Edith Bouvier Beale

Infobox Person
name = Edith Bouvier Beale


caption =
birth_date = November 7, 1917
birth_place = New York, New York, United States
death_date = ca. January 9, 2002 (age 84)
death_place = Bal Harbor, Florida, United States
other_names = Little Edie
known_for = participation in "Grey Gardens"
parents = Phelan Beale, Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale
occupation = actress, model, dancer
relatives = Jacqueline Kennedy, Lee Radziwill

Edith Bouvier Beale (November 7, 1917 – ca. January 9, 2002) was an American socialite. She was a first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill.

She is best known as "Little Edie," one of the subjects of the documentary film "Grey Gardens" by Albert and David Maysles. Arresting in her dress, and entertaining in her speech, Edie has become a cult star. She and her mother, Edith Ewing Bouvier referred to as "Big Edie", were very quotable.

Early life

She was born in New York City, the only daughter of Phelan Beale, a lawyer, and Edith Ewing Bouvier. She was born at 987 Madison Avenue (now the site of the Carlyle Hotel). She had two brothers, Phelan Beale, Jr., and Bouvier Beale.

Beale attended The Spence School, and graduated from Miss Porter's School, in 1935. She had her debut at the Pierre Hotel on New Year's Day, 1936. She socialized at the Maidstone Club of East Hampton.cite news |first=Douglas |last=Martin |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Edith Bouvier Beale, 84, 'Little Edie,' Dies |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE5DD163AF936A15752C0A9649C8B63 |quote= Edith Bouvier Beale, once a successful model and aspiring actress who later lived a gothic life in Grey Gardens, a dilapidated 28-room house in East Hampton, New York, with her mother and dozens of cats, raccoons and opossums, was found dead in her small apartment in Bal Harbour, Florida, on Jan. 14. She was 84. Her nephew, Bouvier Beale, said the Dade County coroner attributed the death to a heart attack or stroke resulting from arteriosclerosis. Her cousin, John H. Davis, said she appeared to have been dead for five days. |publisher=New York Times |date=January 25, 2002 |accessdate=2008-04-06 ]

While Little Edie was young, her mother pursued a singing career, hiring an accompanist and playing small venues and private parties. In the summer of 1931, Phelan Beale abandoned the family, leaving 35-year-old Big Edie dependent on her family for the care of herself and children. Some time later, he obtained, as Little Edie described it, a "fake Mexican divorce."

In her youth, Little Edie was a clothes model, primarily in department stores in New York and Palm Beach. She later claimed to have dated J. Paul Getty, and to have once been engaged to Joe Kennedy, Jr.

From 1947 until 1952, she lived in the Barbizon Hotel for Women, hoping to find fame and possibly a husband in Manhattan. While she famously states in the documentary "Grey Gardens" that she is on the search for an ordered life and a Libra husband, she later confessed in footage included in "The Beales of Grey Gardens" (2006), and in unseen raw footage, that she seemed only to be interested in men whose zodiac sign was Sagittarius, a bad match for her. She also mused that she had "landed" in New York "at the wrong time," and had not enjoyed the experience. She had moved to the Barbizon Hotel after feeling unsafe at her previous apartment furnished in her mother's valuable antiques.

Later life

On July 29, 1952, Edith returned to live with her mother in the East Hampton estate Grey Gardens (on the corner of Lily Pond Lane and West End Road). The home had been purchased for Big Edie in 1923, when it still had one of the finest gardens on the East Coast.

In a 1980 letter to her nephew, Bouvier Beale Jr., Little Edie claimed that: "When Grandfather died (in 1948), he left $65,000 in trust. Jack B. ("Black Jack" Bouvier, Big Edie’s brother and Wall Street broker) had only one objective — to grab the Beale trust fund to invest for his daughters (Jackie and Lee) and he did. He was supposed to take care of Mother." Instead, Big Edie ended up with $300 per month. Mother and daughter reportedly remained independent by selling off their Tiffany pieces item by item.

After the 1963 death of caretaker and handyman, Tom "Tex" Logan, and a crushing burglary in 1968, the women lived in near isolation and increasing and eventually abject poverty.

