Zachary Reynolds

American heir to the Reynolds tobacco fortune, the younger son of the founder, industrialist R.J. Reynolds. Zachary was interested in airplanes throughout his childhood. By the time he was 17, he owned his first airplane, a Waco Whirlwind, and he had gained a reputation for being skilled and extremely daring. By 1930 he had unofficially broken the speed record for transcontinental flight and was determined to become the first person to fly around the world in a plane. His plans, however, failed when his chosen vehicle experienced mechanical failure, and he gave up on the idea. He married actress Libby Holman, born 5/23/1904, Cincinnati, OH. After seeing her sing in "The Little Show" in 1930, Zachary became obsessed with her, and always moody and reckless, he pursued her vigorously. Eight years his senior, worldly and sophisticated, she was flattered by his attentions but considered him primarily a pest. She was reportedly a bi-sexual and lived an exuberant life filled with excitement. Zachary, however, wouldn’t give up, and in order to impress her, he planned a solo flight from London to Hong Kong. When they met in Hong Kong at the end of his journey, she accepted his marriage proposal and agreed to give up her career for one year. They settled down on the family’s country estate near Winston-Salem, which soon became the scene of wild parties. Stories abounded regarding the vast amounts of bootleg liquor consumed, and Zachary allegedly shot the crystal drops off the chandeliers with his ever-present .32 caliber automatic. On 7/04/1932, with another party in full swing, the couple quarreled violently. A gunshot was heard; Libby drunkenly emerged from the bedroom at about 1:00 AM, screaming for help. Zachary had been shot in the head. He died on 7/06/1932 at 5:25 AM, Winston-Salem. Libby went on trial for her husband’s murder but was later acquitted. Zachary’s close friend, Ab Walker, was a co-defendant and accomplice along with Libby. The media and scandal sheets exchanged rumors that the Reynolds family dropped the charges in order to prevent family secrets from becoming public knowledge. At the time of Zachary’s death, Libby was three months pregnant, and on 1/09/1933, their son, Christopher (Topper) Smith Reynolds, was born. As free-spirited as his mother and as reckless as his father, he died at age 17 while attempting to climb Mt. Whitney with a friend. A rope broke, and both fell into a crevasse just 300 feet from the summit. Libby was found dead on 6/18/1971, 7:00 PM, Stamford, CT, in her car in the garage. Her death by carbon monoxide poisoning was either a suicide or a murder. Both her case and that of Zach’s death remain unsolved. Link to Wikipedia biography