So sweet how Jack and Lois came over dressed up, all the while knowing what they were walking in to. They just played along and made the best of it. That's friendship.
but that's just what people did then too. We got dressed up if we were leaving the house really. no going to even the corner store in exercise clothes.... I guess I'm just old and old fashioned
Little Edie was an artist at heart. She had an eye for color, fashion and design. Too bad it wasn’t fostered in an encouraging way. There are films and documentaries that site her as a “fashion icon”, even to the point of giving her credit for influencing Versace. His colorful collections with wrapped and safety pinned skirts, tops and dresses are amazingly like her “costumes” here.
lil Edie somehow was still able to remain so bright and brilliant. If only we could all have that outlook even under such grim circumstances. My heart hurts for the sweet daughter who never had the chance to enjoy life.
Big Eddie was a cowardly mom. She didnt help her situation. Just decided to be a victim of her circumstance. She very verbally abusive to her daughter. Alot of put downs and insults. She killed her daughters chance at life. Very sad and it showed in this lifestyle they lead.
Big Edie was a narcissist and control freak. Self centered, verbally and emotional abusive to her daughter. The sons must have taken after their mother. Little was an angel and her mother viewed her as Cindella.
Personality,unadulterated, time is just a useless burden. Life is great for those that have it all. No weight of sin, no sin of self consciousness, few get there. This is why we are comfortable, watching,what opportunist would try to exploit as a tragedy. If you need an hint it's godly, nature, animals, humour , satisfaction of people that mastered what their contemporaries try to purchase from a bottomless pit. Another thing lack of fear will create a void that God fills with what we really need. Misnomer; Grey Gardens, no I call it The Garden of Edie.
I would have loved to have been little Eddys friend. I would have helped her clean the house, play with the kittens and bought her a pair of earplugs 🙂
This is a prime example of the neglect of our society to care for it's elderly, disabled and mentally ill people in the past. Jackie spent 25K at least to help, and because the media was involved. I bet if there were social workers and Doctors involved, family would offer a little more help, to avoid getting their names getting dragged through the mud. In my opinion, (for what it's worth and years after the fact), I think Big Edie should have been in assisted living or nursing home. Then Little Edie would've sold the house and moved on and enjoyed the rest of her life, like she did after her Mother died.
Good lawd the second little Edie leaves the room the mother starts hollering for her. No wonder she couldn't get any cleaning done. The whole thing is just sad. I feel so bad for theses women...they deserved better, and their rich families just left them to rot. Jackie O only did the bare minimum after the scandal hit papers - she had more than enough money to renovate the whole thing, and hire someone to cook and clean for them. Just gross.
Bluder Fly I do believe Jackie could of done more yes, but let's remember she was a niece, what about the 2 sons of Eddie, what did they do other then ask her to sell up. Makes me mad when her sons did nothing, all they had to do was clear the rubbish for a start
How come when people have rich family member's, they're expected to help and give to their kin? They could have worked. They chose that lifestyle. It's not someone else's place to pay for other's mistakes and choices they made.
pics yeah but Jackie o had billions and that was her father s sister and niece if i had a billion dollars no one in my family would do without. Your kidding me
These lovely ladies were quite a force in their day. Its so sad that time left them behind. How could this happen, as they continued to exist in their own world. I am enchanted by Grey Gardens and the lives they had there.
There is more to life than daydreaming, singing and dancing, and reminiscing. I realize that both Edies grew up with maids and servants to do all the cleaning, but it doesn't take skill to pick up cat shit out of the floor and off the kitchen counters.Those 2 women didn't do any kind of work in or around that house. It was absolutely disgusting.They just pranced around with the trash and the fleas...... their entire lives filled with nothing but talking, singing ,feeding cats and living in the past. I can't imagine what that house smelled like. Damn.
