Interested in books about the architecture and history of the Dakota, Friar Park, and Tittenhurst Park? I've written a bunch about them. You can find all of them on Amazon and elsewhere. Buying my books helps support my research and productions. Thank you! tinyurl.com/DakotaHistoryCardinal
That was the mother's decline. The daughter clearly wanted better for mother and was driven to madness by seclusion and her ailing mother. This is so sad.
Wow ! well done Little Edie for refusing to let that stunning historical house be demolished and well done Ben and Sally for taking on that huge task of sympathetic restoration. Stunning.
What a treat this was! Little Edie was a godsend. I think her mother was a grandiose narcissist. Don't know why little Edie's two brothers didn't help out more. All they had to do was write a check. Shame on them.
The brothers did help. Big Edie’s own father gave her a chunk of money each month to live on until they fell out. He left her a small sum in his will that the brothers used to help them. Big Edie was a character from what I’ve read. Both sons of hers worked and cared for their families and helped her. One was a lawyer and one was a journalist
I'm curious as to why anyone feels they should have done anything. Why didn't the women make better choices, live in their means or get actual jobs? I mean they could have at least kept the vines from growing on the house and covering everything. Even just keeping the house clean seems to have been below them. Seems they were born with silver spoons and had no idea what to do without servants. Mental Health or just eccentric/wealthy eccentrics?
The entire Kennedy/Bouvier clan was all about themselves. Jackie turning her back on these women to Daddy Kennedy having his daughter labotimized for being promiscuous like her brothers. We hold these families in such high regards to a fault.
I've been watching Midwest Magic Cleaning and he's totally right---with the perfect storm of life circumstances, trauma, and brain chemistry, any one of us can become a hoarder or fall to living in squalor. This story illustrates that well and I hope that's why it continues to fascinate people.
I've been intrigued by Grey Gardens for many years; my introduction to the women and the estate was on a rented VHS tape. -- it was THAT long ago! It never ceases to move me on several levels.
@@sadeememe4684 likewise. I had only heard of Little Edie and Big Edie from Jinkx Monsoon’s impersonation of Little Edie from RuPauls Drag Race. But after seeing the 1975 documentary and then watching the 2009 biopic starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, I must say that their life and their story from socialites to recluses heartbreaking and tragic. I am now immensely drawn and fascinated with their story
A lot has been said about "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" having mental health issues. am so very glad that neither one of them ever ended up being a patient in a mental institution or mental ward. Believe me, being a mental patient in those places can make you feel worse than you did before coming into those places.😮
@nicolaxoxo1 We would only drive by it & the grounds were extremely over grown so never saw anyone outside. Yes must hv needed hasmat suits! I don't knw what became of it but surprised if new owners did nt just destroy & rebuild. I miss Amagansett so much & wish my parents nv sold but my mom was fighting bone cancer & needed be closer to NYC Dr.. Wonderful memories..
Jackie Kennedy only helped because the story had made the press and it caused embarrassment. Even then she only did the minimum required to keep the house from being condemned.
Seriously for someone who was at that point married to a billionaire, fixing up the place for them is the least she could’ve done. People act like both sisters did so much by sending Little and Big Edie groceries once a week and clean sheets. Give me a break.
@@liketanyanot Why? They literally had two grown sons/brothers who tried to get them out of the house and they wouldn’t leave. Why is it on Jackie to help her aunt and cousin when they wouldn’t even listen to their own sons/brothers? She didn’t owe them anything.
