On April 21, 1986, more than 30 million Americans watched Geraldo Rivera open a sealed vault beneath Al Capone's former headquarters during the live television special 'The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults.' Promoted for weeks with the possibility of finding Capone's missing fortune, the broadcast became the highest-rated syndicated television special in history. When the vault was finally opened, it was empty, creating one of television's most famous anticlimaxes.
Chicago author William Elliott Hazelgrove's new book, Capone's Vault, reconstructs the behind-the-scenes story of that broadcast. For the book, Hazelgrove interviewed Rivera and several producers involved in the program to explore how the event came together and why it captivated the country.
'Millions of Americans watched Capone's vault open live on television,' Hazelgrove said. 'The vault was empty—but television was never the same. Reality television had begun.'
Hazelgrove will mark the anniversary with a series of media appearances and events across Chicago. Media coverage includes an interview with Chicago Magazine, a television appearance on WGN-TV on the book's April 16 release date, and a special live on-location anniversary broadcast on WGN-TV on April 21. He will also appear in a national radio interview on Moody Radio with Janet Parshall and as a guest on the history podcast History Unplugged.
Public events include a talk hosted by the Chicago Public Library and a book signing party at a Capone-era location. These events will revisit the moment when a Chicago mob legend, a mysterious vault, and a young television reporter briefly captured the nation's imagination.
William Hazelgrove is the national bestselling author of ten novels and fourteen nonfiction titles. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, and have been Book of the Month Selections. He has written for USA Today, The Smithsonian Magazine, and the Daily Mail, and has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered. His work has been covered by The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, and CSPAN.
The story of Capone's vault is important because it represents a pivotal moment in television history. The massive viewership and cultural phenomenon surrounding the empty vault demonstrated the public's appetite for unscripted, live spectacle, directly paving the way for the reality television genre that dominates today's media landscape. Hazelgrove's research provides historical context for understanding how a single televised event can reshape an entire industry.
