02 Monday May 2011
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W&W is a little late getting this one posted. Shawna Waldron’s 93 minute Lizzie feature can be downloaded here: http://www.musicmovieshare.com/thriller/lizzie-2011/
You can see more on the Facebook page, including photos. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lizzie-the-Movie/378802895590?ref=mf&sk=wall#!/pages/Lizzie-the-Movie/378802895590?sk=wall
16 Saturday Apr 2011
Posted in "Lizbits", "Lizzie Folks", Borden Family, Borden House Interiors, Borden Spaces and Places, Case Personalities, Crime Scene, Fall River, Just Plain Lizzie, Legend of Lizzie Borden, Museums & Exhibits, Parallel Lives, Second Street Happenings, Second Street Irregulars, Spooky Lizzie's - Paranormal Second Street, Stop the Press, Video Lizzie
Guests and employees at the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast enjoyed watching the TODAY show feature this morning in the parlor. Already the online clip has had nearly 500 comments and the phones are briskly ringing on Second Street. The interest in the Borden case?- Keen as ever.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42612544/ns/today-books/from/toolbar
07 Thursday Apr 2011
The Borden house is hosting guests from the TODAY show this afternoon. The filming, which was to have taken place last Wednesday, was postponed until today. The segment is slated to air sometime in May. The crew will be filming at the house, with an interview by Barbara Borden Morrissey and will then relocate to the Fall River Historical Society to film case artifacts and to discuss the upcoming Parallel Lives. The crew picked a beautiful day to be in the city, with high temps and plenty of sunshine.
MSNBC and NBC reporter Amy Robach is shooting the feature.
26 Saturday Mar 2011
Posted in Borden Family, Mills
Remembering today: Sarah Anthony Morse Borden 1823-1863, first wife of Andrew J. Borden and mother of Emma Lenora, Alice Esther and Lizzie Andrew Borden. She was the sister of John Vinnicum Morse, born September 19, 1823 in Somerset, Massachusetts. Daughter of Anthony and Rhody (Morrison) Morse, she married Andrew on Christmas day, 1845. Sarah died in Fall River on March 26, 1863.
R.I.P.
and remembering
the 146 garment workers of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of March 25, 1911 on the 100th anniversary of the New York City disaster.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire
18 Friday Mar 2011
Chances are if you Goggle Lizzie Borden under the “News” heading, you will find several pages of stories on the Chloe Sevigny HBO project for a four hour mini-series, including stories in Polish, French, Russian and Italian! And if you live in Connecticut, Rhode Island or Massachusetts, tonight at 6 p.m., Channel 10 news jumped on the promotion band wagon. With all of the very positive buzz and excitement, it is hard to believe Tom Hanks and Playtone would change their mind about producing the four -hour series. To view the Channel 10 clip, http://www2.turnto10.com/entertainment/2011/mar/17/sevigny-may-play-lizzie-borden-miniseries-ar-426649/
The casting of Miss Sevigny as Lizzie is spot-on. She has all the right physical attributes, right down to the mesmerizing and unsettling eyes, and is of the right age to pull it off. She is also a better-than-good actress. It will be very interesting to see who will be cast in the major roles. Maybe Uncle John Morse will be included this time around.
Due to street noise and the encroachment of modern living, and many other factors, the house on Second Street will not be a likely candidate for the filming venue. The 1975 Elizabeth Montgomery attempt did a pretty fair job of recreating Borden house interiors on stage sets.
There are very high hopes in Fall River, among the Borden house bed and breakfast employees, and students of the Borden case and Fall River history that this version will get the facts right and do the story justice. Playtone and Hanks are synonymous with quality productions, so the end result holds very great promise. It is surprising that it has taken so long to revisit the case and Lizzie Borden as the topic has been building momentum and interest since the Borden house opened for business in 1996.
The buzz about the upcoming Fall River Historical Society’s Parallel Lives, detailing Lizzie’s life and Fall River has been the hot topic around Fall River for many months as it promises revelations about Miss Borden which will open a few eyes. The date of publication has not yet been announced but the long-awaited tome is in final proofing and chances are it will be published by late Spring. The nearly thousand -page volume will feature over 500 photographs, including some new views of Lizzie herself, and will disspell some commonly -held notions about her. It will be a must-read for Miss Sevigny and should have some major impact on her characterization of the enigmatic Lizzie. The series will probably have an early 2012 air date according to some sources.