Supposedly there was no public trash pickup, you had to pay to have your garbage taken away. When The money ran out, they started filling up the crawl space. When that was full, they started filling up the house. And yes, from accounts I’ve read, the smell was so bad it almost knocked you out.
I love Bib Eddie and her daughter. And we all have trouble trying to figure out how did they get to live like this. Well my own idea on this issue is Big Eddie could not Handel change. Her sons try to help her to under stand she had to sell the house this was right after mr Beal past away.
Absolutly love her. She is so on point on details of life we take for granted or ones dont dont need to be in certain way and most accept them...and love how she didnt cared what people think
I really enjoy watching, big and little Edie, interact with each other. Its comical and so eccentric. A normal person wouldn't live like that, in filth and animal crap, so you know they had serious issues. Mr. Beale seemed like a heartless, selfish man. He could have done more for them. AND, where were the brothers? Jackie was married to a Billionaire. She could of done a lot more too. The Maysles did a good job filming this. RIP, Big Edie, and Little Edie. 🌹🌹🙏
I love how so many romanticise this couple as if they knew them. This doc gives a small look into a much greater mess. While I too love this doc and feel for Lil Edie, we don't know the truth and never will
Indeed. While you watch these shows, and feel you get to know them... We will never know them. So much more to them than the documentaries show. These women should have had family taking care of them. Jackie O's family had the resources. They needed more help than a camera would ever give.
The two birthday party guests have a deer-in-the-headlights look to them, trying to make the best of this madhouse. My main complaint about this otherwise fascinating project is that the peripheral figures who pass in and out of these women's lives seem to want to say something, but are not given the chance. Had they been able to it would have added some much-needed perspective as to how and why things got to this sad point.
@Cheryl Lynne Big Edies husband left her a huge house in a wealthy area and also $65,000 in the 60's which is like 1 million dollars today. They were set for life. An average family home was $11,000 in the 60's. They could have purchased a couple of homes and lived off the rent money, and still had money left over, and thats still keeping the big house. If they sold the big house they were set for 2 lifetimes. I wish someone had left me a big house and that kind of cash. They were very lucky financially, never had to work. Their poor choices was the problem, their mental illness.
@@rachelelabbady3399 may I ask what was your take on this documentary? My heart break for LE. I see alot of codependency amongst the two. Cats using the bathroom on the beds just took me out. What went wrong in your opinion?
@@beautifulx7405 codependency and lack of common life skills led to them becoming how they ended up. Back in the day, rich women of society were not taught how to function without servants. Marriage was EVERYTHING before the sexual revolution. If a divorce took place women were literally abandoned and would go back to their families. These women stayed with each other instead and slowly deteriorated into hermits so to speak. Big Eddie has sons, so I'm guessing at some point they turned their backs on BE and LE. The moral of the film is you can be as polished as much as possible, but where does that get you in the middle of a junk yard? The best you can hope for is to catch someone's attention, which is the last card they played...and it worked.
2:19 "Come on in, we're not ready..." Edie looked absolutely radiant. Back when women aged gracefully, no fillers or Botox or facelifts. She looked like she was in her forties.
I guess stress was the culprit to her hair falling out, but stress didn't show in her face. She did look a lot younger than she was,..probably due to the fact that she had a childlike mentality.
fool4singing , no, it wasn't stress. She originally had alopecia, which is an autoimmune disease, but her cousin, the generally reliable John Davis, swore she also set her hair on fire at one point. If so, it was probably a reaction of despair to the alopecia.
She did look wonderful, and it's particularly mysterious considering the amount of sunbathing she did in an era when people rarely if ever wore sunscreen.
millers3888 beautiful answer. And so true. I wonder how everybody will look like 30yrs from now. (All tuck and done) At the end only god decides who we really are
4:18 Is that cat poop on the counter behind Little Edie? And is the man scratching flea bites? Those are BRAVE guests. I'd be running out the door, either from the cat smell or the fleas.
