American "Downton Abbey"? Yes please! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Historical Figures Who Inspired “The Gilded Age.” Who’s your favorite character in “The Gilded Age?”
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 "Come Mrs. Russell, let me introduce you to some of our friends."
00:02 Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:04 And today, we're counting down our picks for the top 10 historical figures who inspired the Gilded Age.
00:10 "Well, here we are. All of us together. What could be nice?"
00:16 Number 10. Marion Mamie Graves Anthon Fish.
00:20 "Come on, you must play something."
00:22 "But we're having such a nice time where we are."
00:24 "What makes you think I brought you here to have a nice time?"
00:27 "Carrie, make Mr. Russell play croquet. Any fool can play croquet."
00:31 "But we started the game."
00:32 "Barge in and make them start over."
00:35 Brash as she was, Mamie Fish would have been an incredible social contact for a new money family like the Russells.
00:42 As a member of one of New York's oldest families, Mamie stood second in society only to the vaunted Mrs. Astor.
00:48 However, she was arguably the more celebrated hostess of the two.
00:52 Famed for her cutting wit and her legendary dinner parties,
00:56 the show maintains all these aspects of her, but generally keeps things much tamer than they really were.
01:01 "That when you return you will find tables have been set up for the game of cinch, and you are all playing."
01:07 "But suppose we don't know how?"
01:09 "Then you will learn during dinner."
01:11 Mamie's evenings were known to include wild themes, vaudeville performances, and rented elephants.
01:17 Honestly, her eccentric on-screen dolls tea party looks unremarkable by comparison.
01:23 But she did once host an elaborate birthday for her dog, complete with a $15,000 diamond collar for her furry friend.
01:30 "Do you have any objections, Mrs. Russell?"
01:32 "Not in the least, Mrs. Fish."
01:34 "How did you meet?"
01:40 "Why do you ask that?"
01:42 "I don't know, I have no reason."
01:45 "I'll ask another question."
01:46 Rising from murky beginnings, Arabella scandalized high society from sea to shining sea
01:52 when she married her lover, rail industrialist Collis Huntington, shortly after the death of his first wife.
01:58 Even more so as rumors swirled around the parentage of their child.
02:02 "Her son."
02:03 "The son of them both. She only says her husband adopted him for the look of the thing.
02:08 He is the spitting image of Chamberlain for a start."
02:11 The major beats of Arabella's story are translated into the character of Sylvia Chamberlain,
02:15 the Gilded Age's resident social pariah.
02:18 Like her real-life counterpart, Mrs. Chamberlain's fabulous wealth isn't enough to overcome her prurient past
02:24 as far as the gatekeepers of New York society are concerned.
02:27 "She seems to know as few people as I do."
02:29 "No, I think she knows a good many of the women here."
02:31 "They just don't want to know her."
02:33 Barred from those echelons, Sylvia takes another note from Arabella,
02:36 using her flawless taste to amass an incredible art collection.
02:40 Indeed, in her lifetime, Arabella Huntington was considered to have one of the best in the entire world.
02:46 "I've painted this for you as a way of saying thank you for all your help, but..."
02:51 "But what?"
02:53 "I just realized it's like asking for my work to be hung alongside all the old masters."
02:58 Number 8. Timothy Thomas Fortune
03:01 One character we're definitely hoping to see more of in the Gilded Age is Peggy's editor at the New York Globe.
03:07 "Are you early for our meeting or am I running behind?"
03:10 "You're Mr. Fortune."
03:11 "I am."
03:13 Born into slavery in Florida in 1856,
03:16 Timothy Thomas Fortune attended Howard University before moving to New York in 1879.
03:22 There, he briefly worked as a printer before founding the Globe.
03:25 Fortune would go on to be one of the most important African-American voices of the late 19th century,
03:30 known for his political activism, which he amplified through his journalistic endeavors.
03:35 "We'll get the subscriptions, but not by kowtowing to the Republican Party."
03:39 "A lot of colored people still believe in them.
03:41 Remember, Lincoln was a Republican."
03:43 "Which is why we must expose their shortcomings and demand more."
03:47 The show is set early in Fortune's career,
03:50 and while it hints at the future direction of his work,
03:53 he's only a minor player in the first season.
03:56 But as a founder of the Civil Rights Movement,
03:58 Fortune's character provides compelling possibilities going forward.
04:02 "Well, it will be a marvel to behold. That much is true."
04:06 Number 7. Stanford White
04:09 "How? I'm not fashionable.
04:11 But I'm glad to be able to thank you properly for taking a chance on me."
04:15 The Russells are ahead of the curve when they hire Stanford White to design their home.
04:19 However, in real life, the famed architect's career would be somewhat overshadowed by his infamous personal life.
04:25 "But I don't know what other animals were in that apartment as well. We've seen the tiger."
