Edith B. Beale, 84, cult-classic film star and Jackie O's cousin
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"Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, the cousin of Jackie Kennedy Onassis whose squalid, eccentric life in the Hamptons was captured in the cult 1975 documentary "Grey Gardens," has died at age 84.
Beale and her mother, also named Edith, made national headlines in the early 1970s when Long Island, N.Y., health officials nearly evicted them from their decaying 28-room East Hampton mansion when they discovered the American aristocrats were living ankle deep in cat feces.
But Beale's witty one-liners and her audacious style — including a turban fashioned from a sweater and makeshift skirts that doubled as capes — attracted legions of followers, from movie stars to drag queens.
Born in Manhattan in 1917, Beale's early life glinted with fairy-tale charm. She spent summers at the family's East Hampton estate and in 1936 debuted at the grand Pierre Hotel. She began a successful career as a model and later boasted of beaus such as Joe Kennedy and millionaire Paul Getty.
Beale was apparently about to break into the film world when, in 1952, she was called back to East Hampton to care for her mother.
By the time the filmmakers Albert and David Maysles shined their cameras on "Little Edie" and "Big Edie" in the early '70s, the mother-daughter duo had long succumbed to a life of oddball seclusion and filth.
At one point, "Little Edie" is pictured in her attic wearing only a bathing suit, high heels and turban and feeding cat biscuits to a family of raccoons. When the film was released, critics claimed the Maysles brothers exploited the women and invaded their privacy.
But the Edies loved it.
When the Maysles completed their project, Albert Maysles recalled Friday, the brothers lugged a projector to the house to show the women the film.
"There was a little silence and Edith paced back and forth," he said. "As she usually did, she came up with just the right words. She said, 'The Maysles' — and she really shouted it out — 'The Maysles have created a classic.' "
Maysles said he and his brother sought to reveal an inner strength and confidence that was seldom attributed to women, especially older women, at the time.
"They lived such an unconventional life. People who were not used to eccentrics don't know where to draw the line between that and being crazy," said Maysles.
"Grey Gardens" quickly attracted hordes of fans. Italian Vogue and Harper's Bazaar have each published Beale-inspired fashion spreads.
Beale's mother died two years after the release of the film, and in 1979 Beale sold the mansion to Washington Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee. She moved to Bal Harbour, Fla., where she resided until her death.