During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Swift wrote and recorded a new album called Folklore. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Who Is Rebekah Harkness? Harkness had no problem dropping Joffrey like a hot potato when he wouldnt support her dismal vanity projects. Shed had a brief, unhappy marriage to a doctor in the early 1960s. (Allegedly, it was a cat if it matters.). Donning a black chiffon Mainbocher dress with a white silk back-tied apron, she flashed a wry smile at the camera. A terrible story is told here. Culture Taylor Swift Folk Albums Oil. Harkness was surprisingly generous when it suited her, but also unpredictably bizarre. Salvador Dali put one touchingand classically narcissisticdetail into The Chalice of Life. The urn spun on its base so that Harkness could always be dancing, even beyond the grave. [24] It explores the Harkness' legacy and her company, Harkness Ballet.[25]. People called it the Taylor Swift Tax, though it never became law. He received a prison sentence of 15 years, but didnt bother to get in touch with his mother. Harkness, fittingly, belonged to an American dynasty. [7] In addition to founding the Harkness Ballet, Harkness launched a ballet school and home for the company called Harkness House,[8] as well as a refurbished 1,250-seat theater, which presented the Harkness Ballet and other dance companies to New York audiences. After that, Rebekah really let it all hang out. Meanwhile, in her apartment at the Carlyle Hotel, people who called themselves Rebekah Harkness's friends were pillaging, ''grabbing things right and left.''. Extravagant Facts About Barbara Hutton, The Poor Little Rich Girl, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs First Wife, Wild Facts About Howard Hughes, The Most Eccentric Man In Hollywood, These Cruel Teachers Are The Stuff Of Student Nightmares, These Bad Dates Are Straight Out Of Our Nightmares. Harkness died of cancer in 1982 in New York City. After she was widowed, Mrs. Harkness renovated her Rhode Island house; she installed 8 kitchens and 21 baths. Upon her death in 1982, Rebekah Harkness was called many things in her New York Times obituary. . Pierce. That marriage lasted three years. They called her ballets worthless, her music crap. $ 25.93. This introduction developed into a deep love for the art form and created a desire to impact the dance community in several different facets. Or, at least, a leg, half of her. Swift put up No Trespassing signs that they didnt like either. Rebekahs parents hired one nanny specifically because the woman had worked in an insane asylum before. In the 1960s, Harkness took Bobby Scevers, a dancer who was 25 years her junior, as her lover. Latest News on Rebekah Harkness . Although Catherine's successor Queen Anne Boleyn suffered an infamously dark fate, Aragon's own life was somehow even more tragic. She hired Salvador Dali to design sets. Like this story? In addition to the three kids she has with Jamie, Rebekah has two children, Megan and Taylor, from previous relationships. September 30, 2013 by knelson. First, a brief biography: Born Rebekah Semple West in St. Louis in 1915, Harkness was a divorce whose second marriage was to Standard Oil heir William Hale Harkness. Around this time, Harkness fancied herself a composer. Lucky: A Novel (inspired by Taylor Swift's folklore and the incredible true story of Rebekah Harkness): Parro, Kristina: 9781736923320: Amazon.com: Books Books Literature & Fiction Genre Fiction Buy new: $18.01 Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns FREE delivery Saturday, February 4 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon Rebekah Semple West was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1915. Ironically nicknamed The Chalice of Life, the morbid monument stood right at the intersection between tacky and lavish, just like Rebekah herself. Her son Allen says the years he spent in prison were the happiest of his life. Although William Harkness came from a well-respected family that was supposed to give Rebekah even more of the status she craved, William himself wasa total fool. Little Betty had a horrific childhood. Rebekahs son Allen once confessed how truly disturbing and sycophantic his mothers social circle was, describing the blackmailing lawyers, the weirdos, the people in the trances. Harkness also knew how to keep all of her adoring public in competition with each other, with each one of her lackies vying to become the favorite. Before her passing, she picked up her most dedicatedand most heartlessfan yet. Full body measurements, dress & shoe size will be updated soon. She attended finishing school at Fermata in Aiken, South Carolina, from 1929 to 1932, before pursuing advanced instruction in harmonic . Instead, she put herself front and center, natch, and the pictures were often just of her doing lift after lift and living out her Dirty Dancing dreams. Her body had been slowly falling into disrepairthose injections hurt far more than they helpedand she started complaining of a mysterious stomach ailment. 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. One could almost feel sorry for her. So what did she do? Salinger, hoping to convince him his stories should be set to her music. In its day, the Harkness would train more professional dancers than any other company. 