yes we saw um three spaceships really my mother and my friend Lois MH and we called up the police and they gave us a long story uh that it was Maneuvers from West Hampton Beach uh one was uh was very near us they kept coming our way they were on the doomes the story of greay gardens is a fascinating tale involving the bouier beal family particularly Edith bouier Beal big Edy and her daughter Edith bouier Beal little Ed that is because over time due to a combination of Financial mismanagement and neglect there once beautiful East Hampton estate fell into disrepair the mother and daughter became reclusive living in increasingly squalet conditions in 1971 the suffk County Health Department raided greay Gardens due to reports of the UN sanitary living conditions the media coverage brought the estate and its inhabitants into the public eye highlighting the dire state of the property and the reclusive lifestyle of the Beals following the raid and the resulting media frenzy Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis and her sister Lee razell provided financial assistance to help clean and repair gray Gardens to make it habitable in order for the women to avoid eviction but they did not do this to help complete strangers that they they learned about in the newspapers the reason that they helped is because those ladies were their relatives you see the Bill's rep part of the American Elite with Big E being the aunt of jacqulyn Kennedy Onasis Jacqueline's Father John Blackjack Bouvier III was the brother of bigi this made bigi Jacqueline's paternal Aunt as the daughter of bigi little Edy was Jacqueline's first cousin the connection to the Beals to the public interest in the story of greay gardens their story was immortalized in the 1975 documentary film greay Gardens by Albert and David masel who by the way I knew because he lived in the Dakota and later became neighbors with John Lennon the film showcased their eccentricities their decaying home and their complex motherdaughter relationship Mar listen I feel fine great great but everything is in a hell of a mess my mother is yelling for something her little bag of ribbons you saw Jerry just put the drawer right on the floor so everything rolled around so I had to wash all the silver and find all the little stuff like your or I feel wonderful so how are you hey ow we have to live in um in Venice on mil land wi time for time for hey mother it's the M the documentary turned the Beals into Cal figures inspiring various adaptations including a Broadway musical and an HBO film little Edy in particular became an icon for her resilience creativity and distinctive fashion sense as well as her many memorable quotes from the documentary mother's giving her all this so I W talk things about the family but you see in dealing with me the relatives didn't know that they were dealing with a staunch character and I tell you if there's anything worse than a sta woman St a u n CH there's nothing worse I'm telling you they don't weaken no matter what the story of gray Gardens began in 1924 when bigti and her husband felon Beal acquired the gray Gardens estate the shingle style home designed in 1897 was built as a 14 room house located in the Gea Pond neighborhood of East Hampton New York Mr and Miss Robert C Hill bought the home in 19 193 as a summer Cottage at the time the home stood on 4 Acres of ocean front land in 1913 anahil imported magnificent concrete walls from Spain to enclose the garden and temper the fierce winds in sea spray of Eastern Long Island with the walls and gorgeous wooden Arbors in place she designed the garden with assistance from landscape architect Ruth Dean they planted a variety of pale colored flowers including climbing roses lavender flocks and Delphinium it was truly a gray garden she later wrote adding the soft gray of the dunes cement walls and SE Miss gave us our color scheme as well as our name and that is how the estate became known as gray Gardens born on November 7th 1917 in New York City little Edy was the eldest daughter of big Edy and Fon she grew up in a privileged environment attending prestigious schools and enjoying the high society lifestyle little Edy had Ambitions of becoming an actress and Dancer she moved to New York City in the 1940s to pursue a career in the Performing Arts despite her beauty and talent she struggled to achieve significant success in the entertainment industry after an extended marital Separation Fon Beal notified his wife Edith biged of their divorce around 19 1946 via telegram from Mexico for all the ladies listening what do you think about your husband letting you know that he wants a divorce via telegram from Mexico kindly let me know your thoughts in the comments below he did however provide Edith with a monthly allowance of $300 which was the equivalent of about $5,000 in 2024 to maintain the greay gardens property and to support herself unfortunately and eventually felon's financial support ceased and the two ediths lost contact with him due to the lack of funds the garden reverted to untamed nature and the Glorious walls and garden structures were almost entirely hidden by sprawling overgrowth the residents fell into disrepair almost as quickly as the garden despite these conditions the women continued to live in the house keeping a large number of feral cats and wild animals in the 1950s little Edy gave up her independent life and career Pursuits to return to Grey Gardens to care for her ailing mother this marked the beginning of a period of increasing isolation and severe financial difficulty for both women by the 1960s big Edy and little Edy were living in almost complete isolation their home became dilapitated overrun with cats and raccoons and lacked basic amenities the Beal's lives during these decades were a dramatic Fall From Grace transforming from socialites two recluses living in a decaying mansion in 1972 the suffi County Health commission issued an eviction notice stating the Beals could not live in that house until it was cleaned and basic utilities were restored the news of the order and the squalor in which the women lived gained International attention the women fac certain eviction by the town of East Hampton if they did not clean up the home and comply with local building codes and that is when Jacqueline and her sister Lee razell donated money to make the house habitable and to meet the standards required to resend the eviction order that same year razell asked Brothers Albert and David masel to create a film documenting the Bouvier family's visits