Another beauty, gone to ruin via cigarettes: Barbara (Babe) Cushing, Mortimer Paley. Thanks to Susan, I came in contact with THE SISTERS, a dizzying read chronicling the lives and loves of the famous Cushing sisters, of Boston. Born to a world famous neurosurgeon, these women . . . named Minnie, Betsey and Barbara (Babe), held the world in awe as one by one they married the world's wealthiest, most eligible men.

Minnie married Vincent Astor; her marriage is likely never to have been consummated sexually. Possibly a 'closet' lesbian, Minnie divorced Vincent to marry an avowed homosexual: artist, James Fosburgh.

Middle sister Betsey married James Roosevent, while his father Franklin D., was President of the United States. Betsey remained an intimate of FDR, until he died. Unhappy with James, the couple split: Betsey then snagged THE most eligible man in America: handsome, debonair multi-millionaire, Jock Whitney.

Babe 'settled' first for a Standard Oil heir, with blueblood credentials: dashing, Stanley Mortimer. But his money was tied into trusts. Babe needed plenty more, to live the high life. Enter, William S. Paley, brash and bawdy chairman of CBS; when Paley died, his fortune was estimated to be worth 500 million.

It's Babe's story, that truly engrosses . . . for decades Mrs. Paley WAS, fashion, beauty and glamour, dazzling New York's glittering social events with her impeccable fashion sense, and bravura style. Swathed in Russian sable, gowned by world famous couturiers, bejeweled and coiffed to consistent perfection, every move Mrs. Paley made, was recorded by photographers and the press. Her marrige to Bill Paley was troubled and unhappy . . . on her deathbed, Babe berated her husband of thirty years; even in public the serene Mrs. Paley let go with invective, never before heard seeping from her glossy lips.

Juicy tidbits, thoughout: Eleanor Roosevelt didn't shave her underarms . . . Betsey disapproved of her sister Babe's, lifestyle . . . Bill Paley's ardent womanizing led to scandalous revelations and feuding, vis a vis Truman Capote's 'Answered Prayers . . . ' When Pamela Digby Churchill needs an escort, between husbands . . . a naive Slim Hayward 'offers up' hubby Leland Hayward, to accompany Pamela to New York social events; in one week Hayward and Pamela are 'madly' in love. They end up married, a few months later.

An engrossing read . . . an offputting story . . . money, money, money . . . nothing else could put these gals where they wanted to be. And in the case of 'Babe' Paley . . . where she wanted most, NOT to be.

Babe and Bill Paley . . . Mrs. P. stood five feet eight inches, tall . . . she bought from both American and European designers.

So interesting! I only caught the second half of the Paley's story... via all the Warhol biographies extant.

Interesting! On the Roosevelt angle, Armanis, this week I saw the biography of Eleanor Roosevelt on American Experience on PBS and they said the five Roosevelt children had had a total of 19 marriages among them! I guess James and Betsey were part of this gristmill. It was intimated in the program that the Roosevelt children were constantly disillusioned by their spouses because it often turned out they married them for status to be close to the President. You wouldn't think Betsey Cushing would need the perk so perhaps that didn't apply in her case.

Oh, Fiveoaks it most certainly DID apply in Betsey's case . . . she was after status of the highest order; at that time in her life James Roosevelt was the 'best' she could do. Their father, although world renowned, was not rich . . . he'd lost most of his money during the depression . . . but Betsey did have 'good' Wasp credentials. The sisters' mother, nicknamed 'Gogsie' by her grandchildren, was even MORE status and wealth conscious, than were her daughters . . . even after each one married so well . . . Gogsie was never quite satisfied . . . especially with Babe's second choice. Gogsie had hoped that Babe would garner a 'coronet,' or a title, from European royalty.

Another tidbit . . . Babe Paley's face had been crushed in a car accident, when she was a teen! I never knew this . . . with the help of her father's contacts, Babe's face was re-organized to its original 'perfection,' complete with a new set of teeth!!!! To be honest, I always thought that Mrs. Paley's smile, was a little bit 'off, or crooked . . . ' perhaps that was why.

Lord preserve us from parents who are "never quite satisfied." In highschool I had a friend like that. Her dad was a perfectionist--not for himself, for his children. If she got a 98 in a test he would berate her saying if she could get 98, why couldn't she get 100! Ugh!

I know all about perfectionist parents . . . but with the exception of Minnie, these sisters were much that way, themselves. Babe in particular, was an extreme perfectionist; she lived with stress every moment of her life.

