By all rights, Susan Martin Cooke figures, the afternoon of July24, 1987 should have been 'the happiest time of my life.' She hadjust married 'the man who I loved,' and he was charming, witty andwealthy-very wealthy. But when the new Mrs. Jack Kent Cooke left theAlexandria General District County Court House that day, wearing anelegant Chanel suit and exquisite pearl and diamond necklace, she wasnot the blissful bride. 'I wasn't entirely happy because I was very,very nervous,' she recalled. 'I was thinking about what I had to dothe next day. I was thinking about the abortion.'
Susan Cooke said she was about three months pregnant, and hadagreed with her husband, the billionaire Washington Redskins owner,to have the abortion. Cooke was 74, his new wife 31.
On the morning of July 25, Susan Cooke said she registered atWashington's Sibley Memorial Hospital to have the abortion. But whenher doctor walked in, she backed down. 'I told him I could not gothrough with it,' she said. 'I had terminated two pregnancies in 1985and 1986.'
For two weeks, Susan Cooke said she did not have the nerve totell her husband she hadn't gone through with the abortion. When shefinally told him, after their honeymoon, she said he was furious. 'Hesaid, `I can never forgive you for what you've done,' ' she said.
On Oct. 5, Jack Kent Cooke filed for divorce in Fauquier CountyCircuit Court in Warrenton, Va. Four months later, 8-pound, 13-ounceJacqueline Kent Cooke was born. In the six months that havefollowed, Jack Kent Cooke has neither visited nor acknowledged theexistence of the child, according to Susan Cooke. She said Cooke hasnot disputed that he is the child's father. Jack Kent Cooke declinedto comment on Susan Cooke's pregnancies, citing the pending divorcecase. 'I think that you better stop asking me these questions,' Cookesaid at the end of a lengthy interview last week. ' . . . I find itvery, very annoying.'
Today, a bitter court battle is shaping up over the financialsettlement Susan Martin Cooke hopes to receive as a result of thedivorce. Court papers have been sealed at Jack Kent Cooke's request.Susan Cooke is seeking a lump sum payment of $15 million for herselfand her daughter, alleging that no provision was made in theprenuptial agreement for the birth of a child, according to awell-informed source.
For Jack Kent Cooke, the dispute has an all-too-familiar ring.His two previous marriages ended in divorce, and his $41 millionsettlement with his first wife, Jeannie, made the 'Guinness Book ofWorld Records.'
Although Cooke has led a dreamlike business life, building anempire that includes the Super Bowl champion Redskins, the ChryslerBuilding in New York, the Los Angeles Daily News and $1.1 billion incable TV holdings, his private life has been at times plagued bymarital troubles.
Cooke's silence about his 73-day marriage is not surprising.During the three decades since he came to the United States from hisnative Canada, Cooke has been at once the most public and private ofempire-builders. The result is that few people outside his closestcircle of associates truly know him. 'Rex Harrison, in `My FairLady,' sings a verse that says, `I am a very private man,' ' Cookeonce said, 'and, yes, that is me.'
If anyone should know the private Jack Kent Cooke, it's his firstwife Jeannie. They were married in Toronto in 1934 when Jack was anencyclopedia salesman and part-time musician. Within 10 years, Cookehad become a high-powered radio executive and one of Canada'syoungest millionaires.
To outsiders, Jack and Jeannie seemed to have a splendidmarriage. In 1959, for their 25th wedding anniversary, Cooke boughthis wife a house in Beverly Hills, Calif. Three years later, after hebecame a U.S. citizen, they moved to a 2.7-acre estate in Bel-Air.Cooke became a high-profile public figure in Los Angeles in themid-'60s after buying the basketball Lakers and hockey Kings. 'Youknow, I go to bed each night feeling a little guilty, I'm having somuch fun,' he once told a Sports Illustrated writer. 'This is thegood life.'
