WEBVTT - Bonus Episode 7: Grace Kelly’s Fateful Trip to Cannes

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<v Speaker 1>In Grace Kelly was on top of the world. So

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<v Speaker 1>the award for the Best Performance by an Actress, Grace

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<v Speaker 1>Kelly for the Country. The twenty six year old actress,

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<v Speaker 1>the daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia brickworks owner, had just

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<v Speaker 1>received her first Academy Award for Best Actress. The thrill

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<v Speaker 1>of this moment keeps me from saying when I really

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<v Speaker 1>feel I can only say thank you with all my

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<v Speaker 1>heart to all who made this possible for me. Thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>Kelly was young, talented, magnetic, humble. Today, she's probably best

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<v Speaker 1>known for the three films she made with Alfred Hitchcock,

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<v Speaker 1>and she was the perfect embodiment of Hitchcock's cool, blonde

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<v Speaker 1>leading lady in her Hollywood stardom looked unstoppable. Five days

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<v Speaker 1>after winning her Oscar, Grace Kelly woke up aboard the

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<v Speaker 1>overnight train from Paris to Nice. She had made six

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<v Speaker 1>films in the last eighteen months and she was exhausted.

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<v Speaker 1>But the prestigious Can Film Festival was screening The Country Girl,

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<v Speaker 1>and you didn't say no to Can. Rupert Allen, an

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<v Speaker 1>editor at Look magazine, was a good friend of Kelly's.

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<v Speaker 1>He talked her into making the trip he told her, Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>but you must, Grace, You'll be so glad you did.

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<v Speaker 1>Grace Kelly didn't know it at the time, but that

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<v Speaker 1>train was taking her in a vastly different direction than

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<v Speaker 1>the one she had intended, taking her toward an entirely

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<v Speaker 1>new life, toward a fairy tale even more intoxicating than Hollywood,

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<v Speaker 1>toward a kingdom in the middle of paradise that held joy, sorrow, trouble,

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<v Speaker 1>and ultimately tragedy. I'm Sean Braswell today on flashback Grace

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<v Speaker 1>Kelly's fateful visit to the French Rivieria and the rocky

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<v Speaker 1>road from Hollywood legend to true royalty. That April morning,

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<v Speaker 1>in the trains dining car, Kelly and Rupert Allen had

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<v Speaker 1>breakfast with Hollywood legend Olivia to Haveln and her husband,

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<v Speaker 1>Pierre Galante, the French journalist. They were also headed to

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<v Speaker 1>the festival. Kelly was playing a princess in her next movie,

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<v Speaker 1>The Swan, and so Galante proposed that she visited the

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<v Speaker 1>nearby principality of Monico to meet a real life prince,

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<v Speaker 1>with a few of Galante's photographers alongside her. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>Kelly was ambivalent, but she did not say no, and

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<v Speaker 1>at the next station, Galante hopped off the train to

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<v Speaker 1>arrange for the royal photo op. The journalist made several

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<v Speaker 1>phone calls then gave Kelly the good news that she

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<v Speaker 1>was meeting with the ruler of Monaco, Prince Regnier the Third,

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<v Speaker 1>the very next day. And so the following morning, Kelly

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<v Speaker 1>found herself in a pugio being driven at high speeds

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<v Speaker 1>around the curvy roads outside of Monica. And then it

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<v Speaker 1>was just a fender bender and no one was injured.

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<v Speaker 1>The actress arrived in Monaco in time for her royal engagement.

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<v Speaker 1>Prince Regnier, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found.

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<v Speaker 1>As she waited, Kelly was given a tour of the

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<v Speaker 1>Palace of Monaco an hour later, and with still no

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<v Speaker 1>prince in sight. The irritated Kelly remarked, this is outrageous

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<v Speaker 1>and said it was time to leave. Then right on cue,

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<v Speaker 1>a servant entered and announced the prince's arrival. Kelly quickly

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<v Speaker 1>practiced her curtsy in a corner, but froze in a

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<v Speaker 1>real life movie moment when she saw in a mirror

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<v Speaker 1>that the Prince was watching her. The thirty one year

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<v Speaker 1>old Regnier wore a blue tailored suit. He had a

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<v Speaker 1>black mustache and a tan, well defined face. He was

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<v Speaker 1>not at all the aging European monarch Kelly had expected.

