Capone's vault was underneath his HQ, here, at the Lexington Hotel In 1986, television reporter Geraldo Rivera was a little down on his luck. The year before, he'd been fired by ABC for criticizing the network's decision to not air a story describing the romantic relationship between Marilyn Monroe and both Robert and John Kennedy. He was a respected reporter at this point, but his career was in a lull. Then Geraldo embarked on an opportunity that would dramatically alter the course of his career -- for better and for worse. On April 14th of that year, Rivera hosted a television special called "The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault." The program was based around the rumors that former mobster Al Capone had stashed a great treasure within the extensive catacombs beneath his Chicago headquarters at the Lexington Hotel. Geraldo planned on opening the long-sealed vault on live television and, along with his audience, discovering the hidden treasure held within. However, at the end of the two-hour special, the vault was opened to reveal nothing but dust and debris. An embarrassed Rivera awkwardly ended the show, and the special that had gathered so much hype went out with a whimper. Despite the anti-climactic ending, the special drew a huge audience and subsequently launched Geraldo into the stratosphere as the King of Trash Television. He would go on to host his outlandish eponymous talk show, "Geraldo," and later return to journalism (of a sort), bringing audiences all the melodrama of that particular brand of from-the-heart reporting that makes Geraldo "Geraldo." Suggested Sites... Geraldo.com - Geraldo's official site. Geraldo at Large - Geraldo's current show on Fox News. Al Capone Museum - photos, articles, and other stuff about Al Capone.

Directory categories: Geraldo Rivera, Al Capone, Real-Life Mystery, Talk Show Hosts, Journalism

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