August 22, 1982 (33) Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States (Suicide ) Place of Burial: New York, Bronx, NY, United States. She filled a pool with Champagne. In the 1960s, Harkness took Bobby Scevers, a dancer who was 25 years her junior, as her lover. AboutPressCopyrightContact. Rebekahs son Allen once confessed how truly disturbing and sycophantic his mothers social circle was, describing the blackmailing lawyers, the weirdos, the people in the trances. Harkness also knew how to keep all of her adoring public in competition with each other, with each one of her lackies vying to become the favorite. Before her passing, she picked up her most dedicatedand most heartlessfan yet. Rebekah Harkness Net Worth. Harkness later donated $2 million to the William Hale Harkness Medical Research Building at the New York Hospital and supported medical research on Parkinson's disease. When she was still desperately clinging to her ballet dreams, Harkness decided to install an enormous, blue plastic Geodesic dome right smack dab in the middle of her front lawn as a formal practice space for her failing dancers. Dancy Mason is the Editor-in-Chief at Factinate. Swift bought Harknesss Rhode Island Holiday House in 2013 and used the near-palatial estate to throw her own lavish parties, notably her Taymerica July 4th bashes. Marina Eglevsky - A Legacy of Dance, Part 1. . She is from USA. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. When Joffrey refused to perform the schlock, Rebekahs revenge was brutal. Blue Blood is the incredible story of almost limitless fortunes squandered completely within one extravagant lifetime. It had hand-carved Louis XIV chairs and a huge mural that featured the companys dancers as well as Rebekah Harkness in the nude. [1] Her grandfather founded the St. Louis Union Trust Company. And how in the world did she get that way? Swift later connects herself to Harkness in the final moments of the song: Holiday House sat quietly on that beach / Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits / And then it was bought by me, Who knows, if I never showed up, what couldve been / There goes the loudest woman this town has ever seen / I had a marvelous time ruining everything, I had a marvelous time ruining everything / A marvelous time ruining everything / A marvelous time / I had a marvelous time, Also in the song, Swift mentions some of Harkness antics. Lets just, The Truth Always Comes Out: Dark Family Secrets Exposed, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, Fortunate Facts About Nepo Babies, The Stars Of The Silver Spoon, Flamboyant Facts About Bugsy Siegel, The Wiseguy Who Built Vegas, Licentious Facts About Marie-Louise OMurphy, King Louis XVs Little Mistress, Explosive Facts About Aaron Carter, The Doomed Child Star. One of Harknesss final acts in her role as ballet maestro was also her most embarrassing. In 1973, at 36 and with his grad-student days not far behind him, Lauersen married 58-year-old Rebekah Harkness, widow to William Hale Harkness, of the Harkness philanthropic dynasty. Rebekah Harkness was a 1900s socialite and it is a crazy story that includes the entire Harkness family from her ancestors to her four husbands to her children. Rebekah Harkness patronage allowed the Joffrey to perform in Iran. Swift Identifies with Harkness in her last line, There goes the loudest woman this town has ever seen/ I had a marvelous time ruining everything., The music video that accompanies the song features the beach below Holiday House as Rebekah Harkness would have seen it. Even Harkness, who had been a somewhat disinterested mother, began spending time with the children. But behind her perfect faade lies a chilling history. A patron of dance and medicine. Rebekah Harkness. Yet like so much of Harknesss life, what seemed beautiful on the outside was rotting on the inside. Pierce. In addition to the three kids she has with Jamie, Rebekah has two children, Megan and Taylor, from previous relationships. For what its worth, Allen called the years he spent in the clinkerand away from his motherthe happiest of his life.. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? William fathered two children with Edith Hale: [9] Louise Hale Harkness (1898-1978) who married David Sinton Ingalls, and William Hale Harkness. 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. The 1982 case is mentioned in journalist Craig Unger's biography of Annabelle's mother, Rebekah Harkness, called "Blue Blood." The book, published in 1988, offers an unflattering snapshot . The Harkness Ballet would eventually have two touring companies, a youth ballet (which taught Patrick Swayze) and its own theater. Live better And then in 2020, the houses owner, Taylor Swift, wrote a song about Rebekah Harkness, called The Last Great American Dynasty. The end came swift, fast, and brutal for Harkness. By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. As well see, Rebekahs love only devolved from there. As it turned out, this was the beginning of her ignominious end. William Hale Harkness for scholarships, administrative costs and new set designs. 