You can tell their guest was a bit uncomfortable, to say the least. Not wanting to be rude, their guest did the best they could, just to get through, the afternoon. I can't imagine how anyone could live under those circumstances. Edie was more concerned with her looks, than anything else. Still living in a dream world. As her mother was the same way. I imagine the father couldn't take it any longer. Edie, was a dreamer, like her mother. They loved music, singing, dancing. There's more to life than fun. They were happy-go-lucky. In the end, all they really had was each other. Edie, was sad and hid it very well. You could see some disappointment on Edie's face. Bless her heart. I'm not here to judge. We all have our ways. The house was a health hazard, that I do know.
YOU COULD SEE THE TWO POOR BRAVE GUEST JUST WANTED TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THAT STINKY PLACE, THEY GUY IS SCRATCHING FLEAS AND YES THERE WAS CAT CRAP ON THE COUNTER. I HATE CATS! My neighbors have too many damn cat i wish i could set a cat trap and haul them off to the pound! they shit all over my nice flowerbeds!
Oh, how I dislike listening to Big Edie. She just rides and rides little Edie to the point of distraction. Can you imagine 25 years in solitary confinement with that woman? It’s no wonder she had no confidence, friends, or any semblance of a life. They were completely, and thoroughly co-dependent on each other.
Eeeeeeeeeediieeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! Imagine hearing that for 50yrs and feeling unable to leave her mother alone and under those living conditions! Little Edie was waiting for her chance to leave that place for her own life. Luckily she was able to do that shortly after the movie when big Edie passed. Wish I could have known her!!
After the clean up in '72 one of the bathrooms, I believe the one attached to Big Edie's room, had running water and a functioning toilet. When the Maysles put the fire out in the wall on the landing, David got the water from there.
This was filmed 5 years before I was born. What wonderful women. Weird to think I was dead when these women were so full of life. Much love from England.
There must be a place in heaven for these guests. That filth and lunacy they were eating that cake in. Bless them for bringing a little joy to these two sad, tragic, interesting women. RIP
They both suffer from borderline personality disorder,I think. Big edie more than little edie. I love them so much. I'm obsessed with watching this documentary!
Airyk They were the last of an era long gone, I liked them both. Wherever they are I bet there watching well proud that they have the fame they both really wanted
Personality, unadulterated, where time is just a useless burden. Life is great for those that have it all. No weight of sin, no sin of self-consciousness. This is why we are comfortable, watching, what opportunist would try to exploit as a tragedy. If you need a hint it's godly, nature, animals, humour, satisfaction expressed played out by people that mastered what their contemporaries try to purchase from a bottomless pit. Another thing, lack of fear will create a void in people that God fills with what we need. Misnomer Grey Gardens, no I call it The Gardens of Edie's.
How sad, really. I find it odd that Jackie Kennedy only visited that one time. Then she offered help in the clean-up of the house. I would like to know where Edie's brothers were (question mark) key broken. Seems they wanted to cash in, on the sale of the house. When Mrs. Beales didn't want to sale, seems like they just split. Left their mother and sister behind. Family, and friends, where were they (question mark). These visitors look like they can't wait to depart. It was certainly a sad situation. However, Mrs. Beales was like a trooper. And little Edie, bless her heart, she persevered. Both were remarkable women.
Jackie used Aristotle Onassis's money to fix GG, not her own. Jackie could have done more for these women, send in a housekeeper frequently and good food!!
@@robertcarly9183 Yes, I think you may be right. But, then again, one never knows what goes on in families. I still admire Jackie. I think what Melania did to her trees, cutting them down was about the most horrible thing any first lady could have done.
Can some one tell me where their assent comes from, JFK had that distinctive accent, his brother Robert had it and even Jacqueline onassis had it...it sounds very Boston or Jersey, anyone knows??
I hear a bit of a Transatlantic accent which is a blend of American and English. Listen to Grace Kelly, Jackie Kennedy, for reference. The cadence of speech along with enunciation remind me of transatlantic speech a bit. There is also a definite ‘New York’ accent here as well.
