William Woodward, Jr.

William Woodward Jr. (June 12, 1920 – October 31, 1955) was an heir and businessman, once regarded as America's most eligible bachelor,

Early years and career Billy Woodward was the only son of William Woodward Sr. and his wife, Elizabeth Ogden "Elsie" Cryder. His mother was one of the "Cryder triplets" of New York City society fame. His father was president and director of the Hanover Bank of New York, and was secretary to the ambassador to the Court of St. James's during the reign of Edward VII. Woodward Sr. frequented the race track with the king, and they developed a close friendship.

Woodward was educated at Buckley School and Groton School, and graduated from Harvard University. After graduation, he fought in the United States Navy during World War II. There, he received a Purple Heart after a torpedo attack on his ship, the USS Liscome Bay. After leaving the navy, Woodward became a director of Hanover Bank. A young, tall, wealthy man, he was considered by some to be the most eligible bachelor in America, a Powers model and stage and radio actress who also danced as a showgirl in upscale Manhattan nightclubs. There were rumors that Ann was initially Woodward Sr.'s mistress and that he passed her along to his son. Woodward Sr. did in fact set his son up with Ann, much to the displeasure of his wife Elsie, who thought Ann was a gold digger.

The Woodward marriage was reportedly turbulent. Both had affairs, drank frequently and often argued publicly. Ann also began abusing prescription drugs. Upon arriving at the home, police found Ann holding her husband's body and sobbing. She immediately confessed that she had shot her husband because she thought he was a burglar.

Police later arrested a man named Paul Wirths, who admitted that he had attempted to break into the Woodwards' house on the night of the shooting. Woodward's mother Elsie, however, initially believed that the shooting had been deliberate but publicly supported her daughter-in-law in order to avoid further scandal. There was speculation that Elsie had paid Wirths to say he had attempted to break into the home in an effort to exonerate Ann.

Elsie ultimately said “I know Ann loved Billy very much and the shooting could be nothing but an accident.”

Aftermath The shooting of Woodward immediately became a cause célèbre and was detailed extensively by the mainstream media and tabloid newspapers. Life magazine called the episode "The Shooting of the Century". The story was also frequently gossiped about within the Woodwards' social circle, who speculated that Ann intentionally shot her husband to obtain his money. Capote was an acquaintance of Ann and had become convinced that she was guilty of murder (he nicknamed her "Bang Bang"). Despite Capote's claims that "almost everything" in Answered Prayers was true, there is no evidence that Ann burgled the neighboring estates herself to create an excuse that a prowler was at large, then deliberately shot her husband to death in the shower and subsequently moved his body into the hallway. Nor is there any evidence of any prior marriage that would have made the Woodward union bigamous.

Upon learning of the impending publication of Answered Prayers, Ann Woodward consumed a cyanide pill on October 9, 1975. However, Ann's friends said that she was already suffering from severe depression, which Capote's story exacerbated. Woodward, Ann, and their sons are buried in the Woodward family plot in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

In popular culture Truman Capote's novel Answered Prayers features a character based on Woodward's wife Ann and includes a fictionalized account of Woodward's death. Dominick Dunne's 1985 novel The Two Mrs. Grenvilles is also a fictionalized account of the shooting which was made into a television miniseries in 1987. The case was detailed in the 1992 non-fiction book This Crazy Thing Called Love by Susan Braudy, which argues through detailed research for Ann Woodward’s innocence and that Capote’s story was entirely invented. The case was made into an episode of Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice.

Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond books, dedicated Diamonds Are Forever to Woodward after he took the author to Saratoga Race Course, which became a plot line in the book.