Wherever Jack went, Jeannie seemed to follow, whether it was to astar-studded pregame party at The Forum, which Jack built, or on abusiness trip to New York, where dinner at '21' became a tradition.In a 1966 Los Angeles Times interview, Jeannie Cooke said of herhusband: 'He is sentimental, tender, kind, very virile. He's themost wonderful man I ever met.' Irreconcilable Differences
But all was not what it seemed in the Cooke marriage. JeannieCooke left her husband on three occasions from 1970 to 1975. In aletter to her husband in early 1976, Jeannie Cooke wrote: ' . . .Unfortunately I can't measure up to your competitive nature . . .With you, I am guilt-ridden. I always have been. It's not yourfault, it's just the way you are . . . '
Jeannie Cooke left her husband for the final time on July 1,1976, after a dispute on their 13,000-acre ranch in the Sierra Nevadamountains. When Cooke realized she was leaving, he ran out to theroad to stop her. Cooke was struck by his wife's car, and hesustained a broken right wrist. He later alleged that Jeanniedeliberately had attempted to run over him. Jeannie said it was anaccident.
Several days later, Jeannie Cooke filed for divorce in LosAngeles Superior Court. Cooke later expressed surprise that his wifehad decided to terminate their 42-year marriage. 'It was myunderstanding that we both had religious scruples against divorce,'he said in a court document.
During the 2 1/2-year property-settlement battle with herhusband, Jeannie Cooke gave a court-appointed psychiatrist, Allen E.Davis, a pointed view of their marriage. Davis reported that duringhis interview with Jeannie Cooke, 'She described her marital relationas having been extremely stressful for her, from the time ofmarrying, because of her husband's aggressiveness and demands on herto accompany him on all business trips, and frequent business-relatedentertaining, such that she `felt shaky inside for years,' hadvisible tremors, and became so depressed she attempted suicide fourtimes between 1965 and 1976.' A Multimillion-Dollar Settlement
Within weeks of their separation, Jack Kent Cooke moved toNevada. 'I can effect a tax savings of up to 11 1/2 percent if Ireside in and conduct my business from Nevada rather thanCalifornia,' he explained in court documents.
Cooke rarely was lonely in Las Vegas. Early on, he wasintroduced to Jeanne Williams Wilson, a sculptor who was director ofwomen's events at the Sands Hotel and Casino. Cooke later employedher as a public relations officer for one of his companies andpresented her with gifts that included an opal cocktail ring andTennessee walking horse named Midnite.
Back in Los Angeles, Jeannie Cooke refused an offer from herhusband to settle for $5 million. According to a sworn declarationby Jeannie Cooke, the younger of the Cookes' two sons, John, told hismother that if she didn't accept the offer his father would filemanslaughter charges against her for the incident at the ranch. 'Andhe is going to take the case to the Supreme Court if you don'tsettle,' John Cooke warned, according to the declaration.
(John Cooke, now executive vice president of the Redskins, sidedwith his father in the divorce. Ralph Kent Cooke sided with hismother and was estranged from his father until recently.)
Jeannie Cooke took her chances, and in March 1979, her formerhusband agreed to evenly divide assets estimated at about $80million. The final judgment was signed by Judge Joseph A. Wapner,now star of television's 'People's Court.' Jeanne Cooke, who hasremarried, could not be reached for comment. Last week, Jack KentCooke called the divorce 'one of the worst mistakes that I ever madein my life.'
After disposing of his California holdings, Cooke headed toFallingbrook, a 50-acre hunt-country estate in Upperville, Va., a70-minute drive from Washington. Cooke hailed the nation's capitalas the second-most beautiful city in the world, adding, 'Paris isfirst, of course.'
On Oct. 31, 1980, Cooke married Jeanne Williams Wilson. Cookegave his new bride a six-carat, $42,000 diamond wedding ring. JohnSirica, the Watergate judge, officiated. Ten months later, Jack andJeanne Cooke were divorced.