In any event, Lizzie is bigger now than ever, and the upcoming series will be a boon to the city as well as book sales of Parallel Lives. It will be a very exciting year ahead.
http://screenrant.com/hbo-chloe-sevigny-lizzie-borden-miniseries-yman-106311/
11 Friday Mar 2011
This Monday, March 14th, will mark the birthday of Lawdwick Borden, the great -uncle of Lizzie Borden. Lawdwick is not so much remembered as his second wife, Eliza Darling, the mother of the unfortunate children who were thrown into a cistern. The story has grown over the years and been embellished. Guests to the Borden house today all want to hear about “the children in the well”. Finally the facts and the correct spelling of Lawdwick Borden can be set forth for all time. The photographs and censuses detailing the four wives of Lawdwick Borden may be viewed here. http://lizziebordenwarpsandwefts.com/the-four-wives-of-lawdwick-borden/
Happy Birthday “Uncle Lawdy”.
08 Tuesday Mar 2011
The snows did fall and the wind did blow, but the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast had a busy winter and the month of March is jammed- packed with activities too. The first Murder Mystery Weekend was held over the Valentine’s Day weekend, followed by the Dead of Winter paranormal event with Chris Moon. The news, posted here earlier, detailing B&B visitor Chloe Sevigny’s proposed upcoming project of an HBO mini-series about the Borden case filming this summer was icing on the cake.
Last week, those who work at the house were thrilled to learn the TODAY show will be making a visit the end of the month to shoot a special on the fascination with the case. The timing could not have been better for the release of the eagerly-awaited Parallel Lives from the Fall River Historical Society. The authors will also be appearing on the morning televison special segment. The Second Street Irregulars will be descending on the 31st for a jammed-packed 3 days at the house and on the road, with some special guests and stops along the way. It looks like 2011 will be another banner year for Lizzie & Co.
03 Thursday Mar 2011
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photos courtesy of JoAnne Giovino
Andrew Borden’s final morning, leading up to the time of his murder was witnessed by many people as he made his usual rounds around the city. A creature of habit, his daily pattern of barber, post office, banks, and check-in at properties he owned on South Main Street were predictable. He was noted by Abram G.Hart at the bank, encountered by store renter Jonathan Clegg on the street across from old City Hall, engaged in conversation by Mathers and Shortsleeves while checking on a window near the corner of Spring St. and South Main, and observed around 10:45 a.m. by neighbor Caroline Kelly coming around the corner of his house and going up his front steps, attempting to gain entry. Mrs. Kelly would be the last non-family member to see him alive.
Pierre LeDuc is listed as a “hairdresser” along with his partner Joseph LeDoux in the 1891-2 city directory, with their establishment on the second level over Wood and Hall’s shop, which was a furniture store that also had a side line in undertaking, a common practice at the time, supplying things for a funeral and offering wooden coffins for sale in their showroom.
Born of an English father (according to one source) and a French Canadian mother in May of 1864, the family came to America in 1870. The stone marker in Notre Dame Cemetery does not list Pierre’s date of birth, only his death date. The 1900 census has his birthday as May 1864, but the marker has him aged 68 in 1928 which would have made his birth year 1860, the same as Lizzie Borden’s. On April 14, 1890 he married Marie at Saint Anne’s.
Below: City directory entries:
| Pierre Leduc 1889-1891 City Directory | |
| Location 1: | 8 Pleasant |
|---|---|
| Location 2: | boards 2 Sixth-and-a-half |
| Occupation: | hairdresser |
| Year: |
1889 |
| City: | Fall River |
| State: | MA |
| Pierre Leduc | |
| Location 1: | 5 Main |
|---|---|
| Location 2: | boards 2 Sixth-and-a-half |
| Business Name: | Leduc & Ledoux |
| Occupation: | hairdresser |
| Year: |
1890 |
| City: | Fall River |
| State: | MA |
| Pierre Leduc | |
| Location 1: | 5 Main |
|---|---|
| Location 2: | boards 2 Sixth-and-a-half |
| Business Name: | Leduc & Ledoux |
| Occupation: | hairdresser |
| Year: |
1891 |
| City: | Fall River |
| State: | MA |
(click on image above to enlarge to full size) The 1910 census shows Pierre and Marie now living at 160 Robeson Street and they have adopted a daughter, Catherine. With no children appearing since their wedding at St. Anne’s in 1890, twenty years later adoption completed the family. Catherine was born in Massachusetts. Pierre is listed as a barber. Interesting to note that while Pierre’s speaking language is English, Marie’s is listed as French. In other census listings, Pierre and Marie Americanize their names to Peter and Mary LeDuc. And what happened to Pierre’s partner, Joseph LeDoux? In 1930 he is still barbering as an old man and living on Spring Street. If you are fortunate enough to have a copy of Judith A. Boss’ book, Fall River. A Pictoral History (1982 and available on Amazon), you will see a young Pierre LeDuc posing in a jaunty boater hat and crisp white barbering smock in front of Whitehead’s grocery store. He is young and slender. There is only the Fall River Globe’s account that Pierre gave Andrew Borden his last shave and trim the day of the murders. LeDuc probably never thought this is what he would be remembered for in the future.