I found Jock Whitney to be the most amiable of this mercenary cast of characters . . . handsome, and born fabulously rich, Mr. Whitney could easily have moved in on whichever beauty caught his eye. Instead he appears to have remained true to Betsey Cushing Roosevelt, not by any means the greatest looking woman in the world. Also, Betsey came with baggage: two children that Jock adopted, in due time. It seems that Jock decided that Betsey was the 'right' woman for him to marry, and he stuck to that decision despite constant temptation, to do otherwise. BTW: Jock Whitney helped to finance GWTW; he and Vivien Leigh were close friends. Betsey saw to it that Jock's relationship with David Selznick, cooled off . . . after she and Jock got hitched.

Jock Whitney is at the extreme right . . .

What was wrong with David O. Selznick? If I remember correctly, the problem with Bill Paley, according to the WASP standards of the day, was that he was Jewish.

I uh suspect that David came into contact with too many good looking women, while in the picture making business . . . better not to have David or his . . . ladies, around. :-)

Those Cushing Sister were quite something, were they not, Mietros? Poor Babe's tragic death gives lie to the expression "you can never be too thin or too rich"...apparently you can.

Both highs and lows and completely well lived lives.

Suz . . . every single move these women made, was calculated and balanced, and weighed one way or the other; Gogsie held veto power. Babe's marriage to William Paley, knocked her down socially . . . much the way Jackie Kennedy's marriage to Onassis, made her look like a gold digging barracuda. Babe's story, is truly chilling, in some ways. The children she had with Bill Paley lived in a cottage on their Kiluna estate; they did NOT live with their parents. Babe's little girl developed a condition that has been discussed before, here on POL . . . in which one's hair falls out, perhaps due to stress. Babe's other daughter . . . Amanda Burden, inspired jealousy and envy, from her mother . . . so many juicy goings on . . . one observation, really struck me: After Carter Burden's successful bid for a political office, The Paleys entered his campaign headquarters, to swarms of their 'fans.' Babe is described by one observer as being 'very made up,' which surprised him. He said that the way teen age girls were going 'gaga,' for Babe, was striking to be sure. The 'overly made up' suggestion, makes me think of so many other 'maturing women' that I've known . . . who do the same thing. I'm surprised that Babe was one of them . . . btw: the night before Babe died, she did her own makeup, wound a scarf around her head, and prepared herself for death's reach. Her funeral and the luncheon thereafter, all had been planned to the smallest detail . . . by the late Mrs. Paley. Also, at Babe's funeral, a swarm of 'available' society ladies . . . none worth less than twenty million, was already stalking Bill Paley. He never remarried.

I did not read the book (it is Maman's) but did Babe not extract some deathbed promise from him never to marry again? The old rake certainly had plenty of affairs...Diane Sawyer got an entire career out of her time with him. Yes, those women were control freaks in the extreme. Sad...in the end, we all come to the same place, the richest of the rich and the beggar man in rags.

Suz, by the time Babe's death was 'underway,' the two of them were barely civil. Babe especially, took to spewing invective about her rich husband, both in private and in public. At one social outing, she asked some of Paley's associates, the following question: 'How can you stand him? How, can you?? He is so disorganized . . . ' Silence. At times, Babe called CBS, to ask 'what the old SOB was up, to . . . ' Probably, once her death was a certainly, Babe lashed out for what she considered to be an 'abusive relationship.' Babe had to maintain a perfect appearance. Babe had to wait on her husband. Babe had to remain 'faithful' to Mr. Paley. Babe had to accompany Bill, during breakneck speed tours of China, etc., and Babe had to have Bill's babies. This I think, is how SHE saw things . . . meanwhile, Bill had affairs if he wanted to, ate gourmet feasts in Babe's presence, and found fault with much of what Babe did, during their marriage. What can we say? We weren't there . . .

I don't remember a deathbed order being fulfilled, vis a vis another marriage for Bill . . . it was that Bill would not sell their Kiluna property, during his lifetime. Will go back and check, but that's how I remember it.

By far, Betsey faired best: she got THE catch in America . . . six foot one inch, two hundred pound Jock Whitney . . . fabulously rich, handsome, sexy, and generous. And, it seems . . . that he remained faithful to Betsey, throughout. :-?

I should add, that to Bill's credit, he searched the ends of the earth, to find a cure for Babe's illness . . .none could be had.