Bill adored the child, as he did his stepchildren, whom he treated as if they were his own. Born in 1915 in St Louis, Missouri, Harkness was the second daughter of prominent stockbroker Allen Tarwater and his wife, also named Rebekah. New York magazine called it a "garish bordello of a dance theater" and compared it to a "Staten Island beauty parlor." As well as the fascinating facts that have become myth - such as Harkness filling a pool with Dom Perignon, dying a cat green (a dog in Swift's song), and being kicked off a cruise for swimming nude - her 1988 biography, Blue Blood, written by Vanity Fair and New York Magazine editor Craig Unger, reveals a far more tragic story, including the fact that her childhood nanny was chosen specifically because she had worked in a mental asylum. In 1939, at 24, Harkness married the first of her four husbands, Charles Dickson Walsh Pierce, a Yale graduate who worked for an advertising firm and was described by friends as a Walter Mitty-like character with his head in the clouds. ." It's safe to assume that what drew Swift to Rebekah in the first place was their shared residence. In October 1947, she married William Hale Harkness, the handsome heir to the Standard Oil fortune, whom she met at Watch Hill, her parents' summer place in Rhode Island. In one devastating blow, Rhodes was fired and the rest of the tour was canceled. ', Set to go under the hammer next month at Christie's this 'timeless' piece travelled with the future 2nd Duchess of Westminster from country seat to London base, By He replied by telling her it was just as well. Harkness was born an heir to a banking fortune and grew up in St. Louis, then attended finishing school in South Carolina, where she pursued her passion for music and dance. She was also known for her four husbands - her first was a descendant of 14th President of the United States, Franklin Pearce, while her second was the Standard Oil billionaire William Hale Harkness, through who she acquired great wealth and social standing. Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy, history, and memory. She married twice after her second husband's death, the latter being 20 years her junior, with both ending in divorce. How quickly society judges those that live lives different from the norm. This is vastly different from Harkness's own design that included eight kitchens and 21 bathrooms, which rather effectively prevented her from having to run into her three children while they were in the house. (Allen's murder sentence was eventually reduced to manslaughter, and he was released from prison after serving eight years.). Salinger and Salvador Dali. Managed by: … Edith Harkness , her only child with Bill Harkness, was in and out of mental institutions and eventually committed suicide; her other daughter, Terry Pierce , had a severely brain-damaged baby who died in childhood. "And in truth, she was not under contract to all those record companies at all: Her records were vanity pressings, paid for by her.". Despite Bill's restrained and aloof personality, and the fact that he was 15 years older than Harkness (he was 46, she 31), the marriage seemed to work. Bill … In September 1965, the Ballet performed at the White House, after which it began a six-week tour of 30 American cities. During the 1960s, Harkness, who was fascinated by medicine, also began injections of the male hormone testosterone, to strengthen herself as a dancer. The song ends, 'Who knows, if I never showed up, what could’ve been / There goes the loudest woman this town has ever seen / I had a marvellous time ruining everything / I had a marvellous time ruining everything / A marvellous time ruining everything / A marvellous time / I had a marvellous time. This was the same house Swift purchased in 2013 for nearly $18 million, where she's hosted many a summer bash with model friends and big-screen beaus. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. 16 Oct. 2020 . Hope Coke. Harkness was also a complex individual with a decidedly self-destructive edge. Harkness acquired an enormous amount of wealth after her second marriage to William Hale Harkness. Rebekah Harkness succumbed to her illness on June 17, 1982. "At the end she regretted all she had done and was warm and kind, and she was genuine about it." 1940); Anne Terry Pierce (b. In the early 1970s, when she began to suffer with arthritis and hip problems, she started injections of Talwin, a powerful painkiller that caused physical and psychological dependence in some patients. Her support of the dance continued for years after her death through the Harkness Ballet Foundation and the William Hale Harkness Foundation. In The Last Great American Dynasty, Swift not only describes all of these antics, but also draws comparisons between herself and her home's former owner, singing, 'Holiday House sat quietly on that beach / Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits / And then it was bought by me.'. She married twice after William's death, both times to different doctors. folklore is out now. 50 Fabulous Drinks Tables for Any Occasion, 40 Museums You Need to Visit in Your Lifetime, 22 Radiant Paint Colors for Your Dining Room, 13 Black-Owned Home Brands To Support Now. "The first major cultural event of the new year is the launching of an American ballet company on a scale unprecedented in dance history," reported the New York Morning Telegraph. Sadly, he died just seven years into their marriage, making her a widow aged 39. This content is imported from Instagram. (Harkness’ great uncle had originally staked John D. Rockefeller in the founding of the company in 1870). Sponsoring a 12-week summer workshop at Watch Hill, the goal of which was to prepare the ballet for an international tour, Harkness hosted the entire roster of dancers along with six choreographers commissioned to create new works for the company. Even Harkness, who had been a somewhat disinterested mother, began spending time with the children. Through the William Hale Harkness Foundation, named for her second husband, she also sponsored construction of a medical research building at New York Hospital and supported a number of medical research projects. Harkness's grants have been channeled through the foundation and the William Hale Harkness Foundation, named after her late second husband, an heir to … I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. 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, 1932; married Charles Dickson Pierce, on June 10, 1939 (divorced 1946); married William Hale Harkness (an attorney and businessman), on October 1, 1947 (died, August 1954); married Benjamin H. Kean (a physician), in 1961 (divorced 1965); married Niels Lauersen (a physician), in 1974 (divorced 1977); children: (first marriage) Allen Pierce (b. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Iyengar. Although it was unusual for a principal dancer to become an artistic director of a company, Rhodes was embraced by both the dancers and the critics. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Also included in the undertaking were dance teachers, administrators, lawyers, and, of course, her ever-present extended family of artists and musicians. There soon followed a recording of a pop song "My Heart." Her father was a tyrant who alternately terrorized and ignored her, and her mother was preoccupied with her own social life. Three days after her death, a memorial service was held at Harkness House, after which her body was cremated and her ashes placed in the Harkness family mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery. NY: H.W. After throwing a series of 4 July parties with celebrity guests including Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and then-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston, the property and beach were swarmed by paparazzi, capturing every moment of the festivities. This was the same house Swift purchased in 2013 for nearly $18 million, where she's hosted many a summer bash with model friends and big-screen beaus.
