The Crime of the Century – The Supermodel, The Architect, And the Insane Millionaire

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At the dawn of the 20th century, America was riveted by the first celebrity murder case in America. Every element of this story is fascinating!

The murderer was already famous and so was the victim and so was the murderer’s wife. The venue was famous, and so were the lawyers involved. The only thing missing was wall-to-wall cable news coverage! As I often say when speaking to audiences: “You can’t make this stuff up!”

The Crime: Stanford White, the most famous architect in America, was murdered on the rooftop of Madison Square Garden (a building he designed) by Harry K Thaw of Pittsburgh, the insane millionaire heir to one of America’s great fortunes.  With some justification, Thaw obsessively believed that Stanford White had drugged and raped Thaw’s teenage wife – the very glamorous and very young showgirl Evelyn Nesbitt. And just to make the story even more tabloid-ready, Ms. Nesbitt was the first supermodel in American history.

You cannot make this stuff up!

Does this fantastic and unique true crime story sound just a little familiar?

In that case, it’s because the story of the murder of Stanford White by Harry K. Thaw and the involvement of glamorous Evelyn Nesbit was the basis of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Oscar Award-winning movie, and Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Ragtime” and the 1950s potboiler film “The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing.”

This fascinating, one-of-a-kind multimedia presentation will bring to life the vivid celebrities, lurid crime, and surprising history of the first crime of the century.