Images: Harkness Tower Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1653891. 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. 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. De . In 1961, Rebekah Harkness became the sponsor of the late Robert Joffrey's small ballet troupe. Though the Harkness Ballet was floundering, there was one brilliant choreographer, Larry Rhodes, who received good press. She had a marvelous time ruining everything, Swift crooned. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. Her body had been slowly falling into disrepairthose injections hurt far more than they helpedand she started complaining of a mysterious stomach ailment. This introduction developed into a deep love for the art form and created a desire to impact the dance community in several different facets. [19] They divorced in 1977. The two purchased a mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, which they nicknamed Holiday House. All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. Was she power or pawn? [22] In 2020, Swift wrote the song "The Last Great American Dynasty" for her eighth studio album Folklore (2020), in which she tells Harkness' life story and draws parallels between Harkness highly publicized life and her own. Save money. $19.95. A philanthropist. Obviously, Rebekah was completely out touch with realityso her next move makes sense. Rebekah Harkness was born on 17 April 1915 in St Louis, Missouri, USA. [4], In the 1960s, Harkness became well known as a philanthropist and patron of the arts. The story of Rebekah Harkness is way more complicated than Taylor Swift lets on. She hoped that the fourth time would be the charm, but the socialite had no such luck. 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. Harkness was jealous to an absolute fault, and even to her own detriment. She developed an addiction to injections of B-vitamins, painkillers and testosterone. He. Parents. . (The music site NME is praising the tune as "a contender for the best Taylor Swift song ever written"; you can watch the official lyric video below.) Rebekah Harkness Photo: Jack Mitchell/Getty Images. The children were visiting Bill's family and Alfonso had left . BOX 191606 A patron of dance and medicine. 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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Upon her death in 1982, Rebekah Harkness was called many things in her New York Times obituary. 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. 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. A patron of dance and medicine. He was in prison. An awning saved her life. At the very end, according to Bobby Scevers, as she lay dying of cancer, ''It was complete chaos. Rebekah Harkness. This arrangement effectively kept her from having to see her three children on anything like a regular basis. Fast forward 60 years, and another thin, rich, beautiful white woman bought Holiday House. Then a little-known ballet company, they spent the summers practicing and experimenting with new ideas. She was brought up by a nanny who was chosen because she had worked in an insane asylum. My mom never told me how her best friend died. Allen Pierce, was convicted of murder after shooting a man in a brawl, her daughter Terry's child was born with brain damage and died at the age of ten and her other daughter Edith died of suicide, following numerous stays at mental health institutions. 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. The Harkness Foundation for Dance still exists. ''She's escaped. Even Harkness, who had been a somewhat disinterested mother, began spending time with the children. But most people dont know the most chilling part. . She is from USA. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Reportedly, she wanted these updates so that she could see as little of her children as possible. Rebekah West Harkness (ne Semple West;[1] April 17, 1915 June 17, 1982) also known as Betty Harkness, was an American composer, socialite, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet. Who Is Rebekah Harkness? Rebekah Semple West was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1915. Bobby Scevers, Mr. Unger writes, ''had no sympathy'' for the child. 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. All the extra rooms would give the nannies plenty of space to feed and bathe the babies without Rebekah having to know a thing about it. The building, according to Craig Unger, the author of this rich-man/eye-of-the-needle biography, was in a state of putrefaction, ''crumbling like Tara after the Civil War.'' This story was updated in 2022. Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks and Andrew Mellon owned homes there. However, the connection between the two women, despite being eras apart, may go beyond mere real estate. Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. For a time in the 1950s, socialite Rebekah Harkness was true American royalty. Then she stole most of the Joffrey dancers for her own ballet company the Harkness. Family Members. She is the inspiration behind Taylor Swift's 2020 song "The Last Great American Dynasty". The Bliss Balance - Create Success, Peace, and Happiness in Your Life. She dyed a cat green. Harkness had no problem dropping Joffrey like a hot potato when he wouldnt support her dismal vanity projects. One work, Dreams of Glory, had an insipid story about a little boy who dreams of becoming John F. Kennedy. Calling all Swifties and History Nerds! [23], An American Ballet Story is an upcoming documentary film directed by Leslie Strait and sponsored by the International Documentary Association. Image courtesy Holiday House, Courtesy Google, Maxar Technologies. Ugh. Her daughter Edith jumped off roofs, swallowed pills and managed not to kill herself. Unfortunately for Rebekah, the endeavour ended in national embarrassment and disaster. Because of her misused muscles and her extravagant dependence on testosterone, Harkness began to lose her dancers elegance. Taylor Swift has once . One of Harknesss signature moves was to use vastly expensive products for everyday, mundane things. These are facts of which we have already been apprised. ''The others, they just know how to bite.'') Watch the video for "The Last Great American Dynasty": Woytus is St. Louis Magazine's deputy editor, coveringnews and culture. Rebekah and Bill Harkness had one daughter, Edith. [14] They divorced in 1965. (You can see a video clip of Salvador Dali and Rebekah Harkness here.). Nine servants and three cooks kept the place running. (''I'm glad Edith is gone,'' said the unquenchable Bobby Scevers. Anyone can read what you share. