Your daily adult tube feed all in one place!
Husband of beloved socialite Marylou Whitney dies suddenly aged just 59
John Hendrickson, a horse racing enthusiast and philanthropist, died suddenly this week at the age of 59.
Hendrickson, who was the widower of famed socialite Marylou Whitney, died at the hospital Monday shortly after saying he felt unwell while at Cady Hill, the Saratoga Springs home he shared with his late wife, The Albany Times-Union reported.
Maureen Lewi, a close friend of Whitney and Hendrickson, spoke out about her last moments with the man who was a fixture of the horse racing community of Saratoga, New York.
'I was at the hospital holding his hand,' Lewi said, mentioning he'd visited her at home on the morning of his death. 'I was talking to him, but he wouldn't talk back - he was gone.'
After his wife died in 2019 at age 93, Hendrickson carried on her legacy of handsomely donating his time and money to local causes.
John Hendrickson, pictured with his late wife Marylou Whitney in 2010, died suddenly Monday
Maureen Lewi, left standing at the lectern, was a longtime friend of Hendrickson and Whitney. She was with Hendrickson, pictured behind her, the day he died
He worked to develop a health clinic specifically for workers on the Saratoga race track, who often work long hours tending to the horses and are frequently up on their feet.
Hendrickson and Whitney were longtime partners to the Backstretch Employees Service Team (BEST), the nonprofit that opened the Saratoga Backstretch Clinic in 2022.
Whitney herself used to be a successful thoroughbred horse breeder. Her family was also instrumental in keeping Saratoga's course open in the 1970s.
Nancy Underwood, Executive Director of BEST, said the couple even provided entertainment for the workers to relieve some of their stress.
'They would come every Sunday and sit with the backstretch workers, eat with them, check the food. Every Wednesday, they would be there for bingo. They would watch the prizes being given out and make sure they were up to par,' Underwood told ABC News 10.
'He knew their families, would ask how they were doing. He was hysterical, had a great sense of humor, and would send the funniest text messages. He was just low-key, a great guy.'
He'll also be remembered for how he paid to revitalize the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, a museum in Saratoga Springs that was founded in 1950 to honor famous thoroughbred horses and jockeys.
'He did so much, bringing the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame to a national level that his legacy will always live on here,' said Cate Masterson, the executive director of the museum, where Hendrickson served as chairman of the board.
'He made a huge difference. And that is his legacy to us.'
Hendrickson and Whitney were known for their generosity, donating to many local causes
Locals will miss Hendrickson's larger-than-life presence on the course, where he always sported a big smile and brightly colored outfits that are customary in horse racing culture
Hendrickson sits beside an empty seat with a pink rose in honor of Whitney, who had died weeks before on July 19, 2019
But most of all, locals will miss his larger-than-life presence on the course, where he always sported a big smile and brightly colored outfits that are customary in horse racing culture.
'He loved thoroughbred racing. He loved the sport, the past, the pageantry, the camaraderie,' Masterson said.
But after his wife died, Hendrickson reportedly didn't find the same amount of joy in life that he once did.
Whitney's massive portfolio of properties were all willed to him, and they included Cady Hill, a farm in Kentucky, a home in Palm Beach and a 36,000 square foot estate in the Adirondacks that had been in the family since the 1890s.
Hendrickson tried to sell many of these properties because he would say they were no longer fun with his wife gone.
He put the Adirondacks estate, which has a spectacular mansion in the Deerlands and 22 lakes for fishing, on the market for $180 million back in 2020.
'It's lonely without Marylou,' he said in 2020.
Hendrickson, who grew up in Anchorage, met Whitney on June 1994 at a dinner with then-Alaska Gov. Walter J. Hickel and his wife, Ermalee.
Back then, he was Hickel's special assistant, pulling a yearly salary of $53,000.
Hendrickson and Whitney are pictured during an induction ceremony for the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Friday, August 3, 2018, in Saratoga Springs. He used his own funds to revitalize the museum
Pictured: MaryLou Whitney's home Cady Hill. It was willed to Hendrickson in 2019 when she died, along with her huge portfolio of real estate
Hendrickson tried to sell the 36,000-acre Adirondacks estate for $180 million one year after Whitney's death
The 17-bedroom home on the property features a guesthouse, an office and staff quarters. The residence overlooks Little Forked Lake, where there is a two-story boathouse (pictured)
Hendrickson and Whitney publicly announced they were a couple two years later in front of a group of reporters.
This moment demonstrated their shared sense of humor, since he caked his face with makeup to appear elderly while she joked that Hendrickson was her 'sugar daddy.'
He was just 31 years old at this time and 40 years younger than Whitney, who was the heir to the $100 million fortune of her second husband Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney.
They got engaged on June 3, 1997 at Buckingham Palace on the royal balcony and had dinner with the royal family that same night.
They were married later that year, and by all accounts, Hendrickson was a loyal husband, staying by his wife's side as her health declined.
Naturally, the press was often hungry to seize on the age gap between the pair, with Hendrickson once castigating a reporter who asked if their marriage was based on love.
Maria McBride Bucciferro, who wrote about the famous couple for decades, was enamored with his sense of humor, much like many others who knew him.
'They were just so easy-going,' Bucciferro told the Times-Union. 'When they first got married, John told the Rotary Club that they were expecting, everyone seemed surprised, but then he said they were getting a new puppy. He was funny and irreverent.'
The couple got engaged on June 3, 1997 at Buckingham Palace on the royal balcony and had dinner with the royal family that same night
Hendrickson and Whitney are pictured at an opening day luncheon at Saratoga Race Course in July 2016
The couple were known to travel in circles that included actors Paul Newman and Susan Lucci, as well as Republican politicians like Rudy Giuliani, who was the mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001.
After Hendrickson's death on Monday, several notable figures in the New York racing community shared heartfelt tributes.
Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford also honored him.
'John Hendrickson … will be remembered for his great philanthropy work, kindness to all Saratogians and, particularly, the fine work he did for the backstretch workers,' Safford said in a statement.
Hendrickson is survived by his mother, Gwen Hendrickson, his older brother, Ed Hendrickson and his sister-in-law, Michele Hendrickson, and their two children, all of whom are from Anchorage.
Lewi told the Times Union he'll be buried next to Whitney and near Lewi's late husband Ed in Greenridge Cemetery in Saratoga Springs.
Lewi added that she'll be a whole lot more lonely without Hendrickson, who called her five to six times a day and loved to play with her dog.
'The worst part of it is the three of them are probably up there partying and they left me right here,' she said, talking about Hendrickson, Whitney and her late husband.
'We take what God gives us and try to go on.'