George Huntington Hartford II (April 18, 1911 – May 19, 2008) was an heir to the
The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea CompanyThe Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, is a 447-store supermarket chain with locations in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia under several banners. Its corporate and U.S. headquarters are located in Montvale, New...
fortune. Hartford was born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
and was the son of
Edward V. HartfordEdward V. Hartford was one of three sons of A&P founder George Huntington Hartford.Hartford was the only son not involved in day-to-day operations of the supermarket empire and worked only briefly in the business. His fame came with his auto parts invention...
, heir to the A&P fortune and auto parts inventor. His father died in 1922 and he was cared for by his mother Henrietta Guerard Hartford.
His grandfather
George Huntington HartfordGeorge Huntington Hartford founded The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company in 1859 with George Gilman in Elmira, New York....
and his uncles
John Augustine HartfordJohn Augustine Hartford was an executive with the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company and ran the company with his brother George Ludlum Hartford after the death of their father, George Huntington Hartford. Hartford ran the business operations side of the empire, while his brother George ran...
(1872–1951) and
George Ludlum HartfordGeorge Ludlum Hartford was an executive with the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company and successor to his father, George Huntington Hartford with brother John Augustine Hartford...
(1864–1957) privately owned the A&P Supermarket, which at one point had 16,000 stores in the US and was the largest retail empire in the world.
George Huntington Hartford II (April 18, 1911 – May 19, 2008) was an heir to the
The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea CompanyThe Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, is a 447-store supermarket chain with locations in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia under several banners. Its corporate and U.S. headquarters are located in Montvale, New...
fortune. Hartford was born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
and was the son of
Edward V. HartfordEdward V. Hartford was one of three sons of A&P founder George Huntington Hartford.Hartford was the only son not involved in day-to-day operations of the supermarket empire and worked only briefly in the business. His fame came with his auto parts invention...
, heir to the A&P fortune and auto parts inventor. His father died in 1922 and he was cared for by his mother Henrietta Guerard Hartford.
Biography
His grandfather
George Huntington HartfordGeorge Huntington Hartford founded The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company in 1859 with George Gilman in Elmira, New York....
and his uncles
John Augustine HartfordJohn Augustine Hartford was an executive with the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company and ran the company with his brother George Ludlum Hartford after the death of their father, George Huntington Hartford. Hartford ran the business operations side of the empire, while his brother George ran...
(1872–1951) and
George Ludlum HartfordGeorge Ludlum Hartford was an executive with the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company and successor to his father, George Huntington Hartford with brother John Augustine Hartford...
(1864–1957) privately owned the A&P Supermarket, which at one point had 16,000 stores in the US and was the largest retail empire in the world. When his uncles died they had no heirs so he inherited their fortune. The money also went to the John A. Hartford Foundation, which had $800 million as of 2007. In the 1950s A&P was the world's largest grocer and, next to General Motors, sold more goods than any other company in the world. The A&P in 2007 had revenue of 6.9 Billion. In 1950 Time Magazine wrote the A&P had sales of 2.7 billion. Time magazine wrote in November 13,1950 issue that "the familiar red-front A & P store is the real melting pot of the community, patronized by the boss's wife and the baker's daughter, the priest and the policeman. To foreigners A & P's vast supermarkets are among the wonders of the age; to the U.S. middle class, they are one of the direct roads to solvency. "Going to the A & P" is almost an American tribal rite."
Huntington was the original owner and developer of
Paradise IslandParadise Island is an island in the Bahamas, located just off the shore of the city of Nassau, which is itself located on the northern edge of the island of New Providence. It is best known for the sprawling 'Vegas-by-the-sea resort' Atlantis....
in the Bahamas , which was originally called Hog Island. He built the Ocean Club on the island from the unassembled stones of a monastery that
William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst was an American newspaper magnate and leading newspaper publisher.Hearst was born in San Francisco, California, to millionaire mining engineer George Hearst and Phoebe Apperson. Following preparation at St...
had in a warehouse in Florida ("The Ocean Club" featured in the recent James Bond film "
Casino RoyaleCasino Royale can refer to:In fiction:*Casino Royale , the first James Bond novel by Ian Fleming*Casino Royale , a 1954 television adaptation of Fleming's novel that aired as an episode of the CBS series Climax!...
