Sensational Marriages

Imagine being uninvited to perform at a presidential inauguration because of whom you just married or buying a baby carriage for an infant who, 21 years later, would become your spouse, or how about finding out the person you just married wasn’t actually divorced from their previous spouse. Without a doubt, history is full of sensational marriages and here, in episode 9, we explore a handful of them. Get ready, these are some unusual and fascinating stories.

 Episode Edits: 

 Any background noise you may hear in this episode is actually an excavator being used by our neighbors. Many apologies if you find it distracting.

 Geoffrey Rush was an Academy Award nominee for best supporting actor for The King’s Speech. Colin Firth, who played King George VI, won the Academy Award for best actor.

 Episode Resources:

 Books

Justinian and Theodora (Annotated) by William Gordon Holmes

History of the Byzantine State by George Ostrogorsky

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Mecham

Grover Cleveland by Henry F. Graff

Frank: The Story of Frances Folsom Cleveland, America’s Youngest First Lady by Annette B. Dunlap

King Edward VIII: A Biography by Philip Ziegler

Wallis in Love by Andrew Morton

Yes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis Jr by Sammy Davis Jr & Jane & Burt Boyar

 Films

The President’s Lady (1953) with Susan Hayward & Charlton Heston 

The King’s Speech (2010) with Colin Firth & Geoffrey Rush

Sammy Davis Jr. – I’ve Gotta Be Me (2019) Documentary

Ocean’s 11 (1960) with Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin  

Robin And The 7 Hoods (1964) with Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin

Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994) Miniseries