two years, according to her mother's wishes, holding out against selling the house as a teardown. In 1979, she sold the mansion to Ben Bradlee, then the executive editor of The Washington Post. Beale moved to Bal Harbour, Florida, in late 1997. She was found dead in her apartment on January 14, 2002, aged 84; it is believed she died about five days earlier, either from a stroke or heart attack. The inscription on her grave marker reads: "I came from God. I belong to God. In the end—I shall return to God." Legacy Interest in the Beales' story resulted in a variety of publishing and media projects as well as various mentions in popular culture. The original 1975 Maysles brothers' documentary Grey Gardens. Grey Gardens: A New Musical debuted off-Broadway in March 2006, starring Christine Ebersole, and played on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre November 2, 2006 – July 28, 2007 for 300+ performances. Little Edie was portrayed in the first act by actresses Sara Gettelfinger (off-Broadway) and Erin Davie (on Broadway). Ebersole played Little Edie in the second act. Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson won Tony Awards. The Spring 2010 issue of the online literary journal BigCityLit features a pantoum by American poet Joel Allegretti called "The Belles of Grey Gardens", which is made up entirely of dialogue from the Maysles' documentary. In the 2011 episode of 30 Rock titled "Mrs. Donaghy," Liz Lemon (portrayed by Tina Fey) does an impression of Drew Barrymore's impersonating Little Edie. A February 2013 episode of RuPaul's Drag Race featured drag queen Jinkx Monsoon imitating Little Edie during the Snatch Game challenge. Inspired by that episode, Jinkx Monsoon and Peaches Christ mounted a live 90-minute musical drag parody Return to Grey Gardens. The first episode of the IFC mockumentary series Documentary Now! spoofed Grey Gardens in 2015, with Fred Armisen and Bill Hader as mother and daughter in Sandy Passage. The 2017 documentary film That Summer featured the original 1972 footage of Radziwill visiting the Beales. Notes References Further reading My Life at Grey Gardens: Thirteen Months and Beyond by Lois Wright (2005). . Grey Gardens: From East Hampton to Broadway, a documentary by Albert Maysles about the making of the musical Grey Gardens. External links 1917 births 2002 deaths American cabaret performers American debutantes American female dancers American Roman Catholics American socialites Beale family Bouvier family Burials at Locust Valley