"). Huntington Hartford wanted Paradise Island to be the new Monte Carlo and got the Gambling license for the Island. When Huntington asked Resorts International to join his Company, Resorts and Huntington attempted to make a Pan Am takeover which failed.
Huntington Hartford grew up on a plantation in South Carolina called Wando, a House in Newport called Seaverge next to Doris Duke's Roughpoint and an apartment on Fifth Avenue. He bought the penthouse duplex at One Beekman Place in New York City in the 1950s on the 13th and 14th floors after moving from an apartment at the River House. He also had a house called
PompanoPompanos are marine fishes in the Trachinotus genus of the Carangidae family . Pompano may also refer to various other, similarly shaped members of Carangidae, or the order Perciformes. Their appearance is deep bodied and mackerel-like, typically silver colored and toothless with a forked tail...
on 240 El Vedado Drive in Palm Beach, a estate in Wycoff New Jersey called Melody Farm, a Estate called
The PinesThe Pines can refer to:Australia*Frankston North, Victoria*Stockland The Pines Shopping Centre, Doncaster East, VictoriaUnited States* The Pines, California**The Pines, Butte County, California**The Pines, Madera County, California...
on 7300 Mulholland Drive California (all of Hollywood as your backyard also called
Runyon Canyon ParkRunyon Canyon Park is a park in Los Angeles, California at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, managed by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. The two southern entrances to the park are located at the north ends of Vista Street and Fuller Avenue in Hollywood. The...
). Hartford had his Huntington Hartford Theater right near his property it was the first legitimate Theater in Los Angeles and he also had his Artists Colony in the Pacific Palisades that was also . He also had a house on
Paradise IslandParadise Island is an island in the Bahamas, located just off the shore of the city of Nassau, which is itself located on the northern edge of the island of New Providence. It is best known for the sprawling 'Vegas-by-the-sea resort' Atlantis....
, a Townhouse in Red Lion's Yard behind the Dorchester in London, a house in Juan Les Pins France and two yachts Joseph Conrad Senior and Junior. In New York City he was a member of the River Club and in Palm Beach he was a member of The Bath and Tennis Club known as the B&T.
Huntington's sister Josephine Hartford was married to Ivar Bryce for 30 years. Ivar was Ian Fleming's Best Friend from Eton. Ivar's niece Janet Bryce married David Mountbatten and is the mother of Ivar Mountbatten and George Milford Haven. Lord Louis Mountbatten was Prince Charles's Uncle.
Huntington was interviewed in the 1960s by David Frost on Television. Huntington said he had a Flag for Paradise Island in the shape of a P and he wanted to put it on the moon as a symbol of Peace for the world.
Huntington Hartford produced Does a Tiger wear a Necktie along with
Philip RoseSir Philip Rose, 1st Baronet was the son of William Rose, an Assistant Surgeon in the British Indian Army and Charlotte Rose ....
at the Belasco Theater from February 25, 1969 to March 29, 1969 with an unknown actor called Al Pacino who played Bickham and who won a
TonyThe Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and...
for it. Huntington tried to buy
RKO PicturesRKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As Radio Pictures Inc. and then RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the so-called Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
from
Howard HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer, film director, philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest people in the world. He gained fame in the late 1920s as a maverick film producer, making big budget and often controversial films like Hell's Angels,...
. Hartford owned Huntington Hartford Productions that produced several movies including
Abbott and CostelloWilliam Abbott and Lou Costello performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and 50s...
's
Africa ScreamsAfrica Screams is a 1949 comedy film starring Abbott and Costello and directed by Charles Barton.-Plot:Diana Emerson is in the book department of Klopper's Department store looking for a copy of the book Dark Safari, written by the famed explorer Cuddleford...
in 1949.
He published a magazine called
Show from 1961 to 1972 and Hired
Edward Durell StoneEdward Durell Stone was a twentieth century American architect.-Early life:Stone was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a small college town in the northwest corner of the state. His family, early settlers of the area, owned a prosperous dry goods store. One of his childhood friends was J...
to build him a Museum called The Gallery of Modern Art at
2 Columbus Circle2 Columbus Circle is a small, trapezoidal lot on the south side of Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City, USA.The seven-story Pabst Grand Circle Hotel, designed by William H...
to showcase his great art collection, including Impressionists, pre-Raphaelites, and Surrealists notably
Salvador DaliSalvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquis of Púbol was a Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres....