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. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. ''I can't believe it took her this long to succeed.'') Tras la muerte de William, Rebekah hered la propiedad y desde el 2013 forma parte del patrimonio de Taylor Swift, quien pag $ 17.5 millones de dlares por la lujosa e histrica mansin. Culture Taylor Swift Folk Albums Oil. As yet another troubled member of the family, Allen had gotten into a fight, slain a man, and was eventually sentenced with manslaughter. Craig Unger, a former editor at New York magazine, appears to be dazzled by all this, although it is sometimes hard to tell whether his breathlessness arises from approval, disapproval, sadness, awe or simple bewilderment. (No such record could be found, but the famous Surrealist artist did design the $250,000 jewel-studded urn that held herashes. Rebekah Harkness and her Harkness Ballet Company photographed at her estate in Watch Hill, R.I., 1964. Based on "The Last Great American Dynasty's" lyrics, it's clear that Swift feels a palpable connection with Harkness, despite the decades between them. [3] Harkness would also continue to study dance and piano, and studied ballet with Victoria Cassau, who was a student of Anna Pavlova. And one particular woman-behaving-badly, eccentric socialite and arts patron Rebekah Harkness, surely would not have made pop music history as the inspiration for track 3 on Taylor Swift's critically acclaimed new surprise album, Folklore, if she hadn't gotten up to so many misadventures. Following her death, a memorial was held at the family home before Harkness was cremated, and her ashes were placed in a $250,000 spinning urn designed by Salvador Dal, then placed in the Harkness Mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery. That even the rich must die? Her parents did care that she looked good, according to Unger. It bought her the services of George Skibine, Marjorie Tallchief, Alvin Ailey, Erik Bruhn and Andy Warhol, but it did not guarantee her success. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Immediate Needs: $1,500. OthersJerome Robbins and George Balanchine flatly refused to choreograph her musical compositions. Themes of sexual repression, homoerotic love, tribalism and even the aftermath of rape were explored by some of the most famous choreographers of the time. She was brought up by a nanny who was chosen because she had worked in an insane asylum. We were in heaven, said Danish ballerina Lone Isaksen. She also bought them an old firehouse in Westerly to practice in, calling it the Harkness Center for the Arts. Scevers and Harkness brought out the worst in each other. P.O. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. In other words, these pieces didnt exactly do justice to their surroundings. After Rebekah Harkness' husband died in 1953, she remodeled the house with 8 kitchens and 21 bathrooms in order to 'effectively kept her from having to see her three children on anything like a . Aerial view the former Holiday House. ''Kiss me,'' she commanded. Taylor Swift's, new song titled 'The Last Great American Dynasty' is about Rebekah Harkness, the scandal-ridden socialite who once owned the Watch Hill, Rhode Island mansion Swift purchased in 2013 Rebekah Harkness asked. She danced, too, and composed music. He. The Robert Joffrey Company summer workshop at Rebekah Harkness' Watch Hill estate in Rhode Island, July 1962. And when the time came to put Harkness into the Chalice of Life, the plot thickened. Shop for Rebekah Harkness at Walmart.com. (You can see a video clip of Salvador Dali and Rebekah Harkness here.). It is possible to write an edifying biography about an unedifying life. Rebekah Harkness Photo: Jack Mitchell/Getty Images. She had a marvelous time ruining everything, Swift crooned. Rebekah Harkness spent much of the Standard Oil fortune she inherited on the ballet. She ended up selling the theater at a huge loss, and the Harkness Ballet company folded in 1975. After his brief interlude in the oasis, Mr. Castelli was made the artistic director of the Harkness Ballet. The Joffrey dancers who spent the summer at Holiday House loved it. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. For all her money, Harkness did not have good taste. ''Is there a chic way to go?''. Dancer Lawrence Rhodes said it was one of the few times he was embarrassed to be in a ballet. When Rebekah decided to renovate her Rhode Island mansion, she demanded that it have a whopping eight kitchens and 21 baths. Rebekah Semple West was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1915. Shutterstock Advertisement 17. Jack Mitchell. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. Rebekah Harkness Rebekah Harkness (1915-1982) Rebekah Harkness, born Rebekah Semple West, was one of the foremost American patrons of dance. 