The Borden Case in Popular Culture

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:25 pm

By CHARLES ISHERWOOD
Published: January 17, 2006
Anne Meacham, an actress whose notable stage appearances included roles in the original production of Tennessee Williams's Suddenly Last Summer and Eva Le Gallienne's 1964 Broadway staging of The Seagull, died on Thursday at her home in Canaan, N.Y. She was 80.

Her death was announced by her friend Marian Seldes.

Although her career spanned several decades and included a stint on the soap opera "Another World," Ms. Meacham is probably best known for her work in the plays of Tennessee Williams, who once praised her in an article for The New York Times, saying, "There's nothing she won't say or do onstage without any sign of embarrassment."

Ms. Meacham won an Obie Award for her performance as the fragile, emotionally distraught Catharine Holly in Suddenly, Last Summer, the more successful and more often revived half of the 1958 Off Broadway double bill Garden District. (Elizabeth Taylor took the role in the movie version.)

Ms. Meacham appeared in Williams's In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel, from 1969, and in a production of his 1966 play The Gnadiges Fraulein. She also had a long friendship with the playwright.

Born July 21, 1925, in Chicago, Ms. Meacham studied at the Yale School of Drama and at the Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1940's. Her New York stage debut came in the short-lived 1952 World War II comedy The Long Watch, for which she won a Clarence Derwent Award, a prize for newcomers to New York.

Other Broadway appearances included Jean Giraudoux's Ondine, which starred Mel Ferrer and Audrey Hepburn and was directed by Alfred Lunt; an adaptation of Henry James's The Europeans, titled Eugenia, starring Tallulah Bankhead; and repertory appearances in the New York stands of The Crucible (as Elizabeth Proctor) and The Seagull (as Nina) in 1964.

Ms. Meacham's last Broadway appearance was as Gertrude in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in 1968. She won a second Obie award for a revival of Hedda Gabler in 1961.

Ms. Meacham made her film debut in Lilith in 1964 and made many television appearances in the 50's and 60's before joining the cast of "Another World" in 1972 as Louise Goddard, an oddball maid.

She is survived by a sister, Jane Brower, of Winnetka, Ill.

Bob here!

Anne Meacham! Loved her, loved her, loved her as Louise on "Another World", tending to her classically named plants ("Good morning, Clytemnestra!") and acting as foil to her employer, the evil but inept Iris Carrington. I'm not surprised that Marian Seldes, with whom I'm chummy, was her friend, as they both had/have that "great lady of the theater" aura.

I treasure that Meacham played Miss Lizzie Borden on B'way, even though the play (The Legend of Lizzie) opened and closed in a blink. There are publicity shots of her in the Borden House, and one of them is published in Ed Radin's Lizzie Borden: The Untold Story.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:37 pm

Thanks for the news item Bob!

It seems she was meant to play Lizzie with a birthday like That! July 21st! She might very well have more insight into the roll than most.

Shelly Winters just died too- and I loved her books!

I picture them in "God's Waiting Room" together- but since they come in 3's, a man is next-

stuartwsa · Post by **stuartwsa** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:39 pm

I love that photo of Anne Meacham looking through the bannister rails at 92 Second Street, which appears in the Radin book.
And she WAS wonderful as Louise Goddard on "Another World". She was the perfect foil for Beverly McKinsey's Iris.
AW headwriter said that he wrote and tailored the role of Louise specifically for Meacham.
(Sorry to go a little off topic...)

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:35 pm

You're not off-topic. Just look at this topic!

We're lucky to have our man in NYC with theatre updates and such.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:23 pm

Thanks! My pleasure!

And I would add, then, that the wonderful Sloane Shelton, who played Abby in the Hudson Guild production of Blood Relations many years ago, and whom you may remember as the university president's wife in the thriller What Lies Beneath, is appearing in a new play here called Candy and Dorothy.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:59 pm

Ahem...excuse me?

Director Brian De Palma, who's helming a film entitled The Black Dahlia, from James Ellroy's novel about the famous unsolved murder, said in an interview, "There aren't many cases with the mythic quality of the Dahlia. London has Jack the Ripper. America has the Black Dahlia."

Yeah, it's SO much more popular than the Borden case, isn't it?

Let's all sing:

Poor Black Dahlia,
Cut in half.
Carved her face
Into a laugh.

DWilly · Post by **DWilly** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 1:58 pm

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, here or on another thread, but there is a book out by John Saul called In The Dark Of The Night that may have a Lizzie reference in it. At least according to one person who reviewed the book at Amazon. I am on the waiting list at my local library to get the book so, hopefully then I'll have more on it.

