Sep 19, 2011

Carter Vanderbilt Cooper is Anderson Cooper’s Brother

23 years ago a terrible tragedy struck the lives of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and mother Gloria Vanderbilt, his brother Carter Vanderbilt Cooper, took his own life. In an interview he did with his mother the relive that tragic moment.

What Mrs. Vanderbilt experienced on Jul. 22, 1988 was the most horrible scene a person and specially a mother could experience not just her third child committed suicide but he did in front of her, while she begged him to come back to her, in a second he was gone forever, she wanted to followed him but her youngest son Anderson needed her, Carter was death and a mother cries even after over 20 years Gloria Vanderbilt opened her heart with her son Anderson Cooper, but first we get to that allow me to tell you a few things about Carter.

Carter Vanderbilt Cooper was born in Manhattan , New York on January 27th, 1965 to fashion designer and railroad heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and her fourth husband screenwriter and author Wyatt Cooper who she webbed on December, 24th 1963. Her youngest brother was born on June 3, 1967. His father died on 1978 at age 50 during an open heart surgery.

Carter went to Dalton High School followed by Princeton University where he graduated in 1987, he was working as an editor at Heritage Magazine by the time of his death, but he felt depressed, he recently split up from his girlfriend Pearson Marx and told his mother he wanted to moved back in to her home in Manhattan.

On a Friday night on July 22nd, 1988 after spending time with his mother Carter now seeing a therapist had been having trouble sleeping he just woke up from a nap, he went to his mother’s room disoriented asking her what’s going on she said nothing it was then that he run upstairs to his brother’s room who was in Washington at the time. When his mother found him he was sitting in the balcony.

She asked him what was he doing he told her not to come closer, she asked him is he wanted her to call his doctor and he said yes giving her the number, but Ms. Vanderbilt didn’t want to leave him alone. she recalled..

I screamed at him and I said, “Carter, what are you doing?” he asked “Will I ever feel again?” I said “Yes, you will and I can help you and don’t this. Don’t do this to me. Don’t do this to daddy. Don’t do this to Anderson.” And then he looked, kept looking down and then a plane came overhead and he looked up and as if it was the signal he reached out to me and I moved toward him and then he — he like a gymnast went over the wall and held on. And, I said, “Carter, come back” and for a minute I thought he was going to and then he just let go.

Carter Vanderbilt Copper was buried next to his father Wyatt on July 26, 1988. Ms. Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper talked about that terrible tragedy in the video below.