She shouldn’t have done even that! They clearly went to the press to guilt trip distant family into giving them free money. Remember Jackie was a suicidal and depressed widow and largely a single mother, today she would have been diagnosed with PTSD! Those women had husband/father as well as sons and brothers. It was THEIR responsibility to take care of themselves!
i have always had a bit of a sense that there were/are some inherent challenges, mentally, in this family; running thru all of it, actually.. very eccentric, big, bold personalities..
grounded and truly nurturing community and familial support in the face of mental ill health, is absolutely paramount to stopping the flow into utter despair.. as alone, it will continue to descend into increasingly unmanageable states of disrepair.. stepping in with clear thoughts, much needed funds and love, can work profound miracles for those caught in the grip of mental free-falls; it’s the right and gracious thing to do when family falters.. this world is just too much for some souls to navigate independently … 🥺😞but with some kindhearted, well meaning assistance and camaraderie, it can all be turned around just like here in the Grey Garden✨❣️✨❣️🌺✨🌺
Oh yes definitely!! Look what they did with JFKs sister! They stuck her in an asylum because they didn't want her mental challenges to embarass the family😡 Joe Kennedy was a crook, and an A$# to his family.
Jfk had a sister named rose. She was lobotomized pretty young after u believe suffering from bipolar. After the surgery she was for all intents and purposes done with life. Which normally happened when they did that to people. And so for the remainder of her many many many decades of life yet they just kept her tucked away in a little mental institution in Jefferson Wisconsin called st Coletta. They actually wanted to her so badly they bought her her own home on the property and she had her own staff. It was super hush hush and wasn’t revealed until way after his presidency and still isn’t very well known
@@Shawn-Leider Yes! I never even knew she had existed until a few years ago when I saw a documentary that focused more on the Kennedy siblings who weren't in the spotlight. What her parents (well, it was probably 99% Joe's doing) did to that luminous, exuberant young woman bothered me so much that I still think about it to this day. Seeing her before and then after the procedure, I nearly cried. She definitely had some problems, but they stabbed her brain for what today probably would have been recognized as autism. It was heartbreaking.
Mental health is sad and serious condition. They both were so sweet, but their decline in movie I watched was 😢sad. The hoarding was big sign. Lack of going out seclusion happening..aww😢
You sure it was all stemming from mental health? You see how crazy society is right now. Imagine being told, because you are a woman, that you can’t hold a job. We sometimes forget how woman were snubbed right out of everything just because they were divorced. So imagine, your husband leaves you like that. You are a strong willed woman, but nobody will employ you for long due to these societal problems back then. That alone will drive you mad. But to have to drop everything, you life goal and dreams, to do right by your mother. That can drive a person mad as well. But like she said herself, she wall essentially viewed as insufferable and strong willed. That’s a powder keg waiting to happen. Especially back then. Even today some feel the pressure from society to conform. I think she was viewed improperly due to these things and it kinda drove her mad a bit. Just my opinion.
Yes she's not to blame. Either of them. And they did the filming for free. Even shrinks can't correctly diagnose mental health 'labels'. It was just sad that little Edi died alone in Florida near the same age as her mother.
This is my absolute favorite documentary. I love this mother daughter duo. I find them incredibly strong and think the Maysels did a brilliant job of just documenting, pure and simple.
When I saw the documentary years ago, I thought they were sweet but strange. Now that I am older, I can relate to their desire to stay away from other people 😂
Ive seen grey gardens doc.many times and i think it is perfect just as it is. The honesty and atraightforwardness of these two women is what made it special to watch.❤😊😊😊
Yes, I always thought she was incredibly beautiful. And even living in squalor without a dime to their names, they carried themselves with a million times more class than people with all the money in the world.
That property was worth a fortune. I can't imagine how frigid it must have been in the winter with no heat. There's a bit of a folie a deux situation going on here I don't think neither Jackie nor Lee wanted to deal with them. Obviously, very sad.
I loved the documentary, it was a raw and honest depiction of these amazingly resilient and obscure ladies. Little Eddy was stunning in her youth, such a shame fate and the loyalty to her Momma held her back. She could have been a huge star or married very well.
Shame I don't think any of her later single years (another 1/4 of a century) when she sold the house in 1978? at 59 or 60 is on tape. I would love to see even a short film of how life treated her in the 80s and 90s. She still had a lot of energy in her and I would like to think she pursued her dancing career to the fullest.