Here is where the review is. Look for Derek Jager he's the one who makes mention of Lizzie.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/142330 ... e&n=283155

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:18 pm

Anybody heard this or know any more than at the site?
http://eamusic.dartmouth.edu/~paul/mapl ... story.html

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:05 pm

Just to throw in that the "Jeopardy" broadcast last night on Channel 55 (Long Island) had a contestant from Swansea. She actually said, "Yes, it's about twenty miles from Fall River, of Lizzie Borden fame."

She warmed my heart!

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:01 am

Shelley @ Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:18 pm wrote:Anybody heard this or know any more than at the site?
http://eamusic.dartmouth.edu/~paul/mapl ... story.html

I stumbled across that back in April 2002 but could find nothing much on it. It had a slightly different opening screen then but led to the same place. We had a very brief discussion (1 reply) then. See the archives at:

http://tinyurl.com/ync9v8

Check the bottom of that opening screen where it says "a masters thesis presentation of the Dartmouth Electro-Acoustic Music Program". Try using this URL: http://eamusic.dartmouth.edu/

I'm sure this thread, like all others, will end up discussing some Arnold Brown theory.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:48 pm

John Saul, the low-rent Steve King, has a new book out in which a serial killer in Wisconsin "channels" the fury of such real-life figures as Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Lizzie Borden.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:00 am

Is his name Ed Gein?

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:48 am

Wow! Look at that!

The Fall River Herald News of 11 Feb 1959 says the play closed after 2 performances.

Yooper · Post by **Yooper** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 11:37 am

Kat @ Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:00 am wrote:Is his name Ed Gein?

I remember hearing about Ed Gein when I was a child. There were several jokes about him going around at the time. The one I remember is:

Q: What did Ed Gein give his girlfriend for Valentine's Day?

A: A box of Farmer Fannies!

RayS · Post by **RayS** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:08 pm

Closed after two performances?
Somebody did not do enough research into customer demand. Or it was lousy for the tastes of the audience. IMO

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 9:49 am

My mom sent me a clipping about this upcoming production: "Lizzie Borden Live." Scroll down to see the promo for it.

http://www.eastlynnetheater.org/

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:17 pm

Sorry I've been so distant - the last few months have been very intense, with my composer and me putting together our Second Year Final Project for the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop. It serves as the audition for the Third Year Advanced class. I'm waiting for the verdict...what say you, Mr. Foreman?

Anyway, a, few weeks ago, in the Sunday NY Times Book Review, there was a survey of some writers as to what they planned to read this summer. One lady announced that, as she'd just made reservations to stay at the LB B&B, she'd grabbed her copy of Angela Carter's Saints and Sinners so she could reread "The Fall River Axe Murders."

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 4:21 pm

Good luck Bob!

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 11:12 am

I've benn reading an interesting, scholarly book on various films of recent years called Apocalyptic Dread. In the section on Dolores Claiborne, the fact that Kathy Bates (long our favorite casting for Abby) uses a hatchet twice in the film brings a mention of "Lizzie Borden, who also wielded an axe."

Of course, this is unproven!

I did make the Advanced Workshop for this fall at BMI, folks!

Here's the Amazon link for the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Apocalyptic-Dread ... 882&sr=1-1

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 11:21 am

YAY BOB! You are so talented!

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:33 pm

Congrats, Bob! That is cool news.

I just saw a recent blip of Lizzie in a children's cartoon! In The Twisted Tales Of Felix The Cat, Felix goes to a fair and enters a haunted house to escape enemies that are after his magic bag of tricks. Felix walks down a hall covered with portraits of various spooky, kooky animals. Lizzie (or Lizzy as they spell it) is a chicken with an axe and she gives out an evil laugh as Felix goes by.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:57 am

Bad news - due to inane printed directions (thanks, MapQuest), we didn't make it to the theater in time for the LIZZIE BORDEN LIVE! show. We've decided to return to NJ on Labor Day weekend and see it then, so I WILL be reporting on it.

UPDATE: I called to make new reservations, and after I explained what happened and why I was so keen to see the show, they're giving us one comp seat!

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:10 pm

I heard Lizzie's name mentioned on a podcast of the Frosty, Heidi and Frank talkshow out of LA. They were talking about hitchiking now versus decades ago when it was relatively safe. Frosty brought up how there were more unstable people now than eons ago and Heidi brought up Jack the Ripper. Frosty then said something like, "Well, Lizzie Borden, Jack the Ripper, and other bada$$es like them got more news coverage, because there wasn't as many crazy people then like now."

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 10:14 am

Was watching an old episode of Frasier this week.

Frasier's cousin is marrying a dubious woman. Cousin sez, "She likes to play with her parents' heads."

Sez Frasier, "Yeah, so did Lizzie Borden."

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:14 am

Practically identical to a response on an episode of "Maude," though I'll be damned if I call recall the set-up!