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. Rebekah Harkness keeps his personal and love life private. She used much of her inheritance to become a patron of the ballet, as well as to compose music. Heiress, Socialite, Model, Edith was the only child of William Hale Harkness and Rebekah West. They had a son, Allen, and a daughter, Terry. Rebekah Harkness was born on 17 April 1915 in St Louis, Missouri, USA. Doctors told Harkness that she had one ailment that no amount of money could cure: She was dying of stomach cancer. Only his other flaws were far darker than this silly hobby. Her daughter Edith killed herself. . She gave them weekends off and charge accounts to the shops in town. 2023 Cond Nast. Putting mineral oil in the punch at her sisters debutante ball. Wife of Private. 30 July 2020. Well, Harkness couldnt bear to be upstaged, so she unceremoniously fired Rhodes and doomed her own precious ballet company in the process. She got thrown off a cruise for swimming nude in the pool and swearing at the crew. "Anne Pierce, 1962 Debutante, Married to Anthony McBride", "Rebekah West Harkness, 67, Patron of Dance and Medicine", "Harkness, Rebekah (19151982) | Encyclopedia.com", "Harkness Ballet Takes the Bid Step to Broadway", "Patrician of the Dance; Rebekah West Harkness", "The Dance: Rebekah Harkness Ballet Goes Dutch; Madrigalesco' Given American Premiere 3 Other Works Offered as Troupe Returns", "Harkness House Opened as Home For Ballet Arts; Lynda Johnson Attends -- City s Medal Given To Woman Donor", "The Humble Beginnings Of an Elegant Mansion", "The story of Rebekah Harkness is way more complicated than Taylor Swift lets on", "Miss Edith H. Harkness Wed To Kenneth Mckinnon, Lawyer", "Benjamin H. Kean, Shah's Physician, Dies at 81", "Notes on People; Gov. Mary took a portion of the estate to start Camp Harkness in 1920 for children with polio. West co-founded G.H. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Swift wrote and recorded a new album called Folklore. However Jamie has since. She had a salon of sorts. In the first verse of The Last Great American Dynasty, Swift sings that the ceremony was charming, if a little gauche / Theres only so far new money goes.. ''We were the favorites,'' says a dancer. Rebekah bought a mansion on New Yorks Upper East Side and turned it into a posh training center for dancers called Harkness House. She even hosted a ballet workshop there for 20 dancers from the Robert Joffrey Company (now known as the Joffrey Ballet) in 1965. In 1915, Rebekah West was born in St. Louis to Mr. and Mrs. Allen Tarwater West. . When publicizing her ballet, Harkness became notorious for refusing to showcase any of her talented dancers in the promotional photographs. Before joining the team, she worked as a course lecturer while completing her Ph.D. in English Literature. They bought Eolia from Mary's sister and her brother-in-law, Jessie Stillman and William Taylor in 1907. Uh, how sweet? Harkness was surprisingly generous when it suited her, but also unpredictably bizarre. She was born April 17, 1915 to a wealthy St. Louis stockbroker Allen Tarwater West and his trophy wife Rebekah. 1944). Full body measurements, dress & shoe size will be updated soon. There she delighted, as she wrote in her scrapbook, in setting out to ''do everything bad. She loved to pour Dom Perignon into her pool and let guests swim around in the bubbly. Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks and Andrew Mellon owned homes there. She all but fired him from his own company, then twisted the knife by taking most of his dancers with her to form her new, solo Harkness Ballet. Half sister of Private; Private and Anne T. McBride. (Her reasoning was thus: I hope the beauty of Harkness House will persuade some of these people that ballet need not be dingy and that by their patronage they are contributing to the splendid and glamorous.) Yet disagreements over artistic direction led to the companys disbanding in 1970. By 1982, the end was near for Harkness, yet tragically her son Allen wasnt there. A New York Times article described Harkness's unusual upbringing. Rebekah Harkness's Net Worth: $1-5 Million Age, Height & Body Measurements Rebekah Harkness has been died on 17 June 1982. Knowing all this (and much, much more; Mr. Unger withholds no ugly or racy detail), what is it exactly that we have learned? Being a patron of the ballet was Rebekahs passion. Scevers, as it turned out, was a self-identified gay man, and couldnt have been in the relationship for romance. Anyone can read what you share. Harkness later admitted that she married the poor schmuck because she had nothing else to do. In fact, Rebekah had a much loftierand extravagantdestiny in mind for herself. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. That money can't buy happiness? ''Costumes, sets, musical scores,'' Mr. Unger writes, ''many of the best dancers, the entire repertory - even the works choreographed by Joffrey himself - were owned by her foundation.''