She was always there, next to former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. She is Megan Ruth Marshack who died at 70 from liver and kidney failure. And she, at 25, was there with him when he died, on January 26, 1979, two years after leaving the vice presidency, at 70 as well from a heart attack.
The two were alone at home, in a house owned by Rockefeller in Manhattan and not at the Rockefeller Center where he worked. She had to dodge quite a few headlines and tabloid stories that greatly embroidered her special relationship with Rockefeller. What everyone unequivocally defined as a love that lasted years. She never spoke about it. She left only a somewhat enigmatic phrase in her funeral announcement (written in her own hand): "I will not forget, I will not regret what I did for love."
Her obituary appears on the website of the Sacramento funeral agency that handled her funeral arrangements.
Meghan Marshack was known as the inseparable press aide of the vice president and 1976 was her last year in office. Upon returning to private life in New York, however, she continued to work for him as director of his art collection and as coordinator of his books and reproductions.
After Rockefeller died of a heart attack in 1979, she returned to her radio career. Marshack worked for CBS News until 1998, covering the Sarajevo Winter Olympics in 1984, the trial of the attempted assassin of Pope John Paul II, and dozens of other stories. She was the producer of "Memories of Vietnam" with the late CBS correspondent Ed Bradley: a documentary of reminiscences by cameramen, sound engineers, producers, and reporters ten years after the fall of Saigon.
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During a Rockefeller press conference in 1975 in Los Angeles, Marshack met the former governor of New York. "Señor Vice President..." Rockefeller paused, then responded in Spanish: "Un momento, por favor." "No, ahora, por favor," Marshack asked. "Yes?" Rockefeller asked kindly. "Now, regarding New York City," Marshack continued in English. All the journalists present in the room burst into laughter. She and Rockefeller left the press conference together. She was granted a farewell radio interview when Rockefeller was not chosen by President Ford to run for the 1976 office. Weeks later Rockefeller offered her a job.
In the trailer for her upcoming documentary Martha—which drops on Netflix Oct. 30—the lifestyle guru revealed that she cheated on her ex-husband Andy Stewart early on in their relationship.
"Young women, listen to my advice," Martha said in the trailer. "If you're married and your husband starts to cheat on you, he's a piece of s--t."
A producer off-camera could be heard asking the 83-year-old about her own affair, to which Martha responded, "Yeah, but I don't think Andy ever knew about that."
Martha and Andy were married in 1961 before separating in 1987 and finalizing their divorce in 1990. The couple shares daughter Alexis Stewart, 59.
E! News has reached out to Andy for comment but has not heard back.
Elsewhere in the trailer, Martha muses on what is more important in life, "A marriage? Or a career?" But as she noted, she's not sure of what the correct answer is.
One thing the former daytime host does know is that she has no regrets about where her life has taken her.
"I coulda just been a miserable, has-been housewife," she said. "But I didn't let that happen to myself. And I'm so happy I didn't."
Following her split from Andy, Martha briefly dated Anthony Hopkins, although as she explained on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2022, she unfortunately had to break up with him after watching Silence of Lambs and being unable to get his portrayal of cannibal Hannibal Lecter out of her head.
She also dated tech billionaire Charles Simonyi on and off for 15 years, but they split in 2008. And although Martha hasn't been publicly linked to anyone since, she's not opposed to finding a new romantic partner.
"I know a lot of eligible men," she told E! News in 2023. "I think they really want a woman who will take care of them, so I'm still not quite in the position where I can take care of a man full-time because I work too much."
She added, "If I analyze my life, I think the work has taken precedence over the romance. I have a hard time making room for both and it's not the highest priority that I have a boyfriend, but it would be nice!"
But two red flags that would stop any romance dead in its tracks: bad breath and a lack of generosity.
And if she were to go out on a date again, the podcast host would expect some seriously over the top outings, like helicoptering and yachting.
Tyler, the Creator has shared a new video titled “St. Chroma.” The clip, featuring new music, appears to be a teaser for something called Chromakopia. Check it out below.
Tyler, the Creator released his sixth studio album, Call Me If You Get Lost, in June 2021. The record earned him the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, and, in March 2023, he released a deluxe edition that was subtitled The Estate Sale.
Read about Tyler, the Creator and more in the feature “The Best and Worst of Coachella 2024.”