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<v Speaker 1>The charming prince, educated at private schools in Britain, apologized

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<v Speaker 1>in perfect English for his tardiness. He proceeded to give

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<v Speaker 1>his visitor a forty five minute tour of his private

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<v Speaker 1>zoo and gardens. When they parted, the Prince kissed the

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<v Speaker 1>actress's hand and placed it back at her side. He's charming,

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<v Speaker 1>a smiling Kelly observed afterward, so charming. Seven months later,

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<v Speaker 1>the Prince proposed to Kelly in New York Central Park,

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<v Speaker 1>which is incidentally bigger than Monaco. And then, just a

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<v Speaker 1>year after their first meeting, after all the fever of publicity,

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<v Speaker 1>the acres of newsprint, the fashion notes, and the jewel robberies,

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<v Speaker 1>the great day approaches at last, when Grace Kelly or Philadelphia, USA,

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<v Speaker 1>will become the bride of Regnier Prince of Monaco. The

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<v Speaker 1>wedding of the Century was filmed by MGM and broadcast

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<v Speaker 1>in movie theaters across the globe. It took thirty seamstresses

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<v Speaker 1>six weeks to make Kelly's dress. Now comes a moment

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<v Speaker 1>for the exchanging of rings, a Bishop Haan's one to

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<v Speaker 1>the bridegroom, who is a little nervous. Grace helps him

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<v Speaker 1>put it on. The wedding is over and Prince Regnier's

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<v Speaker 1>bride is no longer Grace Kenny, but her serene Highness,

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<v Speaker 1>Princess Grace of Monaco. It was like something out of

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<v Speaker 1>a fairy tale, and it was a dream come true

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<v Speaker 1>for Prince Regnier. Since the thirteenth century, Monaco had been

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<v Speaker 1>ruled by his family, but in recent years the tiny

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<v Speaker 1>principality had come on hard times. As its primary source

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<v Speaker 1>of revenue, the Monte Carlo casino, lost money, and a

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<v Speaker 1>fairy tale marriage presented a solution to another of the

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<v Speaker 1>prince's problems. It's not often a film star's marriage affects

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<v Speaker 1>a map of Europe, but this one may, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>why the flags are out in Monaco. For if Prince

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<v Speaker 1>Rainier were to die without an air, the tiny state

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<v Speaker 1>would become French territory and its twenty population would be

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<v Speaker 1>subject to French taxes and the French call up. So

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<v Speaker 1>while having Grace Kelly stopped by your house would have

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<v Speaker 1>been a dream come true for most any man for

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<v Speaker 1>a struggling monarch who needed a bride, an air, and

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<v Speaker 1>an injection of cash. It was truly a godsend. Kelly

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<v Speaker 1>not only looked the part, she came with a two

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<v Speaker 1>million dollar dowry for the newly ordained Princess Grace of Monaco. However,

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<v Speaker 1>the marriage proved challenging. Prince Regnier was a controlling husband.

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<v Speaker 1>He did not want her to return to the silver screen,

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<v Speaker 1>and she didn't. Hollywood bid Kelly farewell at the nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>fifty six Academy Awards. I would like to say on

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<v Speaker 1>behalf of myself, the motion picture industry, all the nice

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<v Speaker 1>people who think you're so nice, wishing good luck, good health,

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<v Speaker 1>for a very happy life, and God bless you, right Kelly.

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<v Speaker 1>In the end, Grace Kelly abdicated her throne in Hollywood

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<v Speaker 1>at the peak of her reign as a movie star

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<v Speaker 1>and exchange for a somewhat disappointing fairy tale. But she

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<v Speaker 1>continued to put a brave face on for the public,

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<v Speaker 1>and being a princess proved to be the role of

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<v Speaker 1>a lifetime. She had three children and focused on her

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<v Speaker 1>royal duties. Princess Grace gave one final interview to Pierre

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<v Speaker 1>Salinger on ABC. He asked her what turned out to

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<v Speaker 1>be an eerily appropriate question. I know that with as

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<v Speaker 1>much jourlier in your life to ask you this question,

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<v Speaker 1>but at some point somebody's gonna ask you to you,

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<v Speaker 1>how are you? How are you gonna want to be remembered?

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<v Speaker 1>There's a long pause. You can see Kelly has taken

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<v Speaker 1>off guard by the question. She recovers and gives the

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<v Speaker 1>easy answer, AH, well, I suppose I think mostly in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of my children and their children how they will

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<v Speaker 1>remember me. But Salinger continues to press her on the point,

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<v Speaker 1>are there any things about your career that you like

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<v Speaker 1>to remember? Oh? As always, Kelly keeps her composure, but

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<v Speaker 1>you can almost see the decades of regret rising just

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<v Speaker 1>beneath the surface. I don't feel as though I achieved

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<v Speaker 1>enough in my career to to stand out more than

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<v Speaker 1>many other people. It's a bit hard to watch, but

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<v Speaker 1>we are so far from nineteen in Hollywood now. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think I m h was accomplished enough as an

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<v Speaker 1>actor to be remembered for that particularly. Uh No, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>like to be remembered as a as a decent human

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<v Speaker 1>being and a Caring one. Two months after that interview,

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<v Speaker 1>Grace Kelly died in another car crash on a mountainous

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<v Speaker 1>road near the Palace. She was fifty two years old.

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<v Speaker 1>Flashback is written and hosted by me Sean Braswell, Senior

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<v Speaker 1>writer and Executive producer at Aussie. It was edited by

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<v Speaker 1>Maeve mcgarren and produced by Tracy Moran. Chris Hoff engineered

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<v Speaker 1>our show. Make sure to subscribe to Flashback on the

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio app or listen wherever you get your podcasts.