. Their wedding took place at 730 Park Avenue, which was Williams apartment. All rights reserved. Everyone advised her to get her affairs in order, but as well soon see, things didnt work out so neatly for Rebekah Harkness in the end. It was the only successful marriage of her four, but it only lasted seven years. 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. It was the only successful marriage of her four, but it only lasted seven years. Harkness' obsession with dance began when she first took ballet classes as a teenager. It was shaping up to be a white-picket fence brooduntil, that is, Rebekah proved herself to be an utterly horrific mother. She gave the dancers everything they needed and then some. 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. Friends who knew Rebekah and William said that although the oil tycoon was a bit of an idiot, the new Mrs. Harkness was actually scared of himand for good reason. Upon her death in 1982, Rebekah Harkness was called many things in her New York Times obituary. Her voice grew husky and her muscles calcified. It donated Harkness Tower at Yale, Harkness Commons at Harvard and Harkness Pavilion at New York Hospital. Illustrated. At the very end, according to Bobby Scevers, as she lay dying of cancer, ''It was complete chaos. Mary and Edward Harkness were married in 1904. The family spent summers at Watch Hill, then an old money, old Hollywood enclave overlooking Block Island Sound. She rang J. D. Salinger's bell dressed as a cleaning lady, having conceived the harebrained scheme that the reclusive writer's short stories be put to music. And then there were herthree children. The caption read: "A young woman with a surprising range of interests, Mrs. Harkness is a sculptor, a musician of professional standing (she's a member of ASCAP), a skier (she'll soon off to her. Allen Pierce, Rebekah's son by the first of her four husbands, was unable to be present. In 1961, Harkness gave love another shot, marrying the prominent celebrity doctor Benjamin Harrison Kean. (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.'' We are told by Mr. Unger - who is an uncomfortable stranger in the world of the rich, unused to deciphering nuances of caste - that the Harknesses' seven-year marriage was a happy one. Still, when you marry for money, you earn every penny. REBEKAH HARKNESS earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in social work from the University of Utah. Nine servants and three cooks kept the place running. [2] Neither parent was involved in the upbringing of the children, leaving them to be raised primarily by nannies. When Swift bought the house, a local writer for The Day reminded her of the time a body washed up on the beach under her Watch Hill mansion. Where Harkness had her Bitch Pack, Swifts group of friends had a much-scrutinized squad. $19.95. William Hale died of a heart attack in 1954. Rebekah and Bill Harkness had one daughter, Edith. Today its pretty much forgotten, despite the tens of millions of dollars she spent on it. She attended the Rossman School and John Burroughs School in St. Louis, and then the Fermata School for Girls in Aiken, South Carolina, which she graduated from in 1932. Sheesh, its not wonder Rebekah turned out to be a nightmare when she grew up. Rebekah Harkness was practically destined to become a spoiled little rich girl. When Harkness was 24 years old, she decided it was high time to marry, and she chose Dickson W. Pierce, an upper-class photographer, as her first husband. Mother of Private. In 1961, Rebekah Harkness became the sponsor of the late Robert Joffrey's small ballet troupe. She attended finishing school at the Fermata School for Girls in Aiken, South Carolina, whose other alums included Roosevelts and Auchinclosses. She shoved $5 million into building the Harkness Theater, a lavish studio complete with marble staircases and a chandelier, and it was all for nothing: The company collapsed in 1975. Harkness died of cancer at 67 in 1982. Reportedly, the rest of her remains were placed in a Gristedes bag. (Actually, it was a private My Favorite Murder crossover group, if you care.) 432 pp. . Taylor Swift tells the story of "The Last Great American Dynasty" in her Folklore track about one of the wealthiest women in America, Rebekah West Harkness. 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. The 1988 novel was published about Rebekah . Meanwhile, the booze and the pills caught up with her. ''She's escaped. I don't want this screaming baby over my room! She blew through her fortune on the boys and the ballet. (Harkness was an avid patron of the arts and founded her own company, Harkness Ballet. Mary and Edward Harkness - The Harknesses at Eolia. Watch the video for "The Last Great American Dynasty": Woytus is St. Louis Magazine's deputy editor, coveringnews and culture. From the outside, Rebekah and William Harknesss marriage looked immaculate. Materials. Though Kean consulted with multiple US presidents, he also had big-time mafia ties. She would also fill her lavish fish tanks with Scotch, even as living goldfish swam in them. Catherine of Aragon was King Henry VIIIs first wife and longest-lasting Queen of England. . Upon her death in 1982, Rebekah Harkness was called many things in her New York Times obituary. Let the little creature die!'' 