American heiress and socialite. The second daughter of heiress, socialite and company founder Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887–1973) and investment banker Edward Bennett Close. Eleanor was educated at the Spence School in Manhattan and Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut. She was introduced to society in 1927, and in 1928, was presented to King George and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace. On April 12, 1930, she eloped with the playwright and director Preston Sturges (1898–1959). In 1932, she sought an annulment on the grounds that he was not legally divorced from his first wife when they eloped.
On April 5, 1933, she married for the second time to Etienne Marié Robert Gautier (1907–1993) in the Chapel of Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule in Paris. Gautier was a well-known polo player and was the nephew of the then mayor of Compiègne. Their marriage lasted only a few months. On June 4, 1934, she married her third husband, George Curtis Rand (1909–1986), son of Kobbé Rand and the grandson of George C. Kobbé, a lawyer with Roosevelt & Kobbé. Their apartment was designed by Donald Deskey Associates and today, the plans are held in the collections of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Alleging cruelty, Eleanor obtained a divorce from Rand on February 24, 1938 in Reno, Nevada. On April 23, 1942, she married her fourth husband, János Békessy (1911–1977), a writer also known as Hans Habe. Before their divorce in 1946, they had: Antal "Tony" Miklos Post De Bekessy (1944–2015).
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. They also divorced. n 1956, she married her sixth and final husband, Leon Eugene Barzin (1900–1999), a prominent Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association, 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 and lived in Switzerland.
They remained married until his death in 1999. 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.
Bio by: Bobby Kelley
On April 5, 1933, she married for the second time to Etienne Marié Robert Gautier (1907–1993) in the Chapel of Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule in Paris. Gautier was a well-known polo player and was the nephew of the then mayor of Compiègne. Their marriage lasted only a few months. On June 4, 1934, she married her third husband, George Curtis Rand (1909–1986), son of Kobbé Rand and the grandson of George C. Kobbé, a lawyer with Roosevelt & Kobbé. Their apartment was designed by Donald Deskey Associates and today, the plans are held in the collections of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Alleging cruelty, Eleanor obtained a divorce from Rand on February 24, 1938 in Reno, Nevada. On April 23, 1942, she married her fourth husband, János Békessy (1911–1977), a writer also known as Hans Habe. Before their divorce in 1946, they had: Antal "Tony" Miklos Post De Bekessy (1944–2015).
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. They also divorced. n 1956, she married her sixth and final husband, Leon Eugene Barzin (1900–1999), a prominent Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association, 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 and lived in Switzerland.
They remained married until his death in 1999. 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.
Bio by: Bobby Kelley
American heiress and socialite. The second daughter of heiress, socialite and company founder Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887–1973) and investment banker Edward Bennett Close. Eleanor was educated at the Spence School in Manhattan and Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut. She was introduced to society in 1927, and in 1928, was presented to King George and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace. On April 12, 1930, she eloped with the playwright and director Preston Sturges (1898–1959). In 1932, she sought an annulment on the grounds that he was not legally divorced from his first wife when they eloped.
On April 5, 1933, she married for the second time to Etienne Marié Robert Gautier (1907–1993) in the Chapel of Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule in Paris. Gautier was a well-known polo player and was the nephew of the then mayor of Compiègne. Their marriage lasted only a few months. On June 4, 1934, she married her third husband, George Curtis Rand (1909–1986), son of Kobbé Rand and the grandson of George C. Kobbé, a lawyer with Roosevelt & Kobbé. Their apartment was designed by Donald Deskey Associates and today, the plans are held in the collections of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Alleging cruelty, Eleanor obtained a divorce from Rand on February 24, 1938 in Reno, Nevada. On April 23, 1942, she married her fourth husband, János Békessy (1911–1977), a writer also known as Hans Habe. Before their divorce in 1946, they had: Antal "Tony" Miklos Post De Bekessy (1944–2015).
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. They also divorced. n 1956, she married her sixth and final husband, Leon Eugene Barzin (1900–1999), a prominent Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association, 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 and lived in Switzerland.
They remained married until his death in 1999. 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.
Bio by: Bobby Kelley
On April 5, 1933, she married for the second time to Etienne Marié Robert Gautier (1907–1993) in the Chapel of Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule in Paris. Gautier was a well-known polo player and was the nephew of the then mayor of Compiègne. Their marriage lasted only a few months. On June 4, 1934, she married her third husband, George Curtis Rand (1909–1986), son of Kobbé Rand and the grandson of George C. Kobbé, a lawyer with Roosevelt & Kobbé. Their apartment was designed by Donald Deskey Associates and today, the plans are held in the collections of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Alleging cruelty, Eleanor obtained a divorce from Rand on February 24, 1938 in Reno, Nevada. On April 23, 1942, she married her fourth husband, János Békessy (1911–1977), a writer also known as Hans Habe. Before their divorce in 1946, they had: Antal "Tony" Miklos Post De Bekessy (1944–2015).
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. They also divorced. n 1956, she married her sixth and final husband, Leon Eugene Barzin (1900–1999), a prominent Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association, 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 and lived in Switzerland.
They remained married until his death in 1999. 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.
Bio by: Bobby Kelley
