Adopted actress Hedy Lamarr's son, James and he became known as James Lamarr Markey. He was later adopted by her subsequent husband John Loder and his name was changed to James Lamarr Loder.
As a tribute to his military service, he had some Bourbon distilled that he labeled, "Old Commodore". His other private reserve brand was labeled, "Old Calumet Cabin" after the aforementioned cabin he used as his writing room.
Daughter, with Bennett, Melinda born [27 February 1934]
During World War II, he became good friends with Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
Graduated from Dartmouth College, B.A. - 1918.
He advanced to the rank of Commodore in the US Navy during World War II. He was promoted to Rear Admiral after the war.
He was also a very prolific author. Among his works were: Women, Women Everywhere, His Majesty's Pajamas, That Far Paradise, and Kentucky Pride.
His 1946 wedding to Myrna Loy was a full dress military affair at San Pedro Naval Station near Los Angeles, California. Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey was his best man and noted film director, John Huston, gave the bride away.
His father, Eugene Lawrence Markey was a Colonel in the United States Army. His uncle, Daniel P. Markey was Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives.
Markey was intensely proud of the fact that he was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. So proud, in fact, that ANY mail that wasn't addressed to Admiral Markey (including bills) was tossed into the trash. He always liked to be called, "Admiral Markey" and never, "Mr. Markey". Rarely did people call him "Gene". One of his grandsons sometimes addressed him as , "Admiral".
Married the widow who owned Calumet Farm, the most famous Kentucky horse racing stable. This made him the proprietor and a very happy man at the time of his death, as he probably loved race horses more than women, and from the list of his wives he apparently loved women a great deal. One of Calumet Farm's horses, a Filly named Our Mims, was named after his daughter.
One of his fourth wife, Lucille's hobbies was collecting statues of eagles. In 18th Century Kentucky, eagles were widely believed to be a symbol of good luck.
One of his novels, "The Far Paradise", was about a family that left Culpepper County, VA to settle in what would eventually become Kentucky. As part of the research for the book, Markey decided to recreate the journey himself.
Served as an infantry Lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War I (1917-18). Saw action at the Battle of Bellau Wood and the Second Battle of the Marne.
Served as Assistant Intelligence Officer on the Staff of Fleet Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey, Third Fleet, U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal.
Was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel (a ceremonial rank) on July 31, 1958 by Governor Albert 'Happy' Chandler, who had previously served as Commissioner of Baseball.
Was good friends with actors Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and John Wayne as well as producer John Hay Whitney.
Was good friends with songwriter, Irving Berlin, who sent flowers to his funeral when he died in 1980.
Was the model for Burgess Meredith's character in the 1965 John Wayne film, In Harm's Way.
Was very fond of Labrador Retrievers. Once owned a Black Lab named Lucky that lived to be 17.