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Sun Sep 02, 2007 5:18 pm

There's a reference in the Introduction to the book Stef loaned me:
Midnight Assassin, by Patricia L. Bryan & Thomas Wolf, 2005. True Crime.

"Like the Lizzie Borden case in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892, the tragedy and subsequent legal proceedings against Margaret Hossak divided, horrified, and mesmerized the community [Warren County, Iowa, 1900]."

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Sun Sep 02, 2007 5:20 pm

Her husband was attacked with an ax or hatchet while he lay in bed with his wife! He lived from about midnight to early the next morning. <<shudder>>

nbcatlover · Post by **nbcatlover** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:28 am

This really sounds like a fascinating book. And it's got consistently great reviews, both on merits of the story itself and the research the author did.

http://research.unc.edu/endeavors/fall2005/bryan.php

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:54 am

The cover of this week's THE ADVOCATE has a lovely picture of a jack o'lantern being attacked with a hatchet. It's how I imagine the Bordens celebrated Hallowe'en.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:45 am

I want to congratulate you Bob, for starting the *Most Viewed* Topic on the Forum.

John used to brag that he would have his Topic be the all-time highest- but I think he manipulated the *view* count.
("Could All The World Have Known...")

Congrats again, on a *Popular* topic and by doing it the hard way- Honestly.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 4:38 pm

Woo-hoo! And I wasn't even trying!

Seeing Fall River Legend this Friday night, btw.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 11:37 am

I was off a few days and I watched the first of The Court Channel's "Murder by the Book" shows, featuring a crime writer talking about a specific case. It was Sandra Brown, whose pulled face unnerved me, and she spoke about the famous Texas slaying by axe in 1980, of Betty Gore by her neighbor Candy Montgomery - verdict not guilty, self-defense. In the course of the program, noting that Mrs. Gore recieved 41 whacks, Ms. Brown delivered the famous Lizzie Borden quatrain.

I had read Evidence of Love, the fascinating book on the Gore case many years ago, and had seen the superlative TV-Movie, starring an Emmy-winning Barbara Hershey. I dug out the bargain DVD I have of it and watched it again, last night.

SteveS. · Post by **SteveS.** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 1:09 am

The remake of "A Star is Born" with Barbara Streisand and Kriss Kristoffoson had a song in it that mentions Lizzie. I believe it was titled "Go to Hell After Dark".
It went like this:

Go to hell, after dark
it's a sin filled city, an amusement park.
It's a one way ticket to the other side.
it's a Dr. Jekyl and a Mr. Hyde.
And see Lizzie Borden, she's one of the stars

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 2:47 am

Wow you guys, thanks!

And yes Bob that book and movie are fan-tastic!

I just finished the newest Evanovitch and they keep mentioning "Bordentown."

(I think New Jersey)

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 8:17 am

Ah, Bordentown. Yes, it's in N.J.

It's not too far from Ft. Dix and it was the place where the recruits (who were lucky enough to get passes) headed toward on a Saturday night. Enough said.

That was many a year ago when I took basic training at Dix. But I never made it to Bordentown.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 10:07 am

I watched the TV program again, and I caught these little coincidences: the defendant was Candy Montgomery, like the Miss Montgomery who played the Fall River maiden so well in that OTHER TV-movie, and the victim was Betty Gore ("Betty" is one of the diminutives of "Elizabeth," another being, of course, "Lizzie").

When I first saw "Evidence of Love/A Killing in a Small Town" on CBS, I predicted an Emmy nomination for Barabra Hershey.

She WON an Emmy.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 11:28 pm

Bordens settled there in Bordentown, correct?

Ah Barbara Hershey- gosh she was great in that movie.

That is about the only book I've read where the movie was as good. And both superb.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 11:45 am

Just wanted to mention that last Friday night's preformance of Fall River Legend was a little sloppy in parts, but boasted a chilling and moving performance by Gillian Murphy (the dancer who actually appeared as "The Accused" in the poster for American Ballet Theatre this season). The role was danced at two other performances by other dancers who did not get very good press (as de Mille would've termed it), but the review in the NY Times was everything I was hoping for. The reviewer seemed to see what I saw.

I got an almost silent film intensity in Murphy's acting of the complex role. She never really uncoiled in the flashback which makes up the ballet as some dancers do: it opens at the gallows - Lizzie is hanged in this non-factual retelling. Instead it was almost as if while she was re-enacting this pageant of her life for us she never lost sight of where it was leading. Martine Van Hamel, a former ballerina with the company (I've seen her as Lizzie beloved mother) played "Her Stepmother," de Mille's depiction of Abby as a rigid woman who is simply convinced that her way is the best way, and that the world (and the neighborhood pastor, who brings the possibility of love) should be protected from her seemingly unbalanced and hostile step-daughter.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 3:10 am

That might imply that Lizzie was ready to take the consequences of her actions if caught.
It goes along with the picture we have of Lizzie telling the mayor she is ready to go now, when he tells her she is suspected.
That's an interesting interpretation.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:59 pm

Oh, that fabulous TV-movie we just discussed was directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal, father of Maggie and Jake!