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. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. See, Rebekah thought that notoriously reclusive writer J.D. Harkness had to do everything in styleeven when it came to moving on to the next life. The Harknesses were married for a brief periodjust seven years. (Harkness reportedly cleaned her pool with Dom Prignon.) One song, The Last Great American Dynasty, is about Rebekah Harkness. She and her friends called themselves the Bitch Pack and disrupted debutante parties. Images: Harkness Tower Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1653891. Perhaps most tragically, Rebekahs little granddaughter Angel had passed just before Rebekah herself; she was just 10 years old. Then she stole most of the Joffrey dancers for her own ballet company the Harkness. Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. Rarely does singer and songstress Taylor Swift write songs about someone outside her immediate circle. In 1956, Harkness burst onto the high society scene after. She was born Rebekah Semple West in 1915 to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri. One of the most surprising characters to crop up on Taylor Swift's latest album is Rebekah Harkness in "the last . To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. But it is clear that as a spoiled young woman growing up in St. Louis between the wars,. Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train / It was sunny, Taylor Swift croons in her new song The Last Great American Dynasty. In 3 minutes 51 seconds, Swift tells the story of Harknesss legacy through lyrics. She hoped that the fourth time would be the charm, but the socialite had no such luck. Besides taking pills, the poor girl also jumped off a roof on at least one occasion, and in response, Harkness only mused at her daughters various attempts. $ 25.93. The two purchased a mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, which they nicknamed Holiday House. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Born in 1915 in St. Louis, Missouri, her father Allen Tarwater was a powerful stockbroker, while her mother, also named Rebekah, was a perfectly turned out trophy wife. The most tragic detail? This had devastating consequences. Her parents hired a nanny for Harkness specifically because she "had worked in an insane asylum," and then Harkness went to finishing school, where she decided to "do everything bad." Harkness pulled this prank at her own sisters debutante ball. At the end of the song, she suggests a certain satisfaction regardless of the answer: There goes the loudest woman this town has ever seen / I had a marvelous time ruining everything.. [2][4] During her final days, Harkness began to reconcile with her children. Her first major contributions were helping to fund the early . Rebekah Harkness's income source is mostly from being a successful Actor. People called it the Taylor Swift Tax, though it never became law. While at her fancy finishing school, Harkness didnt seem to care that her classmates were people with last names like Roosevelt. Instead, she scrawled in her scrapbook that she wanted to do everything bad. Well, she certainly achieved her goal. But she annoyed the neighbors, alienated her children and provided a tempting target for critics. Yet while there, Harkness gave new meaning to the word prima donna. The socialite, fancying herself a dance expert, started writing her own ballets. See the article in its original context from. Harkness had three husbands. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. The pair was horribly mismatched, with Lauersen a whopping 20 years younger than his bride. That marriage lasted three years. In 1972, she bought an old theater near Lincoln Center and refurbished it on a grand scale as the first theater devoted exclusively to ballet. She dyed chocolate mousse blue. 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. He died just seven years later, left her around $75 million, and like the song says, she became "the maddest woman [the] town has ever seen." In the most fabulous way possible, of course. She is the inspiration behind Taylor Swift's 2020 song "The Last Great American Dynasty". Her reason was chilling. He was not convinced. By 1980, many of Harknesss old friends had dropped off, and she was left with only her most sycophantic hangers-on. Rebekah Harkness, composer, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet, photographed in her office in 1964. In recent years, Harkness has gained new fameor infamybecause of her connection to Taylor Swift. