He hunched forward at the defense table. He held his forehead in his trembling right hand. During a break, he sat on a wooden hallway bench, wiping his eyes with a tissue.
Accused swindling son Anthony Marshall suffered visibly in court yesterday, staring into space as his own twin sons testified against him for three hours, describing him as a jealous, controlling and neglectful caretaker of their beloved philanthropist grandmother, Brooke Astor.
Never before in almost four weeks of prosecution testimony by two dozen of Astor’s friends, colleagues and staff had the witnesses been of Marshall’s own blood.
The pressure was so intense, that when the lunch break was called, Marshall retreated with his wife, Charlene, to a bench outside the courtroom, dabbing his eyes with a tissue as Charlene rested her head on his shoulder and reporters took notes.
No words were exchanged as all went home for the evening.
Tactically, the day was a coup for Manhattan prosecutors, who accuse Marshall of taking advantage of his mother’s advancing Alzheimer’s to strong-arm her into bequeathing more than $60 million to him and Charlene, money she’d long intended for charity.
Philip — due to get cross-examined by Marshall’s lawyers today — told of repeated instances when his grandmother couldn’t even remember who Anthony was — let alone lard his pockets by approving complicated alterations to her will.
Philip described an April 2001 family Easter luncheon held at Astor’s beautiful Westchester estate, Holly Hill. A photograph from that day shows a table right out of Williams Sonoma. There’s a huge centerpiece of pink and yellow roses. Gold-gilt china. Porcelain bunnies. Astor, age 99, presides in one of her magnificent trademark hats.
But Astor couldn’t recognize her own son. This, more than two years before Marshall claims his mother was “competent” to begin tossing the millions his way.
“She turned to me and looked across the table,” recalled Philip, 56 — a father of two who teaches historic preservation at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island.
“And she said, ‘Is that your brother?’ ”
“And what did you say?” asked prosecutor Elizabeth Loewy.
“I said, ‘No,’ ” Philip told jurors. “And I didn’t go into it. I just said, ‘No.’ ”
Astor, the sons said, was an engaging woman whom they continue to this day to call “Gagi” — their childhood name for her.
Astor’s son, Anthony, they said, was a good father, but formal. Their name for him? “Father,” testified Alec, a Westchester-based freelance photographer and father of one.
By the early 2000s, as Astor hit her late 90s, “She didn’t remember my name,” Alec said sadly.
That’s when “father” began limiting the family’s access to “Gagi,” even lying on one occasion that Astor was “sick” and couldn’t see him, Philip recalled.
Philip found himself in the doghouse with his father in November 2001, when both Marshall and Charlene gave him the cold shoulder at a New York Public Library event honoring Astor. “My father and Charlene walked in and walked right by us — giving us a stare,” he testified.
Marshall had been mad that Philip had visited Astor without his permission a few weeks prior.
Philip had to resort to sneaking in to see his “Gagi.” Once in March 2004 — and this memory brought him nearly to tears — a kindly staffer suggested to Philip that if he wants to see his grandmother, he should wait outside the apartment. Astor would be leaving to go to Holly Hill, and they could visit in the lobby.
“I saw my grandmother, and helped her get into the car, and she was very disoriented and appeared terrified,” Philip remembered.
“What did you say?” asked the prosecutor. Almost overcome by emotion, Philip had to steel himself, and sip a cup of water, before continuing.
“I said, ‘Gagi, it’s Philip and Nan,’ ” he said, naming his wife, artist Nan Starr. “And Winslow and Sophie,” he added, naming his children.
“And she still looked terrified and I started massaging her back. I said, ‘We’re family. We love you.’ And she relaxed, and just squeezed my hand, and started crying.”
“She started crying?” asked the prosecutor.
“Yes.”
“Did she say anything to you?”
“No, that was it.”
In addition to Philip, tomorrow’s witness list includes Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter.