Buddy McAllister

Buddy James Sebastian McAllister (b. 7th March 1940 - d. 19th December 1976) was never a resident of North Grove.

He was the son of Herbert and Ingrid McAllister, the sister of Missy Hackman and the first husband of Claudia Holt.

Childhood
Buddy was born into an extremely wealthy family in Manhattan, New York City, USA. He was the second child and only son of Herbert and Ingrid McAllister. His older sister was Missy Hackman who would be the first wife of Roger Hackman.

Buddy had a non-existent relationship with his ever busy father but was close to his sister and mother Ingrid.

Just after his fifth birthday, his mother contracted tuberculosis and passed away while trying to recover in Martha's Vineyard. The death devastated him and his sister.

His father, not knowing how to cope sent his children to school out of state and never visited them unless necessary. His second or third wife would usually tag along much to the annoyance of Buddy who didn't like the new women in his father's life.

Teenage Years
Buddy continued his education away from his family but on holidays would go and spend them with his sister. His sister seven years his senior however and she soon started her career in modelling which took her all around the country and Buddy lost a lot of contact with her which left him feeling lonely.

While at boarding school, he didn't have many friends as a lot of the students were either intimidated by his wealth or found him too meek and quiet to hang around with.

In 1957, Missy moved permanently to London, UK and just as he finished high school in 1958, his father began to pile the pressure on. Buddy had always been expected to take over his family's holdings in the oil business and his father secured him a place at Harvard Business School.

While he was there, he didn't enjoy the social aspects of the college but liked the learning and finished as one of the top in his class. His father continued to be more of a presence in his life and Buddy couldn't shake this feeling that he was only born as an heir and deeply felt unloved.

In 1964, news came from London that his sister had passed away during childbirth. His nephew John Hackman was well and safe but she had died two days later. Buddy got the first flight out with his father to London to bury his sister. The death affected Buddy and he started to fall into a depression.

Marriage to Claudia Blythe
His father and step-mother arranged a marriage to a debutante in Chicago named Claudia. She was the eldest daughter of an old money family and the prospect made him happy.

Concentrating on his education and having few friends, the marriage brought a positive feeling to him. He felt like this was his chance to feel loved and when he turned up to meet her at first, he tried to woo her with flowers and chocolates. Her response was not one he expected.

It was during the summer of 1965 that they met and it was apparent from day one this would not be a happy marriage. Buddy tried his best but Claudia had decided from day one she didn't like or love him and made life difficult.

Buddy knew she didn't want to marry him but both of their parents pushed the alliance. As the planning of the wedding started to go ahead, even Buddy had begun to have his doubts. He tried to convince his father to turn around on his decision but he refused.

Claudia's mother had been an influential actress in the 1930's and 1940's and so she knew a lot of contacts in Hollywood which his father hoped would help his current wife who was struggling to find a place on stage in Broadway.

18th October 1965, they married in Chicago in front of over a hundred guests and press. They kept up appearances but it wasn't long before they were sleeping in seperate beds and only saw each other at important functions.

Buddy began to feel lonely again and so asked his father for advice. He advised that he bring up children. As soon as he mentioned having children and talking about his hopes for the future with his wife, the more scared she became and during the night of April 22nd 1966, Claudia ran away during the night.

Estrangement from Claudia McAllister
Waking up the morning after, Buddy panicked and tried to find his wife. He rang her family, his family and had the police and fire crews out searching the country for her. It was two weeks later when her sister Jessica admitted that she had helped her sister escape to London.

Buddy couldn't keep track of her movements when she managed to randomly pop up in the newspapers. He was happy that she was going after her dreams but he couldn't figure out why she wasn't like that when they were together.

In 1967, Buddy received a letter from Roger Hackman to tell him her address in London. He and her family got a plane to London straight away. They stayed with Roger while there and he felt welcomed by one of the first times and loved seeing his little nephew toddle around the room.

He figured that now she had got out and had a bit of freedom away from him, she would willingly come back. When he spotted her again for the first time in over a year, Buddy was overcome with emotion at the sight of her. She had become even more beautiful and he knew when he saw that he had lost her.

He tried to convince her to come back but she refused and a deflated Buddy flew back to the States without her in the August 1967.

Two years went by and she never returned to him so on the advice of her sister and his father, he sent the divorce papers through and by the summer of 1969, they had been divorced.

Later Life
Buddy took over his father's company in 1970 after his father suffered a heart attack and was ordered by his doctor to retire and take it easy.

He didn't naturally take to being the boss and people took advantage of his soft nature much to the disdain of his father. He had his advisors which took a lot of the pressure off which he was grateful for.

It was also through one of his advisors where he met his second wife Olivia Van Der Aaline. She was a Boston socialite and they were married on 1st May 1971. The marriage was much happier and Buddy finally started to enjoy his life. He was starting to ease into his job and when in 1972, he had his son Leon he felt complete.

Buddy spent as much time as he could with his son, being there for his first word, steps etc... and he and Olivia were happy.

In 1975, he was walking through Central Perk when he bumped into Claudia and her new boyfriend Stanley Holt. The meeting, although went well, made Buddy angry. She had made his life miserable and she was now sleeping with somebody who had no social status from England.

It also didn't help when Olivia found out. Although she knew that he had been married beforehand, she didn't realise that it had been the now famous 'Claudia Blythe' and his wife started to distance herself. She felt not good enough and also hurt that he had kept it from her.

The spotting of Claudia caused arguments and Buddy soon realised that Claudia was being blamed for problems that he had chosen to ignore in his marriage. In 1976, Olivia admitted she had been having an affair for over a year with the man who introduced them.

Buddy asked for a divorce and when she took his son away from him, he began to crumble.

Death
His second divorce was the stroke that broke the camel's hump. He fell into a maniac depression. He stopped turning up for work, didn't return his phone calls and stayed inside of his Manhattan apartment just thinking over his life.

He felt like he had failed in everything he had ever done. Olivia had been sending him letters to say that he wouldn't be seeing his son again and he thought over his sister Missy and his mother who were in heaven waiting for him.

After refusing to eat for a week and not leaving the apartment, on 19th December 1976, Buddy committed suicide by hanging. He wasn't discovered until four days later when his father burst through the door after not hearing from him.

He was 36 years old.

Family
Father: Herbert McAllister

Mother: Ingrid McAllister

Sister: Missy Hackman

Ex-Wives: Son: Leon McAllister
 * Claudia Holt (1965 - 1969)
 * Olivia McAllister (1971 - 1976)

Nephew: John Hackman