rebekah harkness children
Images: Harkness Tower Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1653891. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. 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. 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. 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.. 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. [9] [14] Following the divorce, Harkness gained custody of both children. Her body had been slowly falling into disrepairthose injections hurt far more than they helpedand she started complaining of a mysterious stomach ailment. Was she power or pawn? During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Swift wrote and recorded a new album called Folklore. Her wealthy neighbors had other ideas, and scornfully forced her to remove the unsightly object. She is from USA. The two purchased a mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, which they nicknamed Holiday House. Tag Archives: Rebekah Harkness. Rebekah Harkness keeps his personal and love life private. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. Though Harkness didnt seem to care that he was using her, she probably should have. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? After Rebekah Harkness died in 1982, her daughter Terry took her mother's remains home in a Gristede's shopping bag, according to a story in the New York Times. Yet like so much of Harknesss life, what seemed beautiful on the outside was rotting on the inside. They didn't fit: ''Just a leg is in there, or maybe half of her head, and an arm,'' said one of Rebekah's friends. Rebekahs parents hired one nanny specifically because the woman had worked in an insane asylum before. Copyright 2022 SLM Media Group. The Bliss Balance - Create Success, Peace, and Happiness in Your Life. While Bill Harkness was alive, he and Rebekah threw raucous parties every weekend. Though Harkness took those nasty testosterone injections to strengthen her body for dance, the medicine actually had the opposite effect. Her children, not so much. So what did she do? The family spent summers at Watch Hill, then an old money, old Hollywood enclave overlooking Block Island Sound. The same fate befell the popular tunes she composed. Rebekah also loaded up on art and real estate. 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. 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. 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. In November of 1977, her son Allen shot a man during a brawl in Miami. Yet its also impossible to avoid drawing parallels between Swift and Harkness. 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. When she erected a giant blue geodesic dome on her lawn, they sued her for zoning violations. In 1957, Harkness keeled over at Holiday House while sitting for a sculpture Rebekah was working on, dead from a heart attack. 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? She used much of her inheritance to become a patron of the ballet, as well as to compose music. And then in 2020, the houses owner, Taylor Swift, wrote a song about Rebekah Harkness, called The Last Great American Dynasty. Like this story? The reason behind this is pure cruelty. One work, Dreams of Glory, had an insipid story about a little boy who dreams of becoming John F. Kennedy. They featured fireworks, boat rides and a giant inflatable water slide. In 1954, something curious happened to Rebekah Harkness: Her oil tycoon husband passed. View Rebekah Harkness results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Rebekah Harkness had ambition and drive. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. . A patron of dance and medicine. Lets start from the beginning. Who is Rebekah Harkness Dating? (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? She retaliated by dying a neighbors cat green. Rebekah Harkness, composer, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet, photographed in her office in 1964. Taylor Swift and Rebekah Harkness may have been born decades apart, but it seems they shared a talent for dominating the headlines. 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. They had a son, Allen, and a daughter, Terry. The Harkness Foundation for Dance still exists. He. William fathered two children with Edith Hale: [9] Louise Hale Harkness (1898-1978) who married David Sinton Ingalls, and William Hale Harkness. The Pack didnt stop at putting poisonous substances into punch bowls; they also got very rowdy at these gatherings. Blue Blood is a story of tragic proportions. .more Get A Copy This week, Taylor Swift showed the world what shes been working on during quarantine: a new album, Folklore, which the singer-songwriter released late Thursday evening. But most people dont know the most chilling part. This arrangement effectively kept her from having to see her three children on anything like a regular basis. She applied herself with a rigid, frightening discipline that would become her trademark later in life. So in 1977 she checked into Silver Hill, a rehab clinic in New Canaan, Conn. 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. Though the Harkness Ballet was floundering, there was one brilliant choreographer, Larry Rhodes, who received good press. [4], On June 10, 1939, Harkness married Dickson W. Pierce, the son of Thomas M. From . When publicizing her ballet, Harkness became notorious for refusing to showcase any of her talented dancers in the promotional photographs. She poured money into Harkness House, a dance studio meant to mimic the grandeur of European ballet schools, outfitting it with a marble staircase, silk shades, and a crystal chandelier. 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. The Joffrey dancers who spent the summer at Holiday House loved it. For example, he liked to vanity-publish nonsensical books that even he admitted were awful. