Dec 8, 2020 In 1915, Rebekah West was born in St. Louis to Mr. and Mrs. Allen Tarwater West. 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. A 1955 article from The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that one of her works would be premiering at Carnegie Hall in New York City.) So in 1977 she checked into Silver Hill, a rehab clinic in New Canaan, Conn. But it is clear that as a spoiled young woman growing up in St. Louis between the wars,. Hey, all publicity is good publicityand Rebekahs need to be in the spotlight soon grew to disturbing proportions. Today its pretty much forgotten, despite the tens of millions of dollars she spent on it. Around this time, Harkness fancied herself a composer. She also bought them an old firehouse in Westerly to practice in, calling it the Harkness Center for the Arts. The most famous Pack story from around this time is when, during one particularly boring and respectable soiree, the group decided to spike a punch bowl with laxatives. Knowing all this (and much, much more; Mr. Unger withholds no ugly or racy detail), what is it exactly that we have learned? Not just going to performances, but sponsoring entire ballet companies, buying up real estate for them and sending them on world tours. By 1982, the end was near for Harkness, yet tragically her son Allen wasnt there. Pierce. Rebekah Harkness was born on 17 April 1915 in St Louis, Missouri, USA. People called it the Taylor Swift Tax, though it never became law. Harkness only left death in her wake wherever she went. She once dressed as a waitress at one of them so she could eavesdrop on the guests. Harkness had three husbands. Tabloids became fascinated with Harkness as she was known for being an eccentric, who filled her pool with Dom Prignon and dyed her neighbor's cat green following an argument. [3] Edith married Kenneth Perry McKinnon in 1971,[15] and was in and out of mental institutions before eventually completing suicide after many attempts, just months following her mother's death. Rebekah Harkness was born in 1915 to a rich, emotionally frigid St. Louis family. She went to Fermata, a. OthersJerome Robbins and George Balanchine flatly refused to choreograph her musical compositions. When she went to the doctors office, they found a frightening problem. Donning a black chiffon Mainbocher dress with a white silk back-tied apron, she flashed a wry smile at the camera. for scholarships, administrative costs and new set designs. Her passion, such as it was, burned itself out quickly, coincidentally with the baby's pulling a ribbon out of her hair. That money can't buy happiness? De . Their antics soon became legendary. Besides despising Rebekahs children, Scevers also hated her disabled granddaughter Angel. It makes no sense - and no sense is made of it. 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. Immediate Family: Daughter of Bill Harkness and Rebekah Semple Harkness. Anne married Anthony McBride in 1966[1] and had a severely brain-damaged baby who died at age 10. 1944). 1944). We have estimated Rebekah Harkness's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. ''She's escaped. Born Rebekah Semple West on April 17, 1915, in St. Louis, Missouri; died on June 17, 1982, in New York City, second daughter and one of three children of Allen Tarwater (a stockbroker) and Rebekah Cook (Semple) West; attended Rossman and John Burroughs schools in St. Louis; graduated from Fermata, a finishing school in Aiken, South Carolina, Harkness, born Rebekah Semple West, grew up amidst splendor in St. Louis as the third and youngest child of Allen Tarwater West, heir to a banking fortune, and Rebekah Semple, daughter of a wealthy merchant. It was Rebekah Harkness - whose second of four husbands, William H. Harkness, died in August 1954 in The Westerly Hospital after being stricken by a heart attack in the mansion - who patronized . ''So absurd,'' Mr. Scevers pronounced. ''We were the loved ones.'' Eolia was one of their seven homes and reputed . Marina Eglevsky - A Legacy of Dance, Part 1. . She was brought up by a nanny who was chosen because she had worked in an insane asylum. She is the inspiration behind Taylor Swift's 2020 song "The Last Great American Dynasty". Her children, not so much. And how in the world did she get that way? [1] Before their divorce in 1946, they had two children; Allen Pierce (b. According to Blue Blood, a book by Craig Unger, Harkness wrote in her scrapbook that at Fermata, she set out do everything bad. An example of her mischievousness? He left her $75 million (about $720 million in todays money), and she blew through it with a vengeance. . And when the time came to put Harkness into the Chalice of Life, the plot thickened. 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. As yet another troubled member of the family, Allen had gotten into a fight, slain a man, and was eventually sentenced with manslaughter. All the extra rooms would give the nannies plenty of space to feed and bathe the babies without Rebekah having to know a thing about it. But the common message was that Rebekah Harkness was a mean, jealous widow with too much money and time for her own good, and she laughed about it bad attention was still attention, and her vengeful, hurting heart nursed itself with it, and a pint of ice cream of course. This story was updated in 2022. ''When they started talking about putting the nursery over my room . Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. Culture Taylor Swift Folk Albums Oil. In 1939 she married Dickson Pierce because, she said, she didnt have anything better to do. Watch the video for "The Last Great American Dynasty": Woytus is St. Louis Magazine's deputy editor, coveringnews and culture. She once dressed as a waitress at one of them so she could eavesdrop on the guests. Illustrated. My association with Rebekah Harkness was based on creating a business venture that would make a profit. Who is Rebekah Harkness Dating? In October 1948, Harkness gave birth to her first child with her second husband, a daughter Edith. Although she came from a well-off Midwest family, William and his fortune put Rebekah into a different social stratosphere. Rebekah died on 17 June 1982 in Manhattan, New York, USA. And yes, diving into Harknesss outrageous, gilded life is indeed a journey through a past era. She even started a company of her own in 1964: the Harkness Ballet. Unfit for mothering, unfit for ordinary love, unfit - untrained - to be the caretaker of a great fortune, was she altogether silly or altogether bad? BLUE BLOOD By Craig Unger. [16], In 1961, Harkness married Ben Kean (c.19121993),[17] a physician who was a professor of Tropical Medicine at the Cornell Medical College. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. After Rebekah Harkness' husband died in 1953, she remodeled the house with 8 kitchens and 21 bathrooms in order to 'effectively kept her from having to see her three children on anything like a . Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. . Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. Traduzioni in contesto per "nelle partecipazioni in" in italiano-inglese da Reverso Context: L'avviamento nelle partecipazioni in societ collegate incluso nel valore contabile di tali societ. Rebekah Harkness spent much of the Standard Oil fortune she inherited on the ballet. The 1988 novel was published about Rebekah . Their marriage produced one child: Edith Harkness and their marriage lasted harmoniously for 7 years when William Hale Harkness died 1 October 1954 leaving his entire fortune, that included a major share of Standard Oil, to Rebekah to do with as she pleased. At the very end, according to Bobby Scevers, as she lay dying of cancer, ''It was complete chaos. Rebekah Harkness keeps his personal and love life private. Rebekah and Bill Harkness had one daughter, Edith. The building, according to Craig Unger, the author of this rich-man/eye-of-the-needle biography, was in a state of putrefaction, ''crumbling like Tara after the Civil War.'' In its day, the Harkness would train more professional dancers than any other company. 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 . . This had devastating consequences. Socialite circles are infamously tight-lipped about their marriages, but theres almost no doubt that Rebekahs union with Pierce was a dismal affairand one day, she made a disturbing confession. Rebekah West Harkness (ne Semple West;[1] April 17, 1915 June 17, 1982) also known as Betty Harkness, was an American composer, socialite, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet. The ashes were placed in a $250,000 jeweled urn made by Salvador Dali. . 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. In 1956, Harkness burst onto the high society scene after. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? 11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Rebekah Harkness, American composer, sculptor, and. Rebekah Semple West was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1915. Born April 17, 1915 Died June 17, 1982 (67) Showcase yourself on IMDbPro Add to list Credits Jean Stein and George Plimpton did that brilliantly in ''Edie,'' the biography of poor Edie Sedgwick. It was so wonderful - everybody running around signing wills and trying on different wigs.''. Love and Empowerment. Harkness died of cancer at 67 in 1982. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. Dancer Lawrence Rhodes said it was one of the few times he was embarrassed to be in a ballet. Though her children Edith and Terry rushed to her bedside along with her lover Bobby Scevers, the scene was anything but heart-warming. Latest News on Rebekah Harkness . All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. She dyed chocolate mousse blue. When Joffrey refused to perform the schlock, Rebekahs revenge was brutal. Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Materials. ''I can't believe it took her this long to succeed.'') This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. 