Despite his ownership of the high-visibility Redskins, Cooke didnot go out of his way to become a high-profile figure in Washington.He would host parties in his private box before Redskin home games;he would make the scene at the Palm or Duke Zeibert's on occasion;but most of his evenings were spent at Fallingbrook or, later, FarAcres, the California-style mansion he built in 1983 on a 641-acreestate near Middleburg.
Cooke often was portrayed in news media accounts as aneffervescent country squire. However, he also has been burdened withtwo health problems: claustrophobia and arteriosclerotic heartdisease.
It was generally believed that Cooke made a full recovery fromthe heart attack he suffered before a game at The Forum in 1973. Butover the last 15 years, he has been troubled by angina pain andshortness of breath. Cooke has relieved the pain by takingnitroglycerin and other medication. 'Occasionally I've had someangina pain,' Cooke said in the interview last week. ' . . . Just amild pain. Never bothersome, and I wouldn't admit it even if itwere.' Cooke said he was in 'great shape.'
The claustrophobia has been a lifelong problem. Before airplaneflights, Cooke has been known to take sedatives such as phenobarbitalor to drink two or three glasses of wine. He once remarked in thelate 1970s that he had to be 'heavily sedated, almost to the point ofunconsciousness' before flying. On occasion, Cooke even has askedcommercial pilots who were taxiing down the runway to return to thegate. The last several years, he has done most of his traveling on acompany-owned jet.
'I have claustrophobia and there's nothing I can do about it,'Cooke said. ' . . . I don't like enclosures . . . I don't likeelevators at all.'
Cooke said he grits his teeth and clinches his fists whenever herides the elevator to the executive offices at the Chrysler Building,located on the 39th floor. 'I dread the day that I'm ever caught inan elevator,' he said, 'because I don't know what I'd do.'
Cooke has ignored doctors' recommendations that he retire. Inthe Redskins media guide, he lists his favorite recreations as'working, riding, music, reading and working.' It would be almostunthinkable for Cooke to take a pleasure trip without mixing somebusiness. For Jack Kent Cooke, business is pleasure. The MiddleburgConnection
One such business-pleasure trip occurred in 1985 when he flew toMiami to explore a possible cable TV deal. While staying in the PalmBay Club penthouse owned by Miami Dolphins President Joe Robbie,Cooke met Susan Martin, 29, a Washingtonian who had recently moved toMiami. She and her mother were operating a consulting business thatassisted foreign business executives.
Jack Kent Cooke declined in an interview last week to discussmost aspects of the relationship that followed with Susan MartinCooke.
In a series of interviews for this story, the former Susan Martindescribed in some detail how she beame Susan Martin Cooke:
'We met by the pool,' she began. 'He was sitting, I guess, twochairs over from mine, and he started talking. He said, `Oh, whereare you from?' I said, `I'm from Washington but my family used tolive in Middleburg.' He said, `Oh, my God.'
'He said, `I'm Jack Kent Cooke.' I said, `Oh.' I'd heard the namebut I didn't place who he was. He said, `Do you know who I am?' Isaid, `Not really.' He said, `Well, I own the Washington Redskins.' Isaid, `Oh, how wonderful.' '
The conversation led to a drink, and Susan Martin said she becameCooke's almost-constant companion. 'For one week it was lunch, dinnerwith big groups of people,' she said. 'And we would go to the racetrack and watch Jack's horses race . . . We bet a few hundreddollars on each one of his horses.'
About a week later, Susan Martin said she accepted an invitationto visit Cooke at Far Acres. Then, she recalled, Cooke encouragedher to move to Washington. 'He said, `I love you and I want youhere,' ' she said.
During the course of her relationship with Cooke, Susan Martinsaid she never dated anyone else.
In April 1985, Susan Martin joined Jack Kent Cooke Inc. as a$25,000-a-year public relations officer. Asked what duties sheperformed for Cooke, Martin said: 'I was his companion.'
