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The Bowery Boys: New York City History

#260 Journey to Grey Gardens: A Tale of Two Edies

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Places & Travel, History, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.73.9K Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2018

⏱️ 55 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of the Bowery Boys, Greg digs into the back story of one of the most famous documentaries ever made – Grey Gardens. The film, made by brother directing team Albert and David Maysles, looks at the lives of two former society women leading a life of seclusion in a rundown old mansion in the Hamptons. Those of you who have seen the film – or the Broadway musical or the HBO film inspired by the documentary – know that it possesses a strange, timeless quality. Mrs Edith Bouvier Beale (aka Big Edie) and her daughter Miss Edith Bouvier Beale (aka Little Edie) live in a pocket universe, in deteriorating circumstances, but they themselves remain poised, witty, well read. But if our histories truly make us who we are, then to understand these two extraordinary and eccentric women, we need to understand the historical moments that put them on this path. And that is a story of New York City – of debutante balls, Fifth Avenue, Tin Pan Alley and the changing roles of women. And it’s a story of the Bouviers, who represent here the hundreds of wealthy, upwardly mobile families, trying to maintain their status in a fluctuating world of social registers and stock market crashes. This is story about keeping up appearances and the consequences of following your heart. FEATURING: A very special guest! The Marble Faun himself -- Jerry Torre, who swings by the show to share his recollection of these fascinating women. boweryboyshistory.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

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0:00.0

The Bowry Boys Episode 260.

0:02.8

Journey to Grey Gardens.

0:05.0

A tale of two eddies.

0:06.8

Hey, it's The Bowry Boys.

0:08.4

Hey.

0:09.6

Support for The Bowry Boys is provided by our listeners.

0:13.1

Join us for as little as $1 a month

0:15.6

by visiting patreon.com slash Bowry Boys.

0:22.1

Hi there, welcome to The Bowry Boys.

0:23.7

This is Greg Young.

0:25.2

Now Tom is away on vacation for this show.

0:28.2

So I am going to completely indulge here,

0:31.4

indulge my inner film geek, and spend some time

0:34.4

looking into the backstory of one of the most

0:37.0

famous documentaries ever made.

0:39.7

That film is Greg Gardens.

0:42.2

The film, which was directed by brothers Albert and David

0:45.3

Maisels, looks at the life of two former society women,

0:49.4

leading a life of seclusion, and a rundown old mansion

0:52.8

in East Hampton.

0:54.5

Now for those of you who have seen Greg Gardens,

0:57.4

you'll get a lot of the show if you have seen it already,

...

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