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Grey Gardens

 Grey Gardens
type
TVTItem
 Grey Gardens
label
Grey Gardens
 Grey Gardens
page
GreyGardens
 Grey Gardens
comment
Grey Gardens is a 1975 Documentary focusing on two eccentric East Hampton recluses, near-bedridden Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale ("Big Edie"), and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale, (known as "Little Edie") as they live their lives in their decaying mansion. The duo were the respective aunt and first cousin of former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and rubbed elbows with America's elite before their fall from grace, losing their fortune and ending up with only themselves and the house to hold onto. Once a stately society home, Grey Gardens is now crumbling, full of garbage, deprived of running water and infested with cats, raccoons and countless fleas, having been left totally neglected by the residents for well over 30 years.Both Big and Little Edie were delighted to be the subject of Albert and David Maysles' film, which is made up of the two telling anecdotes about their unusual lives, performing for the camera, giving their opinions on various topics and going about their daily routines- be it putting together an outfit from random bits and pieces found around the house, or tipping a bag of stale Wonderbread out on the floor for the raccoons. The resulting film is strangely haunting, camp, funny and sad all at once.Big Edie died in 1977 at the age of 81, four years after the film was shot and the year after Grey Gardens was released in theatres. Little Edie sold the house in 1979 to Washington Post owner Ben Bradlee and his wife Sally Quinn, on the condition that it not be torn down. The house was extensively remodeled and still stands today. Little Edie lived in New York City, Florida, and elsewhere before her death in Florida in 2002 at the age of 84.HBO made a dramatic film about the Beales, also titled Grey Gardens starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. A Broadway musical of the same name produced by East of Doheny also opened in 2006, winning several Tony awards. The documentary was parodied for the first episode of the Mockumentary Genre Anthology series Documentary Now!.
 Grey Gardens
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2023-05-23T15:28:57Z
 Grey Gardens
parsed
2023-05-23T15:28:57Z
 Grey Gardens
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Dropped link to SilverVixen: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 Grey Gardens
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Dropped link to TheDutifulDaughter: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 Grey Gardens
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SilverVixen
 Grey Gardens
processingUnknown
TheDutifulDaughter
 Grey Gardens
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Grey Gardens / int_126ce03c
type
I Was Quite a Looker
 Grey Gardens / int_126ce03c
comment
I Was Quite a Looker: Not for nothing did Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore play the Beales in the HBO movie, since the old photographs shown throughout the documentary make it clear that they both were lovely in their younger days. Little Edie's society nickname was "Body Beautiful Beale". She did some modeling work as well. Silver Vixen: Little Edie despite her very rough living conditions still looked very good for someone nearly 60 years old at the time, still possessing an impressive dancer's physique.
 Grey Gardens / int_126ce03c
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 Grey Gardens / int_126ce03c
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 Grey Gardens
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Grey Gardens / int_126ce03c
 Grey Gardens / int_127fc252
type
Creator Cameo
 Grey Gardens / int_127fc252
comment
Creator Cameo: The Maysles brothers appear several times, mainly as reflections in mirrors that happen to be in the shot. The Beales also talk to them and refer to them by name from time to time.
 Grey Gardens / int_127fc252
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1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_127fc252
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 Grey Gardens
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Grey Gardens / int_127fc252
 Grey Gardens / int_16cb5ffe
type
Not-So-Abandoned Building
 Grey Gardens / int_16cb5ffe
comment
Not-So-Abandoned Building: The house looks so derelict from the outside and is so shabby and overgrown with plants that it would be natural to assume it's abandoned, except for the occasional sighting of Little Edie outside. (Big Edie refused to leave the house as a rule).
 Grey Gardens / int_16cb5ffe
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1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_16cb5ffe
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_16cb5ffe
 Grey Gardens / int_24c6f22e
type
Trash of the Titans
 Grey Gardens / int_24c6f22e
comment
Trash of the Titans: Grey Gardens itself. The way it appears in the documentary was after a massive clean up, and it still qualifies!
 Grey Gardens / int_24c6f22e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_24c6f22e
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_24c6f22e
 Grey Gardens / int_2791ae1e
type
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
 Grey Gardens / int_2791ae1e
comment
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Little Edie had long blonde hair when she was young but is completely bald in the present due to her Alopecia which started in her twenties.
 Grey Gardens / int_2791ae1e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_2791ae1e
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_2791ae1e
 Grey Gardens / int_30f7df9d
type
Rummage Sale Reject
 Grey Gardens / int_30f7df9d
comment
Rummage Sale Reject: Little Edie, who somehow makes it work for her. Her style has inspired collections from Dior, Galliano and many others.