@@crystalbramhill5277 Yes definiitively a New York twang there ..I have never really heard the accent of upper class greater New Yotk area before from that era... seems to have a lilting intonation as well which is pleasant on the ear ..
I sure wouldn't be eating there. The lady guest seems to be having trouble doing so, too. You know, when the publisher and his wife bought the place, they had to take out the floors AND the subflooring, to get rid of the cat urine smell.
Just love them both so much. I can't believe Jackie O did not renovate that house and install a staff and gardeners and a full time nurse for her aunt. So selfish. I find it hard to believe that people thought Jackie O was so great. She wasn't. Except for her work in saving GCS. I'll give her that.
Jackie was already in trouble with Ari, over her spending, I think. She had no money of her own, from the Kennedy marriage, and Ari did not exactly give her access to his entire fortune. Ari only married women for status. It's not like he really loved her or anything. You don't let your status symbol run around enriching her entire family.
Jackie O' didn't care for the civil rights movement or MLK. She at one point thought MLK was a troublemaker but she did evolve over time to appreciate MLK and the movement.
totally agree i posted something similar on another clip x after JFK died and she married Onassis she must have sat down and thought what could i possible spend all this money on ............... well not love for her family after loosing so many you would think family were so precious
No they didnt. STOP lying. This was a 28 room mansion they let go to ruins, they were relatives of very wealthy connected people & chose to live this way, and yet you blame the documentary guys for giving them publicity that got them the ATTENTION AND REPAIRS they needed and LOVED?? WEIRD.
The footage that didn’t make it into this documentary was even better! One of those Maysel brothers loved looking at lil Edie because he never moved that camera off her body for a sec!!
How terrifying it would have been for lil Eddie to find her mother when she passed then stayed in the house for some yrs after she was gone? When she hated living there.
its hard to watch when its nothing but emotional abuse from a very narcissistic mother...far from cute...what i will say about little edith is no matter the severe poverty and abuse that she lived in and with...she still had style, grace and sophistication that only comes from within....way to go Little Edith...it could have been different for you...RIP sweet girl
@@tdk7388ify True. For me, I like knowing that Little Edie went on to live another 25 years after her mother's death, dying at the age of 84. By most accounts, she was able to travel and enjoy a quite fulfilling life, for the most part. She sold Grey Gardens two years after her mother's death for $220,000.00, which was a substantial amount in 1979. Grey Gardens current value is estimated at 15 to 18 million dollars. Crazy how real estate for that area has skyrocketed.
@@beedifrnt thats good but she wss dealt a very shitty hand in life and no one cared..she ate cat food for heavens sake..she deserved better when she was young and beautiful
@@tdk7388ify I absolutely agree. She should have never been put in that horrid situation with no concern or help by anyone. Many people thought she could not survive on her own after her mother died but she proved them wrong because as she said herself: "I am staunch..S-T-A-U-N-C-H. I think she went to her grave with her dignity and grace intact, especially considering what she had been through. Most people wrongly assumed she would be committed to a Mental Institution.
@@beedifrnt the only crazy narcissistic mentally ill person was her mother probably convincing people she was unstable..she would have been fine with family support and real love there would have been no issues in the first place..her mother was memtally ill not her....but i appreciate your thoughts..i just love her
This is not cute in any way. These women seem to have been coddled and privileged and just gave up when the gravy train stopped..Just plain laziness to allow the House you live in to get in this condition. Poor of not. Mental health issues obviously but no excuse for living n filth
They were absolutely fantastic. That's why people are still watching this documentary and a film was made of their lives. You sound very narrow minded and judgmental. I don't imagine anyone would want to make a movie out of your life!!!!
Mary awful thing to say about Jerry. They had nothing to steal Jerry was very sweet and looked at them and enjoyed their company like we are doing now seeing their videos