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? Rebekah Harkness's Net Worth: $1-5 Million Age, Height & Body Measurements Rebekah Harkness has been died on 17 June 1982. In other words, these pieces didnt exactly do justice to their surroundings. When she was still just a young girl, the Harknesses noticed that their Betty was putting on weight, so they signed the pudgy girl up for dance and figure skating lessons to help her shed those unsightly pounds. [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. Meanwhile, the booze and the pills caught up with her. . Category 1960s Pop Art Black and White Photography. Harkness had three husbands. Copyright 2022 SLM Media Group. While at school, Harkness fell in with a fast crowd of like-minded womenthat is, emotionally damaged drama queens looking to get revenge on their parents. She was born April 17, 1915 to a wealthy St. Louis stockbroker Allen Tarwater West and his trophy wife Rebekah. Harkness had quite the life according to The New York Times (opens in new tab) . Lets start from the beginning. The 16-track album, Swifts eighth, features a song titled The Last Great American Dynasty, about the late St. Louisbornsocialite Rebekah West Harkness, whom Swift paints as an eccentric. Today its pretty much forgotten, despite the tens of millions of dollars she spent on it. It donated Harkness Tower at Yale, Harkness Commons at Harvard and Harkness Pavilion at New York Hospital. [9] [14] Following the divorce, Harkness gained custody of both children. Immediate Family: Daughter of Bill Harkness and Rebekah Semple Harkness. 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. Rebekah Harkness, as seen in the December 1956 issue of. Hey, all publicity is good publicityand Rebekahs need to be in the spotlight soon grew to disturbing proportions. 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. She blew through her fortune on the boys and the ballet. (Harkness was an avid patron of the arts and founded her own company, Harkness Ballet. Still, when you marry for money, you earn every penny. Pierce was the descendant of Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States, and seemed like a good match for the ambitious girlexcept really, he was just a starter husband. She was also a composer. When they criticized her for getting pudgy, she took up skating and dance, practicing with a fierce discipline. We were in heaven, said Danish ballerina Lone Isaksen. 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. Their wedding took place at 730 Park Avenue, which was Williams apartment. Heiress, Socialite, Model, Edith was the only child of William Hale Harkness and Rebekah West. In 1961, Rebekah Harkness became the sponsor of the late Robert Joffrey's small ballet troupe. Eolia was one of their seven homes and reputed . As Rebekahs friend said, Just a leg is in there, or maybe half of her head, and an arm. So instead of giving her mother a dignified end, Rebekahs daughter Terry had to carry the rest of her ashes home, bound up loosely in a humble supermarket bag. I just hit the ceiling. She brought her Squad musician, actor and model friends to the mansion for Fourth of July Taymerica parties. She said she married her first, photographer Dickson Pierce, because she had nothing else to do. No surprise, that union ended in divorce. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. By Elise Taylor. Blue Blood is a story of tragic proportions. But the loud parties caused problems with the neighbors. The Joffrey had a price to pay for Rebekah Harknesss support. Rebekah Harkness was one of the world's richest women, the Standard Oil heiress and founding patron of the Harkness Ballet. She had spent the 1987 equivalent of $38 million on a failed enterprise. Rebekah Harkness. Send Woytus anemail at awoytus@stlmag.com. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. REBEKAH HARKNESS earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in social work from the University of Utah. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? In 1974, Harkness married again, this time to another doctor named Niels H. Lauersen. In October 1948, Harkness gave birth to her first child with her second husband, a daughter Edith. A philanthropist. (Yes, the seaside mansion that was the setting for Taymerica.) Well, Harkness couldnt bear to be upstaged, so she unceremoniously fired Rhodes and doomed her own precious ballet company in the process. Harkness started acting out early in her adolescence, and her antics would put any other mean girl to shame. Harkness took up dancing and ice skating to lose weight and was highly disciplined in both endeavors. William was rolling in money, which made him the perfect candidate for Rebekahs expensive tastes. Her passion, such as it was, burned itself out quickly, coincidentally with the baby's pulling a ribbon out of her hair. And then there were herthree children. She maintains an online podcast that is available on iTunes or online at http://playerplaza.podbean.com . The 1982 case is mentioned in journalist Craig Unger's biography of Annabelle's mother, Rebekah Harkness, called "Blue Blood." The book, published in 1988, offers an unflattering snapshot . As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. (Watch it here.). Jean Stein and George Plimpton did that brilliantly in ''Edie,'' the biography of poor Edie Sedgwick. The parties continued when she brought the entire Joffrey to Watch Hill in 1962 and 1963. All of the work and much of the music was original. She once dressed as a waitress at one of them so she could eavesdrop on the guests. 