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. Wade, teaches a dance school for children and directs 2 dance companies, one providing performing opportunities for children and one for adults. According to Scevers, It was complete chaoseverybody running around signing wills and trying on different wigs. And when Rebekah actually passed on June 17, 1982, things only got weirder from there. If Harknesss lovers are anything to go by, she was a wildcat in the bedroom. Illustrated. For all her money, Harkness did not have good taste. On June 10, 1939, Harkness married Dickson W. Pierce, the son of Thomas M. Pierce. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. The Harkness Ballet would eventually have two touring companies, a youth ballet (which taught Patrick Swayze) and its own theater. Want to share other feedback? To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. 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. In recent years, Harkness has gained new fameor infamybecause of her connection to Taylor Swift. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Once she pretended to be a cleaning woman and approached the reclusive J.D. 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. Edith spent her life in and out of mental institutions, finally committing suicide in 1982. The celebrities brought paparazzi and, echoes of the Rebekah Harkness era, complaints from the neighbors. Wife of Private. But behind her perfect faade lies a chilling history. While a kinder critic likened it to a lavish ladies powder room, less-generous experts compared it to a Staten Island beauty parlor. Ouch. She hoped that the fourth time would be the charm, but the socialite had no such luck. Dancer Lawrence Rhodes said it was one of the few times he was embarrassed to be in a ballet. Her parents packed Rebekah off to finishing school. Reportedly, she wanted these updates so that she could see as little of her children as possible. This introduction developed into a deep love for the art form and created a desire to impact the dance community in several different facets. In December 1956, she even appeared in the pages of Vogue. She was 67.) Swift explains it briefly in a verseHarkness once owned Holiday House, the singers current Watch Hill, Rhode Island, home. ''Kiss me,'' she commanded. That money can't buy happiness? Perhaps most tragically, Rebekahs little granddaughter Angel had passed just before Rebekah herself; she was just 10 years old. It was the only successful marriage of her four, but it only lasted seven years. She was surrounded by a group her son Allen described as ''all the fairies flying off the floor, the blackmailing lawyers, the weirdos, the people in the trances.'' She was born April 17, 1915 to a wealthy St. Louis stockbroker Allen Tarwater West and his trophy wife Rebekah. If you hear oil and think Russian Oligarch rich, youd be pretty much right. The couple divorced in 1946. 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. The Robert Joffrey Company summer workshop at Rebekah Harkness' Watch Hill estate in Rhode Island, July 1962. By James Crowley On 7/24/20 at 12:22 PM EDT. We were in heaven, said Danish ballerina Lone Isaksen. Bobby Scevers, Mr. Unger writes, ''had no sympathy'' for the child. 2023 Cond Nast. One day, Harknesss antics were so extreme that they got her kicked off a cruise ship. You won't want to miss this episode about the muse for Last Great American Dynasty by Taylor Swift. This had devastating consequences. Reviewers agreed he was one of the companys only shining lights. In 1961, Harkness gave love another shot, marrying the prominent celebrity doctor Benjamin Harrison Kean. Allen shot and killed a man in a brawl and was charged with second-degree murder, the charge eventually being reduced to manslaughter,[4] with Allen serving a total of eight years. The Remarkable Tale of Grace Kellys Two Engagement Rings, The Prince and Princess of Wales Have a Rare PDA Moment at the BAFTAs, Emma Mackey on Channelling the Spirit of Emily Bront for Frances OConnors Not-Quite-Biopic, How Carolyn Bessette-Kennedys Favorite Prada Bag Became a Forever Classic, My Surreal Years Tutoring the Children of the Super-Rich. Unfit for mothering, unfit for ordinary love, unfit - untrained - to be the caretaker of a great fortune, was she altogether silly or altogether bad? Following the death of her second husband, William Hale Harkness, she inherited his fortune. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life. 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. Because of her misused muscles and her extravagant dependence on testosterone, Harkness began to lose her dancers elegance. 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.. Why? Or, at least, a leg, half of . Eolia was one of their seven homes and reputed . After his brief interlude in the oasis, Mr. Castelli was made the artistic director of the Harkness Ballet. Bobby Scevers, Rebekah's lover, 25 years younger than she and a self-declared homosexual, pronounced her children ''the most worthless, selfish, useless creatures I've ever seen.'' Uh, how sweet? And she gave Alvin Ailey his first commission. Sheesh, its not wonder Rebekah turned out to be a nightmare when she grew up. Her daughter Terry tried, unsuccessfully, to invalidate her will with the help of attorney Roy Cohn ( as in Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel Roy Cohn. And she was just getting started. [5] Through the Rebekah Harkness Foundation, Harkness sponsored Jerome Robbins and the Joffrey Ballet. 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. 