Ann Eden Woodward (born Evangeline Lucille Crowell; December 12, 1915 – October 10, 1975) was an American

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

showgirl A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity. History Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...

, model, and radio actress. In 1940, while working as a nightclub dancer and radio actress, she was voted "The Most Beautiful Girl in Radio". Woodward became a prominent and controversial figure in New York

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

after her marriage to banking heir William Woodward Jr. Although never convicted, she was suspected of murder after she shot and killed her husband in 1955, claiming that she had mistaken him for a burglar. The circumstances surrounding her husband's death led to Woodward becoming a

cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...

and, later, being banished from high society. ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' called the event "The Shooting of the Century". In 1975,

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

published excerpts from an unfinished novel ''

Answered Prayers ''Answered Prayers'' is an unfinished novel by American author Truman Capote, published posthumously in 1986 in England and 1987 in the United States. History The title of the book refers to a quote that Capote chose as an epigraph: "More tea ...

'', which accused Woodward of murdering her husband. Just before the stories were to be published in ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', she killed herself by taking

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

Biography

Woodward was born Evangeline Lucille Crowell on December 12, 1915 in

Pittsburg, Kansas Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...

to Colonel M. Jesse Crowell, a streetcar conductor and retired military officer from

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, and his wife. She attended Kansas City Junior College for one year. As a young adult, she moved to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

and changed her name to Ann Eden after her parents divorced and remarried. In 1937, Woodward moved to New York City to work as a model and actress and was signed with

John Robert Powers John Robert Powers (September 14, 1892 – July 21, 1977) was an American actor and founder of a New York City modeling agency. In 1923, Powers founded a modeling school. The John Robert Powers Agency represented models who aspired to success in ...

modeling agency. Through the Powers agency, Woodward landed roles as a radio actress, and was voted "The Most Beautiful Girl in Radio" in 1940. She had a role in Sir Noël Coward's ''

Set to Music Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

''. While working as a showgirl at FeFe's Monte Carlo, a nightclub in New York City, Woodward met

William Woodward Sr. William Woodward Sr. (April 7, 1876 – September 25, 1953) was an American banker and major owner and breeder in thoroughbred horse racing. __TOC__ Early life Woodward was born in New York City on April 7, 1876. He was a son of Sarah Abagail ( ...

, a wealthy banker from a prominent

old money Old money is "the inherited wealth of established upper-class families (i.e. gentry, patriciate)" or "a person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth". The term typically describes a social class of the rich who have been able to ma ...

family who served as Chairman of the

Central Hanover Bank & Trust Manufacturers Hanover Corporation was the bank holding company formed as parent of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, a large New York bank formed by a merger in 1961. After 1969, Manufacturers Hanover Trust became a subsidiary of Manufa ...

. It is speculated that she became Woodward's mistress. She was later courted by Woodward's son, William Woodward Jr., and married him in 1943 at St Luke's Memorial Episcopal Church in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. The marriage was a controversial one, and she was initially shunned by New York

. Her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Ogden Cryder Woodward, objected to the marriage. Woodward was eventually welcomed into prominent social circles and became a leading figure in society. She had two sons with her husband, William Woodward III and James Woodward. The Woodwards' marriage was an unhappy one, both having strings of affairs. Her husband asked for a divorce in 1947, but Woodward refused.

Shooting, aftermath, and suicide

In late 1955, there were a string of burglaries in the Woodwards' neighborhood in Oyster Bay. On October 30, 1955 Woodward and her husband returned to their country estate after attending a party hosted by Florence Tucker Baker in honor of the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...

. Sleeping in separate bedrooms, later that night Ann fired a shotgun twice, killing her husband. She claimed she had mistaken him for a burglar. She was not indicted for the shooting, and a Nassau County grand jury deemed the event an accident. The shooting led to Woodward becoming a

in New York, and was referred to by ''

'' as "The Shooting of the Century". Although never proven guilty of murder, Woodward was shunned by high society for the rest of her life. She and her sons moved in with her mother-in-law. In 1975,

published excerpts of his unfinished novel ''

'' in ''

'', which scandalized high society. The novel's characters were based on Capote's real-life acquaintances who were prominent socialites of the time. The novel revealed scandals and issues within the lives of

William S. Paley William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System ( CBS) from a small radio network into ...

Babe Paley Barbara "Babe" Cushing Mortimer Paley (July 5, 1915 – July 6, 1978) was an American socialite, whose second husband William S. Paley was the founder of CBS. Known by the nickname "Babe" for most of her life, she was named to the International ...

Happy Rockefeller Margaretta Large "Happy" Rockefeller (''née'' Fitler, formerly Murphy; June 9, 1926 – May 19, 2015) was a philanthropist and the second wife of the 49th governor of New York and 41st vice president of the United States, Nelson Rockefeller ...

Gloria Vanderbilt Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (February 20, 1924 – June 17, 2019) was an American artist, author, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite. During the 1930s, she was the subject of a high-profile child custody trial in which her mother ...

, and Woodward. In the novel, Capote based a character named Ann Cutler, a

bigamist In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

and gold digger who shoots her husband, on Woodward's killing of her husband, implying that it was murder. ''Answered Prayers'' caused such a scandal prior to its release that Woodward killed herself by taking

later that year. Her body was discovered on October 10, 1975 in her apartment on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

. Her mother-in-law said of her death, "she shot my son, and Truman just murdered her, and so now I suppose we don't have to worry about that anymore." Subsequently, both of Woodward's sons committed suicide; James in 1976 and William in 1999. The incident was also portrayed in

Dominick Dunne Dominick John Dunne (October 29, 1925 – August 26, 2009) was an American writer, investigative journalist, and producer. He began his career in film and television as a producer of the pioneering gay film ''The Boys in the Band (1970 film), ...

's 1985 novel ''

The Two Mrs. Grenvilles ''The Two Mrs. Grenvilles'' is a 1987 television miniseries based on Dominick Dunne's 1985 novel of the same name and dramatizing the sensational killing of William Woodward, Jr. by his wife, Ann Woodward in 1955. Directed by John Erman, the min ...

'', which was turned into a

television miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

in 1987. Woodward's funeral took place at St. James Episcopal Church on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

. She was buried in the Woodward family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, Ann 1915 births 1975 suicides 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American dancers Actresses from Kansas American female dancers American female murderers American radio actresses American showgirls American socialites Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Female models from Kansas People from Pittsburg, Kansas Suicides by cyanide poisoning Woodward family 20th-century American Episcopalians Suicides in New York City