(Actually, it was a private My Favorite Murder crossover group, if you care.) He was in prison. The family spent summers at Watch Hill, then an old money, old Hollywood enclave overlooking Block Island Sound. When they criticized her for getting pudgy, she took up skating and dance, practicing with a fierce discipline. When publicizing her ballet, Harkness became notorious for refusing to showcase any of her talented dancers in the promotional photographs. Obviously, Rebekah was completely out touch with realityso her next move makes sense. The question Swift would have you ask is how much of this reputation was deserved and how much was the result of gossip or judgmental peers. She stole a neighbors dog and dyed it key lime green. 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 Harkness was practically destined to become a spoiled little rich girl. Harkness was friends with a young Potter Stewart, whom she affectionately called "Potsie," and their relationship was written about by her biographer Craig Unger. 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. Uh, how sweet? Harkness other daughter, Edith, died of suicide after many attempts. Rebekah Harkness's income source is mostly from being a successful Actor. Throughout the . Reportedly, the baby Angel innocently pulled a ribbon from Harknesss perfectly coifed hair. Did Mommy and Daddy notice? [9] Through the William Hale Harkness Foundation, she sponsored construction of a medical research building at the New York Hospital and supported a number of medical research projects. (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.'' If Harknesss lovers are anything to go by, she was a wildcat in the bedroom. The 16-track album, Swifts eighth, features a song titled The Last Great American Dynasty, about the late St. Louisbornsocialite Rebekah West Harkness, whom Swift paints as an eccentric. . From . Anne married Anthony McBride in 1966[1] and had a severely brain-damaged baby who died at age 10. Dec 8, 2020 The Harkness family had a reputation for its philanthropy. 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. Several hours later, the top of the urn - called the Chalice of Life - was somehow, by unknown agencies, uncovered. 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. For a time in the 1950s, socialite Rebekah Harkness was true American royalty. A 1955 article from The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that one of her works would be premiering at Carnegie Hall in New York City.) Immediate Needs: $1,500. "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. 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. Harkness, fittingly, belonged to an American dynasty. The couple divorced in 1946. Christians have a tendency to do two things when exploring Jesus' death: downplay the role of the state, and interpret Jesus' feud with the Pharisees, in very anti-Semitic terms. 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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Rebekah and Bill Harkness had one daughter, Edith. Before joining the team, she worked as a course lecturer while completing her Ph.D. in English Literature. Images: Harkness Tower Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1653891. In the art world, the shade International Klein Blue is famous, and was custom-mixed by renowned artist Yves Klein in 1960. Rebekah Harkness asked. In 1947, she married William Hale "Bill" Harkness, an attorney and heir to the Standard Oil fortune of William L. Harkness, which made her one of the wealthiest women in America. [9] [14] Following the divorce, Harkness gained custody of both children. The 1988 novel was published about Rebekah . Rebekah Harkness Photo: Jack Mitchell/Getty Images. She spent a small fortune buying her way into the dance world, surrounding herself with dancers, musicians and choreographers. Her wealthy neighbors had other ideas, and scornfully forced her to remove the unsightly object. In her obituary, shes credited with supporting the Joffrey and Jerome Robbins ballet companies. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Harkness pulled this prank at her own sisters debutante ball. The caption read: A young woman with a surprising range of interests, Mrs. Harkness is a sculptor, a musician of professional standing (shes a member of ASCAP), a skier (shell soon off to her chalet in Gstaad with her three children for a holiday), and an active supporter of many charities. Below her in the spread? . On June 10, 1939, Harkness married Dickson W. Pierce, the son of Thomas M. Pierce. 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. Harkness, born Rebekah Semple West, grew up amidst splendor in St. Louis as the third and youngest child of Allen Tarwater West, heir to a banking fortune, and Rebekah Semple, daughter of a wealthy merchant. Scevers, as it turned out, was a self-identified gay man, and couldnt have been in the relationship for romance. [19] They divorced in 1977. (Mr. Scevers has a stunning way of placing himself squarely in the center of every sentence he utters; he appears to believe that Rebekah Harkness's death happened more to him than to her.) She loved to pour Dom Perignon into her pool and let guests swim around in the bubbly. In 1939 she married Dickson Pierce because, she said, she didnt have anything better to do. Wealthy, elegant, and beautiful, Harkness seemed to have it allfrom her oil baron husband to her notoriously raucous parties. 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. 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. [1] Before their divorce in 1946, they had two children; Allen Pierce (b. Her daughter Terry gave birth to a child who died at age 10. Instead, she was reared by a series of nanniesand thats not even the worst part. She also studied orchestration with Lee Hoiby and received a Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, New Hampshire, in 1968.[12]. When I first saw someone bring up Blue Blood (The story of Rebekah Harkness and how one of the richest families in America descended into drugs, madness, suicide and violence), I was lurking in a Taylor Swift Facebook group. [5] Through the Rebekah Harkness Foundation, Harkness sponsored Jerome Robbins and the Joffrey Ballet. But the loud parties caused problems with the neighbors. She is from USA. If that sounds like a recipe for disaster, it really was. It was not part of the Harkness Ballet, Harkness House or the Rebekah Harkness Foundation. Oh, but they had more tricks up their perfectly-tailored sleeves. Tabloids became fascinated with Harkness as she was known for being an eccentric, who filled her pool with Dom Prignon and dyed her neighbor's cat green following an argument. . [1] Her grandfather founded the St. Louis Union Trust Company. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. The story of Rebekah Harkness is way more complicated than Taylor Swift lets on. The ashes were placed in a $250,000 jeweled urn made by Salvador Dali. Thanks for your help! As Rebekahs friend said, Just a leg is in there, or maybe half of her head, and an arm. So instead of giving her mother a dignified end, Rebekahs daughter Terry had to carry the rest of her ashes home, bound up loosely in a humble supermarket bag. 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. 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. 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. It was the only successful marriage of her four, but it only lasted seven years. As the saying goes, well-behaved women seldom make history. 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. The pair was horribly mismatched, with Lauersen a whopping 20 years younger than his bride. Styling herself as the life of the party, Harkness did things like throw plates at the ships Filipino orchestra, swim in her birthday suit in full view of other passengers, and send out strings of swears so loudly that the ocean liner eventually had no choice but to send the beautiful, foul-mouthed socialite off the boat. West co-founded G.H. They bought Eolia from Mary's sister and her brother-in-law, Jessie Stillman and William Taylor in 1907. But the result was disastrous. 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. 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. Rebekah Harkness. 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. To zero peoples surprise, the Harkness family was utterly dysfunctional. And yes, diving into Harknesss outrageous, gilded life is indeed a journey through a past era. She gave the dancers everything they needed and then some. She once served them a cake with $10 bills baked into it. for scholarships, administrative costs and new set designs. 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