockefeller was the commencement speaker at my brother’s AFA graduation in 1976. Not much of a memorable speech, but it was much better than the train wreck of a speech given by Eric Holder at my daughter’s WCL graduation in 2010.
I would have thought that his money could buy a hotter doxie, but I admit I haven't seen any pictures of her nekkid.
Nat Lamp had a running series about him--profoundly and hilariously slanderous. Good times.
OK, let's all play. Dying the way he did was one singular sensation.
Widely believed that the divorces and second marriages of Nelson and Happy to one another cost him the presidential nomination in 1964.
Remember reading what seems day later that he had died at his pied de terre across street from MOMA museum garden plaza, in arms of his mistress. Not much a a cover-up, with exception of "covering up" the nude Nelson body.
There's something pathetic about a 70 y/o man cheating on his wife with a 25 year old aide. Was Viagra available back then?
But then "Rocky" was a hollow man in many ways. Its hard to say what he believed in, except the helping rich people, the status quo, and gaining power. Later in life, he said his biggest mistake was becoming a Republican. "You can buy Democrats, you can't buy Republicans".
Jerry "Blockhead" Ford said his biggest regret was dumping Rockefeller in 76, which just confirms what a dumbshit Ford was. He only got Reagan and other conservatives to support him because he picked Dole as his VP. I honestly think Ford was stupidest man ever to be President. He seemed incapable of adjusting his views and emotions to fit reality. He was also another Republican liar and Fake in the same class as Bush, McCain, and Romney.
The joke I heard (from my grandfather) was:
--I hear they cremated Nelson Rockefeller.
--O yes?
--They had to, they couldn't get the coffin closed.
Country Club Republicans: Judge Smails could not be reached for comment.
My favourite was the musical guest that night- Talking Heads
"What I did for Love" is about acting and dancing, not romantic or sexual love
I was at a public event with my mother where she was in a receiving line with Rockefeller. A local lefty cursed and screamed at him and he just shook her hand and thanked her for coming. My mother commented on his cool. He told her that he had been standing on the protestors foot.
He need a love to keep ‘im happy.
That was SO bad, Angie
>RCOCEAN II said...
"...a 70 y/o man cheating on his wife with a 25 year old aide. Was Viagra available back then?<"
You have an apparent misconception about men in their 70s, son.
Nelson Rockefeller features prominently in Robert Caro's tome about Robert Moses, my nomination for the most influential (and worst) New Yorker of all time, and a subject on this blog a few weeks ago. Rockefeller was the only governor with the stroke to defeat Moses in a power play.
"when "Rockefeller Republican" was shorthand for..."
Aligned with the democrats in every way.....but wanting it all to happen just a bit slower....
"Ford was stupidest man ever to be President". Joe Biden says, "Hold my beer!"
And if you replace "man" with "person", we'll have to wait until the votes are in this year.
I (sort of) met Rockefeller once. It was (probably) 1962, at a college in New England. Gov. Rockefeller had been invited by some group to give a speech, and the Republican Club (I guess) invited members (including me) to a reception for him. Somehow I ended up in the crush of a huge crowd within a couple of feet of "The Governor". He was supposed to be working the crowd and answering questions, but NO ONE COULD SEE HIM if they were more than a few feet away. (The internet says Rocky was 5'10 1/2". That would make him 2" taller than me at the time. NOT WITHOUT LIFTS! I was there!)
But here's what impressed me. In this huge crowd of people surrounding him, Rockefeller somehow spotted a chair; he reached through the throng, grabbed the chair, jumped up on it and proceeded with the reception from that position, where everyone could see and hear him.
And, Kamala, he didn't even have a teleprompter!
Makes me like him more.
Yeah, as governor, he governed as pretty much a Democrat, except on cultural issues.
Bob Dole in the background.
That was back when politicians were expected to respond spontaneously. Not so much today.
I hadn't heard of any of this, but I guess this is who that Fat Boy Slim song is about.
Mexicans still have fun nicknames. Or at least they did. They were less concerned about political correctness and giving offense. I guess that's changing.
Was it really love, Meghan?
Rocky could have sung about what he did for love: He gave up his shot at the nomination because he divorced his first wife to marry Happy. It's sad if he felt the need to cheat on her after that.
Oh Lord, now I'm going to have the entire Chorus Line soundtrack worming through my brain the rest of the week. Kiss today goodbye, indeed. Thanks Althouse!
That sounds like a Columbo episode.
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