SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- A woman who claims she was mistress to Alfred Bloomingdale, a friend for 30 years and adviser to President Reagan, will pursue her $5 million 'palimony' suit against the estate of the department store heir, who died of cancer at age 66.
When informed of the death, Vicki Morgan, 29, a former actress and model who claims she was Bloomingdale's mistress for 12 years, said she was grief stricken. She said she still loved Bloomingdale and believed he still loved her, a spokesman for her attorney, Marvin Mitchelson, said Monday.
Bloomingdale died in his sleep Friday night at St. John's Hospital but his death and burial were not disclosed until Monday.
Bloomingdale's wife, Betsy, described as Mrs. Reagan's best friend, had been with her husband Friday but was at home when he died, personal secretary M.L. Raab said.
A White House spokesman said the Reagans were told of their long-time friend's death when they arrived at their Santa Barbara ranch Saturday, but had no public comment.
At a hearing Monday on Miss Morgan's suit, Superior Court Commissioner Bertran Mouron granted a motion by Bloomingdale attorneys to postpone indefinitely a deposition by the widow that had been scheduled for Thursday. He denied a request for a summary judgment dismissing the action.
Attorney Harold Rhoden, an associate of Mitchelson, said he would be willing to wait several months for the deposition but insisted Bloomingdale's death would not change the status of Miss Morgan's suit.
'The case survives the death of the defendant,' he said. 'There'll be only a procedural change. We'll substitute the estate of Bloomingdale as the defendant.'
Mrs. Bloomingdale, a Los Angeles socialite, also was sued for $5 million on grounds she had broken up her husband's relationship with Miss Morgan.
Miss Morgan's suit stunned the upper echelons of Los Angeles society with claims she had been promised lifetime support and earned her keep by providing therapy 'to help Bloomingdale overcome his Marquis de Sade complex.'
Miss Raab said Bloomingdale, who underwent surgery for cancer about a year ago at UCLA Medical Center, had entered St. John's several days before his death.
He was buried Saturday night at an undisclosed Los Angeles cemetery after a private service attended only by close family members.
Bloomingdale was financial backer for several Broadway shows and Hollywood movies, agent for Frank Sinatra and co-founder of the Diner's Club.
Besides his wife, he is survived by three children, Geoffrey, Lisa and Robert, and four grandchildren, the latest of which was born last week and who he never saw.
The Bloomingdales became close friends of the Reagans in the late 1950s and visited the White House frequently as well as hosting the Reagans in California. Bloomingdale was a member of the group of close, but unofficial presidential advisers known as the Kitchen Cabinet.
Born April 15, 1916, in New York, Bloomingdale was the son of Hiram C. Bloomingdale and grandson of one of the two brothers who founded Bloomingdale's department store in New York.
Bloomingdale graduated from Brown University in 1938 and joined the family business but almost immediately began a more glamorous career as a Broadway and Hollywood producer and agent.
In the 1940s, he produced 20 Broadway musicals, including 'Ziegfeld Follies' in cooperation with Milton Berle, and several movies. He also served as an agent for such performers as Sinatra and Judy Holliday.
In 1951, Bloomingdale established the Diners' Club, one of the first credit card companies, was its president from 1955 and later served as chairman of the board until 1970.
