Eleanor Close Barzin
Born
Eleanor Post Close

(1909-12-03)December 3, 1909
Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedNovember 27, 2006(2006-11-27) (aged 96)
Paris, France
Other namesEleanor Close Barzin
Eleanor Hutton Rand
Eleanor Close Hutton
Eleanor Post Hutton Sturges Gautier
EducationSpence School
Miss Porter's School
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1930; ann. 1932)​
    Etienne M. R. Gautier
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1933; div. 1933)​
      George Curtis Rand
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1934; div. 1938)​
        ​
        ​
        (m. 1942; div. 1946)​
          Owen D. Johnson
          ​
          ​
          (m. 1949; div. 1953)​
            ​
            ​
            (m. 1954; died 1999)​
            ChildrenAntal "Tony" Miklos Post de Bekessy
            Parents
            RelativesDina Merrill (half-sister)
            C. W. Post (grandfather)

            Eleanor Close Barzin (December 3, 1909 – November 27, 2006) was an American heiress and socialite. Born a "Close", her name changed to "Hutton" with her mother's 1920 remarriage to Edward Francis Hutton. However, after her marriage to Leon Barzin her name became Eleanor Close Barzin, and stayed that way through the end of her life.

            Early life

            1915 portrait of Eleanor (at left) and her sister Adelaide

            Eleanor Post Close was born on December 3, 1909, in Greenwich, Connecticut, the second daughter of heiress, socialite and businesswoman Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887–1973) and investment banker Edward Bennett Close.[1]

            She was the granddaughter of C.W. Post (1854–1914) whose Postum Cereal Company was the predecessor of the General Foods Corporation. She was a half-sister to Dina Merrill (née Nedenia Hutton), her mother's third and last child. Through her father's second marriage, she was a half-sister to William Taliaferro Close (1924–2009), father of actress Glenn Close (born 1947).[2][3][4]

            Education and debut

            Eleanor was educated at the Spence School in Manhattan and Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut.[5] She was introduced to society in 1927, and in 1928, was presented to King George and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace.[6]

            Personal life

            On April 12, 1930,[7] she eloped with the playwright and director Preston Sturges (1898–1959).[8] In 1932, she sought an annulment on the grounds that he was not legally divorced from his first wife when they eloped.[9] Sturges' screenplay for the 1933 film The Power and the Glory was loosely based on her stories about her grandfather C.W. Post.[10]

            On April 5, 1933, she married for the second time to Etienne Marie Robert Gautier (1907–1993)[11] in the Chapel of Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule in Paris.[12] Gautier was a well-known polo player and was the nephew of the then mayor of Compiègne.[6] Their marriage lasted only a few months.[13]

            On June 4, 1934, she married her third husband, George Curtis Rand (1909–1986),[14] son of Kobbé Rand and the grandson of George C. Kobbé, a lawyer with Roosevelt & Kobbé.[15] Their apartment was designed by Donald Deskey Associates and today, the plans are held in the collections of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.[16][17][18] Alleging cruelty, Eleanor obtained a divorce from Rand on February 24, 1938, in Reno, Nevada.[13]

            On April 23, 1942, she married her fourth husband, János Békessy (1911–1977), a writer also known as Hans Habe.[5] He was the son of Imre Békessy, a publisher, and was the author of A Thousand Shall Fall, a novel about his life during World War II including his capture by the Germans in 1940, imprisonment at Dieuze dulag camp and subsequent escape. Before their divorce in 1946, they had Antal "Tony" Miklos Post De Bekessy (1944–2015).[19][20]

            On August 27, 1949, she married for the fifth time to Owen Denis de la Garde Johnson in Paris. He was on the staff of the American Embassy in Paris, and was the son of Owen Johnson, a prominent writer from Stockbridge, Massachusetts.[21] They divorced in 1953.

