The Postcard
A postcard published by John Hinde. On the back of the card they have provided the following information:
'Perranporth, eight miles south-west
from Newquay, has been attracting
visitors for nearly a century and a
half by its enormous stretch of golden
sand and impressive cliffs.
Close by is the small church of St. Piran,
which was buried in the sand for seven
hundred years until it was unearthed in
the middle of the last century, and also
the ancient amphitheatre of St. Piran's
Round, over 40 yards in diameter.
South of Crigga Head the National Trust
holds restrictive covenants on 120 acres
of beautiful cliff lands'.
The card was posted in Helston, Cornwall on Monday the 23rd. August 1982 to:
Mrs. A. Jones,
7, Bath Road,
Tetbury,
Glos.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Having a good time and a
nice rest, but the weather
isn't good at all so far.
This is a nice place, and we
are keeping our eyes out for
Mary and Eddie.
Debbie is enjoying having
us here with her.
See you soon,
Mabel & Charlie".
Alfred Bloomingdale - The Father of the Credit Card
So what else happened on the day that Mabel and Charlie posted the card?
Well, the 23rd. August 1982 was not a good day for Alfred Bloomingdale, because he died on that day.
Alfred Schiffer Bloomingdale was born to a wealthy Jewish family on the 15th. April 1916 in New York City, the son of Rosalind (née Schiffer) and Hiram Bloomingdale, the grandson of Lyman G. Bloomingdale, a co-founder of the department store Bloomingdales.
Alfred attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he was a member of the football team as well as the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
Alfred Bloomingdale's Business Career
After school, Alfred worked as a salesman at Bloomingdales, but after three years he left to work as a theatrical agent where he represented Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.
He tried his hand at producing movies and Broadway shows, but was not very successful.
In 1946, Alfred moved to Los Angeles where he worked as an executive at Columbia Pictures.
To facilitate the need of his wealthy friends who liked to patronize New York city's upscale restaurants following a night at the theater, Bloomingdale launched a credit card business called "Dine and Sign". This meant that people on a night out no longer needed to carry large sums of cash.
In 1951, he merged his company with Diners Club and joined the rapidly growing business as an executive, becoming chairman of the board of directors in 1964. In 1969, he left Diners Club, acquiring its "International Floatels" division.
Alfred Bloomingdale's Personal Life
In 1946, Bloomingdale married Betty Lee "Betsy" Newling, a practicing Roman Catholic, movie starlet and daughter of Dr. Russell Lee Newling (who was a Beverly Hills-based physician born in Adelaide, South Australia).
Bloomingdale and his wife were friends and confidantes of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. In 1981 Reagan, following his election to the U.S. presidency, appointed Bloomingdale to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, and the following year made him a member of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.
Although born to a Jewish family, Bloomingdale became a Catholic in order to marry his second wife, and later became a member of the Knights of Malta. The Bloomingdales maintained homes in New York, the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, and an apartment in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The Vicki Morgan Scandal
In 1970, while in Los Angeles, 54-year-old Alfred Bloomingdale began an affair with 18-year-old Hollywood sex worker and dominatrix Vicki Morgan. For 12 years, Bloomingdale kept her in a luxurious apartment, showering her with expensive clothing, jewelry, and cars.
When Alfred was diagnosed with terminal cancer, his wife Betsy cut off Morgan's allowance. Soon after, the affair with Vicki Morgan made headline news. Its unsubstantiated and sordid details, which included allegations of sado-masochistic activities instigated by Bloomingdale, were made public after Morgan filed a multimillion-dollar palimony lawsuit against Bloomingdale's estate.
The case against Bloomingdale's estate was quickly dismissed by the courts. Morgan eventually moved into a low-rent condominium in the San Fernando Valley where she rented a room to a schizophrenic named Marvin Pancoast, whom she knew from a withdrawal clinic. In July 1983, Pancoast beat her to death with a baseball bat.
The Death of Alfred Bloomingdale
Alfred Bloomingdale died of throat cancer on the 23rd. August 1982 in Santa Monica, California, aged 66. He was laid to rest at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Posthumous Accusation of Attempted Rape
In 2017, actress Janis Paige wrote a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter in which she stated that Alfred Bloomingdale had attempted to rape her when she was 22 years old.
