PrinceAlexis Obolensky Jr. (April 20, 1915 – February 8, 1986) was a Russian-American socialite, real estate broker, and backgammon player, and sometimes called the "father of modern backgammon". He was a member of the princely Obolensky family of the Rurik Dynasty.
Early life
Obolensky was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on April 20, 1915. He was the son of Alexey Alexandrovitch Obolensky (1883–1942) and Lubov Petrovna "Luba" (néeTroubetzkoy) Obolensky (1888–1980). Among his siblings was older sister Alexandra Obolensky, the wife of Anatol Nicholas Sazonoff,[1] Princess Luba Troubetzkoy of Sea Cliff on Long Island.[2] He was a cousin of Prince Serge Obolensky, who married the American heiress Ava Alice Muriel Astor.[3]
Obolensky worked as a real estate broker in the Palm Beach area, where he maintained a home.[6]
During the 1960s and 1970s, he traveled widely promoting backgammon as a gambling and tournament game. He co-founded the World Backgammon Club, an organization in Manhattan that sponsors international tournaments, serving as its president until his death.[7]
Personal life
On January 6, 1939,[8] Obolensky was married to Jane Wheeler Irby (1914–1981), a Fermata School graduate, in Aiken, who was the daughter of Robert Garland Irby, at Manassas, Virginia. They finally divorced, in April 1952, and were the parents of three children:[8]
On November 22, 1952, he was married to Katherine Taylor "Kappy" (née Pearce) Gennett (1919–1998), the former wife of Carter Tate Gennett and daughter of J. McAlister Pearce, in New York City.[4] His first wife later remarried to Harold Hegeler Lihme in November 1953.[11] They also divorced and in 1965, he married Jacqueline Ann Stedman (1939–2002).[12]
Obolensky died at his home in Manhattan on February 8, 1986.[2][13]