            In September 1954, she married her sixth and final husband, Léon Eugene Barzin (1900–1999), a prominent Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association,[22][23] and the founding musical director of the New York City Ballet in combination with Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine. The couple moved to Europe in 1958[24] and lived in Switzerland. They remained married until his death in 1999.[25][26]

            Death

            Eleanor Close Barzin died in Paris on November 27, 2006, and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York, after a service at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens.[27] She was survived by her son and businessman Antal Miklas Post de Bekessy, her granddaughter Laetitia Allen Vere as well as her half-sister actress Dina Merrill and two half-brothers Edward B. Close Jr., and William Taliaferro Close.[1]

            References

            1. 1 2 "Paid Notice: Deaths Barzin, Eleanor Close". The New York Times. March 27, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
            2. ↑ "Thomas Holcombe of Connecticut - Person Page 1141". Holcombegenealogy.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
            3. ↑ Altman, Lawrence K. (February 7, 2009). "William T. Close, Who Helped Control Ebola Epidemic in Congo, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
            4. ↑ "William T. Close, M.D.: June 7, 1924-Jan. 15, 2009". The Kemmerer Gazette. Kemmerer, Wyoming. January 29, 2009. Archived from the original on October 30, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
            5. 1 2 "Mrs. Eleanor Rand is Wed to Author; | Daughter of Mrs. Joseph E. Davies | Married in Church to Hans Habe-Bekessy | Kin of Charles W. Close | Husband, Who Escaped From a Nazi Prison Camp, Wrote 'A Thousand Shall Fall'". The New York Times. April 24, 1942. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            6. 1 2 "Eleanor Sturges Married in Paris; | Daughter of Mrs. Edward F. Hutton Wed to Etienne M. R. Gautier in Civil Ceremony. | Bridegroom a Polo Star | Religious Wedding to Take Place Today, After Which Couple Will Sail Here on Visit". The New York Times. April 5, 1933. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            7. ↑ "Eleanor Hutton Elopes With Playwright; Weds Preston Sturges Over Parents' Protest". The New York Times. April 14, 1930. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
            8. ↑ "Runaway Marriage". The Daily News (Perth, WA: 1882-1950). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. July 3, 1930. p. 8 Edition: Home Final Edition. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
            9. ↑ "Mrs. E.P.H. Sturges Sues; Former Eleanor Hutton Seeks to Annul Marriage to Playwright". The New York Times. May 25, 1932. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
            10. ↑ Jacobs, Diane (1992). Christmas in July: the life and art of Preston Sturges. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 123–4. ISBN 0520079264.
            11. ↑ "Mrs. E.H. Sturges Engaged to Wed; | Former Eleanor Hutton Is to Be Bride of Etienne M.R. Gautier of Paris. | Early Wedding Expected | Mrs. Sturges Made Debut in 1927 and Was Presented at London Court the Next Year". The New York Times. March 31, 1933. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            12. ↑ Tijies, Special To The New York (April 6, 1933). "Church Wedding for Eleanor Hutton | Married to Etienne Gautier In Chapel of St. Philippe du Roule in Paris". The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            13. 1 2 Times, Special To The New York (February 25, 1938). "Mrs. G. C. Rand Wins Decree in Carson City; | Post Heiress Alleged Cruelty--Divorce Is Granted to Mrs. F. C. Havemeyer". The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            14. ↑ "Milestones, June 4, 1934". Time. June 4, 1934. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
            15. ↑ "Mrs. Gautier Plans Bridal This Month; The News of Her Forthcoming Marriage to George C. Rand a Surprise to Society". The New York Times. May 16, 1934. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            16. ↑ Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. "Eleanor Hutton Rand". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
            17. ↑ Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. "George C. Rand". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
            18. ↑ Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. "Donald Deskey Associates". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
            19. ↑ "Paid Notice: Deaths | De Bekessy, Antal". The New York Times. November 2, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            20. ↑ "Antal De Bekessy Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            21. ↑ "Mrs. De Bekessy Wed | Married in Paris to Owen Denis Johnson of U. S. Embassy". The New York Times. August 28, 1949. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            22. ↑ "Barzin Resigns Posts; Conductor Leaving National Orchestral Unit, City Ballet". The New York Times. February 7, 1958. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            23. ↑ National Orchestral Association
            24. ↑ "Obituary: Leon Barzin". The Independent. June 1, 1999. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            25. ↑ "Paid Notice: Deaths Barzin, Leon". The New York Times. May 11, 1999. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            26. ↑ Dunning, Jennifer (May 9, 1999). "Leon Barzin, 98, Conductor Of Ballets and Music Educator". The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
            27. ↑ "Eleanor Close Barzin's Obituary". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
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