>> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY!
WELCOME BACK.
I AM HERE WITH THE AUTHOR OF "VANDERBILT: THE RISE AND FALL
OF AN AMERICAN DYNASTY," ANDERSON COOPER.
THE BOOK -- THIS BOOK IS A LOVELY TRIBUTE TO YOUR MOM IN
MANY WAYS.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: WHO PASSED AWAY, AS YOU SAID, IN 2019, AND SHE
WAS A PUBLIC FIGURE FROM THE TIME SHE WAS A BABY.
>> THAT'S HER ON THE COVER WITH HER MOM.
>> Stephen: THAT'S GLORIA HER MOTHER AND LITTLE GLORIA.
>> MY MOM WAS THIS AMAZING -- I ALWAYS VIEWED HER FROM THE TIME
I WAS LITTLE, MY DAD DIED WHEN I WAS TEN, AND I VIEWED MY MOM
ASETTE, A SPACE ALIEN WHOSE SPACECRAFT CRASHED AND LANDED ON
EARTH AND IT WAS MY JOB FROM TEN ON TO HELP HER RENT APARTMENTS
AND BUY GROCERIES AND HELP HER NAVIGATE MODERN TIMES.
>> Stephen: WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO HAVE HER --
>> SHE WAS GREAT.
SHE WAS NOT THE KIND OF MOM WHO, YOU KNOW, DID STUFF FOR YOU,
BUT, UM -- >> Stephen: ONE OF THE
HALLMARKS OF BEING A MOM IS DOING STUFF FOR YOU.
>> THAT'S OVERRATED -- DINNER, MEALS.
WE HAD A LOT OF AQUA VEET IN THE REFRIGERATOR.
>> Stephen: SWEDISH LIQUOR.
YEAH.
DIDN'T TASTE GOOD.
BUT, YEAH, BUT, NO, SHE WAS JUST KIND OF NUTTY.
SHE WOULD COME UP WITH JUST LUDICROUS IDEAS.
I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY TOLD THIS ON TV BEFORE, BUT WHEN SHE WASLE 5,
I GET THIS CALL FROM HER AND SHE'S LIKE HONEY, THERE'S
SOMETHING I REALLY NEED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT, WHICH IN MY MOM'S
VOCABULARY, THAT MEANT, LIKE, I'M REDECORATING THE APARTMENT
AND YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR IT AND THEN I'M GOING TO REDECORATE
IT LIKE A WEEK LATER AND YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT, TOO.
SO I HAD TO STEEL MYSELF.
I WENT TO HER HOUSE AND SAY WHAT IS IT YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
SHE SAID, WELL, THE MOST INCREDIBLE THING HAPPENED.
I THOUGHT, MY GOD, WHAT CAN THIS BE.
AND SHE SAID, I WENT TO THE GYNECOLOGIST LAST WEEK -- AND I
THOUGHT, UGH, REALLY?
IT WAS NOT UNLIKE HER TO START A SENTENCE LIKE THAT.
SHE TOLD ME THE MOST AMAZING THING.
SHE TOLD ME, IRK STILL BEAR A CHILD.
WHEN MY MOM SAID THIS STUFF, AS SHE OFTEN DID, YOU COULDN'T BE
NEGATIVE OR REALISTIC AND TELL HER WHAT YOU THOUGHT, AND TALK
SENSE INTO HER, YOU HAD TO BE SUPPORTIVE.
>> Stephen: THE LAST TIME AN 85-YEAR-OLD WOMAN BORE A CHILD
WAS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT I THINK.
>> SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
PEOPLE WONDER HOW IN INTERVIEWS I CAN STAY STONE FACE AND LIST
ON THE PEOPLE SAY CRAZY ( BLEEP ) THINGS, I GREW UP WI
GLORIA VANDERBILT.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) I'M SITTING THERE AND THINK HG,
DON'T BE NEGATIVE, BUT HOW DO I CONVINCE MY 85-YEAR-OLD MOM NOT
TO HAVE A CHILD RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THAT'S A QUESTION WE'VE
OFTEN ASKED OURSELVES, I'M SURE, ALL OF YOU HAVE, A VERY
RELATABLE STORY.
I STARTED SAYING THINGS, LIKE, FIRST OF ALL, MOM, I DO, I FIND
THAT FASCINATING AND INCREDIBLE THAT A LICENSED GYNECOLOGIST
TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULD HAVE A BABY AT 85.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT.
I THINK YOU NEED TO TAKE SOME TIME WITH IT.
>> Stephen: BIG DECISION.
IT'S VERY LABOR INTENSIVE, NO PUN INTENDED, ANDLETS DO SOME
MATH.
LET'S SEE, YOU'RE 85.