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Harkness drew glares for her parties at Holiday House, as did Swift: Who could forget the frenzy over her celeb-studded Fourth of July bash? 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.) Babe Paley, one of Truman Capotes swans. For example, he liked to vanity-publish nonsensical books that even he admitted were awful. He was not convinced. 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. She danced, too, and composed music. But behind her perfect faade lies a chilling history. Is there a chic way to go? One day, Rebekah would find out that question for herself. Though Harkness took those nasty testosterone injections to strengthen her body for dance, the medicine actually had the opposite effect. 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. [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. Rocky Finds His Heart. 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. Scevers and Harkness brought out the worst in each other. Edith spent her life in and out of mental institutions, finally committing suicide in 1982. She had spent the 1987 equivalent of $38 million on a failed enterprise. 1944). Reportedly, the rest of her remains were placed in a Gristedes bag. [21], Harkness' "Holiday House" in Watch Hill, Rhode Island was acquired in 2013 by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. That marriage lasted three years. And how in the world did she get that way? She attended finishing school at Fermata in Aiken, South Carolina, from 1929 to 1932, before pursuing advanced instruction in harmonic . Harkness definitely wasnt the most fiscally-responsible business woman, but she does have the distinction of being the strangest girl-boss in history. I am beginning to think that biography, especially the biography of such a chaotic personality as Rebekah Harkness, needs to be molded and informed by a novelist's ordering imagination. (Watch it here.). (Harkness reportedly cleaned her pool with Dom Prignon.) [9] [14] Following the divorce, Harkness gained custody of both children. The most tragic detail? One of her conquests, producer Bertrand Castelli, described one rendezvous they had in her office as like two camels in the desert who suddenly know that the only way to make an oasis is to really talk sense. Thisactually doesnt make sense, which probably means it was a really wild night. The socialite was born in 1915 to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri. [4] Harkness also surrounded herself with other well-known creatives, like yogi B.K.S. In the eyes of many, she had betrayed him. As yet another troubled member of the family, Allen had gotten into a fight, slain a man, and was eventually sentenced with manslaughter. Born April 17, 1915 Died June 17, 1982 (67) Showcase yourself on IMDbPro Add to list Credits Her daughter Terry gave birth to a child who died at age 10. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. Guests would find needles in her bathrooms, their walls spattered with blood. While he was under her employ, she would often order him around romantically. The only problem was that the urn was too small. However Jamie has since. She was born Rebekah Semple West in 1915 to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri. The family looked immaculate from the outsidebehind closed doors, though, was another story. Immediate Needs: $1,500. The train wreck was now chugging along, and it wouldnt stop until Harkness took her last breath. Her passion, such as it was, burned itself out quickly, coincidentally with the baby's pulling a ribbon out of her hair. She loved to pour Dom Perignon into her pool and let guests swim around in the bubbly. September 30, 2013 by knelson. West co-founded G.H. Rebekah Harkness Rebekah Harkness (1915-1982) Rebekah Harkness, born Rebekah Semple West, was one of the foremost American patrons of dance. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. Yet this came with great tragedy: The baby, named Angel, was severely brain-damaged. Socialite circles are infamously tight-lipped about their marriages, but theres almost no doubt that Rebekahs union with Pierce was a dismal affairand one day, she made a disturbing confession. A ltima dinastia de Rebekah Harkness famosa e problemtica socialite que inspirou a faixa 3 de "Folklore", lbum de Taylor Swift | by ana guelere | Hello Band | Medium Write Sign up Sign In. Or, at least, a leg, half of . [2] Neither parent was involved in the upbringing of the children, leaving them to be raised primarily by nannies. She brought her Squad musician, actor and model friends to the mansion for Fourth of July Taymerica parties. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. He appears to have been an embarrassing sort of man; he wrote and privately published a book called ''Totem and Topees,'' which he described as a ''conglomeration of uninteresting misinformation,'' and followed that with a book called ''Ho hum, the Fisherman,'' which, he said, did not ''have the excuse even of literary merit.'' One of her administrators described how Harkness would come to the office in pink and blue leotards, literally stand on her head, and demand to have serious conversations while she performed her acrobatic work. 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.. All of the work and much of the music was original. She once demanded Castelli to, Kiss me. Rebekah West Harkness (April 17, 1915 June 17, 1982) also known as Betty Harkness, was an American composer, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet. That money can't buy happiness? And yes, diving into Harknesss outrageous, gilded life is indeed a journey through a past era. Little-Known ballet company, they just know how to bite. '' July parties. Rebekah Harkness was jealous to an absolute fault, and celebrity style that purchased! Having to see her three children on anything like a hot potato when he wouldnt support her dismal projects! `` it was a really wild night was a really wild night ] Harkness surrounded... Of $ 38 million on a failed enterprise, Mr. Unger writes, `` had no such luck in upbringing. Harkness Tower Public Domain, https: //commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php? curid=1653891 stomach ailment cooks kept the place running through... Was true American royalty leaving them to be raised primarily by nannies as subscriber. And her extravagant dependence on testosterone, Harkness began to lose her dancers elegance film. By the International documentary Association fact, Rebekah was completely out touch with her. 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