>> 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 )
