House of lies. I'm Jason Horton. I'm Rebecca Leib. And this is Ghost Town.

In December 1911, the oceanic, not to be confused with the Titanic, which would sink in April 1912, arrived in New York.

The ship would bring decades of scandal, beginning with a famous vaudeville dancer named Andre Riella, who is returning from a trip to Paris.

But Riella wasn't alone. In Paris, he had fallen in love with a beguiling singer and actor 10 years his senior, named Antoinette Delielis.

The two had married, and Riella brought his new bride back to America.

There was drama with the new couple before the two even left the boat. Riella's Italian diplomat parents and sister were shocked and discussed it at the site of Delielis.

And caused commotion at the dock. Paparazzi immediately picked up on this flamboyant, dramatic interaction, and reported it to all the papers.

But the thing was, these people weren't Riella's family at all. They were actors paid to act like his family, for the tabloids.

Riella was a Philly fugitive, and Delielis herself, a French seamstress, turned struggling actor. From there, what was real and what was fake would converge, creating a tabloid power couple that were truly larger than life.

The two would have a strange and haunted legacy, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Today we're talking about the Sherry Castle, the culmination of the life and lies of Andre Riella and Antoinette Delielis.

Like I mentioned in 1911, young 18-year-old Andre Riella brings Antoinette Delielis back home with him and his fake parents are pissed.

Riella feeds the narrative to the press, also saying that his parents were strict and oppressive, and wants Riella to marry an American, someone they've already pre-selected, someone young, strategic, not some old woman, 28, from France.

Described a reporter from New York World of the very convincing Riella family of actors, quote,

The father frowned and looked with savage glances at the shrinking bride, his son, senior, and quite a mature and seasoned woman.

The mother was in hysterics. The bride began to cry, the groom embraced his love and dried her tears.

Reporters read these ships all the time, explains historian Lynn Borovsky, because things go on.

So they have this story of this young couple, Andre's parents are screaming he's too young for her, and just, it's just mayhem, it's great.

The two are already in the news for the age gap, the dramatic announcement of their marriage, and deeply upsetting their parents.

This media bump really got Riella and Delielis high profile life in America off to a great start.

After that, Riella moves his new bride into a Midtown Manhattan apartment, and the holidays have arrived, which means more time for scandal.

Riella tells a reporter that he brought his bride home to celebrate the holidays with his family, and it did not go well.

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