 Grey Gardens / int_30f7df9d
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1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_30f7df9d
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_30f7df9d
 Grey Gardens / int_3814a52e
type
TheCareTaker
 Grey Gardens / int_3814a52e
comment
The Care Taker: Little Edie, who came to look after her mother and the house when nobody else would.
 Grey Gardens / int_3814a52e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_3814a52e
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_3814a52e
 Grey Gardens / int_3db71fa8
type
Blithe Spirit
 Grey Gardens / int_3db71fa8
comment
Blithe Spirit: Little Edie really wants to be this and acts like a free spirit who is there to brighten up her old mother's dull life, but in one memorable Out-of-Character Moment near the end she becomes somber and confesses that she hates living at Grey Gardens and wishes she could move and live a normal life.
 Grey Gardens / int_3db71fa8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_3db71fa8
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_3db71fa8
 Grey Gardens / int_4192763e
type
Malaproper
 Grey Gardens / int_4192763e
comment
Malaproper: Big Edie: "My body is a very precious place. It's concentrated ground."
 Grey Gardens / int_4192763e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_4192763e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_4192763e
 Grey Gardens / int_44bd31e2
type
Trope Codifier
 Grey Gardens / int_44bd31e2
comment
Could be Trope Codifier. A lot of the fictional cat ladies in various works have been inspired by the Beales. The scene where Big Edie matter-of-factly notes that one of the cats is urinating behind her portrait stands out.
 Grey Gardens / int_44bd31e2
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1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_44bd31e2
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_44bd31e2
 Grey Gardens / int_4814d132
type
Big Fancy House
 Grey Gardens / int_4814d132
comment
Big Fancy House: The titular house, of course. Ironically, even though it had 28 rooms, they spent most of their time in just three of them and left the rest filled with crap.
 Grey Gardens / int_4814d132
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_4814d132
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_4814d132
 Grey Gardens / int_4a0cd65f
type
WomanChild
 Grey Gardens / int_4a0cd65f
comment
Womanchild: Little Edie is childlike to the point of some people suspecting arrested development.
 Grey Gardens / int_4a0cd65f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_4a0cd65f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_4a0cd65f
 Grey Gardens / int_5400ad8
type
Never Bareheaded
 Grey Gardens / int_5400ad8
comment
Never Bareheaded: Little Edie, who, due to her baldness, wears a series of scarves throughout the movie, and a swimming cap when she goes swimming in the ocean.
 Grey Gardens / int_5400ad8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_5400ad8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_5400ad8
 Grey Gardens / int_67f2c837
type
The Pig-Pen
 Grey Gardens / int_67f2c837
comment
The Pig-Pen: Big Edie in particular, as she lays on a mattress covered in garbage and filth. Little Edie normally looks tidier and cleaner and keeps her side of their shared bedroom neater. The filthy, dilapidated Grey Gardens is shown as it looked after Jackie Onassis paid to have it repaired and cleaned up.
 Grey Gardens / int_67f2c837
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_67f2c837
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_67f2c837
 Grey Gardens / int_6ec4232f
type
Casting Gag
 Grey Gardens / int_6ec4232f
comment
Casting Gag: In the documentary, Little Edie said that she would like Ethel Barrymore to play her mother in a film about them (not knowing that Ethel Barrymore had been dead for over ten years). Ethel is the great aunt of Drew Barrymore, who ended up playing Little Edie herself.
 Grey Gardens / int_6ec4232f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_6ec4232f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_6ec4232f
 Grey Gardens / int_7a0374eb
type
Impoverished Patrician
 Grey Gardens / int_7a0374eb
comment
Impoverished Patrician: The film does not provide a lot of explanation for how the Beales ended up in their condition, other than mentioning that Big Edie's husband had left her. Big Edie received child support but no alimony. Her father then cut her out of his will, except for a $65,000 trust which was out of her control, leaving her only $300 per month.note $1,777 adjusted for inflation—poverty level anywhere in the country but especially in the New York City metro area.
 Grey Gardens / int_7a0374eb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_7a0374eb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_7a0374eb
 Grey Gardens / int_7ce7d94d
type
Age-Inappropriate Dress
 Grey Gardens / int_7ce7d94d
comment
Age-Inappropriate Dress: What, a swimsuit and fishnet tights isn't a respectable outfit for someone pushing 60? How about a strapless top for someone pushing 80? Also, neither Edie seems to be interested in wearing a bra.
 Grey Gardens / int_7ce7d94d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_7ce7d94d
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_7ce7d94d
 Grey Gardens / int_7f0f19e5
type
I Coulda Been a Contender!