@@susannehall7234 Me too! I did a quick search to see if there was anything filmed of little Edie on her adventures back in NYC and Florida after sixty but I couldn't seem to find anything. I think maybe that's how she wanted it.
@@katewebber1131 it was made of timber (wood) basically and probably not as long lasting as bricks and mortar. Also the wildlife sensed that it was mostly deserted and moved into the roof space. Over 25 years of neglect took its toll on the garden too.
Little Edie 100% had Autism, as well as other mental health issues. That’s what “eccentricity” was at that time. Her mother definitely was a grandiose narcissist as well. The documentary and movie made them look like they had an empath/ Narc codependent relationship. Not to mention they both probably had a couple nervous breakdowns with all of that hoarding going on. Very toxic, complicated relationship.
I have saved movies, "Grey Gardens" and "The Beales of Gray Gardens". I love these films and have watched them several times. These women facinate me, how drastic their lives changed, from a luxurious estate, to a delapidated property and living in the most unsanitary conditions. I dont know how they did it. Mrs Beale did not want to leave that house, even though her sons wanted her to be taken care of, in the area where they lived. I have to say, the people who bought it, really did a beautiful job restoring that property. I thought they would have knocked it down. Lol. Eadie should have married one of those millionairs in the forties. She was stunning.
@@traceyyoung1592They are both on RU-vid. There’s another film where Lee is at the house wanting to make a biography about The Bouvier family. That’s how The Maysles met The Edie’s. It’s also on RU-vid and is called That Summer.
Unfortunately because of big Eddies narcissism she did not do the right thing. If they sold the property and moved on into a small clean condo or apartment they could have lived normally.
I'm surprised that Little Edie didn't scoop up a rich husband back when she was young and hot. She WAS crazy hot... Just like her cousin JackieO. Must have been an emphasis on the Crazy. Alls I know is that lots of young dudes missed a huge opportunity back in 1950. ☘️
Little Edie spoke with the same cadence as Jackie Kennedy. Jackie's voice and accent were so unique; it was kind of surprising to me to hear that Jackie voice coming from Little Edie.
But edit had a really beautiful voice. Jackie's voice could be annoying after awhile. I have often wondered of she really spoke that way all of the time. They were treasures weren't they? I would love to ser more of edie..she was delightful. Wish life had been better to her.
Well, we see that her bum sons took after their bum father. God bless little Edie loved her mother. Jackie and Lee just wanted publicity. Very sad, sad situation.
These women never learned how to take care of a house. If you grew up with help it's just something you'd never learn how to do. Same as fixing a car or cutting out a tumor- unless you've been taught you just don't know how. They knew how to be socialites: to sing and dance and gossip and they lost all that when big Edie's husband left her, so her toxic control over little Edie began. She would never let little Edie go because she was all she had.
Not necessarily, though we can't say for sure in any historical case. Living in squalor or hoarding or any of that is often caused by complex neuropsychological conditions where the brain function is literally different. Hoarding especially stems from trauma (your husband suddenly divorcing you, perhaps?). People teach themselves how to do things, it's not like you only have one shot to learn something. A case like this goes far beyond not knowing how to keep a house.
Little Edie was so beautiful and yes she should have been on Broadway and in movies, I saw the documentary and found it to be somewhat sad 😢 because they were cousins of Jackie Kennedy and I believe she could've helped them out more than what she did 🤷🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️ , what I did like about the movie was little Edies spirit how she would dance around and sing and big Edie would join in by singing as well. So glad that the new owners didn't demolish the house Grey Gardens 🙏🏼❤❤❤
In all fairness, she can spend her money however she decides BUT I really dislike when celebrities are seemingly so “charitable” and then you hear stories like this😒😐 Family should always come first and then try to help others.
I’d do anything to visit Grey Gardens! They did such a beautiful job restoring it. I’m so glad little Edie made sure that it would be restored so we didn’t lose this bit of history! Such a fascinating duo!