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:22 pm

Yet another reference on an old episode of Frasier---

Frasier thinks his No. 1 Fan is stalking him. There's a knock on the door of his condo. "Who is it?" Frasier nervously enquires. Brother Niles's voice calls, "It's Lizzie Borden. I'd like you to autograph my hatchet!"

I'm beginning to think one of the writers on Frasier was a Bordenite. They got hatchet right in any case...

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 5:18 pm

As someone who never missed an episode of FRASIER...until the last season, which kinda sucked, IMO, I can remember roaring at that beautifully-delivered line.

SteveS. · Post by **SteveS.** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 12:08 am

It's funny you guys are talking about this episode of Frasier....it's on right now at 11pm on lifetime channel here in Lubbock, Texas.

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 9:52 am

Not exactly a Lizzie reference---more like a Lizzie reminder...

I caught part of Bugs Bunny yesterday & saw that "Singing Frog" cartoon for the 1st time in years.

A construction guy finds a frog in a box inside the cornerstone of a building being demolished. The frog will sing & dance---but only for him. He ends up losing everything thinking the frog will make him rich.

Anyway...written on the cornerstone where he finds the frog:

J.C. Wilber Building
1892

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 12:53 pm

LIFE magazine has put out a forgettable trade size compendium of murder. There's a nice picture of the handleless hatchet, but it's not an essential buy. They also credit the ballet to Morton Gould - yes, I know, he DID write the score, but the work should be credited to Miss de Mille.

They do mention THE HATCHET!

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 6:36 pm

Cool!

Here is a tid-bit I posted in Links a while ago:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... 25,00.html
Sorry, it doesn't specify the date/year of the item.

DIED. MORTON GOULD, 82, versatile composer; in Orlando, Florida. A child prodigy--Just Six was composed when he was just six--Gould drew heavily on American themes and music in pieces like Fall River Legend, the Lizzie Borden ballet for Agnes de Mille, and in compositions rooted in idioms as diverse as jazz, folk music and marching bands. He won a Pulitzer for Stringmusic, commissioned by the National Symphony.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 11:51 am

My partner, Jay, tends to think of him as "Aaron Copland lite," but I have a few CDs of Gould's work, including his "Apple Waltzes," which I love.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:50 pm

Just reporting that there is an interesting reference to Lizzie in The Grand Surprise, a collection of the fascinating letters of Leo Lerman, a fashion and arts editor and enthusiast. He mentions that he wanted to write a dual bio of Emily Dickinson and Lizzie, since he "saw" them as "the same person."

DJ · Post by DJ » Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:51 pm

Bob,
There is a terrific, fairly new bio of "Miss Emily"--
"My Wars Are Laid Away in Books" (2002), by Alfred Habegger.
Drawing on that, I picture Emily as a much more "interior" person than Lizzie. Whereas Lizzie desired a berth in society, Emily seemed just as content to visit the worlds brought to her in books and other forms of the printed word, as well as those in the constructs of her mind.
Emily, for instance, refused to conform to "conversion" within the Congregational Church of Amherst. In so doing, she forfeited her salvation, in the eyes of that assembly! Also, Habegger relates how Emily once hid in the cellar in order to avoid attending that church-- this when she was an adult!
IOW-- Emily didn't seem to mind her cloistering w/in the household, whereas Lizzie obviously abhorred her own.
Interestingly, Emily did have a brush with "society," visitng Washington when her Father was a U.S. representative. However, he was a Whig, and the party died out before the Civil War, and her father's service was short-lived.
Still and all-- I can understand how Lizzie related to E.D.'s poetry, and Lizzie would have certainly fascinated E.D.
Emily: Starved for intellectual acceptance and co.
Lizzie: Starved for social acceptance, her co. w/in the level of society to which she felt she belonged, and the material accoutrements of that society.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 10:54 am

I'll bring in the book next week and post Lerman's actual take on it, to clarify what he meant - I'm afraid I may have made him sound unintelligent!

Meanwhile, when they announced "Ballet" as a category on "Jeopardy" last night, knowing how, historically, they love our girl on that program, I held my breath waiting for an "answer" concerning Fall River Legend. I didn't have to wait long! The "question" about who had been hanged in the 1948 ballet, though acquitted in real life, was, of course, "Who was Lizzie Borden?"

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