Peaches Browning (June 23, 1910 â€" August 23, 1956), born Frances
Belle Heenan, was an American actress. She was married to New York
City real estate developer Edward West "Daddy" Browning (1875 â€"
1934). Their story became one of the most sensational "scandals" of
the Roaring Twenties. It is often cited in journalism history texts as
an example of the excesses of tabloid newspapers during the
era.Browning and Heenan met at a sorority dance on the evening of
March 5, 1926, at the Hotel McAlpin and immediately began a very
public courtship, despite the difference in their ages. Browning was
51, Heenan was 15. Browning, who reveled in publicity, paraded Heenan
in front of the paparazzi cameras as he lavished her with expensive
gifts (spending $1000 a day on shopping trips) and took her to New
York's finest restaurants in his distinctive peacock blue Rolls Royce
automobile. On April 10, 1926, mere weeks after they met, Peaches and
"Daddy" were wed in the village of Cold Springs, NY, far from media
scrutiny. Both Peaches' father and her mother gave their permission
for the marriage, which took place in part to thwart a campaign by
Vincent Pisarra of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Children to halt the May/December relationship.On October 2, 1926,
Peaches and her mother loaded up their belongings and left the marital
residence at the Kew Gardens Inn. Under New York law at the time
divorce was only possible if one party admitted adultery, so Peaches
tried to obtain a legal separation, claiming cruelty, while Browning
filed a counter-claim of abandonment. The White Plains, New York trial
drew intense coverage by New York City tabloid newspapers such as the
New York Daily News, the rival New York Daily Mirror and the more
louche New York Graphic, which published a series of notorious
composographs of the couple.The story was covered in depth by the
national newspapers, from the tabloids to the New York Times and the
couple became well known in U.S. popular culture of the time. Their
romance is referenced in the 1927 Gershwin musical comedy Funny Face
and F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, The Love Boat, published the
same year. Among the notable aspects of the case were Peaches'
allegations of odd behavior by her husband, including the fact that he
kept a honking African goose in their bedroom. The phrase "Don't be a
goof," which Daddy allegedly used as an insult to Peaches, came into
national vogue, and later turned up in the lyrics of the title song
from the 1936 Rodgers and Hart musical comedy On Your Toes.
Belle Heenan, was an American actress. She was married to New York
City real estate developer Edward West "Daddy" Browning (1875 â€"
1934). Their story became one of the most sensational "scandals" of
the Roaring Twenties. It is often cited in journalism history texts as
an example of the excesses of tabloid newspapers during the
era.Browning and Heenan met at a sorority dance on the evening of
March 5, 1926, at the Hotel McAlpin and immediately began a very
public courtship, despite the difference in their ages. Browning was
51, Heenan was 15. Browning, who reveled in publicity, paraded Heenan
in front of the paparazzi cameras as he lavished her with expensive
gifts (spending $1000 a day on shopping trips) and took her to New
York's finest restaurants in his distinctive peacock blue Rolls Royce
automobile. On April 10, 1926, mere weeks after they met, Peaches and
"Daddy" were wed in the village of Cold Springs, NY, far from media
scrutiny. Both Peaches' father and her mother gave their permission
for the marriage, which took place in part to thwart a campaign by
Vincent Pisarra of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Children to halt the May/December relationship.On October 2, 1926,
Peaches and her mother loaded up their belongings and left the marital
residence at the Kew Gardens Inn. Under New York law at the time
divorce was only possible if one party admitted adultery, so Peaches
tried to obtain a legal separation, claiming cruelty, while Browning
filed a counter-claim of abandonment. The White Plains, New York trial
drew intense coverage by New York City tabloid newspapers such as the
New York Daily News, the rival New York Daily Mirror and the more
louche New York Graphic, which published a series of notorious
composographs of the couple.The story was covered in depth by the
national newspapers, from the tabloids to the New York Times and the
couple became well known in U.S. popular culture of the time. Their
romance is referenced in the 1927 Gershwin musical comedy Funny Face
and F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, The Love Boat, published the
same year. Among the notable aspects of the case were Peaches'
allegations of odd behavior by her husband, including the fact that he
kept a honking African goose in their bedroom. The phrase "Don't be a
goof," which Daddy allegedly used as an insult to Peaches, came into
national vogue, and later turned up in the lyrics of the title song
from the 1936 Rodgers and Hart musical comedy On Your Toes.
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