That same month, Martin said she learned she was pregnant. Soonafter, she said she had an abortion at The Washington HospitalCenter.
Susan Martin led a charmed life with Cooke-or so it seemed. Sheaccepted gifts from Cooke that included a 7 1/2-carat sapphire anddiamond ring. She had the use of a Mercedes 350SL. She had herboots polished, clothes pressed and meals prepared by Cooke'shousehold staff. And when she traveled, it often was in Cooke'schauffeur-driven Cadillac limo or eight-passenger Hawker-Siddeleyjet.
In July 1985, after making a $24.5 million profit on a failedattempt at taking over the Multimedia communications company, Cookesent her a bonus check with the note: 'To the dearest of all Angels:For being, yes, an angel during the arduous times of my preoccupationwith Multi Media {sic}. You were a pet, a darling and a sweetheart!I love you-MADLY! Jack.'
But Martin said that material possessions did not assure herhappiness. She described Cooke as a loner who rarely socialized anda perfectionist whose temper often erupted. She recalled his angerthe afternoon she forgot to bring the gate passes to a horse race inMiddleburg: 'Jack went into such a rage . . . {He said}, `You stupidgirl.' '
In February 1986, Susan Martin said she learned she was againpregnant. This time, she said she did not tell Cooke until after thepregnancy had been terminated at the Washington Hospital Center. 'Iwas afraid to tell him,' she said.
Martin said Cooke was particularly angry when he learned from aNational Football League source that in 1981 she had been indicted bya federal grand jury on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intentto distribute cocaine. The charge was dismissed after Martin pleadedguilty to unlawful use of a telephone. She was sentenced to threeyears' probation.
'I was young and I had a drug problem,' she said. 'I was, youknow, using a lot of cocaine at the time. I didn't have any senses.'
Jack Kent Cooke said he did not learn of Martin's problems fromthe NFL. 'I was told by one of her friends,' he said.
In May 1986, Martin moved into Cooke's company apartment inWashington. 'We separated because he found out about my druginvolvement,' she said. ' . . . That was behind me, but I think thatfrightened him because he owned this team, the Washington Redskins,andhe was afraid. What would the public think of him?'
But Cooke was not ready to give up on Susan Martin. On March 5,1987, he visited her apartment with a marriage proposal. 'I reallythink he felt it was very lonely out there in the country byhimself,' she said.
The couple celebrated their engagement at Duke Zeibert's. 'We haddinner with Morrie Siegel,' she said. Siegel, a sports columnist forThe Washington Times, is a close friend of Cooke's.
Susan Martin said she knew what people were saying about herengagement to a man who was 43 years older. 'Gold digger' was thephrase she said she heard. But Martin said she truly loved Cooke:'When he was his normal self, he was sweet and charming, a lot offun.' She recalled the evenings when he would disappear into thekitchen and emerge with trays of cookies and milk-'things that heknew I liked.'
Early last June, Martin informed Cooke that she was againpregnant. She said she had been using birth control pills, but 'Ihad forgotten to take a few of them and tried to double up.'
During the first week of July, Susan Martin said that Cookeinvited her to join him in New York City, where he had gone onbusiness.
'We went to Christie's and Sotheby's auction houses and we spentthe whole weekend just looking at jewelry,' she said. ' . . . Therewas one {ring} we bid on at Christie's . . . Jack stopped bidding at$300,000. I think it went for $325,000. It was an emerald-cutdiamond and that was going to be my engagement ring.'
Later, she said Cooke gave her a 30-inch pearl necklace with aheart-shaped diamond clasp.
On the morning of July 24, Susan Martin signed a prenuptialagreement. According to a source, the agreement provided her with a$100,000 payment shortly after the marriage. During their marriage,she also would receive $50,000 for expenses every year and a newJaguar every five years.