I live out on Long Island, and am going to take a ride there this week! I’ve heard about it, mostly because of my huge fascination with Jacqueline Kennedy but have never seen it. I can’t wait! 🩵
@@3klamarie it’s so different now after the latest buyer a designer has done another renovation since this one. In my opinion it’s not as elegant as the renovation seen in this film.
I honestly think that they are both VERY interesting women! One could literally talk to them both all day and never be bored!!! Little Edie is a hoot!!! I think they were just very lonely! Their family seemed to completely forget about them and so they made the best of a bad situation because they still had each other.
In some respects when her mother died she was finally free again but I don't think she could just walk out immediately because she had had so many happy times there. They were there for each other so it was a big change and a leap into the unknown for l Edi.
Did these two women extend condolences when her husband was brutally murdered by her side? Did they send flowers to the grave of Jack Kennedy or offer to babysit little Caroline and toddler John jr after Jackie was forced to be a single mother?
If Jackie and Lee really cared about their aunt and cousin they would’ve never let them get to that point of poverty. It’s like they were homeless in their own home.
Poverty and cleanliness are 2 different things. They were socialites. They could never leave the large house(filthy and unlivable even)to move somewhere to live without filth and disrepair. They could have gotten a smaller place and a couple people for staff but no the mother wanted to stay. The daughter was driven to madness and with no help and in a hoarder situation like that you have to have help. Cleaning help upkeep help mental health help. Yet they only had each other. Money does not always help.
The movie on this story was well done, but the tragedy of it illustrated what unbridled pride exacerbated by mental illness looks like. Sadly stubborn pride prevented them from accepting when it was time to sell and move once they could no longer afford the lifestyle to stay in the home they loved. Only compounding the situation was obvious untreated mental illness that escalated as badly reflected in the vast deterioration of their property the longer they stayed there. Albeit a nice gesture that Jackie O and her sister Lee improved and cleaned up the property apparently just enough to keep it from being condemned, undoubtedly they had to have known long before then, especially considering their connections and status, that their relatives were in such dire straits before it became a public embarrassment the media broadcast to the entire planet. That was their paternal aunt and first cousin, not some distant relatives. But again, that was pride, but on Jackie and Lee’s part. To ensure the fascinating storyline’s authenticity was essential. Seeing the raw and unadulterated aspects of this pair’s unimaginable existence for many years was important and needed to be seen because it was all true. It helps to better understand and clarify what others lives and issues are, as well as how they cope with it whether good or bad.
Their home...and that was their HOME! Had been deteriorating for some time! Obviously! The only reason they were given some help was because of the bad press wondering why a very wealthy family would allow this to happen in the first place!
It was a desperate situation. I think the film makers developed a close bond with them and brought out something positive amidst the terrible conditions they were existing in.
Saw the debut of the film at the Roxie on 16th street in Frisco (Don't call it Frisco, San Francisco0, with the Brothers who filmed the film telling us about it.......Edie!...then a few years later heard about Little Edie having a good run on Broadway......weird...... though her way of wearing a skirt upside down was amusing. for some reason I never heard about the stage play................Edie, edie edie.....did you forget about me? I am your mother......(something like that)....this film shaped my adulthood
Wow thank you for putting this up. I’ve seen the movie with Drew Barrymore and find this whole story absolutely fascinating. Little Edie is a real inspiration. Now if my husband had notified me via telegram from overseas that he wanted a divorce I would have been relieved to not have to see him again 😂
I watched the grays gardens documentary, it was pretty raw, but informative , but Edie definitely was great even in her most worse living conditions. Really sad reality.
I think these ladies needed some extra TLC. That happens in families. Some members step up to the plate and some just ignore what should be their loved ones. 😢 😢
I just watched the restored home on Homeworthy. A RU-vid channel of home tours which I love watching. The new homeowner restored this home beautifully keeping much of the original design including the gardens.