. His art collection consisted of
Salvador DaliSalvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquis of Púbol was a Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres....
,
Claude MonetClaude Monet also known as Oscar Claude Monet or Claude Oscar Monet
[ giverny.org...]
,
ManetManet is Édouard Manet, a 19th-century French painter.MANET is a mobile ad hoc network, a self-configuring mobile wireless network.Manet or MANET may also refer to:*MANET database or Molecular Ancestry Network, bioinformatics database...
,
RembrandtRembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history...
,
Henri de Toulouse-LautrecHenri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draftsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
,
TurnerTurner can refer to:*One who uses a lathe for turning*A kitchen utensil closely related to a spatula-People:Turner is a common English surname meaning "one who works with a lathe". People who have the surname Turner include:*J. M. W...
and Degas among others. The Museum opened in 1964.
He thought of an idea to get oil from rock (mainly in Western Colorado) so he founded Oil Shale corporation with Herbert Linden and set up the Denver Research Institute at
University of DenverThe University of Denver , founded in 1864 is the oldest private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. The University of Denver is a coeducational, four-year university in Denver, Colorado. DU currently enrolls approximately 10,791 students, divided between graduate and...
to research it as an alternate way to get oil. He made deals with Standard Oil and Atlantic Richfield for Oil Shale. He was largest stockholder of Oil Shale corporation. Oil Shale became
ToscoTosco was an independent US based petroleum refining and marketing corporation. It was founded in 1955 in Santa Monica, California, and originally focused on extracting oil from oil shale and developing alternative energy sources.-Oil shale operations:In 1964 Tosco, Standard Oil of Ohio, and...
which is owned by
ConocoPhillipsConocoPhillips Company is an international energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States. It is the fifth largest private sector energy corporation in the world and is one of the six "supermajor" vertically integrated oil...
and is worth billions today.
In the 1960s, the
International Herald TribuneThe International Herald Tribune is a widely read English-language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 35 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 180 countries...
wrote that he was one of the world's richest men. In 1975 Peter Owen published "You Are What You Write" by George Huntington Hartford II. It was of specific interest in that it covered cancer detection through handwriting.
The author is described as the President and Founder of The Handwriting Institute Inc. in New York; former research associate in Neurology at Columbia University and honorary member of AAHA.
The Sunday Express Magazine Expresso (11/8/1996 pp. 28-32) throws some light on the author. At 21, Hunt inherited a fortune—"the greatest fortune on Earth"; the money was made by his grandfather and father from a chain of 16,000 supermarkets, at one time the world's largest retail empire.
His final home was in
Lyford CayLyford Cay is a private gated community in the Bahamas.Lyford Cay is on the western tip of New Providence Island. The Lyford Cay Club is located within the gates of Lyford Cay - both were founded in the 1950s by prominent Canadian businessman Edward Plunkett Taylor.- Notable residents :* Louis...
,
The BahamasThe Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an English-speaking country consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 rocks. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, Hispaniola and the Caribbean Sea, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United...
, where he lived with his daughter Juliet Hartford. He died on May 19, 2008 at age 97.
Motion Pictures
- "Kinsey
-People:*Alfred Kinsey, entomologist and sexologist**the Kinsey Reports, a pair of books on sexuality by Alfred Kinsey**the Kinsey scale of sexual orientation, invented by Alfred Kinsey, or person's orientation as measured on that scale, as in "Kinsey 6"...
" (2004) Directed by Bill CondonWilliam "Bill" Condon is an American screenwriter and director.-Personal life:Condon was born in New York City, the son of a detective, and was raised in an Irish Catholic family. He attended Regis High School and Columbia College of Columbia University, where he studied philosophy...
John McmartinJohn McMartin is an American actor of stage, film and television.McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana and raised in Minnesota. He attended college in Illinois and New York. He made his off-Broadway debut in Little Mary Sunshine in 1959, playing opposite Eileen Brennan...
portrays Huntington Hartford
- "Hello Dolly" (1969) Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, film and theatre actress. She has also achieved note as a composer, liberal political activist, film producer, and film director. She has won two Academy Awards, ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, and a Peabody all by the age of...
's character Dolly levi speaks about Huntington Hartford
External links