WHEN THE CHILD GOES TO COLLEGE, YOU WILL BE, OH, 105.
HOW DOES THAT MATH SOUND TO YOU?
ANYWAY, SHE SAYS TO ME, HONEY, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT HAVING A
CHILD OF MY OWN, I MEAN, THAT'S CRAZY, I'MLE 5.
I WAS, LIKE, OH, GREAT, OF COURSE.
I SAID, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
SHE GOES, WELL, YOU CAN GET AN EGG ANYWHERE TODAY.
AND I WAS THINKING YOU GET AN EGG AND FERTILIZE IT WITH A
SPERM AND I'LL CARRY YOUR CHILD.
( LAUGHTER ) YEAH.
YEAH.
SO WE TRIED IT, AND -- ( LAUGHTER )
LITERALLY, I, LIKE -- I WAS JUST STUNNED.
AND I FINALLY SAID TO HER, I WAS, LIKE, YOU KNOW, MOM, I LOVE
YOU, BUT EVEN FOR YOU, THAT IS JUST BAT ( BLEEP ) CRAZY.
THAT IS JUST NUTS.
THAT IS SO WEIRD ON A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
THAT KID WOULD BE ON THE FIRST PAGE TO HAVE THE NEW YORK POST
HIS WHOLE LIFE.
TWO YEARS LATER I GET A NEWSPAPER CLIPPING FROM MY MOM
AND THE HEADLINE IS GRANDMOTHER BEARS CHILD FOR SON, AND IT'S
SOME WOMAN, I THINK, IN ITALY WHO IS, I THINK, 65 OR SOMETHING
OR 70, AND IT'S A PHOTO OF HER IN THE LABOR ROOM IN THE
STIRRUPS, AND SHE HAD A GAY SON AND HIS HUSBAND, AND IT WAS THE
HUSBAND'S SPERM THAT FERTILIZED THE EGG THAT HIS PARTNER WAS
CARRYING.
ANYWAY, THE PHOTO IS SHE'S IN THE DELIVERY ROOM WITH HER LEGS
IN A THING AND HER SON AND HIS HUSBAND ARE RIGHT THERE, READY
TO CATCH.
( LAUGHTER ) AND MY MOM HAS CIRCLED IT AND
WRITTEN IN A NOTE, SEE?!
>> Stephen: YOU'RE A BAD SON.
YEAH, BAD SON.
>> Stephen: YOU'RE A BAD SON.
YEAH.
( APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: OH, THERE'S SO
MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT BUT THERE'S NO MORE TIME LEFT.
>> I'M SORRY, THAT WAS A LONG STORY.
>> Stephen: NO, IT'S FANTASTIC.
ONE OTHER THING, LEGALLY WHEN YOU'RE HERE, WE HAVE TO SHOW AN
ADORABLE PICTURE OF YOU AND YOUR SON WYATT RIGHT THERE.
>> HE'S SO GREAT.
>> Stephen: NOW THAT YOU'VE FINALLY EMBRACED THE OTHER HALF
OF YOUR FAMILY BY WRITING ABOUT THE VANDERBILTS WHAT DO YOU HOPE
YOUR SON GOT THAT?
>> MY DAD WROTE A BOOK ABOUT HIS FAMILY GROWING UP IN MISSISSIPPI
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE HE DIED WHEN I WAS TEN AND HE
WROTE IT AS A LETTER TO MY BROTHER AND I BECAUSE HE KNEW HE
WOULDN'T SEE US GROW UP INTO ADULTHOOD.
I HOPE HE MAKES UP HIS OWN MIND ABOUT HOW THEY LIVED AND THE
CHOICES THEY MADE AND CERTAINLY THE MISTAKES THAT THEY MADE AND
THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT THEY MADE IN SOME WAYS.
BUT I HOPE HE SEES IT AS SOMETHING FROM HIS, YOU KNOW, A
SMALL PART OF HIS FAMILY'S DISTANT PAST, BUT I HOPE HE
JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S A STORY FROM HIS PAST, BUT I HOPE HIS
FUTURE HE KNOWS IS HIS TO WRITE FOR HIMSELF AND THAT HE
SHOULDN'T BE BEHOLDEN OR VIEW HIMSELF AS A VANDERBILT, HE
DOESN'T HAVE THAT NAME, THAT'S NOT WHO HE IS, AND HE GETS TO
WRITE HIS OWN STORY MOVING FORWARD.
>> Stephen: ANDERSON, ALWAYS LOVELY TO TALK TO YOU HERE OR ON
THE PHONE.
HIS BOOK, "VANDERBILT: THE RISE AND FALL OF AN AMERICAN
DYNASTY," IS AVAILABLE NOW.
ANDERSON COOPER, EVERYBODY!
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH A PERFORMANCE BY JOHN MAYER.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )