A Bunny Mellon Thread

She was really close friends with Jaqueline Kennedy. Jackie also copied her style.

The type of limitless wealth that allowed her to purchase Rothko paintings as if she were purchasing fruit at a supermarket. Strangely the wealth is from Listerine.

Her family sold the listerine empire in 2000 for $110 Billion dollars I believe. Bunny was loaded beyond belief.

Well isn't this thread a flop and a bore? Someone had to bring up the Listerine. Well I'll see you kids over at the Rapper Tyga thread. Toodles!

she had impeccable taste and really great jewels.

Everyone wanted to be Jackie O, Jackie O wanted to be Bunny Mellon.

[quote] she had impeccable taste and really great jewels.

Obscenely wealthy people buying extraordinarily expensive luxury items is absolutely fascinating . . .

And wealth can not protect you from life's pain, her only child lived in a vegetative state for a decade after being struck by a vehicle

I find her fascinating.

I enjoyed the book as well.

I didn't like the chapter where she called Hillary an "old rag":

OP, are you John Edwards?

She definitely had opinions, R10. Of course, they weren't always on-par.

Hillary is more of a middle-aged rag.

Such a change from the flashy-trashy women we have today that some people look up to and aspire to be like, like the Kardashians.

After reading OP's article, I must confess that I don't understand gardens at all. It must be something in the blood. There's no way I'm qualified to judge Bunny's work and vision, so to me it just looks, you know, fine. Wish I could appreciate it a little more.

Ha! Hills didn't give a damn about decorating or gardens. Fast forward three decades and flotus is a foreign born third wife with a soft porn background who ripped the gardens up and replaced it with a putting lawn. Hills may not care about gardens but Melanie really doesn't care about anything.

There is a guy on Instagram who alleges that the Oak Spring Foundation is mismanaging her estate. He says that they dumped some of her daughter’s artwork in the trash (despite the fact that Bunny built a building onsite to hold her work), trashed some of her plants and flower pots, fired longtime gardening staff, and are tearing up the landscape she envisioned by adding ugly signs and stark white gravel pathways. It really seems like it’s a shame. It’s clear the people on the board don’t understand her aesthetic or her vision from the changes they’ve made. The guy accusing them of this isn’t the most Instagram savvy, but it does appear like he’s doing his best to get the word out.

^^ that's heart-breaking. She helped Hubert Givenchy and his life long partner, Philippe Venet design the gardens and interior of their country home.

BTW its on this property on trails in the woods that the two men spread the ashes of actress Capucine per her request.

Capucine! I so do love Capucine.

Idolizing a horse faced nag? Neigh.

Pales in comparison to her sister-in-law Whatta Mellon.

Bullshit, Jackie wanted to be Bunny Mellon. Just look at that photo and how EFFORTLESSLY cool, sexy, classy and radiant Jackie was.

Jackie was about that paper. bunny had the type of wealth Jackie aspired to have.

I loved this bio too, Op.

A dear friend sent to me out of the blue, which made it even better.

I wonder what Bunny REALLY made of that hustler John Edwards. You just know she had his number.

Bunny's my all time favorite socialite. I'll have to read that bio.

I read somewhere, I think Forbes that she was worth $1.4 billion dollars. I would've thought it would've been closer to $6 Billion. But that's still a hell of a lot of money.

Frank Langella was friends with her for 53 years, and spoke at her funeral. He talks about her in his book "Dropped Names", but the bio is probably much more interesting.

Bunny's grandson Thomas is married to Rickie Niceta, who is Donald Trump's social secretary (appointed by Melania). Thomas and Rickie bought back one of Bunny's former homes in Osterville on Cape Cod. It is heaven. (Maybe Melania wants some of the magic to rub off on her? And for any Project Runway fans out there, Thomas's half sister was Wendy Pepper of the first season.

R8 In addition to a daughter, Bunny had a son, Stacy Lloyd, father of Thomas Lloyd and stepfather of Wendy Pepper.

R23, wasn't Jackie obscenely wealthy? JFK was one of the richest men ever elected to the White House. And then there were Ari's billions (although maybe there was a prenup).

She should have married Lucille Ball; then she could have been Bunny Mellon Ball.

Actually, this was just part of her estate. There also was a cozy cottage she restored for Jackie Kennedy right off the main property.. it went up for sale a couple years ago.

r32 here. Any explanation as to why I can’t post from my laptop but I can my phone?

....

R18 - a gorgeous home of a gorgeous man who was a class act.

She was dazzled for a time by that slimy John Edwards. He cozied up to the rich old lady and convinced her to give him money for his campaign to "save America." I imagine he did a Max Bialystock number on her: "Did you bring the checkie? Can't run political campaigns without checkies!" Actually he was using the money to keep his ferret-faced, flaky mistress happy. After he got arrested for using "campaign funds" for his personal use (he claimed the money was a "gift") he actually wanted Mellon to help pay his legal bills! Thankfully, she was no inclined to do that. But she did still seem to harbor affection for him, saying something like, oh well, ALL attractive politicians have mistresses. Silly old lady.

Edwards was turned away from Bunny's funeral per her request.

Here is where Jackie stayed. I love this place. Lots of pics. I actually kind of know who bought it. But not in a good way.

R36, we like to think that the rich are sophisticated thinkers, but often they are just as foolish as the rest of us.

Foolish is not a word I would use to describe Bunny.

R40, John Edwards fooled her.

R34 Thank you, Bunny & Water! I love the Mellon sisters! I love your good friends Honey Dew and Cant Elope as well!

After r42 I must be up to nearly 1000 blocked idiots.

In his bitchy memoir Frank Langella tells of seeing Bunny Mellon and Jackie Onassis hanging out together, playing with expensive jewels (I can't remember if they owned them or were considering buying them) as though they were "penny candy." Ugh.

To (R22-23), You are correct...Bunny Mellon had the "kind of MONEY-social background" that Jackie Onassis wished was hers!! The only wealthy woman who matches Bunny Mellon social-money background was Dina Merrill. E.F Hutton (DAD) Marjorie Merriweather Post( MOM). Dina's 1st husband was a "Colgate-Palmolive heir".

The Frank Langella stories were kinda bizarre. You never figure out why she hooked onto him. An acting friend/boyfriend of her daughter. But she became life long close friends with him it seems - having him visit when she was near the end even. Sex is the only explanation I can think of. A bizarre friendship.

An interesting woman. Much more interesting than Jackie O. Fabulous houses and style. She seemed like the real deal.

R46, Bunny did that. She latched on to some people and became instant friends with them. And sometimes cut them out just a quickly later on.

Waiter! May I have a slice of bunny melon?

R30

Rich. Yes. Wealthy no.

Not the kind of money that would allow you to walk into an artist's studio and purchase artwork as if you were in a fabric store purchasing yards of fabric.Her marriage to Onassis was a means to that end.

Gore Vidal explained this in his memoir. He wrote about Jackie  pulling a check out of Christina; Onassis' hand before Christina had even finished signing it.She was about that money and in those days, as a woman you either inherited or married it.

[R31], thank you. I haven't laughed out loud in awhile.

Bunny was in a league of her own- there are wealthier people out there who do not become icons. She had her own money but her second husband Paul was an only child and had great wealth. He gave much of his money away before his death and much went to his children, not to Bunny. Paul's son Timothy is a billionaire today, Bunny left her own son only $20 million.

Did Bunny douche with Listerine, the product that made her family fortune? Did any socialites have terrible bad breath?

"And then one day Balenciaga just closed his doors. He never even told Bunny Mellon, who was of course his greatest client... I suppose she had the greatest collection of Balenciagas in the world."

--D. V., by Diana Vreeland

Minor correction for R51– Paul Mellon had a sister named Ailsa Mellon Bruce. She collected art and was a philanthropist as well, however she died in the 60s.

I had preordered the new book The Garden Secrets of Bunny Mellon. It arrived today. It was written in collaboration with one of her grandsons and one of her close friends. I’ll report back on anything of interest!

[quote] Gore Vidal explained this in his memoir. He wrote about Jackie pulling a check out of Christina; Onassis' hand before Christina had even finished signing it.

95% of the stuff in Vidal's memoirs are complete bullshit. He was one of the greatest creative liars of all time.

LOL R5.

I meant R55.

I always love these threads on these wealthy socialites of the 20th century. I'm a millennial, but I long for some reason for the 20th century.

The 21st century has been a big shitshow so far.

So let's keep this thread alive.

I saw a museum exhibit of Bunny Mellon's "jaw-dropping" jewelry collection. Most of the pieces were by Jean Schlumberger, the French jewelry designer for Tiffany. They were indeed spectacular. I thought to myself "she actually WORE these things?" It was mind-boggling just to look at them, much less be wearing them.

Nothing remotely interesting about her that u can see except that she had money. What else was there?

Bunny Mellon!

R60, she got on her hands and knees and helped install the White House Rose Garden. She was an active, professional gardener and was incredibly hands-on. It was her calling, like some people are called to be architects or farmers or doctors. She was called to be a gardener, and she embraced it fully. She was very unpretentious for all her wealth.

That's just one thing that makes her interesting. Her style was another.

OP or anyone else...I hope perhaps I just have my wires crossed on this, but I recall reading either on DL or somewhere else that one of Bunny's ornamental gardens had been torn apart by her foundation board, citing that the money could be "better used" somewhere else (even thought Bunny herself endowed the foundation with over $200 million). On the board at the time was none other than Anthony Fauci, our beloved Covid "expert." I have tried to Google to find the article, but can't find anything.

The Meryl Gordon book is quite good. Bunny's parties were legendary...the book details several of them she hosted.

[quote] Bunny's parties were legendary

Were they like Hugh Hefner's, where there were bowels of cocaine and Qualludes scattered around the room?

After she died, her property was divided into three parts. The foundation part was one. The Jackie Kennedy area was another. And I think the rest was more farmland, small homes or barns.

I'm also appreciative of her and her husband for the wonderful art they left /lent to the National Art Gallery in Washington, DC. Just amazing.

R63, read R17. I've been contacted by the person R17 references, claiming they're doing a lot of harm to the place. I follow Oak Spring Garden Foundation on Instagram, and he contacted me privately through that connection, making claims that the foundation is being poorly-run and things are being done that would've been against her wishes. Not really sure what to think because (of course) all the images the foundation posts to Instagram are lovely.

[quote]bowels of cocaine and Qualludes

I heard it was graxy.

OP, thanks for confirming that, as sad as it is. I'm still trying to figure out where I read Dr. Fauci is on the foundation board. I know I didn't just make that up.

I can spell Quaalude, but not bowl. That should tell you all you need to know about me.

Bunny wouldn't be happy with the way her foundation is being run. She was all about things being done properly and carried just as she laid out.

You can never depend on people to do the right thing. People will let you down every time.

Need Quaaludes in 2020, nerves shot

I mentioned above that I didn't care for the person who ended up buying Bunny's home. Have just read this Wash Post article, I remember why. She is a snake. A Virginia State Senator that fools people. A lawyer who represents the worst of politics. Apparently, her husband is too. Right now she represents Kayne West. Oh yes. This is who bought Bunny's house. This is quite the article on how it all happened. Bunny must be spinning in her grave.

This is the best Bunny Mellon thread!

More melon, less bunny!

Would Bunny also be considered for the "old-time schmaltzy New Yorker" thread?

At a glance I read this as “A Bunny Mellon Threat,” and despite her patrician airs and supposedly being one of the nicer socialites, I bet she could throw some mean shade and get people to do things with a menacing stare and fear of quick and harsh retaliation if you didn’t follow suit.

I've got that book, R10. I'll have to look that up, because I never believe anything Fox News says about the Clintons. Bunny Mellon was very bright, but her parents (and she died at 104, so they lived very long ago) did not believe in college for women, so she was not allowed to go. This was her college education. She worked long and hard at it, but it would be great to have some one else do the hauling and digging, while you got to plan the project and direct the planting. She learned from some of the best, though.

She learned to plan gardens and rooms so they wouldn't look staged but natural even though it took an incredible amount of work. That really was her gift. I find her fascinating, too, but one thing that saddened me in her biography was the way she treated her twin nephews or grandsons. She was very fond of one but not the other, so she took the one she liked on all sorts of trips and bought him expensive gifts. Of course, the thing with John Edwards disappointed me as well and was equally selfish and thoughtless.

R77 Don’t leave us hanging, what happened to the twins? Did the other fall into a life of petty crime and ripping off old socialites out of childhood scaring and trauma from the situation?

She died at age 103.

I think John Edwards convinced a very susceptible elderly lady that he was another JFK. And she wanted to help one more time.

R72 One of the Koch brothers bought 1040 5th Ave penthouse of JBKO and gutted it. Apparently right wingers are obsessed with aping their betters.

"I think John Edwards convinced a very susceptible elderly lady that he was another JFK. "

I don't think she viewed him as another JFK (Edwards, for all his spouting off about fighting poverty, was really a clod), but she did find him appealing. And she was old, and he was paying all this attention to her...she no doubt found it stimulating. She told Frank Langella this: "Well I suppose it’s my own damn fault. He was so attractive. White shirt, white pants, sleeves rolled up. And you know I’m weak on good looks."

We hear you, Bunny!

Bunny must have been deaf and blind by then . Edwards was not another JFK he was Jimmy Carter 2.0

R81 Ironically, one of the Koch brothers bought Bunny's Osterville Cape Cod home, but a grandson bought one of the houses back.

It's bullshit that Bunny hated John. Her family crawled all over her out of fear they'd lose a nickel.

She was a political animal. And a grown woman. Women, btw, can be quite shrewd, almost like you and me!

Langella is a star-fucker and a name-dropper.

