Nina S. Olds (née Gore; July 25, 1903 – April 3, 1978)[1] was an American actress and socialite known for her three marriages, to Eugene Vidal, Hugh D. Auchincloss, and Robert Olds, as well as her children, authors Gore Vidal and Nina Auchincloss.[2]
Nina S. Olds | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nina S. Gore July 25, 1903 Lawton, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | April 3, 1978 (aged 74) New York City, U.S. |
| Other names | Nina Gore Nina Vidal Nina Auchincloss Nina Olds |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Gore Vidal Nina Auchincloss Straight Thomas Gore Auchincloss |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Gore Nina Belle Kay |
Early life
edit
Nina S. Gore was born on July 25, 1903, to U.S. Senator Thomas Gore (1870–1949) and his wife Nina Belle Kay (1877–1963),[3] a Texas plantation owner's daughter.[4] She had a younger brother, Thomas Notley Gore (1910–1964).[5] Her father, who lost his eyesight during his youth, was said to have been an atheist[6] and had a strong misanthropic streak. Nina's son would later write that "he was a genuine populist, but he did not like people very much. He always said no to anyone who wanted government aid."[4] He was claimed to have said "If there was any race other than the human race, I'd go join it."[7] Thomas Gore died in 1949.[8]
Life and Personality
editIn 1928, Gore made her Broadway debut in Sign of the Leopard, which opened at the National Theatre.[9][10] In 1940, Nina, an alternate delegate from Virginia to the Democratic convention announced her support of Wendell Willkie over Roosevelt.[11]
From 1925 until 1950, she lived in Washington, D.C. She later split her time between Cuernavaca, Mexico, and Southampton, New York. In the seven years preceding her death, she lived in San Antonio, Texas.[12]
Nina was known as a vivacious, quixotic, and unpredictable person. Her son Gore referred to her as an alcoholic and "certifiably insane," as she likely suffered from bipolar disorder.[13] She was candid about her sexual exploits[14] and was said to have had an affair with John Hay Whitney in the early 1930s while he was married to Liz Whitney Tippett, at the same time Liz had an affair with Nina Vidal's husband, Eugene Vidal.[15] Nina also had "a long off-and-on affair" with the actor Clark Gable.[16] She was also described thus:
"When she enters a room you feel here comes everything fresh, healthy, and beautiful. Her skin glows warmly and her huge brown eyes are bright. An outdoor woman, she is full of indoor charm. Rides every day of her life."[13]
Gore was glamorous and has been described as a flighty mother with an apparent lack of maternal interest in her children. Her son, Gore Vidal, would later say about his mother, "We rarely got into a conversation. It was pointless. She didn’t see me. I wished I didn’t see her."[citation needed]
In 1949, she loaned Gore $3,000 toward the purchase of Edgewater, his estate on the Hudson River.[3]
Personal life
editIn 1922, Gore married Eugene Luther Vidal, an American commercial aviation pioneer. Because her father was ill and couldn't attend, U.S. Representative William A. Rodenberg walked her down the aisle.[17] They divorced in 1935. Together, they had one child:
- Gore Vidal (1925-2012), the writer.[18]
In 1935,[13] Nina married Hugh Dudley Auchincloss, Jr. (1897-1976), the son of Hugh Dudley Auchincloss, Sr. (1858–1913), a merchant and financier, and Emma Brewster Jennings.[19] Hugh had previously been married to Maya Auchincloss (1899-1990), a Russian noblewoman, from 1925 to 1932. Hugh and Maya had one child, Hugh Dudley Auchincloss III (1927–2015). Together, Nina and Hugh had two children:
- Nina Auchincloss (born 1937), who married Newton Steers (1917–1993) in 1957,[20] after having briefly dated Ted Kennedy.[21][22] They divorced in 1974 when she married Michael Whitney Straight (1916–2004),[23][24] a member of the Whitney family who was a publisher and novelist. Straight was the son of Willard Dickerman Straight (1880–1918), an investment banker who died in Michael's infancy, and Dorothy Payne Whitney (1887–1968), a philanthropist. They divorced in 1998.[25]
- Thomas Gore Auchincloss (born 1939),[13][4] married Diana Lippert (b. 1940) in 1960. She was the daughter of Bernhard G. Lippert (1904–1947), the former German Vice Consul in the U.S.[26][27] They later divorced and Diana married Francis Shields, father of Brooke Shields and son of Francis Shields Sr. and Italian Princess Donna Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi.
Hugh and Nina S. Auchincloss divorced in 1941. Hugh remarried Janet Lee Bouvier (1907-1989), the mother of future First Lady Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Bouvier (1929–1994) and Caroline Lee Bouvier (1933–2019). Hugh and Janet had two children together, Janet Jennings Auchincloss (1945–1985) and James Lee Auchincloss (born 1947).
