Grey Gardens occupies a place in the imagination of everyone who knows its story. During the Great Depression, it was known for its extravagant parties - not quite on the level the neighbouring fictional Gatsby Mansion was supposed to have, but not far off. It was owned by Phelan and Edith Beale (Big Edie, from now on); she, a singer and an aunt to future First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Lee Radziwell; he, a lawyer at her family’s firm. It was the idyllic life of the American upper crust - lots of money, a house in the Hamptons, and a brood of children to carry on the family legacy.
Things, of course, deteriorated. Grey Gardens is famous not for what it was in the 1930s, but what it became in the 1970s. It is famous for the images of Big Edie and her daughter, Little Edie, living a life in squalor, having failed to maintain the house. Father Phelan had long since left with his money, and the two sons were not far behind, and these two women continued for decades to live in Grey Gardens as the grounds became reclaimed by nature, and as a lack of money meant that the electricity was shut off, then the water, and then as over fifty cats and raccoons began to share the house with the two women. In the early 1970s, the family was served an eviction notice by the local board of health - the story garnered a fair amount of press, and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, as she was then known, intervened to bring three of the house’s twenty-eight rooms back up to code.
This led to the Beales being introduced to the rest of us. A documentary crew which had been following Jackie’s sister Lee that summer were introduced to the Beales, and cameraman brothers David and Albert Maysles decided that these two women needed to be shared with the world. The documentary, Grey Gardens, has since become one of the most well known documentaries in history. The enduring fascination with the Beales led to unused footage from the filming being put together for two follow up documentaries, The Beales of Grey Gardens (2006) and That Summer (2017). The lives of the mother and daughter are captured: here’s little Edie, having since succumbed to alopecia, wearing sweaters as skirts; here’s a naked Big Edie reducing her adult daughter to hysterics; here’s little Edie leaving a loaf of Wonder Bread out for the raccoons in the attic. Some see women with deep reserves of resilience; others see unchecked mental illness.
Grey Gardens continues to capture the imagination because it is a riches to rags story of a celebrated American family. While you don’t have to go to East Hampton to hear stories of people living with dozens of feral cats and in their own filth, it's hard to argue that the vicissitudes of the rich and famous are much more exciting than what can be found locally. No matter how fall the Beales' position in society has fallen, there is no doubt that they are still "upper class" - as class distinction is always more about attitude than actual wealth. I, a public school teacher, can claim a higher standard of living than the Beales of Grey Gardens, but cannot claim a higher class. They firmly hold onto this identity in a number of ways: Big Edie continues to wear her diamonds, despite not being able to afford to heat her house; Little Edie might allow herself to be filmed without makeup, but never without a golden broach; while they may allow their house to be used as a toilet to passing animals, they will not allow Jackie to replace the furniture they once spent so much on; Little Edie carries her mother’s portrait around the house, like an albatross - Big Edie tells the cameraman with pride that the portrait is worth $50,000; and so on. They may have over three hundred bags of cat feces stashed in the basement, but they make it known that they are not trash. Truthfully, they hardly seem to notice their fallen status - when asked about the mess, Big Edie merely shrugs and says her daughter doesn’t like to polish; when the house went up for sale in 1979, Little Edie told the buyers it only needed a fresh coat of paint.
Little Edie once said “I think it’s very cruel to dig up the past”, yet few private citizens have had their histories as excavated as hers. Not only was she and her mother the subject of three documentaries, but also a 2006 Broadway musical, a 2009 HBO film starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore as mother and daughter, and a 2015 episode of Documentary Now starring Fred Armisen and Bill Hader in those roles. Of all of the Grey Gardens media, I would recommend starting with the 2009 film, as it does a good job of explaining the backstory to the two women, giving the context to how any of this could happen. Fair warning: watching the story of these two ladies in quarantine makes it easy to make some unwanted comparisons.
As for Grey Gardens, the house itself, I can simply report that it is still there. The house was sold following the death of Big Edie on the condition that it not be torn down. Following the success of the documentary, Little Edie started a career as a cabaret singer (in her sixties, no less), and ultimately settled in Florida, dying in 2003. The house was bought by the editor of the Washington Post, who took on the herculean effort of restoring it to its former glory. The house then sold again a few years ago, for over $15m. Driving past it now, you would never think to look twice at it - it’s a well maintained palatial Hampton estate among well maintained palatial Hampton estates. And perhaps, that's for the best. That house has had enough excitement for one building.
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