Mercedes de Acosta
| Mercedes de Acosta | |
|---|---|
 Poet, playwright |
|
| Born | March 1, 1893 New York City |
| Died | May 9, 1968 (aged 75) New York City |
| Occupation | Poet, Novelist, Playwright |
| Nationality | American |
Mercedes de Acosta (March 1, 1893 – May 9, 1968) was an American poet, playwright, and novelist. Four of de Acosta's plays were produced, and she published a novel and three volumes of poetry. Although she was professionally unsuccessful she is best known for her numerous friendships with prominent artists of the period and her many lesbian affairs with famous Broadway and Hollywood personalities.[1][2]
Contents |
[edit] Background
She was born in New York City in 1893 to a Cuban father, Ricardo de Acosta (of Spanish descent), and a Spanish mother, Micaela Hernandez de Alba y de Alba, reportedly a descendant of the Spanish Dukes of Alba. She had several siblings: Aida, Ricardo Jr., Angela, Maria, and Rita. Maria married socially prominent A. Robeson Sargent, the Harvard-educated landscape architect and son of Charles Sprague Sargent.[3][4] Rita would become a famous beauty best known as Rita Lydig.
De Acosta married Abram Poole (1882–1961), a painter, in 1920. They divorced in 1935.
[edit] Personal life
Her professional work was mediocre but she became famous because of her personal life. She was involved in numerous lesbian relationships with Broadway’s and Hollywood's elite and did not attempt to hide her sexuality.
In 1916 she began an affair with actress Alla Nazimova and later with dancer Isadora Duncan. Shortly after marrying Abram Poole in 1920, de Acosta became involved in a five-year relationship with actress Eva Le Gallienne.[5] The two women vacationed and traveled together often. De Acosta wrote two plays for Le Gallienne during that time, Sandro Botticelli and Jehanne de Arc; after the financial failures of both plays, the two mutually ended their relationship.
Over the next decade she had documented romances with several famous actresses including Isadora Duncan, Pola Negri, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, and Ona Munson, as well as Russian ballerina Tamara Platonovna Karsavina.[6] Additional unsubstantiated talk included Eleonora Duse, Katherine Cornell, and Alice B. Toklas.[6]
[edit] Relationship with Greta Garbo
In 1931, the two were introduced to each other by Garbo's friend, author Salka Viertel, and quickly became involved.[7] Her relationship with Garbo was sporadic and volatile with Garbo always in control.[8] The two were very close for lengthy periods and then apart for periods when Garbo, annoyed by Mercedes' obsession, coupled with her own neuroses, ignored her.[9] By all accounts, de Acosta remained in love with Garbo for the rest of her life but it is doubtful that Garbo shared these feelings. In any case, they remained friends from the 1930s through the 1950s during which time Garbo wrote de Acosta 181 letters, cards, and telegrams.[10]
[edit] Interest in eastern spiritualiy
In the 1930s Mercedes had acquired an interest in Asian spirituality through one of her acquaintances, Princess Norina Matchabelli, a follower of the Indian mystic Meher Baba. For many years de Acosta was captivated by Meher Baba and spent time in his company when he visited Hollywood. De Acosta also went to India to meet with him. Over the years however she lost focus on him until the 1950s, when she met him for the last time.[11][12] According to her published memoir Here Lies the Heart, Mercedes also met Ramana Maharishi, with whom she was more impressed than she was with Meher Baba. When asked about religion, she said that although she had grown up as a Catholic, she would, if she had to be anything, be a Buddhist.[13]
[edit] Later life, controversial autobiography
In 1960, when de Acosta was seriously ill with a brain tumor and in need of money, she published her memoir, Here Lies the Heart.[14] The reviews were positive and many close friends praised the book.[6] But its allusions to homosexuality resulted in the severance of several friendships with women who felt she had betrayed their sexuality. Garbo also ended their friendship at this time but there is no evidence that the memoir was the cause.[15] Eva Le Gallienne in particular was furious, denouncing de Acosta as a liar and stating that she invented the stories for fame. This assessment is inaccurate, however, since many of her affairs, including that with Le Gallienne, are confirmed in personal correspondence.[16] In any case, she gained a reputation that was not appreciated by everyone. But as Alice B. Toklas, lover of Gertrude Stein and de Acosta's long-term friend, wrote to a disapproving critic, "Say what you will about Mercedes, but she’s had the most important women of the twentieth century".[6]
De Acosta died at age 75 in poverty. She is buried at Trinity Cemetery in Washington Heights, New York City.[17]
[edit] Legacy
De Acosta has usually been described in unflattering ways, condemned and dismissed as a dishonest nuisance to her lovers.[18] But Robert A. Schanke, her recent biographer, attributes these descriptions to historical homophobia and attempts, on the basis of extensive research, to provide an accurate picture of her.[19] She was, Schanke acknowledges, flawed and imperfect, a complex woman who damaged several of her relationships.[20] But he reveals her to be a multi-dimensional person who was lively, intelligent, and dynamic and who had many devoted friends. She was, he argues, a brave lesbian of her times (which caused her heartache and misery)[21] and a person of integrity who remained kind and loyal to everyone who crossed her path.
