16. The Edies Were Largely Unknown Until the Documentary in 1975
Had it not been for filmmakers David and Albert Maysles, the world may never have learned about the reclusive Edies. The pair were in the process of making a documentary about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ daughter, Lee Radziwill, when they traveled to the East Hamptons on research and met the Beale women. They quickly realized that the Beales would make for a much more exciting documentary than Radziwill.
Radziwill was reportedly furious about the decision to switch subjects to the Beales and withdrew her financial support of the documentary. She also seized all of their footage of her and her family. Due to their reclusive nature, few outside of their immediate family had ever heard of Big and Little Edie and their desperate living conditions. They may well have seen the 1971 headlines about the misery of the manor, but that likely didn’t stick in the minds of many beyond a passing read.
In 1975, the Maysles debuted their documentary Grey Gardens to the world, where it immediately generated a great deal of interest. The riveting scenes of the two dramatic women, with memories of their former glory, galavanting around a squalid home full of garbage and cat feces were not easy to forget. The pair became cultural icons and Little Edie’s constant head wrappings due to alopecia-inspired fashion houses and magazines. In 2009, HBO resurrected the legacy of the Edies with a miniseries starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“About Big Edie” Staff author, Grey Gardens Online. n.d.
“A Return to Grey Gardens” Gail Sheehy, New York Magazine. October 2006.
“16 Examples of the Kennedy Curse”, Trista, History Collection, November 11, 2018