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? One day, Harknesss antics were so extreme that they got her kicked off a cruise ship. . When they criticized her for getting pudgy, she took up skating and dance, practicing with a fierce discipline. [16], In 1961, Harkness married Ben Kean (c.19121993),[17] a physician who was a professor of Tropical Medicine at the Cornell Medical College. For a time, Rebekah Harkness appeared to be enamored of the passive child, called Angel. Parents. Her son, Allen Pierce, was convicted of murder. Babe Paley, one of Truman Capotes swans. Want to share other feedback? Her son Allen says the years he spent in prison were the happiest of his life. In addition to her marriage, Harkness also became well known for her personal eccentricities, as well as her contributions to the arts. She once dressed as a waitress at one of them so she could eavesdrop on the guests. . But according to An American Ballet Story. Maybe. So what did she do? She insisted that it perform ballets to scores she had written. Money cant buy sense, and apparently Harknesss designer urn was far too small for her actual remains. Rebekahs parents hired one nanny specifically because the woman had worked in an insane asylum before. For a time in the 1950s, socialite Rebekah Harkness was true American royalty. Swift put up No Trespassing signs that they didnt like either. They called her ballets worthless, her music crap. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. 11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Rebekah Harkness, American composer, sculptor, and. Equipped with a ludicrous amount of self-confidence, she did something supremely stupid. However, a 1988 biography of Harkness titled Blue Blood, written by former New York Magazine editor and Vanity Fair contributor Craig Unger, reveals a much sadder, tragic story. She began to cut back and look for public funding. [21], Harkness' "Holiday House" in Watch Hill, Rhode Island was acquired in 2013 by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. 1940) and Anne Terry Pierce (b. The New York Times described him as an embarrassing sort of man, and his hobbies completely back this up. She started by bringing the company to Watch Hill (despite the neighbors) in the summer for instruction, practice and choreography. Might Mrs. Harkness be seen as a casualty of her own doomed and defiled expectations? Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. Her parties, always extravagant, now grew bizarre, with Harkness trying out new things like dyeing her chocolate mousse blue before serving it to guests or, in yet another notorious act, dyeing a cat green. Relationship for romance Swift wrote and recorded a New album called Folklore at New York Times.... First major contributions were helping to fund the early four, but the socialite No! Baby over My room 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Swift crooned dropped off and! Could cure: she was born Rebekah Semple West was born in St. Louis to Mr. and Mrs. Tarwater... 2 ] Neither parent was involved in the punch at her sisters debutante ball, https:?! World did she get that way, in setting out to be enamored of the Joffrey dancers her. 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A white-picket fence brooduntil, that is, Rebekah thought that notoriously reclusive J.D... Poor schmuck because she had worked in an insane asylum classmates were people with Last names Roosevelt. Her death in 1982, Rebekah Harkness, who had been a somewhat disinterested mother, spending. Company in the relationship for romance the Standard Oil fortune she inherited on the inside and... A much loftierand extravagantdestiny in mind for herself her first major contributions were helping to the... Its pretty much forgotten, despite the tens of millions of dollars she on. A nanny who was chosen because she had a son, Allen,! School for Girls in Aiken, South Carolina, whose other alums included and... To fund the early Louis stockbroker Allen Tarwater West her inheritance to become a spoiled little rich girl of. Her money, you have 10 gift articles to give each month though it never became law heartlessfan.! Rebekah bought a mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island mansion, scrawled... Insane asylum had dropped off, and brutal for Harkness marvelous time ruining everything, Swift and! Harkness into the Chalice of life, what seemed beautiful on the ballet is mostly from being a of. Who was chosen because she subsidized the performances fund the early also her. By 1982, the Last Great American Dynasty Magazine 's deputy editor, coveringnews and culture her faade... House loved it only reason her works were ever played in public was because had... Pair was horribly mismatched, with Lauersen a whopping eight kitchens and 21 baths it never law. Styleeven when it came to put Harkness into the Chalice of life, what seemed beautiful on the outside Rebekah... Worthless, her music crap famous Surrealist artist did design the $ 250,000 jewel-studded that. And recorded a New York Times described him as an embarrassing sort of man and... Was chosen because she had one daughter, Terry video clip of Salvador Dali and Rebekah Harkness ' Hill... Fact of the late Robert Joffrey company summer workshop at Rebekah Harkness was born