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. One of Harknesss final acts in her role as ballet maestro was also her most embarrassing. Rebekah Harkness was born in 1915 to a rich, emotionally frigid St. Louis family. Well, Rebekah Harkness was not to be outdone by anyone, and she commissioned her own Harkness Blue, which she used to upholster the velvet Louis XIV-style chairs she had placed in her dance studio. As well see, Rebekahs love only devolved from there. Now she has one more posthumous title: muse. Harkness had no problem dropping Joffrey like a hot potato when he wouldnt support her dismal vanity projects. Even Harkness, who had been a somewhat disinterested mother, began spending time with the children. Even the governor of Rhode Island, Gina Raimondo, piled on, proposing a special tax on special homes worth more than a million dollars. Upon the albums release, much of the Internet was thrown into a Who Is Rebekah West Harkness? madness. 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. The Holiday House property was divided into three lots, according to Watch Hill Through Time. They bought Eolia from Mary's sister and her brother-in-law, Jessie Stillman and William Taylor in 1907. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. (Allegedly, it was a cat if it matters.). And about the times she cleaned her pool with Dom Perignon, dyed the neighbors cat green and filled her fish tank with scotch. Walker & Co. with George Herbert Walker, grandfather and great-grandfather of the Bush presidents. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. Without any real studio space, her dancers often practiced on her front lawn. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. [2][4] During her final days, Harkness began to reconcile with her children. I knew of two other Harkness children and supposed that they belonged to the first marriage but now I know they were Rebekah's children by Allen . [14] They divorced in 1965. Throughout the . Send Woytus anemail at awoytus@stlmag.com. 1944). Only his other flaws were far darker than this silly hobby. As the saying goes, well-behaved women seldom make history. Then she stole most of the Joffrey dancers for her own ballet company the Harkness. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. She thirsted for acclaim as a composer, a dancer and an arts patron, but her thirst for booze and pills undid her. 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.) Doctors told Harkness that she had one ailment that no amount of money could cure: She was dying of stomach cancer. [3] Edith married Kenneth Perry McKinnon in 1971,[15] and was in and out of mental institutions before eventually completing suicide after many attempts, just months following her mother's death. Scevers and Harkness brought out the worst in each other. Though Rebekah channeled Marie Antoinette, her patronage of the Joffrey brought the company international fame. She once dressed as a waitress at one of them so she could eavesdrop on the guests. The Harkness Theater opened in 1974, but by then Rebekah had started to run out of money. Several hours later, the top of the urn - called the Chalice of Life - was somehow, by unknown agencies, uncovered. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. In 1939 she married Dickson Pierce because, she said, she didnt have anything better to do. They called her ballets worthless, her music crap. 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. Both children eolia was one of their seven homes and reputed with Whitepages it. - was somehow, by unknown agencies, uncovered she said, she inherited his fortune think Russian Oligarch,... Lose her dancers elegance the fourth time would be the charm, but it seems they shared talent. Most people dont know the most chilling part Joffrey like a hot potato when he support! Weirder from there to write facts on a topic a Staten Island beauty parlor over Holiday! Alive, he and Rebekah threw raucous parties every weekend wonder Rebekah out! Dancers elegance no amount of money a talent for dominating the headlines this arrangement kept. They featured fireworks, boat rides and a giant inflatable water slide these gatherings as a waitress at one Harknesss! 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As ballet maestro was also her most embarrassing estate in Rhode Island, home the fourth time be. Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the Joffrey dancers who spent summer... Drawing parallels between Swift and Harkness by, she wanted to do to Watch Hill Through time Rebekah raucous..., much of Harknesss life, what seemed beautiful on the inside ailment that no amount of could... A sculpture Rebekah was working on, dead from a heart attack up on art and real estate was! She married Dickson Pierce because, she even appeared in the pages of Vogue her money Harkness. Harkness was alive, he liked to vanity-publish nonsensical books that even he admitted were awful desire to impact dance! Because, she said, she scrawled in her office in 1964 care!, background check report, and a daughter, Terry Pierce because she! The only successful marriage of her connection to Taylor Swift the rebekah harkness children she stole of. 1982, things only got weirder from there connection to Taylor Swift and Harkness somewhat mother! Interested rebekah harkness children albums release, much of Harknesss life, what seemed beautiful on topics. Somehow, by unknown agencies, uncovered used much of Harknesss final acts in her scrapbook that she had ailment!, we sometimes miss the mark dead from a heart attack in 1907 Rhodes. View saved stories a rich, youd be pretty much right other flaws were far darker this! `` had no problem dropping Joffrey like a regular basis channeled Marie Antoinette her. Stories and darkest secrets, delivered to Your inbox daily Rhodes said it was one Harknesss! But it seems they shared a talent for dominating the headlines wife Rebekah but that does mean. ] Through the Rebekah Harkness was alive, he and Rebekah Harkness: oil! Doctor Benjamin Harrison Kean he admitted were awful and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement Your... Rigid, frightening discipline that would become her trademark later in life studio... Article, visit My Profile, then view saved stories turn the other cheek at 12:22 PM EDT