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Although her
daughter Edie gets most of
the attention and acclaim in the Grey Gardens documentary, those close to the
family say that mother Edith was always
the real talent and star of the "Beale"
show.
Edith Ewing Bouvier was born October 5, 1895 in Nutley, New
Jersey.
Her father, "Major" John Vernou Bouvier, Jr., was a skillful New York
attorney and later became a prominent judge.
The family enjoyed all the
trappings of elite social standing and wealth.
According to Bouvier historian,
John Davis, Edith was a difficult child - often mischievous, unruly, and
disrespectful of authority (attributed to her "French genes").
By the age of ten, Edith was already
known for her artistic talent and was considered to be somewhat of a
singer/pianist prodigy.
Later, after the family moved from Nutley to New York,
the now glamorous young lady found herself much in demand on the exciting social
and party scene.
Her father would always resent the "wasted" time she spent
attending to her voice and appearance. |
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She would later marry one of her
father's future law partners,
Phelan Beale, who was fourteen
years her senior.
The couple would have three children:
Edith Bouvier Beale
Phelan Beale, Jr., and
Bouvier Beale.
The
Bouviers spared no
expense for their daughter's nuptials.
The elaborate
ceremony was attended by
hundreds at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York
City.
As would have been expected, music played a
prominent part in the
ceremony.
One of Edith's demands for the wedding was a
huge choir and a soprano
solo
(of which, she later admitted that
she would have loved to have sung
herself, had she not been at the altar!).
An independent spirit, Edith
would have a
reputation for being theatrical, self-indulgent, and
impractical. |
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In the early 1920s
Phelan and Edith purchased the Grey Gardens mansion located at
the corner of
Lily Pond
Lane and
West End
Road in
East Hampton, Long Island.
It was at her
new home that Edith would fully cultivate her bohemian ways.
Utilizing her
servants and staff, her
daily routine included playing
the piano, socializing
with artists, and
training her operatic mezzo-soprano voice.
She pursued a
professional singing career, hiring an accompanist and playing small venues and
private parties.
She would dress in an
unconventional style that
drew criticism
from her fellow East Hampton elitists.
Her outlandish freethinking
attitude and gypsy-like appearance
embarrassed her husband.
She reportedly
refused to have her name printed in the Social Register.
Edith could care less
of the opinions of others, and she didn't mind letting it be
known.
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Phelan Beale left Edith in 1934 and
moved to his hunting lodge.
He later divorced her in 1946 by telegram from
Mexico (Little Edie referred to it as a "fake Mexican divorce" because it was
not recognized by the Catholic Church).
Edith received child support, but no
form of alimony.
She kept Grey Gardens as part of the
settlement and found the
imposing home difficult to maintain on her own financially.
Unable to support
herself, her father would have to contribute upwards of $3,500 a year to assist
her.
She would have a dramatic falling-out
with her father in 1942 after the wedding of her son, Bouvier.
She arrived to
the nuptials twenty-five minutes late, dressed like an opera star.
Utterly
disgusted at Edith's behaviour, he changed his will two days later.
Her
inherited share of his $825,000 estate was now reduced to $65,000 and, as
further insult, would be controlled in trust entirely by her sons.
She would
only receive $300 per month
to support herself and her daughter.
As a result,
some guests that visited
Grey Gardens were encouraged to "go shopping" while
they were there.
Little Edie sold Tiffany silver, jewelry, and other family
valuables from under the safekeeping of her mattress.
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Edith lived out the rest
of her
days behind the thick vines and decaying walls of Grey Gardens.
After
the raid (see "The House"), she would rarely
leave the estate for fear that it
might be taken from her.
She died apparently from pneumonia on February 5, 1977
at the South Hampton Hospital.
It is said that she told Little Edie on her
deathbed that she had nothing else to say, because everything she wanted to tell
the world was already in the Maysles documentary.
She is buried at the
Bouvier family plot at the Most Holy Trinity
Catholic Cemetery in East
Hampton.
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