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. For example, he liked to vanity-publish nonsensical books that even he admitted were awful. In 1961, Harkness decided she wanted to become the next great ballet master, so she sponsored actual master Robert Joffreys artisanal ballet troupe. It would be interesting to see what a social historian, someone familiar with the hierarchies of caste and class in America - or, better yet, a novelist with a theological bent - would make of the raw material Mr. Unger has gathered. She filled her fish tank with goldfish and Scotch. After his brief interlude in the oasis, Mr. Castelli was made the artistic director of the Harkness Ballet. The two purchased a mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, which they nicknamed Holiday House. Doctors told Harkness that she had one ailment that no amount of money could cure: She was dying of stomach cancer. 44 Rebekah Harkness Pictures Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 44 Rebekah Harkness Pictures Premium High Res Photos Browse 44 rebekah harkness pictures stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Her wealthy neighbors had other ideas, and scornfully forced her to remove the unsightly object. The Bliss Balance - Create Success, Peace, and Happiness in Your Life. St. Louis, MO 63119
. In December 1956, she even appeared in the pages of Vogue. The rich socialite whose judgment sometimes lapsed was just too good a target. All rights reserved. Harkness pulled this prank at her own sisters debutante ball. OthersJerome Robbins and George Balanchine flatly refused to choreograph her musical compositions. [5] Through the Rebekah Harkness Foundation, Harkness sponsored Jerome Robbins and the Joffrey Ballet. Family Members. [19] They divorced in 1977. Allen Pierce, Rebekah's son by the first of her four husbands, was unable to be present. Catherine of Aragon was King Henry VIIIs first wife and longest-lasting Queen of England. ''She's escaped. In 1961, Harkness gave love another shot, marrying the prominent celebrity doctor Benjamin Harrison Kean. [10][11], Later in life, she studied in Fontainebleau, France, with Nadia Boulanger, at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva, and the Mannes College of Music, New York. From . Eager to please her emotionally unavailable parents, young Rebekah worked incredibly hard at her dance and ice skating lessons. An artist (a descriptor she bestowed upon herself). Rebekah Harkness's height Unknown & weight Not Available right. When publicizing her ballet, Harkness became notorious for refusing to showcase any of her talented dancers in the promotional photographs. Near the end of her life, one friend noted that she walked like Frankenstein.. And when she discovered one of her Joffrey dancers didnt own a suit, she sent all the Joffrey men to Saks and all the women to Bergdorfs for formalwear. Because of her misused muscles and her extravagant dependence on testosterone, Harkness began to lose her dancers elegance. Taylor Swift has once . Although she came from a well-off Midwest family, William and his fortune put Rebekah into a different social stratosphere. The Robert Joffrey Company summer workshop at Rebekah Harkness' Watch Hill estate in Rhode Island, July 1962. Suddenly, Rebekah was a rich widowone of the wealthiest women in America, in fact. As she aged, Rebekah started to live off of champagne and injections, including testosterone and an assortment of pain medications. By 1982, the end was near for Harkness, yet tragically her son Allen wasnt there. An awning saved her life. 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. Reportedly, she wanted these updates so that she could see as little of her children as possible. Almost as soon as William Harkness kicked the bucket, Rebekah turned into one of the most tasteless, gaudy eccentrics the Western hemisphere had ever seen. It was shaping up to be a white-picket fence brooduntil, that is, Rebekah proved herself to be an utterly horrific mother. The resulting damages to herself, her companies and her children were heartbreaking. Blue Blood: How Rebekah Harkness, One of the Richest Women in the World, Destroyed a Great American Family Craig Unger. BLUE BLOOD By Craig Unger. Generous, wasteful, willful, demanding and delusional, she broke with Joffrey to form the Harkness Ballet when he refused to perform the compositions she insisted on writing. The book is available for purchase on Amazon for $195, but a May 1988 New York Times review by the late journalist Barbara Grizzuti Harrison clues us into the reported inner world of Harkness as published in the book. The socialite was born in 1915 to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri. Sadly, the socialites seemingly bottomless cruelty would soon hit even greater lows. View Full Details. [3] Harkness would also continue to study dance and piano, and studied ballet with Victoria Cassau, who was a student of Anna Pavlova. Mr. Unger tells us that under the direction of the dancer-choreographer Larry Rhodes the company began to garner critical raves - whereupon Mrs. Harkness fired him. Harkness only left death in her wake wherever she went. 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. Rebekah Harkness was born in 1915 to a rich, emotionally frigid St. Louis family. She thirsted for acclaim as a composer, a dancer and an arts patron, but her thirst for booze and pills undid her. We are told by Mr. Unger - who is an uncomfortable stranger in the world of the rich, unused to deciphering nuances of caste - that the Harknesses' seven-year marriage was a happy one. Rebekah was previously married to Niels H. Lauersen, Benjamin Harrison Kean, William Hale Harkness and Dickson W. Pierce. Dancer Lawrence Rhodes said it was one of the few times he was embarrassed to be in a ballet. 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