04:29 "Well, I'll tell you another animal was in the apartment. White himself."
04:32 At the age of 48, he assaulted Evelyn Nesbitt,
04:35 a young model and actress under his professional care,
04:38 and began a relationship with her.
04:40 Later on, Evelyn would marry the millionaire Henry Kendall Thaw.
04:43 Thaw already struggled with his mental health,
04:45 and the knowledge of his wife's past ate him up with jealousy,
04:49 until one night in a rage, he tracked down and murdered White.
04:52 The resulting court case would be dubbed "The Trial of the Century,"
04:55 and spill details about White's personal affairs that would shock in any era.
05:00 "On the witness stand, in the hearing of a courtroom crowded with men,
05:04 the girl told in the minutest detail the history of White's pursuit of her,
05:08 even down to the particulars of his atrocious victory.
05:11 A victory whose particulars might well be said to be unprintable."
05:15 Gladys Russell spends the first season of The Gilded Age feeling suffocated
05:21 while her controlling mother holds off her social debut as a piece of her social climbing strategy,
05:26 and unfortunately, things don't look like they'll improve.
05:30 "I promise you this, I'll never ask anything of you that is not for your benefit in the end."
05:35 "You want more from me than I want for myself."
05:37 "That is my job. I am your mother. I want the whole world for you,
05:41 and I'll get it any way I can."
05:44 For a hint of where Gladys' story is heading, one need only look to Consuelo Vanderbilt.
05:49 Consuelo, like Gladys, was totally dominated by her imposing mother, Alva.
05:54 "There was no aspect of her life that wasn't quite strictly controlled,
05:58 and I guess, I mean, if ever the Gilded Cage applied it to somebody,
06:02 it was probably to Consuelo Vanderbilt."
06:04 In a bid to enshrine the new-money Vanderbilts among New York's elite,
06:08 Alva eventually pushed Consuelo into marriage with Charles Spencer Churchill,
06:12 9th Duke of Marlborough.
06:14 It was not a happy union.
06:16 We hope Gladys fares better.
06:18 Though Alva allegedly threatened to murder Consuelo's preferred suitor,
06:22 so the ultimatum given to The Gilded Age's Archie Baldwin is already an improvement.
06:27 "You made everything clear?"
06:28 "I did indeed.
06:30 We may regret it.
06:32 He seems a decent fellow."
06:34 "He's not what I want.
06:35 And the sooner Gladys understands that, the happier she will be."
06:38 Number 5.
06:39 Jay Gould
06:41 "You are not a gentleman, sir."
06:44 "That's a subject for another time."
06:46 Like the notorious robber baron on whom he's based,
06:49 George Russell is a rail tycoon who built his fortune out of nothing.
06:53 And also like Gould, George has two distinct personas.
06:57 At home, he's a loving family man.
06:59 But those that cross him quickly learn that he can turn downright vicious.
07:03 "But you have not only tried to get the better of me,
07:06 you and Mrs. Morris have snubbed and belittled my wife.
07:12 How could I allow that to go unpunished?"
07:15 Of course, their ruthless business practices aren't reserved for retribution.
07:18 Jay Gould was known to engage in shady financial maneuvering.
07:22 This comes up more than once in George's plotlines
07:24 as he displays a gambler spirit
07:26 and a very Gouldian disregard for the stricter points of the law.
07:30 "The shares will go through the ceiling,
07:32 so there's no risk in my buying on margin
07:34 as I'll never have to raise the money to cover it.
07:37 That's what you're saying."
07:39 "I repeat, I am not giving you any kind of instruction."
07:43 As an interesting coincidence,
07:45 Harry Richardson, who plays Larry Russell,
07:47 bears something of a resemblance to young Jay Gould.
07:51 Number 4. Samuel Ward McAllister
07:54 [Samuel laughs]
07:57 "Mrs. Russell and Mr. McAllister seem to be getting on well."
08:00 "Why wouldn't they when they are more or less the same person?"
08:04 Ward McAllister's position as the great arbiter of New York society
08:08 was a bit of an anomaly.
08:09 A southerner with distinct family ties to the Astors,
08:12 he came from comfort but not enormous wealth.
08:15 But through charm, showmanship, and social savvy,
08:18 he pioneered his way to the right hand of Caroline Astor,
08:21 the Grand Dame of Gilded Age New York.
08:23 "I don't know that she ever takes advice exactly,
08:25 but she allows him to help her.
08:27 He is her amanuensis."
08:29 From this vantage point, he shaped what society looked like,
08:32 from curating his elite list of 400 fashionable New Yorkers
08:36 (incidentally, the rumored capacity of Caroline Astor's ballroom)
08:40 to popularizing Newport, Rhode Island, as the summer getaway.
08:43 "I suppose they're snapping up all the best lots."
