The battle captured the imagination of the American people, who read avidly about the proceedings in the daily newspapers. A newspaper article in the
Daily News described Dodo's testimony: " For five hours Mrs. Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt...listened to a tight-lipped nurse denounce her with virtuous relish as a cocktail-crazed dancing mother, a devotee of sex erotica, and the mistress of a German prince." Custody of "Little Gloria" was given to Vanderbilt's aunt, but she could see her mother on weekends and for the month of July. Gloria spent the next seven years living on the east coast with her aunt.
A Series of Husbands
Vanderbilt's aunt was aloof and old-fashioned, insisting that her niece be constantly chaperoned. In June 1941, at the age of 17, Vanderbilt went to California to visit her mother in Beverly Hills, where she felt like a bird released from a cage. There she dated movie stars and the rich and famous, including Howard Hughes. Not wanting to return to her life back east, and not wanting to remain with her mother, Vanderbilt decided to marry Pasquale ("Pat") De Cicco, a 32-year-old Hollywood agent. De Cicco spent his wedding night drinking and gambling.
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