In the event of his death while they were married, Susan Cookewould receive $1 million that would be put in a trust account, thesource said. She would receive the interest from that account andwould be allowed to use the Far Acres home and five surroundingacres. Upon her death, the $1 million would revert back to Cooke'sestate.
If they were divorced, the source said, Susan Cooke would receivetemporary support payments of $50,000 for three years, a lump sumpayment believed to be $100,000 and use of an apartment at theWatergate for three years.
But nowhere in the prenuptial agreement was there a provision forthe support of a child, a source said.
'My {future} husband gave me strict orders that I was not to tellmy lawyer who represented me for the prenuptial agreement that I wasthree months' pregnant at the time the prenuptial was drawn up,'Susan Cooke said. 'I listened to my {future} husband.'
Late that afternoon, Cooke and Martin were married in thechambers of Alexandria General District Court Chief Judge DanielO'Flaherty. She said she was wearing a $35 wedding band because 'wedidn't have time to go look for a {more expensive} ring.' There wasonly one other witness to the wedding: Redskins photographer NateFine (who died in April of this year). `I Couldn't Go Through WithIt'
Now that she was part of the Cooke clan, Susan Cooke said herhusband had a request. 'He wanted me to start signing my name SusanKent Cooke,' she said. 'So I did.'
Early on the morning after the wedding, Susan Cooke said she wentto Sibley. 'I had every intention on having the abortion,' she said.'But I could not go through with it.'
Susan Cooke said her husband accepted her pregnancy inmid-August, after a newspaper reported that she was expecting. 'Hesaid, `Well, it's a fait accompli now. The only thing, Susan, thatupsets me is . . . I'm going to die before the child is 6 yearsold,' ' Susan Cooke recalled. But several days later, she said hisattitude changed. 'He had just met with his lawyers,' she said. ' . .. He began treating me like I was an alien from Mars.'
On the afternoon of Aug. 28, while they were being chauffered inthe Cadillac limo to Far Acres, Susan Cooke said she had a heatedargument with her husband about the pregnancy. Several miles fromthe mansion, she said Cooke ordered her to get out of the car.'Before I got out he looked at me and said, `Wait until you see whatwe've got in store for you, young lady,' ' she recalled.
Susan Cooke said she hiked tearfully to a guest cottage on theFar Acres property. At 11 that night, she said she attempted toenter the main house but it was locked. 'So I went to the back door .. . and knocked on the window,' she said. 'Jack was sitting up on hisbed, watching TV and he wouldn't let me in. I banged on the window,crying . . . He said, `Get out of here.' '
Susan Cooke said she spent the night at the guest cottage. Hermother, Diane Martin, said Cooke called her at 6 the next morning.She said Cooke told her 'Come and get Suzanne. I'm afraid sheabsolutely had a nervous breakdown.' Susan Cooke said she was nothaving a nervous breakdown. That morning, she said she packed a bag,left with her mother and never returned to Far Acres. High-LevelBlessings for the Baby
Susan Cooke was five months' pregnant when her husband filed fordivorce on Oct. 5. When Jacqueline Kent Cooke was born on Jan. 25 atGeorge Washington University Hospital, Cooke did not send anycongratulatory message, according to Susan Cooke. But she saidanother prominent Washingtonian did:
' . . . As parents, Nancy and I know there is nothing thatequals the delight of welcoming a newborn,' the greeting read. 'Youhave been truly blessed and we share your joy. Our good wishes toyour family for continued happiness. Ronald Reagan.'
On a recent afternoon, as she cradled her brown-haired, blue-eyeddaughter, Susan Martin Cooke glanced at a photo of her estrangedhusband and sighed. 'Jack and I could have had the most wonderfullife together,' she said. 'I don't know, maybe he'll live 10, 20years. Who knows how long he's going to live? But those last yearswould have been his best years because he would have had this family:a new daughter and a wife that loved him very much.'
NEXT: The boss of the Redskins