to East Hampton during her and Jaclyn's youth although this project was cancelled the masel turned their attention to the Beals resulting in the 1975 documentary greay Gardens the film was shadow over a 6 week period in the fall of 1973 capturing the Beal's daily lives without interference or Direction they film with handheld cameras allowing them to move freely around the house and interact with the subjects in fact you could even hear them talking in the documentary the MOs brothers and their team focused on creating a narrative that highlighted the unique relationship between Big Ed and little Ed as well as their isolation and eccentricity after you get out you realize nothing is important no it isn't nothing well my mother you know she gave me the right sland on my voice she told me leave everything no man compete against Mrs be and go young man in the world oh that worked hard I wish you would play l i bother about anything what you had a talent like d i take care of his house I lived on no money you were able to save the house on account of me yeah I think I didn't want to live in East T but I had to on account of mother's house well now you see why you live CU you had music all the time that's why and he went to the beach too that's what you like the film received widespread Acclaim from critics for its intimate and unflinching portrayal of its subjects it was praised for its raw and honest depiction of the Beal's lives and the maso's ability to capture their personalities and [Music] relationship her no friends or relations on weekend vacations won't have it known dear that we own telephone [Music] no aw St to a sugar cake for you to take for all the boys to see we can raise a family a girl for you a boy for me can't you see how happy we could be the Public's reaction was mixed while some viewers were fascinated by the Beal's eccentricity and the film's voyerism despite the divided opinions the film gained a cold following and remained a significant work in the documentary genre after the film's release Edith and Little Edie continue to reside in the house [Music] [Music] Big E passed away on February 5th 1977 at the age of 81 at that point little Ed was forced to put gray Gardens on the market she was distraught to find that most prospective buyers wanted to demolish the home and build a new one on the lot unwilling to waiver little Edy refused to to sell the home to anyone who did not promise to restore the Mansion to its former glory in 1979 little Ed sold Grey Gardens to Ben Bradley and Sally Quinn for $220,000 which was the equivalent of about a million bucks in 2024 Sally Quinn told little Ed that she could either leave the house broom clean or exactly the way it was but it was reported by Sally Quinn that the prospect of cleaning it up was $2 haunting for little Ed so she simply walked out abandoning everything inside Sally further reported that the attic was filled literally to the rafters with broken furniture and old wicker chases antique tables box of China and silver trunks full of letters baby pillows of handmade lace figurines crates of books and so much more she said it was like finding a shipwreck and discovering unimaginable Treasures buried among the detrus she also said that the house was filled with the waste from 52 feral cats her husband Ben Bradley wrote that he had never seen a house in such Dreadful condition he said the attics were full of raccoons and their droppings toilet stopped up a kitchen stove that had fallen into the cellar a living room with literally half a floor whole rooms had been abandoned when they filled up with garbage as the Beals moved to the Next Room Ben Bradley and Sally Quinn restored the home the gorgeous Gardens were brought back to life which was subsequently featured in several architectural and home decor magazines [Music] [Music] [Music] little Edy embarked on a new chapter in her life marked by a mix of Independence and continued eccentricity in 1979 she moved to New York City and then she eventually moved to Bal Harbor Florida where she lived in relative obscurity she resided in a modest apartment enjoying the warm climate and the Tranquility it offered compared to her previous life she maintained a small circle of friends and continued to receive visitors who were fascinated by her story Ed corresponded with fans and acquaintances reflecting on her life and the legacy of gray Gardens she remained proud of her independence and resilient spirit in February 2017 a widowed Sally Quinn put the house up for sale with an asking price of just under $20 million the beown furniture along with household items owned by Quinn were auctioned off in an estate sale held in mid November of 2017 on December 20th 2017 gry Garden sold for $5.5 million to American fashion designer Liz Lang the home now hosts many parties and charity events yearly and has been featured in several architectural and home decor magazines [Music] little Edy passed away in January of 2002 at the age of 84 she died in her apartment in Bal Harbor Florida her death marked the end of an era for those who had been captivated by the gray garden Saga big Edy and little Edy story continues to be one of enduring Fascination capturing themes of family identity and the passage of time against the backdrop of their once Grand estate gray Gardens [Music] [Music] [Music] so what are your thoughts about the story of big Edy and little Edy and the story of GRE Gardens did you see the documentary by the masel brothers or the HBO film or anything else associated with Greg Gardens what did you think about them the Beals fall from high society to living in squalor certainly challenges conventional Notions of success and societal status but how much of their situation could be attributed to financial problems considering the Beal's eccentric behavior and reclusiveness how how might mental health issues have influenced their choices and circumstances the documentary greay Gardens brought widespread attention to the Beals how do you feel about a documentary being made about private individuals how does the way their story was told influence public opinions and understanding of them do you think the masel could have shot and edited differently to betray them in a different light what lessons can we learn about resilience and adaptability from the be story and what ways can family and Community Support or lack thereof influence the lives of individuals in crisis kindly let me know your thoughts in the comments below until next time I wish you safe travels on all your Journeys