08:46 "There are still some on Bellevue Avenue, which I would recommend."
08:50 The publication of his overly candid 1890 memoir,
08:53 Society As I Have Found It, would irreparably damage his standing.
08:57 But in the 1882 world of the show, there is still no ally more powerful.
09:02 "I'd love to think you would be my protector."
09:04 "For now, but fairly soon I'd say you'll be protecting me."
09:08 Number 3. Ida B. Wells
09:11 The talented and ambitious writer Peggy Scott
09:14 is one of the Gilded Age's original characters,
09:16 but she wasn't invented out of thin air.
09:18 "But women have been successful writers for years."
09:21 "White women. But I have a few precedents."
09:24 Indeed, the show's creatives were inspired by figures
09:27 like Julia C. Collins and Susan McKinney Stewart, among others.
09:31 And it's impossible to ignore the similarities between Peggy
09:34 and the journalist and activist Ida B. Wells.
09:37 "By the early 1890s, she gained a reputation as a clear voice
09:41 against racial injustice and became co-owner and editor
09:45 of the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight newspaper."
09:48 Not only would they be close in age and occupation,
09:51 but the future NAACP co-founder also worked with T. Thomas Fortune
09:55 at his paper The New York Age.
09:57 Wells fought tirelessly throughout her career to expose inequality
10:00 and racial violence, injuring plenty of blowback along the way.
10:04 Fierce, fearless, and unapologetic, she was a true trailblazer,
10:08 and we could see a very similar arc for Peggy.
10:11 "Have you ever thought about writing anything political, Miss Scott?"
10:14 "I have."
10:15 Number 2. Alva Vanderbilt
10:17 Miss Southern Bell's origins might not have been as humble
10:20 as Bertha Russell's are implied to be, but having married
10:23 into one of New York's upstart New Money families,
10:26 Alva Vanderbilt likewise received high society's cold shoulder.
10:30 And like Bertha in The Gilded Age, Alva was a force of nature
10:33 who wasn't about to go quietly.
10:35 "I'm afraid New York can be quite challenging at first."
10:38 "Can it? We haven't found it so, have we, George?"
10:41 "There is no challenge you are not equal to, my dear."
10:44 She set about chiseling her way in, commissioning a palatial new home
10:48 on Fifth Avenue, which she aptly called Le Petit Chateau,
10:51 and leveraging her housewarming ball to force Mrs. Astor
10:54 to acknowledge her socially.
10:56 "If you wish for me to bring your very charming daughter
10:58 back into the fold, then you must accompany her."
11:01 "My being here now is not enough."
11:03 "People know of the snub. So to undo the hurt,
11:06 you must attend the ball tonight, and you must let people know
11:09 you will be here."
11:10 The TV show recreates the whole incident pretty faithfully.
11:13 Alva would keep upsetting norms and breaking barriers
11:16 in the years to come.
11:17 We can only imagine what that means for Bertha's ambitions.
11:20 "I want more than that."
11:21 "But what is there more than that?"
11:23 "You'll see, when I find what I'm looking for."
11:25 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
11:28 and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
11:32 You have the option to be notified for occasional videos
11:35 or all of them.
11:36 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings
11:39 and switch on notifications.
11:41 Number 1. Caroline Lena Skirmerhorn Astor
11:45 Of all the real-life figures who appear on The Gilded Age,
11:48 none loom larger than the storied Mrs. Astor.
11:51 It's a stature that needs no exaggeration.
11:53 "You are so good and kind to come."
11:56 "Nonsense. It is what I do."
11:59 The scion of one of New York's oldest families
12:02 who married into one of its wealthiest,
12:04 Lena Astor was the undisputed queen of New York aristocracy,
12:08 and her approval was the most highly coveted token of success
12:11 for new money looking to break in.
12:13 It did happen occasionally, and begrudgingly.
12:16 "You mean you don't think that I can beat Mrs. Russell at my own game?"
12:20 "My dear mystic rose, I fear if you try,
12:25 it might be at the cost of your own dignity."
12:29 As we see on TV, Lena realized she could only maintain control
12:32 through strategic bending of her own rules.
12:35 Fun fact, one of her power moves was to receive visitors
12:38 under a giant portrait of herself.
12:40 So when Bertha does the same to her,
12:42 it's more of a flex than some may realize.
12:44 "I hope this isn't a bad moment."
12:46 "Not at all. Won't you sit down?"
12:48 Who's your favorite character in The Gilded Age?
12:50 And for the history buffs out there,
12:52 are there any real life figures you'd love to see make an appearance?
12:55 "Now you need to know we only receive the old people in this house.
13:00 Not the new. Never the new."
13:03 Do you agree with our picks?
13:05 Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
13:07 And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
13:12 [music]
13:22 [BLANK_AUDIO]