The Etceterist | 04/17/2009 12:25 pm

Were Jacqueline Onassis and Lee Radziwill Embarrassed by 'Grey Gardens' back in the day? Lee Says 'Never'

By Billy Norwich

"You couldn’t possibly be ashamed of them; you celebrated them," Lee Radziwill told me of her eccentric relatives, Big and Little Edie Beale. "I am very proud of the Beales … I am very happy the Beales have gone into the history books because they should be remembered. They were charming eccentrics with marvelous imaginations, and there is so little room these days for wonderful people like that."

Several weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend a private screening of "Grey Gardens," starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange and airing on HBO Saturday night. The screening, at HBO’s headquarters in New York, was organized for Radziwill, niece and cousin of "Big" and "Little" Edie Beale.

It was an auspicious afternoon. Lee’s beloved son, Anthony Radziwill, was the Emmy Award-winning vice president for documentaries at HBO before his death in 1999 and, in 1973, it was Lee who had encouraged the Beales to let the Maysles brothers film them in their decaying, raccoon-and-cat-packed 28-room "cottage" in East Hampton.

To read more about Lee Radziwill commenting for the first time on "Grey Gardens" and the Beales, click here.

33 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

It may sound morbid, but when you watch the documentary and see the actual women, you immediately recognize that they are mental unstable. It is a bit uncomfortable to watch, but like a car accident, hard to look away.

I can’t wait to see Drew, she has the voice down pat.

By Belinda Joy on 04/17/2009 7:54 pm

e-mail alert

Drew Barrymore is such a doll, so talented. She was on Letterman a couple of nights ago talking about this….she was terrific.

I remember a high profile case of a SF Lady with lots of $$ and living with some outrageous number of cats. Good intentions but the conditions got very squalid so she was arrested for animal abuse when in actuality she was trying to help the cats. A little mental…upset about the arrest and the cats being removed so failed to appear for her hearing and then thrown in the slammer. How does this help anything? There isn’t any understanding or compassion. So she’s a bit off. What was Bush? A mass murderer. Where’s the sense of balance, not to mention real justice. These ladies were eccentric…but fascinating.

By ~ ~~ on 04/17/2009 9:45 pm

e-mail alert

Tis a shame that "stuff" happens and no one ever assured us that life was fair. The Beales made the most of what was and was not theirs with a bit of humor thrown into the mix. I love it and have ordered HBO just to enjoy this fascinating performance.

By Agyness O on 04/17/2009 11:01 pm

e-mail alert

Belinda,

Your so right about the documentary. I found it so uncomfortable to watch, but could not turn it off. I was actually quite sad at the end of the documentary.

I don’t have HBO, but hope it goes to DVD soon. I’d love to see their performances. Those of you posting about watching the HBO special, if you have not seen the documentary rent the dvd. It’s worth watching to see the mother and daughter (Beals) in their actual surroundings.

By Barbara Taylor on 04/19/2009 6:03 pm

e-mail alert

Good suggestion. So many parts of the HBO special are mirror images of the documentary. The acting and the sets are amazingly accurate. When Jessica Lange sings ‘Tea for Two’ from her bed, you can hardly believe that you aren’t watching the actual scene from the documentary. I’ve always longed to see the outtakes from the documentary. I am especially curious to see more of the house from that time period.

By darcus grey on 04/28/2009 2:42 pm

e-mail alert

I knew a woman who lived like this, many years ago. She held down a good job, was highly intelligent, but the one time I came to her home after she hounded me for months to come see her, I could barely get in the door because garbage, literally garbage, was strewn all over the floors, everywhere. She was adamant that I not touch anything, yet did not seem embarrassed at all. She invited me over (I did not invite myself) knowing full well how her place smelled, her little dog rolling in the detritus.

I accepted the dinner she made for me, and later on that evening, when I got home, got violently ill. The food seemed fine at the time, but one cannot cook in filth.

She was not eccentric; she was mentally ill. Is eccentric (in lieu of truly sick) a term used only for people with connections and money?

By kermie b on 04/18/2009 7:42 am

e-mail alert

As Fitzgerald noted, the rich are different…

By darcus grey on 04/28/2009 2:46 pm

e-mail alert

I don’t think it was eccentricity. I really believe there was a degree of mental illness with both BE and LE. I watched the documentary again the other day and it strains my credulity to think this was just eccentricity.

By Martha Cavanagh on 04/19/2009 4:48 am

e-mail alert

Thank you. These women were disturbed. To make entertainment of them, or to call them "eccentric" is just another way to justify mental illness if it happens to be related to you. I couldn’t watch the documentary: these were women with issues. Making it cute to be dysfunctional is sickness in itself.

By nanchan u on 04/19/2009 4:55 pm

e-mail alert

I have a previous comment floating around somewhere in this site. I saw the play in NY. Christine Ebersol was amazing..excellent..unbelievable…the true personification of Little Edie. The play was far better than the HBO film. Drew Barrymore’s performance was surprising..she got it!My theory about the Beale women is that they suffered the side effects of valium or some other drug use..hair loss being a common side effect.

By Spring Hill on 04/20/2009 7:00 am

e-mail alert

Couldn’t watch the HBO version. Found their dysfunction too full of angst and sadness. Original doc told a compelling story, and when it was made, interest was DUE to the Bouvier family ties. Not sure, but think I recall Jackie trying to help them. Maybe it’s just that I want to think that she tried to come to their aid. Mental illness might appear eccentric in East Hampton, but in my hood we call it like it is — CRAZY. Still sad, though.

By Robin P on 04/22/2009 3:45 pm

e-mail alert

I saw the HBO special and was enthralled. I loved it. It was magical, whimsical, eccentric, grandly filmed and oh my…those two actresses just took my breath away. Drew became little Edie. in every pour she was little Edie. Jessica Lange was at her most beautiful and vulnerable. I will watch it again and I would love to see the documentary as well. I felt happy through out the movie, a sense of lightness through the dark times even. BRAVO Ladies.

By J G on 04/22/2009 10:23 pm

e-mail alert

These people seem nutty to me, who really cares??

By LuAnne Winchester on 04/23/2009 12:02 pm

e-mail alert

I just watched Grey Garden’s yesterday and was soooo dissappointed. I don’t feel like it revealed anything at all about the characters. I still don’t even know why little Edie was losing her hair! if she was actually sick or just mentally ill or what. the entire movie was incredibly superficial and some of the worst acting i’ve seen out of Barrymore. who frankly… isn’t the best actress to begin with. It was poorly written. the makeup on Barrymore was poorly done and distracting. but mostly… it just left you going "huh?". Now i’m dying to actually KNOW something about these folks. so i guess i’ll go get the documentary.

By Chrome Toe on 04/24/2009 8:29 am

e-mail alert

Once you see the documentary you’ll appreciate Barrymore’s performance, as she absolutely nails Little Edie, as does Lange in the role of Big Edie. As for learning more about them, I have found only one book after years of searching. It is entitled "Grey Gardens" and is essentitally a diary kept by a friend who lived with them for a while in the 1970s. Though out of print, I found a used copy at Amazonbooks.com.

By darcus grey on 04/28/2009 2:58 pm