Want to share other feedback? Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. She thirsted for acclaim as a composer, a dancer and an arts patron, but her thirst for booze and pills undid her. Reportedly, the rest of her remains were placed in a Gristedes bag. One work, Dreams of Glory, had an insipid story about a little boy who dreams of becoming John F. Kennedy. Sheesh, its not wonder Rebekah turned out to be a nightmare when she grew up. Rebekah Harkness patronage allowed the Joffrey to perform in Iran. First, a brief biography: Born Rebekah Semple West in St. Louis in 1915, Harkness was a divorce whose second marriage was to Standard Oil heir William Hale Harkness. (I do admit, however, that I'd go a long way to read a sentence like this, spoken by Bertrand Castelli, the co-producer of ''Hair,'' about the time he made love to Rebekah Harkness in her office: ''It was as if we were two camels in the desert who suddenly know that the only way to make an oasis is to really talk sense.'' Parents. With thanks to Blue Blood by Craig Unger and The Joffrey Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the Making of an American Dance Company by Sasha Anawalt. In her obituary, shes credited with supporting the Joffrey and Jerome Robbins ballet companies. Calling all Swifties and History Nerds! Her daughter Edith jumped off roofs, swallowed pills and managed not to kill herself. Jean Stein and George Plimpton did that brilliantly in ''Edie,'' the biography of poor Edie Sedgwick. She was notorious along the eastern seaboard for her tacky, campy, new money sensibilities, and her Harkness Theater was the epitome of her gaudy aesthetic. Her youngest daughter, Edith, had tried to commit suicide at the age of 15 by flinging herself out of a high rise in front of her. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. Salinger had the perfect stories for her music, so one day she disguised herself as a cleaning lady, knocked on his door, then tried to convince him to let her use his fiction. The reason behind this is pure cruelty. [1] Before their divorce in 1946, they had two children; Allen Pierce (b. Almost as soon as William Harkness kicked the bucket, Rebekah turned into one of the most tasteless, gaudy eccentrics the Western hemisphere had ever seen. Soon Clive Barnes was writing that the Harkness Ballet had ''descended beyond the necessity of serious consideration,'' and in 1975 it folded. Rebekah had already had two children with her first husband, Allen and Anne "Terry" Pierce, and she then had one more child with William, a daughter named Edith. [6] When the Joffrey Ballet refused to rename their company in Harkness' honor, she withdrew funding and hired most of the Joffrey dancers to her new company, the Harkness Ballet. Faced with Ediths grim drive to end her life, Harkness was coldly philosophical. Near the end of her life, one friend noted that she walked like Frankenstein.. We are meant to take comfort and a measure of relief from our difference - though, as we know but do not frequently wish to remember, the grave awaits us all. Iyengar[4] and Salvador Dal, who would design her urn upon her death. An avid dance enthusiast who had studied ballet and Spanish dance, her second marriage - to Standard Oil heir William Hale Harkness - made her one of the wealthiest women in America. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? The last great American dynasty, indeed. The New York Times described him as an embarrassing sort of man, and his hobbies completely back this up. Her ego, however, overrode common sense and proportion. It was shaping up to be a white-picket fence brooduntil, that is, Rebekah proved herself to be an utterly horrific mother. (Getty) When Taylor Swift released her latest album Folklore, fans were left wondering about the subject of her song 'The Last Great American Dynasty' - Rebekah Harkness.. Was she a fictional character drawn from the depths of Taylor's imagination, or had she once been a living woman with a tale to tell? Fast forward 60 years, and another thin, rich, beautiful white woman bought Holiday House. St. Louis, MO 63119 She didnt help herself with her capriciousness. She lived on champagne and injections - Vitamin B, testosterone, painkillers - as a result of which her bathrooms were splattered with blood and her muscles calcified. They called her ballets worthless, her music crap. De . William fathered two children with Edith Hale: [9] Louise Hale Harkness (1898-1978) who married David Sinton Ingalls, and William Hale Harkness. Images: Harkness Tower Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1653891. It was Rebekah Harkness - whose second of four husbands, William H. Harkness, died in August 1954 in The Westerly Hospital after being stricken by a heart attack in the mansion - who patronized . Rebekah West Harkness (April 17, 1915 June 17, 1982) also known as Betty Harkness, was an American composer, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet. The resulting damages to herself, her companies and her children were heartbreaking. She did this in grand - if occasionally Marie Antoinette-ish -style. Jack Mitchell. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. The only problem was that the urn was too small. Why? Socialite circles are infamously tight-lipped about their marriages, but theres almost no doubt that Rebekahs union with Pierce was a dismal affairand one day, she made a disturbing confession. After that, Rebekah really let it all hang out. He. She also bought them an old firehouse in Westerly to practice in, calling it the Harkness Center for the Arts. In a matter of years, her life would go from classy to just plain messy. Her daughter Edith killed herself. Mr. Unger tells us that under the direction of the dancer-choreographer Larry Rhodes the company began to garner critical raves - whereupon Mrs. Harkness fired him. Though Harkness didnt seem to care that he was using her, she probably should have. He had a daughter and a granddaughter who became the actress Elizabeth Montgomery. When publicizing her ballet, Harkness became notorious for refusing to showcase any of her talented dancers in the promotional photographs. In addition to her marriage, Harkness also became well known for her personal eccentricities, as well as her contributions to the arts. The parties continued when she brought the entire Joffrey to Watch Hill in 1962 and 1963. I myself wouldn't give the time of day to anyone who cleaned her pool out with Dom Perignon, put mineral oil in the punch at her sister's debutante ball and (all in the middle of the Great Depression) got tossed off an ocean liner for shouting obscenities, throwing dinner plates at an orchestra of Filipinos gamely playing the American national anthem, and offending the sensibilities of her fellow passengers by swimming nude - for which actions she counted herself witty. Rebekah Vardy has five children in total. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. Reportedly, the baby Angel innocently pulled a ribbon from Harknesss perfectly coifed hair. She supported the arts in general, ballet in particular, and she had the wealth with which to do it. As her own biographer put it, The only reason her works were ever played in public was because she subsidized the performances. Harsh, but true. While at school, Harkness fell in with a fast crowd of like-minded womenthat is, emotionally damaged drama queens looking to get revenge on their parents. (You can see a video clip of Salvador Dali and Rebekah Harkness here.). William was rolling in money, which made him the perfect candidate for Rebekahs expensive tastes. BOX 191606 In the eyes of many, she had betrayed him. But why? Rebekah Harkness's Net Worth: $1-5 Million Age, Height & Body Measurements Rebekah Harkness has been died on 17 June 1982. Uh, how sweet? My mom never told me how her best friend died. An artist (a descriptor she bestowed upon herself). Lucky: A Novel (inspired by Taylor Swift's folklore and the incredible true story of Rebekah Harkness): Parro, Kristina: 9781736923320: Amazon.com: Books Books Literature & Fiction Genre Fiction Buy new: $18.01 Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns FREE delivery Saturday, February 4 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon Discover Rebekah Harkness, the extravagant woman who inspired Taylor Swifts song the last great american dynasty.. Rebekah Harkness and her Harkness Ballet in 1966. For one, her emotionally frigid parents wanted absolutely nothing to do with raising her. She soon became the owner of a vast number of properties, and indulged in many luxuries. Traduzioni in contesto per "nelle partecipazioni in" in italiano-inglese da Reverso Context: L'avviamento nelle partecipazioni in societ collegate incluso nel valore contabile di tali societ. And how in the world did she get that way? Mother of Private. Obviously, Rebekah was completely out touch with realityso her next move makes sense. The St. Louisborn socialite is the subject of the singer-songwriter's "The Last Great American Dynasty.". Rebekah Harkness. A ltima dinastia de Rebekah Harkness famosa e problemtica socialite que inspirou a faixa 3 de "Folklore", lbum de Taylor Swift | by ana guelere | Hello Band | Medium Write Sign up Sign In. [9] [14] Following the divorce, Harkness gained custody of both children. Her parents did care that she looked good, according to Unger. Rebekah Harkness, composer, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet, photographed in her office in 1964. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. She was the second daughter of three children to Allen Tarwater West, a stockbroker and co-founder of G. H. Walker & Co., and Rebekah Cook (ne Semple) West. Nonetheless, Harkness actually doted on the babe, and for a time it seemed like she was going to be a better granny than she was a mommy. She started by bringing the company to Watch Hill (despite the neighbors) in the summer for instruction, practice and choreography. Their marriage produced one child: Edith Harkness and their marriage lasted harmoniously for 7 years when William Hale Harkness died 1 October 1954 leaving his entire fortune, that included a major share of Standard Oil, to Rebekah to do with as she pleased. Yet like so much of Harknesss life, what seemed beautiful on the outside was rotting on the inside. She lost card game bets with Salvador Dal. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Swift wrote and recorded a new album called Folklore. View Full Details. Rebekah and Bill Harkness had one daughter, Edith. The two purchased a mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, which they nicknamed Holiday House. He was not convinced. [3] Harkness would also continue to study dance and piano, and studied ballet with Victoria Cassau, who was a student of Anna Pavlova. That money can't buy happiness? [7] In addition to founding the Harkness Ballet, Harkness launched a ballet school and home for the company called Harkness House,[8] as well as a refurbished 1,250-seat theater, which presented the Harkness Ballet and other dance companies to New York audiences. Although William Harkness came from a well-respected family that was supposed to give Rebekah even more of the status she craved, William himself wasa total fool. Her grandfather founded the St. Louis Union Trust Company. Oh my God, the question here is: What didnt she do? By 1956, she had even snagged a photo spread in Vogue, appearing in a neat, black Mainbocher dress with a white satin apron at her back. 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