She has also been accused of fabricating incidents in her memoir and lacing it with half-truths and fantasies, an indictment that is not an unusual of autobiographies.[22] But she confessed, “I may have made mistakes in some dates or minor incidents but…I feel I have held to the spirit of my statement if not to the letter."[23] While the book was unsuccessful, it was rediscovered in the late 1960s and widely read in the underground gay community.[24] It is now recognized as an important contribution to gay and lesbian history.[24]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Vickers, Hugo (1994). Loving Garbo: The Story of Greta Garbo, Cecil Beaton, and Mercedes de Acosta. Random House.
- ^ Schanke, Robert (2003). The Story of Mercedes de Acosta. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 0-8093-2511-X.
- ^ "Miss de Acosta a Bride.". The New York Times. November 7, 1909. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F50915F63A5A15738DDDAE0894D9415B898CF1D3. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
- ^ "Andrew R. Sargent Dies.". The New York Times. March 21, 1918. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F50915F63A5A15738DDDAE0894D9415B898CF1D3. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
- ^ Schanke 2003, pp. 56-66, 69-77.
- ^ a b c d Schanke 2003, p. 2.
- ^ Schanke 2003, pp. 103-105.
- ^ Schanke 2003, pp. 100-112 passim.
- ^ Schanke 2003, pp. 113, 128, 130 passim.
- ^ Swenson, Karen (1997). Greta Garbo: A life Apart. New York: Scribner. pp. 381, 511. ISBN 978-0-684-80725-6.
- ^ Awakener Magazine, Volume 18, Number 1, 1978, p. 15
- ^ Kalchuri, Bhau (1986). Lord Meher. p. 1940.
- ^ Schanke 2003, p. 138.
- ^ de Acosta, Mercedes (1960). Here Lies the Heart. ISBN 978-0-405-07360-1.
- ^ Schanke 2003, pp. 166, 171.
- ^ Schanke 2003, pp. xiii-xiii.
- ^ "Person Detail: Mercedes De Acosta". New York State Literary Tree. New York State Council on the Arts. 2011. http://www.nyslittree.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/DB.PersonDetail/PersonPK/1169.cfm. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ Schanke 2003, p. xv.
- ^ Schanke 2003, pp. xxi, xiii-xiv.
- ^ Schanke 2003, p. 163.
- ^ Schanke 2003, pp. 4.
- ^ Schanke 2003, p. xvi.
- ^ Schanke 2003, p. xvii.
- ^ a b Schanke 2003, pp. xviii.
[edit] Bibliography
- That Furious Lesbian: The Story of Mercedes de Acosta. Southern Illinois University Press. 2003. ISBN 0-8093-2511-X.
[edit] Further reading
- McLellan, Diana (2001). The Girls: Sappho Goes to Hollywood. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-28320-9.
- Stern, Keith (2009), "de Acosta, Mercedes", Queers in History, BenBella Books, Inc.; Dallas, Texas, ISBN 978-1-933771-87-8
- de Acosta, Mercedes (1960). Here Lies the Heart. New York, Reynal Press.
- Paris, Barry (1994). Garbo. New York, Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-8166-4182-X.
- Vickers, Hugo (1994). Loving Garbo: The Story of Greta, Cecil Beaton, and Mercedes de Acosta. New York, Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-41301-1.
[edit] External links
- Mercedes de Acosta at the Internet Movie Database
- Mercedes de Acosta at the Internet Broadway Database
- "Mercedes de Acosta Revisted"
- "Mercedes de Acosta: Playwright, Lesbian Pioneer and Lover to the Stars"
- "Mercedes de Acosta, 1893–1968: One Woman's Meeting With Enlightenment"
- The Awakener Magazine
- Lord Meher, pp. 1940, Bhau Kalchuri, Manifestation, Inc.