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. Nonetheless, Harkness actually doted on the babe, and for a time it seemed like she was going to be a better granny than she was a mommy. She supported the arts in general, ballet in particular, and she had the wealth with which to do it. Harkness was jealous to an absolute fault, and even to her own detriment. New York: William Morrow & Company. The last great American dynasty, indeed. All of the work and much of the music was original. At the end of the song, she suggests a certain satisfaction regardless of the answer: There goes the loudest woman this town has ever seen / I had a marvelous time ruining everything.. While Bill Harkness was alive, he and Rebekah threw raucous parties every weekend. But the result was disastrous. The celebrities brought paparazzi and, echoes of the Rebekah Harkness era, complaints from the neighbors. On June 10, 1939, Harkness married Dickson W. Pierce, the son of Thomas M. Pierce. Rebekah Harkness's height Unknown & weight Not Available right. (''I'm glad Edith is gone,'' said the unquenchable Bobby Scevers. Surprise, surprise, this phase didnt last long. One work, Dreams of Glory, had an insipid story about a little boy who dreams of becoming John F. Kennedy. William was rolling in money, which made him the perfect candidate for Rebekahs expensive tastes. Money cant buy sense, and apparently Harknesss designer urn was far too small for her actual remains. This is where Rebekah really started getting a tarnished reputation, and things got so bad that no amount of money could fix her downfall. Taylor Swift's, new song titled 'The Last Great American Dynasty' is about Rebekah Harkness, the scandal-ridden socialite who once owned the Watch Hill, Rhode Island mansion Swift purchased in 2013 By Elise Taylor. A ltima dinastia de Rebekah Harkness famosa e problemtica socialite que inspirou a faixa 3 de "Folklore", lbum de Taylor Swift | by ana guelere | Hello Band | Medium Write Sign up Sign In. The most tragic detail? A week after her death on June 17, 1982, the mortal remains of Rebekah Harkness were toted home by her older daughter Terry in a Gristede's shopping bag. Now she has one more posthumous title: muse. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. Besides taking pills, the poor girl also jumped off a roof on at least one occasion, and in response, Harkness only mused at her daughters various attempts. Not really. [2] Neither parent was involved in the upbringing of the children, leaving them to be raised primarily by nannies. As well see, Rebekahs love only devolved from there. She retaliated by dying a neighbors cat green. If you hear oil and think Russian Oligarch rich, youd be pretty much right. She insisted that it perform ballets to scores she had written. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. Who Is Rebekah Harkness? Because of her misused muscles and her extravagant dependence on testosterone, Harkness began to lose her dancers elegance. The Harkness family had a reputation for its philanthropy. [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. Not only did her ballet collapse, her whole family did as well. Harkness definitely wasnt the most fiscally-responsible business woman, but she does have the distinction of being the strangest girl-boss in history. As she aged, Rebekah started to live off of champagne and injections, including testosterone and an assortment of pain medications. Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train / It was sunny, Taylor Swift croons in her new song The Last Great American Dynasty. In 3 minutes 51 seconds, Swift tells the story of Harknesss legacy through lyrics. Shop for Rebekah Harkness at Walmart.com. Yet this came with great tragedy: The baby, named Angel, was severely brain-damaged. She spent a small fortune buying her way into the dance world, surrounding herself with dancers, musicians and choreographers. [9] [14] Following the divorce, Harkness gained custody of both children. It is possible to write an edifying biography about an unedifying life. The resulting damages to herself, her companies and her children were heartbreaking. 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 youngest daughter, Edith, had tried to commit suicide at the age of 15 by flinging herself out of a high rise in front of her. Rebekah Harkness Net Worth. After Rebekah Harkness died in 1982, her daughter Terry took her mother's remains home in a Gristede's shopping bag, according to a story in the New York Times. In 1962 she turned her Rhode Island estate, Holiday House, into a summer dance camp for the entire Joffrey Ballet company. There she delighted, as she wrote in her scrapbook, in setting out to ''do everything bad. She filled her fish tank with goldfish and Scotch. Tag Archives: Rebekah Harkness. Rebekah died that same year after a long bout with cancer. This arrangement effectively kept her from having to see her three children on anything like a regular basis, theNew York Timescommented. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. The train wreck was now chugging along, and it wouldnt stop until Harkness took her last breath. [2], After graduating in 1932, she and a group of female friends formed the Bitch Pack, a sub-culture of local debutantes who enjoyed subverting society events, including lacing punchbowls with mineral oil and performing stripteases on banquet tables. Make a profit along, and she blew through it with a vengeance the unquenchable Bobby Scevers the! Worth, money, salary, income, and celebrity style were placed in a 250,000... Family had a severely brain-damaged baby who died at age 10 because, she flashed a wry at... Biography about an unedifying life, ballet in particular, and assets and had severely... That it perform ballets to scores she had written digitized version of an article from the neighbors biography an! 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