Alfonso de Portago

Did You Know?

• Portago formed the first Spanish bobsleigh team with his cousins, finishing fourth in the 1956 Winter Olympics, missing the bronze medal by 0.16 seconds.
• The Portago curve at the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun is named in his honor for his foundation's efforts to renovate the lower portion of the track.

Biography

Alfonso de Portago was born in London, splitting his time between Madrid and Biarritz. He grew up fluent in four languages, with English spoken in a distinct British accent. As the heir to a prestigious Spanish title and a millionaire, his lineage included the explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. His father, Antonio Cabeza de Vaca y Carvajal, the 10th Marquess of Portago, died young during halftime at a polo match.

His paternal grandfather, Vicente Cabeza de Vaca y Fernández de Córdoba, the 9th Marquess of Portago, had been Spain’s Minister of Public Instruction & Fine Arts and Mayor of Madrid. His mother, Olga Beatrice Leighton, came from an Irish background and worked as a nurse before marrying. She was the widow of American financier Frank MacKey, who was over forty years her senior. MacKey, founder of Household Finance Corp, shot himself while terminally ill, leaving Olga a fortune of $500 million.

She also had a daughter, Sol, who later became the 5th Marchioness of Moratalla and was known in racing circles; Sol died in 2017. Portago was a first cousin to Vicente Sartorius, 4th Marquess of Mariño, and José Luis de Vilallonga, 9th Marquess of Castellbell.

With dark hair, freckles, and blue eyes, Portago stood 1.83 meters tall and weighed 77 kilograms. At seventeen, he won a bet by flying his plane under London Tower Bridge. He twice rode as a gentleman jockey in the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree, though keeping his weight down was difficult. His racing career began in 1953 after meeting Luigi Chinetti, a Ferrari importer in the United States, who invited him to co-drive in the Carrera Panamericana.

The following year, he raced solo in his own Ferrari Sport at the 1000 km Buenos Aires. Over his career, he claimed six major victories, including the Tour de France automobile race, the Grand Prix of Oporto, and the Nassau Governor’s Cup, which he won twice. During the 1956 Nassau winter race, Portago followed the car ahead by mere centimeters at 240 km/h. When that driver braked, both cars skidded 180 meters, but Portago’s skill prevented a crash into the crowd.

Among sports car fans, he earned the nickname “two-car man” for the many burned-out brakes, clutches, transmissions, and wrecked cars he left behind, often needing multiple vehicles just to finish a race.

Personal life

At age twenty in 1949, Portago married Carroll McDaniel, a former American model who was several years older and a near-stranger to him. They had two children. McDaniel later married philanthropist Milton Petrie. Their daughter, photographer Andrea Portago, appeared on the June 1977 cover of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine.

Their son, Anthony (1954–1990), worked as a stockbroker. In 1973 he married Barbara de Portago (née Schlubach), a Sorbonne-educated society fundraiser and costume and set designer. Barbara was the daughter of German financier Henrik Schlubach; her mother, Florence van der Kemp (née Harris), was president of the Versailles-Claude Monet Foundation in New York and daughter of Rear Admiral Frederic R. Harris. Barbara’s stepfather, Gérald van der Kemp, restored the Palace of Versailles.

After divorcing Anthony in 1978, Barbara married actor and playwright Jason Harrison Grant in 1984, then investment banker William James Tapert in 1991 (divorced 1994). It is said that Portago and McDaniel were divorcing so he could validate his invalid Mexican marriage to fashion model Dorian Leigh, who was eleven years his senior. Leigh had aborted their first pregnancy in 1954 and gave birth to their son Kim on 27 September 1955. At the same time, Portago was dating actress Linda Christian, ex-wife of Tyrone Power.