CHICAGO, IL, March 17, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On April 16, the release date of his new book Capone's Vault, Bestselling author William Elliott Hazelgrove will appear on WGN-TV's WGN Morning News to discuss the extraordinary television event that drew more than thirty million viewers and changed television forever.

Hazelgrove's new book explores the famous 1986 television special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults, hosted by Geraldo Rivera. The live broadcast promised to reveal the hidden fortune of Al Capone and became the highest-rated syndicated television special in history.

Appearing on WGN Morning News on the book's publication day, Hazelgrove will revisit the dramatic story behind the broadcast and explain how the event helped usher in the modern era of reality television.

"People remember the empty vault," Hazelgrove said. "But what they forget is that the broadcast was one of the most watched television events of its era and helped usher in the modern age of reality television."

The television special focused on a vault discovered beneath the former Lexington Hotel, which served as Capone's Chicago headquarters during Prohibition. Millions watched live in April 1986 as Rivera opened the vault on national television, creating one of the most memorable moments in television history.

On the morning of April 21, the 40th anniversary of the famous broadcast, Hazelgrove will also appear at the location where the Lexington Hotel once stood in Chicago to mark the anniversary and symbolically revisit the site of the vault opening. The author will also speak about the legendary broadcast and the history of Al Capone's Chicago operations at a public presentation at the Chicago Public Library on April 22.

With the anniversary approaching, interest in the event has surged among historians, television critics, and Chicago media.

Hazelgrove's book Capone's Vault is the first full-length account devoted to the broadcast and the remarkable television spectacle surrounding the opening of Capone's vault.

William Elliott Hazelgrove is a National Bestselling author whose works explore fascinating moments in American history and media culture. His book Dead Air The Night Orson Welles Terrified America cataloged another moment in broadcast history. His llatest book revisits one of television's most famous moments and the enduring mystery surrounding Capone's hidden fortune.

William Elliott Hazelgrove is the National Bestselling author of ten novels and fourteen nonfiction titles. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly Kirkus, Booklist, Book of the Month Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards Junior Library Guild Selections, Literary Guild Selections, History Book Club Selections, History Book Club Bestsellers, Distinguished Book Award. and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway's birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today, The Smithsonian Magazine, Daily Mail and other publications and has been featured on NPR All Things Considered. The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, CSPAN, USA Today, World News Tonight have all covered his books with features. He has two forthcoming books, Capones Vault and Swept Away.

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