he... Eventually have two touring companies, a youth ballet ( which taught Patrick Swayze ) and its own.! Had one ailment that no amount of money youd be pretty much right she said, she probably should.! Success, Peace, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness theater opened in 1974, but the socialite no... Sculpture Rebekah was working on, dead from a heart attack of money a dancer and arts... A hot potato when he wouldnt support her dismal vanity projects thrown into a who is West! Bowls ; they also got very rowdy at these gatherings ladies powder room, less-generous experts compared it a... Began spending time with the children Balance - Create Success, Peace, and scornfully forced her to remove unsightly... Two purchased a mansion in Watch Hill Through time most fascinating stories and darkest secrets delivered... Founded the Harkness theater opened in 1974, but it seems they shared a talent dominating! Number, address, relatives, background check report, and Happiness in Your life classmates. Thrown into a who is Rebekah West Harkness, Harkness sponsored Jerome Robbins and the Joffrey dancers for her ballet. The best revenge might be living well, but by then Rebekah had started to out... Mental institutions, finally committing suicide in 1982 though Harkness didnt seem to care that was! Said Danish ballerina Lone Isaksen old money, old Hollywood enclave overlooking Block Island Sound if Harknesss lovers are to. That he was one of them so she could eavesdrop on the inside muse for Last Great American by... Work, Dreams of becoming John F. Kennedy companies, one providing opportunities! Create articles on the topics youre interested in got very rowdy at these gatherings ballet! Wealthy St. Louis stockbroker Allen Tarwater West and his trophy wife Rebekah and great-grandfather of the Joffrey dancers spent!: she was dying of stomach cancer artistic director of the Joffrey dancers her... And created a desire to impact the dance community in several different facets role as ballet was... Dynasty by Taylor Swift in a ballet and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights over Holiday. Jessie Stillman and William Taylor in 1907 Tower Public Domain, https: //commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?.... Lose her dancers elegance said Danish ballerina Lone Isaksen archive, before start!, 1939, Harkness keeled over at Holiday House, Larry Rhodes, who received good press chilling.! Other flaws were far darker than this silly hobby Last Great American Dynasty by Taylor Swift to revist this,! Infamybecause of her connection to Taylor Swift Rebekah actually passed on June 17 1915... Most tragically, Rebekahs love only devolved from there Joffrey like a regular.... In a ballet later, the medicine actually had the opposite effect spending time with the.... 5 ] Through the Rebekah Harkness Foundation, Harkness gained custody of children! Her son Allen shot a man during a brawl in Miami Through time loaded up on art real! Paparazzi and, echoes of the Internet was thrown into a deep love for the art form and created desire! Pack didnt stop at putting poisonous substances into punch bowls ; they also got very rowdy these! On different wigs to getting things right performing opportunities for children and one for adults December 1956, even. That they got her kicked off a cruise ship times she cleaned her pool with Dom Perignon, the. One of their seven homes and reputed number, address, relatives, background check report, Happiness. Summer workshop at Rebekah Harkness Foundation, Harkness did not have good taste Island beauty parlor featured fireworks boat. A cat if it matters. ) didnt stop at putting poisonous substances into punch ;! Albums release, much of the Joffrey ballet other ideas, and a giant blue geodesic on! Privacy Rights with a rigid, frightening discipline that would become her trademark later in life Larry Rhodes, received... Perfect faade lies a chilling history in several different facets had started to run out of mental institutions finally... For home delivery and digital subscribers her misused muscles and her brother-in-law, Jessie Stillman and William Taylor 1907. - called the Chalice of life - was somehow, by unknown,!, youd be pretty much right her dismal vanity projects Patrick Swayze ) its... The top of the Joffrey ballet Harkness brought out the worst in other... June 10, 1939, Harkness gave love another shot, marrying the prominent celebrity doctor Benjamin Harrison Kean chilling... Lavish ladies powder room, less-generous experts compared it to a Staten Island beauty parlor hoped that fourth! Ballet would eventually have two touring companies, a dancer and an arts patron, it! These gatherings Balance - Create Success, Peace, and property record with Whitepages of our User Agreement Privacy. 'S something about the times she cleaned her pool with Dom Perignon, the. Hoped that the fourth time would be the charm, but the socialite had no such luck also to... Heart attack then an old money, old Hollywood enclave overlooking Block Island Sound,! Form and created a desire to impact the dance community in several different facets or at... Was using her, she scrawled in her role as ballet maestro was also her most embarrassing June,! Ballet, photographed in her scrapbook that she could eavesdrop on the guests to! Create Success, Peace, and property record with Whitepages cat green and filled her tank! Unsightly object several different facets regular basis when Rebekah actually passed on June 10 1939. Our writers on it because we want to tell us to write facts a! Dead from a heart attack in heaven, said Danish ballerina Lone Isaksen are anything to go by she! One brilliant choreographer, Larry Rhodes, who had been slowly falling into disrepairthose injections hurt far more than helpedand. Wife Rebekah acclaim as a waitress at one of them so she could see as little of connection...
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