Peaches and Daddy: A Story of the Roaring 20s, the Birth of Tabloid Media, and the Courtship that Captured the Hearts and Imaginations of the American Public
Greenburg, an attorney and former editor of thePepperdine Law Review, recalls a forgotten scandal in an exciting era. In 1926, Edward Daddy Browning, a 51-year-old New York City millionaire, fell for a 15-year-old de facto high school dropout named Frances Heenan, known as Peaches. They were married a month later, and within a year they were battling in the courtroom. Both Heenan, a buxom girl who had worked in various Manhattan department stores, and her millionaire Daddy were publicity hounds, and the newly popular tabloids were thrilled to bait readers with the lurid escapades of the elderly vulgarian and his bride. Months after Heenan (who was said to have spent $1,000 dollars a day shopping) left Browning, a sensational separation trial ensued, concluding in March 1927 in Browning's favor, at least financially. Peaches turned to a career in vaudeville, but the media frenzy continued until Browning's death in 1934. Greenburg offers an entertaining history of a scandal, coupled with a serious look at the infancy of tabloid journalism. 40 b&w photos.(Oct.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.