Spirit Magazine SPRING 2011 - Spirit of St Louis Region - CCCA

signature tune was “Racing with the moon.” Dozensof others, too numerous to mention, approachedhalf a million copies each. An astute business manMonroe invested heavily in RCA stock in the 1930’swhen it was cheap. By the early 1950’s he had morenet worth than some of the guests at the galasociety balls where he provided the entertainment.As far as television was concerned, he hosted theVaughn Monroe show in 1950-51, and then again in1954-55 on CBS. He was also a regular guest onBonanza, the Mike Douglas Show, Ed SullivanShow, Texaco Star Theatre, Jackie Gleason Show,The Tonight Show, and American Bandstand.The year 1940 was very important to VaughnMonroe. He married Marion Baughman on 4/02/40,and their daughter Candace was born 12/13/41.The Meadows restaurant and night club had itsGrand Opening, and the 1940 Cadillac series 75ConceptCarz.comtown car was delivered. It is easy to understandwhy he ordered such a car; He lived in a whirl oflavish limousines, town cars, and landaulet bothAmerican and European. These cars were managedby uniformed chauffeurs and often footman aswell. There is no indication that Vaughn Monroewas a car guy, this purchase probably fell intothe category of a business expense. JacquesMarshard introduced Monroe to the crème de lacrème of east coast society and Monroe was notslow to take advantage of that opportunity.The Cadillac was a helpful tool to reinforcehis image. The Cadillac has been the object of arecent careful restoration. The venue was the2010 Concours d’ Elegance in New Britain CT. Ihad never seen the car before and was unawareof its existence. The car is a mixed metaphor ofdesign that gives the impression it was designedby a committee, or somehow George Barris andJohn Judkins had collaborated on the car, anunlikely event. My best guess was Los Angelesbased Bohman & Schwartz coachbuilders whocatered to the Show-Biz crowd. They were willingto mix the outrageous with the conservative.Signage proved me wrong. The chassis wascommissioned by Vaughn Monroe in early 1940 tothe venerable firm of J.S. Inskip Inc. of New YorkCity, a House strongly associated with Rolls-Royce,Brewster, and Springfield. These four traditionalcoachbuilders were so intertwined it would take abook to unravel their complex dealings with eachother. Why did John Inskip accept the commission?Well, it was 1940. The classic era was coming to anend, and business was business. Why did Monroechoose Inskip? Who really knows, for starters hecould afford the best. It was convenient, he livedin Massachusetts, and Inskip was highly regarded.The car was built on a 1940 Cadillac 141 in. WBchassis. The only factory Cadillac signage on thecar was the hub cap Cadillac crests. The onlystock items on the car were the exterior lightingsystems, all fenders, the running board assemblies,and the previously mentioned hub caps. Is the caran 8 cyl? Model 75 or a 16 cyl? At this time we donot know, the hood was closed and the owner wasunavailable. The car was delivered in late June of1940. The car was used by Monroe for 15 to 20years depending on the source. Yes, he did employa uniformed chauffeur, so he must have beenpleased with his 1940 Cadillac 75 Inskip Towne Car.The history of the Inskip Cadillac after about 1960is unknown. But it did survive, and someone caredenough about it to restore it, and we are all richer forthat. In 1973 Vaughn Monroe died at the MartinCountry Memorial Hospital in Stuart, Florida afterundergoing stomach surgery. Like other celebritieswhose lives have been cut short, his full potentialwill never be known. Getty Images22 The Spirit