Author & Film industry

Born : 1st March 1893 - New York, USA

Died : 9th May 1968 - New York, USA

Many screenwriters had been contacted to work on the scripts for Baba's film projects, and when Markey's name was cabled to Baba by Norina and Elizabeth, who had contacted him in New York, Baba had cabled back: "Markey is the man!"  Therefore, the search for other writers ceased and Baba accepted Markey's treatment of the material. He was working on the screen adaptation of Karl Vollmoeller's story This Man David, after Mercedes D'Acosta had written a synopsis.

Lord Meher Volume 6, Page 2043 

That night, Baba went to Monte Carlo with Norina and Mercedes D'Acosta to see the casinos. Dressed incognito, he looked stunning; wearing a cape of Norina's and a French beret of Mercedes', Baba blended in well in that risqué atmosphere.

Lord Meher Volume 6, Page 2209 

SINCE the first week of October 1938, Chanji had been travelling back and forth between Bombay and southern India and Meherabad on work for Baba. He had been sent to Hyderabad on October 2nd and was sent back again on November 6th.

Meanwhile, Mercedes D'Acosta and Consuella de Sides had come to India in November with the intention of meeting other spiritual Masters and yogis. They seemed to have "drifted away" from Baba, but came to see him at Meherabad on November 17th.

Having come back from Paris, the men mandali left on October 28th for Marseilles. The next day, Mercedes D'Acosta bid farewell to return to America. For some, this farewell to Baba in Cannes would be their last intimate contact. Baba would not make another trip to the West for fifteen years, until 1952. Some would never see him again.

http://www.robertschanke.com/mercedes/

http://laurencefrommer.tripod.com/celebrity/mercedesdeacostacelebrity.html

Mercedes de Acosta

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mercedes de Acosta (March 1, 1893 – May 9, 1968) was an American poet, playwright, costume designer and socialite, best known for her numerous lesbian affairs with Hollywood personalities including Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Alla Nazimova, Tamara Karsavina, Eva Le Gallienne, Isadora Duncan, Katharine Cornell, Ona Munson, Adele Astaire and, allegedly, Tallulah Bankhead, amongst others, which she documented in her controversial autobiography Here Lies the Heart.^[1]

It was a reputation not appreciated by everyone. As Alice B. Toklas, the lover of Gertrude Stein, wrote to a disapproving friend, Anita Loos,

"...you can't dispose of Mercedes lightly—she has had the two most important women in the US—Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich."^[2]

Four of de Acosta's plays were produced, and she published a novel and three volumes of poetry.

[edit] Background

She was born in New York City in 1893 to a Cuban father, Ricardo de Acosta, 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. The last would become a famous beauty best known as Rita Lydig.

Mercedes de Acosta married Abram Poole (1882–1961), a painter and socialite, in 1920. They divorced in 1935.

[edit] Personal life

Although talented in her professional field, it is no doubt her personal life that has made her famous in Hollywood circles. She became involved in numerous lesbian relationships with Hollywood's elite, claimed many more, and did not attempt to hide her sexuality.

In 1916 she began an affair with actress Alla Nazimova, and shortly thereafter started an affair with young actress Tallulah Bankhead, and later dancer Isadora Duncan. Shortly after marrying Abram Poole in 1920, de Acosta became involved in a turbulent five-year relationship with actress Eva Le Gallienne. The two women vacationed and travelled together often, at times visiting the salon of famed writer and socialite Natalie Barney in Europe.^[3] De Acosta wrote two plays for Eva during that time, Sandro Botticelli and Jehanne de Arc. Neither were successful, and the combined financial failures of both plays and de Acosta's possessive and jealous nature brought the affair to an end.^[3][4]

Over the next decade she amassed an ensemble of female partners, all of whom were either rising stars, or aging stars. These included Rudolph Valentino's alleged fiancée, actress Pola Negri, who went on to star in films for UFA during the 1930s, writer Edith Wharton, writer and stage actress Katharine Cornell, socialite Dorothy ("Dickie") Fellowes-Gordon, and with writer Amy Lowell.

De Acosta was involved with married Russian ballerina Tamara Platonovna Karsavina throughout her life, after their first meeting in 1920. The two were as much friends as they were lovers, and Karsavina was one of the few who continued to be friendly toward de Acosta following the controversial autobiography released by the latter, exposing many of her relationships to the public.

[edit] Affair with Greta Garbo

In 1931, she met and claims to have quickly become involved with Greta Garbo. The two were introduced to one another by de Acosta's lover at the time, author Salka Viertel. Her relationship with Garbo has often been described as "the love of her lifetime".

It is unknown from all information from the time if Garbo shared those feelings. However, Garbo was in control of the affair, and the two would be together for lengthy periods often taking vacations together, then apart for long spells without Garbo even acknowledging de Acosta, and everything was at the will of Garbo. In 1944, Garbo ended the on-again off-again relationship. At that time, she insisted de Acosta stop sending her poems and letters professing her love. The last known poem written by de Acosta for Garbo was written that same year. By all accounts, de Acosta remained in love with Garbo for the remainder of her lifetime.

[edit] Travels in India

In the 1930s Mercedes had acquired an interest in Eastern 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. In fact, Meher Baba made mention of de Acosta's affection for Greta Garbo, saying they had been married in a previous life (of Garbo, Meher Baba said she was the most spiritual of the Hollywood actresses of that era). De Acosta also went to India to meet with Meher Baba. Over the years however she lost focus on Meher Baba until the 1950s, when she met him for the last time.^[5][6] 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.

[edit] Later life, controversial autobiography

Her memoir, Here Lies the Heart^[7], was published in 1960 because Mercedes was seriously ill with a brain tumor and in need of money.

Its revelations, though highly sanitized and supported as fact, resulted in the severing of numerous friendships of famous women who preferred their sexuality remain private, including that of the mercurial Garbo. Eva Le Gallienne in particular was furious, and completely did away with anything reminding her of de Acosta. Many denounced her as a liar, stating that she invented these stories for fame. This is unlikely, as most of the affairs have been confirmed through personal correspondence, and many of the affairs were known to Hollywood insiders, but were kept out of the headlines for the sake of the actresses' careers.^{[citation needed]}

She found herself cut off from many of her friends and increasingly in financial straits. De Acosta died at age 75 in relative poverty and obscurity.

She is buried with her mother and sister, Rita Lydig^[8] at Trinity Cemetery in Washington Heights, New York City.

[edit] See also

Literature portal

• List of Cuban American writers
• List of Famous Cuban-Americans

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• McLellan, Diana (2001). The Girls: Sappho Goes to Hollywood. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-28320-2. 
• Stern, Keith (2009), "de Acosta, Mercedes", Queers in History, BenBella Books, Inc.; Dallas, Texas, ISBN 978-1933771-87-8 

[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 — One Woman's Meeting With Enlightenment
• The Awakener Magazine
• Lord Meher, pp. 1940, Bhau Kalchuri, Manifestation, Inc.