Edie Sedgwick: Youthquaker Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

The Sedgwicks are an old society family. They figured prominently in Massachusetts and U.S. history. Among Edie's ancestors were a major general of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century (Robert Sedgwick), the founder of Williams College (Ephraim Williams), a signer of the Declaration of Independence (William Ellery), and a judge and member of Congress (Theodore Sedgwick).

Edie's mother's family, the Minturns, were no slouches either: her ancestors ran the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Dutch West India Company.

As a child and teen, Edie grew up on a ranch in California. She and her seven siblings did not have to go to school: their parents had a school built on the ranch and hired their own teachers. Although the ranches did well (and oil was found on the property), the family was cash-poor and the kids often were dressed in hand-me-downs.

Answer: All of these

Her father, Francis, suffered from manic depression and had at least two nervous breakdowns when she was growing up. In fact, her parents were warned by a doctor not to have children due to his mental illness. They ignored doctor's orders and had 8 children, 3 of whom also suffered from mental illness.

Two of her seven siblings, Bobby and Minty, also suffered from psychological illness. Both were in and out of psychiatric hospitals and died young.

Edie herself was hospitalized for anorexia at age 19. She was in and out of psychiatric hospitals many times in her life and underwent shock treatment.

Answer: Bob Dylan

Edie moved to New York City in 1964. In December of that year, she met Bob Dylan, and his manager, Bobby Neuwirth, at a Greenwich Village bar called Kettle of Fish.

She and Dylan hung out socially (and may have had an affair) until February 1966. Dylan was seeing Joan Baez and Sara Lownds during this period, so he was not exactly emotionally available for Edie. Her relationship with Dylan ended when Andy Warhol told her about Dylan's secret marriage to Sara Lownds.

The original pressing of Dylan's 1966 album "Blonde on Blonde" had a photo of Edie in the inner sleeve. The songs "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat", "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" and "Like a Rolling Stone" are rumored to be about her.

Answer: Bad

Edie appeared in several Warhol films during 1965 and 1966. Her first one was "Horse" where she had a small non-speaking role. Edie appeared in "Bitch" in 1965: a film with no dialogue.

"Poor Little Rich Girl" was the first in a series of films that Warhol based on Edie's socialite life. The others were "Restaurant", "Face" and "Afternoon".

Edie does not appear in "Bad". Andy Warhol's "Bad" was shot several years later and starred Susan Tyrell.

Answer: Both

She did fashion spreads in designer clothes for "Vogue" (August 1965 and March 1666) and "Life" (September 1965).

Andy Warhol was quoted in his book "POPism: The Warhol Sixties," as saying: "Edie would be innovating her own look that Vogue, Life, and Time and all the other magazines would photograph - long, long earrings with dime store t-shirts over dancer's tights with a white mink coat thrown over it all."

Unfortunately her modeling career never really took off due to her lack of motivation, her drug use, alcoholism and chronic depression.

Answer: Ciao! Manhattan

"Ciao! Manhattan" was Edie's last film. Shooting began in 1967, but there were a lot of problems on the set, mostly caused by rampant drug use among the cast and crew. The film was not finished until 1972.

"Lupe", from 1966, was thought to be one of Edie's last films for Warhol.

Edie was supposed to have been in "The Chelsea Girls", but her footage was edited out of the film by Andy Warhol when she left the Factory on bad terms with him. That footage was replaced with footage of Nico of the Velvet Underground.

"Factory Girl" is a movie about Edie Sedgwick that was released in 2006 and stars Sienna Miller as Edie.

Answer: Bobby Neuwirth

Edie and Dylan were no longer involved by February of 1966 due to his marriage with Sara. Edie hired Dylan's manager, Bobby Neuwirth, to be her manager, and they became involved in a passionate affair. By 1967, Neuwirth could no longer handle Edie's mood swings and drug use, and he broke things off.

Andy Warhol was reputed to be either gay or asexual and therefore would not have been involved with Edie.

Michael Post was a fellow inmate at a psychiatric hospital whom Edie met years later and married in July 1971.

Answer: The cause of death is undetermined

Edie died in her sleep on November 16, 1971 at the young age of 28. She had purportedly quit heroin when she married Michael Post earlier that year. However, she had become hooked on barbiturates that were prescribed to her for a medical condition, and it is believed that she sometimes took the pills with alcohol. She was also a heavy smoker, which may have contributed to her fragile health.

The official cause of death, as ruled by the coroner, was: "undetermined/accident/suicide". The death certificate states: "probable acute barbiturate intoxication due to ethanol intoxication". She had high levels of both in her system.

There is no evidence that she commmitted suicide.

Edie did hang out with a biker gang called The Vikings in 1969, but there is no evidence that she was ever in a motorcycle accident.

Answer: All of these

Poet/Rockstar Patti Smith wrote a poem dedicated to Edie Sedgwick that was published in her 1972 book "Seventh Heaven".
It contains the lines: "oh it isn't fair/how her ermine hair/turned men around".

"Edie (Ciao Baby)" appears on British hard rock band The Cult's album "Sonic Temple", released in 1989. The song did modestly on the U.S. and U.K. charts. The first verse goes:
"Always said you were a youthquaker, Edie
A stormy little world shaker
Oh, Warhol's darling queen, Edie
An angel with a broken wing"

"Little Miss S." was on the 1989 debut album by Texas folk-rock band Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. Here is a sample of the lyrics:
"livin the scene of her limmisine
Little Miss S. in a mini dress
living it up to die
in a blink of the public eye"

There are several other songs inspired by Edie - too many to mention here.

Two movies have been made about Edie's life so far: "Factory Girl" and "Girl on Fire".

"Factory Girl", starring Sienna Miller, was made in 2006. The film got poor reviews and was accused of inaccuracy by people who were close to Edie.

A biography called "Edie: Girl on Fire" was published in 2006 and a movie based in the book is in production as of the writing of this quiz.

Answer: True

Edie was the first cousin of Kyra's father, Henry Dwight Sedgwick V. That makes them first cousins once removed. Other famous people in the family are Kyra's brother, Robert, also an actor; and writer John Sedgwick, who wrote a book about the family called "The Sedgwicks: A History of Madness".