Serge Obolensky
| Serge Obolensky | |
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| File:Serge Obolensky circa 1920.jpg
Obolensky circa 1943
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| Born | Sergei Platonovich Obolensky November 3, 1890 Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Alexandrovna Romanov Yurievsky (1878-1959) Ava Alice Muriel Astor (m. 1924) Marilyn Wall (1926-2007) |
| Children | Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky (b. 1925) Sylvia Obolensky Guirey (1931-1997) |
| Parent(s) | Platon Sergeyevich Obolensky Maria Konstantinovna Naryshkina |
Prince Sergei Platonovich Obolensky Neledinsky-Meletzky (Tsarskoye Selo, Russia, November 3, 1890 - Grosse Pointe, Wayne County, Michigan, USA, September 29, 1978) — known as Serge Obolensky — was a Russian-American aristocrat, U.S. Army paratrooper, socialite and publicist. He served as vice chairman of the board of directors of the Hilton Hotels Corporation.[1]
Biography
Obolensky was the son of Prince Platon Sergeyevich Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletzky (1850-1913)[2] and Maria Konstantinovna Naryshkina (1861-1929).[3] He had a younger brother, Vladimir (1896-1968),[4] who died unmarried and childless.
He was an enthusiastic polo player and played for his University Team 1914 in Oxford.[5] He married firstly Alexander II of Russia's daughter, Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya (1878-1959) at Yalta on October 6, 1916.[6] He fled his native country after battling Bolsheviks as a guerrilla fighter. He divorced Catherine in 1924 without any issue and then married Ava Alice Muriel Astor in London, Middlesex, on July 24, 1924, divorcing in 1932. Ava was the daughter of John Jacob Astor IV and Ava Lowle Willing.[7] Settling in the U.S., he worked with his brother-in-law, the real estate entrepreneur Vincent Astor.
Obolensky was a soldier in two World Wars and in the Russian Civil War. He was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. paratroopers and a member of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), forerunner of the CIA, and made his first five jumps in 1943 at the age of 53.
In 1949, he started his own public relations firm in New York City, handling accounts like Piper-Heidsieck champagne. "Serge", a friend once remarked, "could be successful selling umbrellas in the middle of the Sahara". In 1958, Obolensky was made Vice Chairman of the Board of Hilton Hotels Corporation. He maintained a substantial art collection.
He married thirdly Marilyn Fraser-Wall of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan on June 3, 1971, with whom he did not have children.[7][8]
Obolensky died in 1978, and is buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Southfield, Michigan.[1]
Legacy
- Obolensky had two children with Ava:
- Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky (born 1925[9]), financial analyst and corporate officer. He has four children and two granddaughters.
- Sylvia Sergeievna Knyaginya Obolensky (1931-1997),[10] married firstly in New York City on November 1, 1950, to Jean-Louis Ganshof van der Meersch (1924-1982)[11] (they divorced in 1957 without issue) and married secondly at East Hampton, New York on August 11, 1957 (and divorced in 1963) Prince Azamat Kadir Giray (1924-2001),[12] son of Kadir Giray, Prince of Crimea (1892-1953)[13] and wife Vaguide Sheret-Luk, and had issue. (The Prince was a direct descendant in male line of Genghis Khan and Börte through Jochi and the Khans of Crimea.)
- The "Serge Obolensky Room", at the back of the 1st floor at the Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club in Manhattan, memorializes his services as a soldier. Portraits and memorabilia festoon the walls.
External links
Further reading
- Obolensky, Serge, One Man in His Time: The Memoirs of Serge Obolensky (New York. McDowell, Obolensky, Inc. 1958). 433 pp. with index.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Moscow, June 12, 1850 - Saint Petersburg, June 27, 1913
- ↑ Moscow, December 22, 1861 - Paris, February 2, 1929; they were married at Saint Petersburg, January 31, 1888; divorced 1897
- ↑ Saint Petersburg, March 14, 1896 - New York, New York County, New York, October 12, 1968
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ She was born on August 13, 1929 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan and died on 5 October 2007, in Arlington County, Virginia
- ↑ May 15, 1925
- ↑ Vöcklabruck, Austria, May 18, 1931 - London, Middlesex, June 27, 1997
- ↑ Saint-Gilles, Belgium, July 14, 1924 - Le Temple, Lacanau, France August 22, 1982
- ↑ New York, New York County, New York, August 14, 1924 - The Bahamas, August 8, 2001
- ↑ 1892 - June 2, 1953