I just watched this! They restored, and lifted that house beautifully, as well as restored and improved the gardens. The house is now stunning and full of colour. The owners adore it and do a lot of entertaining in it.
I remember watching the original documentary and was just awestruck by their story and how they continued to live their lives! I was so glad that little Edi was able to get out of there and live a relatively quiet and peaceful life! The Bradley's did a spectacular job on transforming it back to its glory!!
2:15-3:05 I relate to this. I'm kind of an eccentric and monologue to myself all the time.😂 Seriously, Grey Gardens is a beautiful property and both these ladies had such classic beauty.❤
I only discovered the Grey Gardens story after watching a parody of it on an episode of Documentary Now. I find the whole story of Big & Little Edie to be both fascinating & sad. They both seemed to have had some mental health issues & were pretty much left to their own devices. Quite tragic💔
I remember switching on the TV one day and the movie was playing..it was fascinating and at the time had no idea what I was watching..what a strange thing to turn the TV on to.
Many people with Borderline Personality Disorder tend to isolate themselves more and more during their mature years. The result is complete destitution because they cannot take care of themselves, but refuse any help and cannot admit that they are sick. They sever any ties even with relatives and make it impossible for others to do anything about the situation.
How about they fucking work a job like the rest of us? Hell these people can get easy and well paying nepotism jobs like writer/author, model, actress, etc.
Wow. This is better than the movie with the two guys. So much more respectful without focusing on their bizarre behavior. What should have happened long before they lost their minds would have been a wellness check and mental intervention. They clearly fell into psychosis and delusional behavor. Jackie O and her sister should have gotten them mental health. Paying fees and fines without psychological intervention proved that doesn't work. It was like digging a hole in the ocean. Their story is so sad. Again you did an awesome job of focusing more on the glamorous life they once had. By including so many photographs of little Edie. She was the glamor girl of her generation.
They both seemed to be very kind regardless of their situation!!! I would rather have sat down and chatted to either of them instead of Jackie OR Lee, to name a few. Their whole family was guilty of abandonment
I am obsessed with their story I think I have read everything about them. It makes me sad to watch Little Edie giving up her life because her mother didn't want to be alone, and that is sad also. I wish I could have met them.
0:40: 🏚 The intriguing story of the Beal family and their once beautiful estate, Grey Gardens, brought into the public eye by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. 3:44: 🏚 The intriguing story of two women living in isolation at the Grey Gardens estate. 7:17: 🏚 The decline of the Beal sisters' mansion and their lives, leading to a documentary capturing their eccentricity. 11:04: 🏡 The intriguing story of Grey Gardens, its transformation, and the legacy of its inhabitants. 16:25: 🏡 Exploring the intriguing lives of relatives of Jackie Kennedy, showcasing resilience and societal perceptions. Recapped using Tammy AI
Thank you all for watching the videos and a HUGE THANK YOU for those who support the channel as a RU-vid Members and especially on Patreon. Just as little as $5 a month helps the channel tremendously!!! Please click here: www.patreon.com/StrangeHistory Thank you! 🙂
Aristotle Onassis couldn't fathom Jackie's indifference to her relatives and tried to help where he could, without incurring his wife's wrath. At least he got a new roof on the home to help the ladies.
@@CountessKitten Onassis intentionally leaked nude photographs of her, his wife to the press to humiliate her as he despised her. If anyone was a piece of shit, he was. They always pretend to be Good Samaritans in the public eye while treating their family like shit behind closed doors.
Unfortunately there are very few real eccentrics anymore. Big Edie and little Edie were a fascinating insight to another era and how they coped when it was taken away. I absolutely adore these two women and feel very lucky that they let us into their lives. I will never forget them.
Eddie was amazing soul and her mother was horrible .She was controlling and Eddie did not warn let her go. She let go her unique qualitşes just to make her mom happy but mother was not amused with her daughter. I thşink them other was a big problem and EDDİE CARE FOR HER.