01 Tuesday Mar 2011
Posted in Borden Family, Case Personalities, Famous Victorians, Potpourri
26 Saturday Feb 2011
Tags
Here’s an interview and follow-up to the Chloe Sevigny story posted here earlier this month. Hopes are running high for an historically accurate script which will include John Morse this time around. The HBO mini-series, slated to run two nights, may be released at the end of 2011.
16 Wednesday Feb 2011
Today the Fall River Historical Society has released the working cover art for its long-awaited volume, Parallel Lives, a history of Lizzie Borden’s Fall River. The cover features an expanded view of the famous “pansy brooch” portrait of Lizzie, with her dress tinted in a rich shade of burgundy and was designed by Charles S. Medeiros of Burnt Toast Graphics. It is a rare treat to see colorized photographs of the well-known black and white images so familiar to students of the Borden case. The rich hue used for the dust jacket is one which perfectly reflects Victoriana. Lizzie truly comes to life. The photograph in black and white featured in the background is of the wedding day of the William Lawton Slade Braytons, June 18, 1913.
For all the latest on publication date, follow the historical society online at http://www.lizzieborden.org/ParallelLives.html and on Facebook. The volume is currently in final revision with a publication date soon to come- and not a minute too soon for the many eager enthusiasts and historians who are eager for the new photographs of the Bordens and more than 500 photographs in all.
14 Monday Feb 2011
Tags
It’s no secret actress Chloe Sevigny loves the Lizzie Borden story and enjoyed her recent visit to the popular Bed and Breakfast in Fall River where the crimes took place. She recently announced in an interview that she will be starring in the role of Lizzie Borden for an HBO two-part miniseries on the famous case. This is a pet project which has been initiated by the actress herself. For more on the details see the interview here. Air date is yet to be announced. http://www.thenewsgallery.com/2011/02/chloe-sevigny-talks-to-imagine-fashion.html
31 Monday Jan 2011
The Killer Book of Infamous Murders, by Tom Philpin and Michael Philpin will be published in February and available on Amazon March 1st.The book examines crimes recent and past, going as far back as the 1800s. The book includes the Lizzie Borden case, the horrifying murders that inspired Truman Capote’s novel, “In Cold Blood,” and the Dr. Sam Shepperd case, which inspired “The Fugitive” movie and TV series.
This is a follow-up to The Killer Book of Serial Killers which was published January 2009 by the same authors.
16 Sunday Jan 2011
One of the first big celebrities to visit the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast was Academy Award winning actress, Patricia Neal. Born Patsy Louise Neal in Kentucky, the sweet-faced lady with the velvet voice would have an adventurous life filled with triumphs and personal tragedies.
This past week a popular old movie channel has been featuring The Day the Earth Stood Still, a film in which Neal starred as Helen Benson, the secretary and mother of little “Bobby”. Her immortal lines “Gort- ”Klaatu barada nikto” is immortal among sci-fi enthusiasts.
Star of both screen and stage, Ms. Neal was challenged by a series of strokes in the mid 1960′s, and had to relearn how to walk and speak, but battled bravely back and continued working at her craft until 2009 in her last role in Flying By.
Neal died at her home in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, August 8, 2010, of lung cancer at age 84. She had converted to Catholicism four months before her death and was laid to rest in the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut.