In June 1942, Nina remarried for the third and final time to Robert Olds (1896-1943).[28] Robert died of pneumonia on April 28, 1943, after hospitalization for constrictive pericarditis and Libman-Sacks endocarditis,[29][30] at the age of 46, just before his son Robin Olds' graduation from West Point.[31]
Nina died on April 3, 1978, in New York City at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital after a long illness.[1][12]
Descendants
editOlds was the grandmother of Hugh Auchincloss Steers (1963–1995), an artist and Burr Gore Steers (born 1965), a filmmaker.[22]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Times, Special To The New York (7 April 1978). "Deaths". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ Vespa, Mary (May 11, 1981). "Jackie & Gore Launch a Gossipy Novel—and Make a Name for Nina Straight". People Magazine. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ a b Straight, N. A. (February 6, 2013). "A Letter from Gore Vidal: N.A. Straight Reflects on the Life and Lessons of Her Half-Brother". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ a b c Kauffman, Bill (2006-11-20) The Populist Patriotism of Gore Vidal Archived 2010-10-26 at the Wayback Machine, The American Conservative
- ^ "Mrs. Thomas P. Gore, 85, Oklahoma Senator's Widow". The New York Times. 9 May 1963. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ "Real Time with Bill Maher Episode #149 April 10, 2009". www.veoh.com.
- ^ Vidal, Gore, Point to Point Navigation: A Memoir, 1964 to 2006 (New York: Doubleday, 2006), 19
- ^ Times, Special To The New York (17 March 1949). "EX-SENATOR GORE OF OKLAHOMA DIES; | One of First Two to Represent State Served 19 Years | Blind Since Childhood". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ "NINA GORE IN STAGE DEBUT.; Daughter of Former Senator to Appear in "Sign of the Leopard."". The New York Times. December 10, 1928. p. 24. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ "General Robert Olds Marries". The New York Times. 7 June 1942. p. 6.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "HANES, HERE, PLANS FOR WILLKIE DRIVE; Organizer of Democratic Group in Republican Campaign Confers With Root 'TAKE A WALK' IS REVIVED Definite Moves to Be Delayed Ten Days--Smith, Raskob Reportedly Weigh Stand". The New York Times. July 24, 1940. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Nina Gore Olds, 74, Socialite, Kin to U.S. Senator, Novelist". The Washington Post. 6 April 1978. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d Pottker, Jan (August 27, 2013). Janet and Jackie: The Story of a Mother and Her Daughter, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 334. ISBN 9781466852303. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ Kloman, Harry (October 29, 1995). "THE TRUTH ACCORDING TO GORE VIDAL | No one inside his famous circle is too sacred for words, except the writer himself". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ Kaplan, Fred (1999). Gore Vidal, A Biography. New York: Doubleday. p. 61. ISBN 0-385-47703-1.
- ^ Vidal, Gore. Point to Point Navigation, New York: Doubleday, 2006, p. 135.
- ^ "MISS NINA GORE MARRIES.; Former Senator's Daughter Weds Lieut. Eugene L. Vidal". The New York Times. January 12, 1922. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ McGrath, Charles (1 August 2012). "Gore Vidal, Elegant Writer, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- ^ Times, Special To The New York (9 October 1935). "HUGH AUCHNINCLOSS MARRIES IN CAPITAL; Takes Mrs. Nina Gore Vidal, Daughter of Senator Gore, as Bride in Home Wedding. QUIET CEREMONY IS HELD Rev. Joseph R. Sizoo Officiates -- Chauncey Parker Best Man -- Couple to Live in McLean, Va". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ Cheshire, Maxine (February 24, 1972). "Potpourri". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ^ The New York Times Staff (June 9, 1957). "Miss Nina Gore Auchincloss Wed to Newton Ivan Steers Jr". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ a b Barnes, Bart (February 12, 1993). "REPUBLICAN NEWTON I. STEERS JR. DIES". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ Times, Special To The New York (26 April 1974). "Michael Straight, of Arts Fund, Will Marry Mrs. Nina Auchincloss Steers". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ "Mrs. Steers Wed to Michael Straight". The New York Times. May 2, 1974. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (January 5, 2004). "Michael Straight, Who Wrote of Connection to Spy Ring, Is Dead at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ "Diana Lippert Is a Bride at St. James | Debutante of 1958 Married to Thomas Gore Auchincloss". The New York Times. 20 November 1960. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ McTernan, John (4 March 2008). "As America Has Done to Israel". Whitaker House. p. 30. ISBN 9781603741286. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ "GEN. ROBERT OLDS WEDS; Army Air Officer Marries Mrs. Nina Gore Auchincloss". The New York Times. 7 June 1942. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ Zamzow, Major (USAF) S. L. (2008). Ambassador of American Airpower: Major General Robert Olds. Maxwell Air Force Base: Air University. p. 85. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021.
- ^ Fogerty, Ronald P. (editor, 1953), USAF Historical Study 91: Biographical Data on Air Force General Officers, 1917-1952, Vol II: "L-Z".
- ^ Anderson, Lars (2004). The All-Americans. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 187. ISBN 0-312-30887-6.