As my grandmother would say.

I don’t see the irony, r85.

If Bunny thought John Edwards was "a great friend" then she was really an idiot. He was no friend to her. He just wanted her money. Silly old lady.

R80 She should have gotten behind Barack Obama then. He's the one who is always compared to JFK all the time now.

I thought John Edwards was rich in his own right? Wasn't he a successful lawyer before he got into politics?

I Remember seeing that large house he and his wife lived in with their children when they appeared on Oprah.

Trial-lawyer rich ≠ Bunny Mellon rich

Did Bunny Mellon's pussy stink?

Or was it the special extra-fancy rich kind?

"I thought John Edwards was rich in his own right? Wasn't he a successful lawyer before he got into politics?"

He was never rich like Bunny Mellon. I don't think he had enough money to run a campaign and keep his nutty mistress happy. I guess he thought Bunny Mellon might be an endless supply of funds for him. He's such a slimeball. A real creep.

Name a candidate who hasn't solicited money from old rich farts. Sometimes they married them first.

Yeah, I mean, this is part of the game of politics, it’s called “donor development” and it is literally the main artery of all national politics. Unless and until we get serious about how campaigns are funded, this is actually an avoidable necessity for *all* politicians regardless of party.

"Name a candidate who hasn't solicited money from old rich farts."

it's still a nasty thing to do. I think Edwards sweet talked and flirted with the filthy rich old lady. Gross! But I guess he figured he'd get money out of her that way. And he was using it to keep his sleazy affair going with the awful Rielle Hunter. How truly disgusting. But it all blew up in his face. It would have been fun to see him do jail time but at least his reputation and political career were destroyed. Yay!

Jackie's nickname for JFK was Bunny. Hmmm.

Goodbye my beloved Bunny Mellon thread. Perhaps we’ll meet again.

Someone named Bunny Mellon should have good tits.

Unfortunately, she didn’t even have a decent bra.

The Mellons have always been a huge influence in Pittsburgh and the mountains to the east were the location of their get away homes of the families. They literally owned entire mountains. Word is that they gave the land that is Seven Springs Ski Resort to one of their servants, Herman Dupre. Everyone I knew dropped the name as in "he's a Mellon by marriage. etc." Of course Andrew W Mellon was secretary of the Treasury under Warren Harding. When I first traveled to London back in the 1970's I was amazed to see that Mellon Bank had a branch there. I was so naive! Jackie's family was wasn't in the stratosphere that the Mellons occupied. I can see why she fostered a friendship with Bunny. e Her parents were wannabes. My parents had a get away home in the moutains also.

I had an uber-wealthy, red-headed client named Lily who was very difficult for everyone else because she would easily take things the wrong way or be socially distant- and so I wound up with her. We bonded quickly over the love for our dogs. She went through cancer treatment, the first time around afterwards when I went to color her hair- she came up out of the sink and it turned bright bubble gum purple from the chemo treatments. It was a very high end salon and she shrieked, “Is my hair PURPLE?” I quickly fixed it and we got along just fine after that. She then brought her collection of old wigs in and I colored them all bright red, her signature look. I remember she really didn’t like anyone at the shop, and had the feeling she really didn’t have any other friends other than her wonderful husband.

The cancer came back, and she was in treatment again. I’ll never forget the last time I did her hair, and having to say goodbye- kind of knowing it would be the last time I saw her. She was draped in jewels and thinking even with all that unlimited wealth, it couldn’t save her.

I gave her a big hug and said goodbye. It make me think nowadays the that true wealth is being healthy.

^ If you haven't got your health you have nothing.

Why didn’t Bunny Mellon have a better bra?

This is really bothering me.

R104, I imagine she did have better bras. My guess is that this photo was taken on a day when she was more relaxed and didn't give a shit what her tits looked like.

I'm a gay man, but I feel pretty confident that there are days when women don't really give a shit what their tits look like.

Not on days they invite photographers over, usually.

Her boobs are at her waistline., and she’s a taste arbiter?

R106 - yes, that's right.

God bless you, Bunny Mellon.

And, buy a bra. You can afford it.

I’m just sorry Bunny didn’t live to see this historic day.

(I get the impression this thread is more of interest to those seeking some dim reflected glamour of a long-gone 'Camelot' than those interested in the difficult decisions about seedlings, choice of plant stock, fertilisers and placement in cool or warn garden beds)

Why parentheses?

I think Trump was cursed the moment they took out Jackie/Bunny's crab apple trees!

Dear R112, I placed it in parentheses so my blunt interjection would seem less rude to those eldergays being nostalgic about Jackie and 'the good old days'

Bunny always appreciated chivalry.

Not bras, tho.