On August 4th at the annual Pear Essential Players’ production at the Borden house, her visit to the bed and breakfast was mentioned when some members were discussing actresses who would be great in an accurate film version of the Borden case story. Ms. Neal was at that moment at her home on Martha’s Vineyard, not so far from Fall River, and would pass away just four days later.
If you should find yourself on South Main Street in Fall River, just a half block south of Dwelly Street, you will see Hartley’s Pies, a famous local landmark in the city. Hartley’s pies have been around Fall River for 100 years. If you enter the little shop, you will see two enormous autographed photos of the late Patricia Neal. The cook there has a copy of her obituary and will tell you how much she loved Hartley’s meat pies and how she never failed to stop in for a supply on her way to Martha’s Vineyard.
She was a great actress who was interested in everything, one interest being the Borden case. She will be sorely missed on stage and screen. For more on her career, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Neal
13 Thursday Jan 2011
Among the Library of Congress collection of unusual broadsides, (those prolific paper tributes written by budding writers about popular topics of the moment), rests this Lizzie Borden case effort by Mr. Beard of New Hampshire, who gives his home address at the bottom of the page, no doubt in hopes of hearing from a publisher keen to publish his opus.
Thanks to CLEWS crime blog for bringing this to our attention a few years ago. If you missed it then, here it is again.
07 Friday Jan 2011
The ground fog rolled in thick from Oak Grove Avenue to the front entrance of Oak Grove last Sunday between 3 and 5 p.m. Captured in the fog are some interesting photos of the Borden plot, Cook Borden’s famous granite tree trunk, stones of Officer Wixon (he who tried out climbing over the Borden’s back fence on August 4th), and Southard Miller who built the Borden house on Second Street. Someone had visited over the holiday, and left a tribute at Lizzie’s grave. Several photos in the slideshow below, as indicated, were photographed by Will Clawson.
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04 Tuesday Jan 2011
The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum will be hosting its first Murder Mystery Weekend over the Valentine’s Day weekend. Characters from the past will be coming together to hear the revelation of city marshal Rufus Hilliard, who has received startling new information which leads to unveiling the identity of the REAL Borden murderer.
The action will commence with a tea on Friday afternoon, followed by a themed dinner, a murder mystery play, followed by a lively round of sleuthing, games, and off-site activities. Saturday night will feature the grand revelation of Whodunnit at the Quequechan Club banquet. Guests will try to portray their historic characters throughout the weekend, with costumes and props encouraged. The event is sold out, but hopefully will be repeated again soon! To follow the storyline of the weekend, you can read Rufus Hilliard, City Marshal’s journal at http://marshalhilliard.wordpress.com/ More details and photos of the event will be posted to W&W.
22 Wednesday Dec 2010
Most well-born ladies of the period took up the study of a musical instrument as part of their well-rounded education. The pianoforte was a favorite as the lady might accompany herself singing or might become a sought-after party guest to accompany around-the-piano impromptu group singing which was so popular among all age groups . Lizzie Borden took up the piano as a teenager but in the end abandoned the serious study of music as she felt her playing was inferior. Sister Emma Borden also played, as her school records at Wheaton Female Seminary attest. Andrew Borden had to pay five dollars per term to furnish Emma with a practice instrument. By 1892, even middle class families could afford to own a parlor piano. Different sources list Lizzie’s piano as either a square parlor grand or an upright grand. Considering the decade of her piano playing, a square parlor grand is more likely. These were somewhat large, boxy instruments with thick carved legs.
In 1892, the most popular tune of the time was After the Ball, a waltz by Charles K. Harris. He had written the piece in 1891. According to Wikipedia:
“In the song, an older man tells his niece why he has never married. He saw his sweetheart kissing another man at a ball, and he refused to listen to her explanation. Many years later, after the woman had died, he discovered that the man was her brother.
“After the Ball” became the most successful song of its era which at that time was gauged by the sales of sheet music. In 1892 it sold over two million copies of sheet music. Its total sheet music sales exceed five million copies, making it the best seller in Tin Pan Alley‘s history.“
The song is still familiar to many and is often the last selection played at dances and cotillions.
Did Lizzie amuse herself at the piano on Second Street as an adult? - Most likely she did. She would also have a handsome piano in her parlor at Maplecroft. It’s fun to picture the sisters around the piano at Christmas trying out a few carols and Christmas tunes from the hymnal. Two other huge hits of 1892- The Bowery and Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two).