On October 22, 1971, inspectors from the Suffolk County Health Department raided the house and discovered that it violated every known building regulation. The story became a national scandal. Health Department officials said they would evict the women unless the house was cleaned. Jackie Kennedy Onassis came to the rescue (largely through her then-husband, Aristotle Onassis), paying $32,000 to clean the house, install a new furnace and plumbing system, and cart away 1,000 bags of garbage.

Their fame arose out of the Maysles Brother's 1975 direct cinema documentary film "Grey Gardens". The film revealed the strong ties between Mrs. Beale and Little Edie, as well as showcasing the reclusive pair's daily rituals of song, recollections, arguments and reconciliations. After her mother's death in February 1977, Little Edie attempted to start a cabaret career at age 60 with eight shows (January 10 - January 14, 1978) at Reno Sweeney, a Manhattan night spot at 126 W. 13th Street. The club kept the bad reviews from her, and she bravely faced two new audiences a night, even through a fever and although she recently had undergone cataract surgery.

Little Edie lived in the house for about two years, as her mother, who was always dominant, had told her to do, holding out against selling Grey Gardens as a teardown. In 1979, she sold the house to Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee after they promised to restore it and paid her $220,000.

Little Edie then moved to a small rental cottage in Southampton, New York, and then moved to a studio apartment on East 62nd Street in New York City, from 1980 to 1983, before moving to Florida. She lived briefly in Montreal in the mid-1990s, and with relatives in Oakland in 1997. She returned to Bal Harbour, Florida, in the fall of 1997, where she remained in quiet isolation, writing poetry and corresponding with friends and fans. She reportedly swam every day until close to her death at the age of 84.

Death

She was discovered dead in her apartment on January 14, 2002, after a concerned fan could not reach her on the phone. She had been dead about five days from a presumed heart attack. She was cremated, and a memorial service was held in the local Catholic church in East Hampton. She was survived by three nephews and one niece.

Legacy

Interest in the Beales' story has produced a variety of publishing and media projects. These include:
*the original 1975 Mayles brothers' documentary, "Grey Gardens"
*"Ghosts of Grey Gardens", a 2005 documentary directed by Liliana Greenfield-Sanders, about Grey Gardens' continuing legacy
*An off-Broadway musical "Grey Gardens — A New Musical" debuted in March 2006 starring Christine Ebersole, and played on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre from November 2, 2006 thru July 28, 2007 for 300+ performances. Little Edie was portrayed in the first Act by actresses Sara Gettelfinger (off-broadway) and Erin Davies (on Broadway). Ebersole played Little Edie in the second Act. Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson both won Tony Awards.
*"The Beales of Grey Gardens", a 2006 documentary using unscreened footage shot for the original.
*""
*"My Life at Grey Gardens", a book by Lois Wright, who made a brief appearance in the original documentary.
*"", a documentary by Albert Mayles about the making of the musical "Grey Gardens"
*"", a book by Eva Beale, the executor of her estate, making use of a diary, letters, poetry, and photographs from the estate. (link below)
*"Grey Gardens", a film starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, scheduled for release in 2008.
*Grey Gardens is the subject of a song by Rufus Wainwright.
*Two spreads in "Vogue" and one in "Bust" have been dedicated to Edie's unique style.
*Marc Jacobs created the Little Edie bag for his Fall 2007 collection.

Further reading

* [http://www.greygardensonline.com "Grey Gardens Online" Website and Information Database]
* [http://greygardensnews.blogspot.com GreyGardensNews]
*Letter from Pamela Hancock Beale; "The New York Times", January 12, 2003, Section 6; Pg. 6
*"The Debutante's Staying-In Party," "The New York Times", December 29, 2002, Section 6; Pg. 31
*"Variety", February 22, 2006, Pg. 1
* [http://www.obitpage.com/obits/b/beale_edith.html ObitPage.com]
* [http://nymag.com/arts/theater/features/23484/ NYMag.com]
* [http://edithbeale.com EdithBeale.com]
* [http://www.greygardensthemusical.com GreyGardensTheMusical.com]
* [http://www.greygardenscd.com GreyGardensCD.com]
* [http://www.edithbouvierbealeofgreygardens.com Edith Bouvier Beale: A Life in Pictures. First edition book of photos, poetry and letters compiled by Eva Beale.]
* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/pwwmh/ny25.htm Barbizon Hotel for Women historic info.]

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=beale&GSfn=edith&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=16377005& Edith Bouvier Beale Memorial] at Find A Grave