 Grey Gardens / int_7f0f19e5
comment
I Coulda Been a Contender!: Little Edie muses at length about how she could have done so much more with her life: she had a university education, was a talented singer and dancer, came from a high-society family and ought to have married a scion of some old money family like her own. Instead she gave all of it up to live in a dilapidated mansion with her elderly, demanding mother.
 Grey Gardens / int_7f0f19e5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_7f0f19e5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_7f0f19e5
 Grey Gardens / int_9182ea54
type
Crazy Cat Lady
 Grey Gardens / int_9182ea54
comment
Crazy Cat Lady: Could be Trope Codifier. A lot of the fictional cat ladies in various works have been inspired by the Beales. The scene where Big Edie matter-of-factly notes that one of the cats is urinating behind her portrait stands out. Taken up to eleven in the scene where it is shown they aren't just crazy cat ladies but are crazy raccoon ladies as well, as they go up to the attic to feed the feral raccoons that live there.
 Grey Gardens / int_9182ea54
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_9182ea54
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_9182ea54
 Grey Gardens / int_9335ac5d
type
Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold
 Grey Gardens / int_9335ac5d
comment
Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Both Edies are genuinely nice to everyone they encounter for all that they bicker amongst themselves and isolate themselves from the world.
 Grey Gardens / int_9335ac5d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_9335ac5d
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_9335ac5d
 Grey Gardens / int_9dd2cbc2
type
CloudCuckooLander
 Grey Gardens / int_9dd2cbc2
comment
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Both ladies, but Little Edie in particular.
 Grey Gardens / int_9dd2cbc2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_9dd2cbc2
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_9dd2cbc2
 Grey Gardens / int_abe4d7b
type
Blue Blood
 Grey Gardens / int_abe4d7b
comment
Blue Blood: The Beales come from one of the oldest, wealthiest families in America.
 Grey Gardens / int_abe4d7b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_abe4d7b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_abe4d7b
 Grey Gardens / int_ae3d6438
type
Deadpan Snarker
 Grey Gardens / int_ae3d6438
comment
Deadpan Snarker: Big Edie.
 Grey Gardens / int_ae3d6438
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_ae3d6438
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_ae3d6438
 Grey Gardens / int_b2f26025
type
Genki Girl
 Grey Gardens / int_b2f26025
comment
Genki Girl: Little Edie, who has an astounding amount of vitality for a 57 year old.
 Grey Gardens / int_b2f26025
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_b2f26025
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_b2f26025
 Grey Gardens / int_b58c51d8
type
My Beloved Smother
 Grey Gardens / int_b58c51d8
comment
My Beloved Smother: Big Edie. Any scenes Little Edie has on her own usually have her mother calling for her in the background.
 Grey Gardens / int_b58c51d8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_b58c51d8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_b58c51d8
 Grey Gardens / int_bf8a2be2
type
Isn't It Ironic?
 Grey Gardens / int_bf8a2be2
comment
Isn't It Ironic?: Big Edie singing "Tea for Two", with its idyllic portrait of domestic bliss darkly echoing the Beales' current situation.
 Grey Gardens / int_bf8a2be2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_bf8a2be2
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1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_bf8a2be2
 Grey Gardens / int_c660bc15
type
Fan Disservice
 Grey Gardens / int_c660bc15
comment
Fan Disservice: Big Edie, 78 years old, exposing her breasts for the camera when the tank top that she probably should not be wearing slips off. Of course, as the whole film shows, Big Edie is now several decades past giving a crap.
 Grey Gardens / int_c660bc15
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_c660bc15
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_c660bc15
 Grey Gardens / int_ccd217e9
type
Dancing with Myself
 Grey Gardens / int_ccd217e9
comment
Dancing with Myself: In one scene, Little Edie, who has always loved dancing, shows that she still remembers her choreography as she dances along to an old record, while waving an American flag no less.
 Grey Gardens / int_ccd217e9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_ccd217e9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_ccd217e9
 Grey Gardens / int_cd64ca2f
type
Crazy Consumption
 Grey Gardens / int_cd64ca2f
comment
Crazy Consumption: The eating habits of both women are very strange (see Dog Food Diet below) and include eating a whole pint of ice cream with a knife, and having corn right out of the pot while in bed. Big Edie is shown cooking on a hot plate on her bedside table, which has to be a fire hazard.
 Grey Gardens / int_cd64ca2f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_cd64ca2f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_cd64ca2f
 Grey Gardens / int_cd972675
type
No Brows
 Grey Gardens / int_cd972675
comment
No Brows: Little Edie due to her Alopecia Totalis which caused the loss of all the hair on her head, including her eyebrows and eyelashes. She usually draws them on but goes without any in a few scenes too.