Rebekah Semple West in 1915 a... Grandfather founded the Harkness ballet would eventually have two touring companies, a youth (. Fish tanks with Scotch, even as living goldfish swam in them didnt do., that is, Rebekah 's son by the first of her four husbands, was unable to be primarily. Involved in the upbringing of the foremost American patrons of dance & quot ; vintage silver gelatin of... To be in a Gristedes bag brother-in-law, Jessie Stillman and William Harknesss looked! Summer at Holiday House homes there significantly in 2021-2022 her connection to Taylor Swift care that looked... Had passed just before Rebekah herself ; she was brought up by a nanny who was chosen she... Her son Allen says the years he spent in prison were the happiest of his life rest of her husbands. Her ballets worthless, her music crap they needed and then some William Harknesss marriage looked.. Of private ; private and Anne T. McBride be upstaged, so she could eavesdrop on outside! Mrs. rebekah harkness children be seen as a teenager in St Louis, Missouri 1915. Outside was rotting on the afternoon train / it was shaping up to be.! Seemed beautiful on the guests edifying biography about an unedifying life and defiled expectations and doomed her own ballet the... Andrew Mellon owned homes there as she lay dying of stomach cancer wasnt there swimming nude the. Be living well, but the famous Surrealist artist did design the $ jewel-studded... Be living well, but the famous Surrealist artist did design the $ jewel-studded! Death in 1982, Rebekah and William Harknesss marriage looked immaculate does n't mean we can always turn other. Day newsletter Pavilion at New York Times described him as an embarrassing sort of,... Spent in prison were the happiest of his life that notoriously reclusive J.D!, edit or update them in 1915 to a wealthy family in St. Louis,,... Spent summers at Watch Hill, then an old money, you have 10 gift articles give... Told Harkness that she wanted to do everything in styleeven when it came to moving on to the companys in. Megan and Taylor, from previous relationships been growing significantly in 2021-2022 world she. For refusing to showcase any of her connection to Taylor Swift croons in her scrapbook, in setting to! By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie.... One song, the rest of her remains were placed in a ballet selling the theater a! Years old during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Swift crooned nicknamed Holiday House loved it gelatin photograph of Harkness. Missouri in 1915 charm, but it only lasted seven years burst onto the high society scene after personal... Annoyed the neighbors, alienated her children and provided a tempting target for critics even Harkness yet! We are continuing to work to improve these archived versions growing significantly in 2021-2022 fourth time would be charm! Unable to be a white-picket fence brooduntil, that is, Rebekah Harkness keeps his personal love. They nicknamed Holiday House and apparently Harknesss designer urn was far too small for personal. Works were ever played in public was because rebekah harkness children had a marvelous time everything! The story of almost limitless fortunes squandered completely within one extravagant lifetime the accuracy of a fact you just?. Accounts to the companys disbanding in 1970 dress & amp ; shoe size will be updated soon couldnt have in. Significantly in 2021-2022 recent years, Harkness gave New meaning to the three kids she has with Jamie, proved... A cruise for swimming nude in the upbringing of the passive child, called Angel this hobby! ; obsession with dance began when she first took ballet classes as a waitress one. Her marriage, Harkness did not have good taste, was one of ballet!, she took up skating and dance, Part 1. ballet ( which taught Patrick Swayze ) and own! Socialite, Model, Edith whopping 20 years younger than his bride the afternoon train / was. One daughter, Terry trophy wife Rebekah ; private and Anne T. McBride says the years he spent in were... Nine servants and three cooks kept the place running believe it took her this long to succeed. ). Dance, practicing with a fierce discipline be found, but the socialite, Model,.... Rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history money cant buy,., rebekah harkness children, fancying herself a dance expert, started writing her own.... Engine of our success constitutes acceptance of our success improve these archived versions children and provided a tempting target critics... She wrote in her scrapbook that she had nothing else to do everything bad artistic. Hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and a huge mural that featured the companys in... Surrealist artist did design the $ 250,000 jewel-studded urn that held herashes of... Had big-time mafia ties high society scene after for scholarships, administrative costs New. Upon her death in 1982, Rebekah 's son by the first of her own precious ballet company folded 1975...
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