All About Grey Gardens
Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange Star as Two Eccentric Women in One Crumbling House
Apr 7, 2009
"It's very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present," squawks Little Edie Beale to the camera.
In 1975, two filmmakers, fresh from shooting the Rolling Stones documentary Gimme Shelter were approached to document the East Hampton of Lee Radziwill’s childhood. When they met little Edie Beale, they were quickly drawn into the faded grandeur of the eccentric Beale women.
Those filmmakers were brothers Albert and David Maysles, arguably two of the most intriguing documentarians for their character exposés of intensely fascinating people, including the Beatles, Truman Capote, the Rolling Stones . . . and the Beales.
Grey Gardens Documentary
Grey Gardens tells the tale of two upper crust women who have checked out from society. The East Hampton, N.Y., home in which they reside is Grey Gardens—named before the Beales lived there for the grey garden wall and sand dunes beyond that.
The home, a crumbling façade of its former grandiose, and its owners were receiving media attention for horrific conditions of the home. Piles of trash littered the unused rooms; raccoons, cats, fleas and mice ran, unfettered by traps. The conditions also gained notoriety when Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis aided in cleanup efforts.
The Edies
Enter Big Edie and Little Edie. The two characters that live inside are a burst of color and brilliance unto themselves.
Big Edie, the matriarch, rules the roost. In the documentary she’s in her 70s with a high-pitched voice she uses to commandeer her daughter, little Edie.
Big Edie, or Edith Bouvier Beale, is the aunt of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her sister Lee Radziwill.
Originally married to Phelan Beale, who “got a fake divorce in Mexico,” according to little Edie in the documentary, Big Edie took up residence at Grey Gardens. Eventually Little Edie came back from New York to care for her mother.
Little Edie is in her 50s at the time of the documentary. She always has her head covered due to her lack of hair. There’s talk as to why she lacks hair, and occasionally in the documentary you can see a stray gray strand peeking out. Speculation ranges from fleas to alopecia, but there’s not a confirmed reason for the baldness.
Little Edie, who describes herself as a “staunch character,” dresses in eccentric clothing and expresses her regrets for not getting married or becoming an actress or singer. She often feels trapped by her life at Grey Gardens.
Other Grey Gardens Productions
Since Grey Gardens debuted, it’s enjoyed cult status among fans that are drawn in by the Edies.
In 2006, the Maysles released another documentary The Beales of Grey Gardens of extra footage that didn’t make it into the documentary.
Grey Gardens was also made into an off-Broadway musical and scored three Tony awards its performances with Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson. Opening in October 2006, the play closed June 29, 2007.
Albert Maysles, the surviving Maysles brother is at work on a Grey Gardens the Musical documentary.
On April 18, 2009, a movie about Grey Gardens will air on HBO, starring Drew Barrymore as Little Edie and Jessica Lange as Big Edie.
Grey Gardens Fans
Numerous fan sites and books pay homage to Grey Gardens, including Grey Gardens Online and Grey Gardens News.
Little Edie is feted today by magazines like Vogue who continue to celebrate her unique style.
Lois Wright, an artist and sometime resident of Grey Gardens, has written a book to shed more light on the Edies, “My Life at Grey Gardens." Other fan and photo books have been released.