 Grey Gardens / int_cd972675
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_cd972675
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_cd972675
 Grey Gardens / int_d2b59903
type
Cool Old Lady
 Grey Gardens / int_d2b59903
comment
Cool Old Lady: Despite their disgusting living conditions, both women have a lot of interesting stories to tell about their high-society lives and are very engaging. The filmmakers took quite a shine to them as well.
 Grey Gardens / int_d2b59903
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_d2b59903
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_d2b59903
 Grey Gardens / int_d7fc9fd0
type
Vitriolic Best Buds
 Grey Gardens / int_d7fc9fd0
comment
Vitriolic Best Buds: For all their squabbling, they clearly adore one another.
 Grey Gardens / int_d7fc9fd0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_d7fc9fd0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_d7fc9fd0
 Grey Gardens / int_dbc33bf5
type
Handy Man
 Grey Gardens / int_dbc33bf5
comment
Handy Man: "The Marble Faun", Jerry Torre, the teenaged handyman who is the only person who regulary visits the Beales. Little Edie thinks that Jerry wants sex with her and also is terrified at the prospect that he might move in and become a companion to Big Edie.note In reality, he had run from an abusive home and was just trying to hustle work. Jerry saw the Edies more as mother figures than anything else, which they in turn indulged to the extent they could. Torre, who was gay, never did move into the house. He surfaced thirty-odd years later, working as a cab driver in New York City.
 Grey Gardens / int_dbc33bf5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_dbc33bf5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_dbc33bf5
 Grey Gardens / int_e567510d
type
Determinator
 Grey Gardens / int_e567510d
comment
Determinator: Big Edie's wish was to die in Grey Gardens, despite pressure to sell it due to lack of funds. She got her wish a year after the documentary was filmed.
 Grey Gardens / int_e567510d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_e567510d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_e567510d
 Grey Gardens / int_ebb57e1a
type
Duet Bonding
 Grey Gardens / int_ebb57e1a
comment
Duet Bonding: After badgering her daughter repeatedly about her allegedly off-key singing, Big Edie does join her in singing in one scene.
 Grey Gardens / int_ebb57e1a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_ebb57e1a
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 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_ebb57e1a
 Grey Gardens / int_f65494f0
type
Cloudcuckoolander's Minder
 Grey Gardens / int_f65494f0
comment
Cloud Cuckoolanders Minder: Little Edie, despite being a Cloud Cuckoolander herself.
 Grey Gardens / int_f65494f0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_f65494f0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_f65494f0
 Grey Gardens / int_f9741356
type
Kindhearted Cat Lover
 Grey Gardens / int_f9741356
comment
Kind Hearted Cat Lover: Despite being barely able to care for themselves, the two dote on their many cats in their own way.
 Grey Gardens / int_f9741356
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_f9741356
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_f9741356
 Grey Gardens / int_fbd1aeb
type
Living Emotional Crutch
 Grey Gardens / int_fbd1aeb
comment
Living Emotional Crutch: Mother and daughter are this for each other.
 Grey Gardens / int_fbd1aeb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_fbd1aeb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_fbd1aeb
 Grey Gardens / int_fbec97c9
type
Dog Food Diet
 Grey Gardens / int_fbec97c9
comment
Dog Food Diet: In one scene Little Edie opens up a can of cat food, which the Beales eat spread on crackers.
 Grey Gardens / int_fbec97c9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_fbec97c9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Grey Gardens / int_fbec97c9
 Grey Gardens / int_ff2ceef1
type
Old Maid
 Grey Gardens / int_ff2ceef1
comment
Old Maid: Little Edie, who has conflicting feelings about the matter.
 Grey Gardens / int_ff2ceef1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Grey Gardens / int_ff2ceef1
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 Grey Gardens
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Grey Gardens / int_ff2ceef1
 Grey Gardens / int_name
type
ItemName
 Grey Gardens / int_name
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 Grey Gardens / int_name
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 Grey Gardens / int_name
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Grey Gardens / int_name
 Grey Gardens / int_name
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Grey Gardens

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Grey Gardens
seeAlso
Grey Gardens
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Life Imitates Art / int_20b55945
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Never Bareheaded / int_20b55945
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Spoken Word in Music / int_20b55945
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
The Pig-Pen / int_20b55945
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Trash of the Titans / int_20b55945
 Grey Gardens
hasFeature
Viewers Are Geniuses / int_20b55945