Elizabeth Debbie Eden (August 19, 1946 – September 29, 1987) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...

whose husband John Wojtowicz attempted a bank robbery allegedly to pay for her

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and a ...

. The incident was made into the crime drama film ''

Dog Day Afternoon ''Dog Day Afternoon'' is a 1975 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick, and Charles Durning. The screenplay is wr ...

'' (

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

), directed by Sidney Lumet. The character Leon Shermer, played by

Chris Sarandon Christopher Sarandon (; born July 24, 1942) is an American actor. He is well known for playing a variety of iconic characters, including Jerry Dandrige in ''Fright Night'' (1985), Prince Humperdinck in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Detective Mik ...

, is loosely based on Eden.

Biography

Early life

Eden was born Ernest Aron on August 19, 1946, in

Ozone Park, Queens Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts W ...

. Eden was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Relationship with Wojtowicz

In 1971, she and Wojtowicz met at the

Feast of San Gennaro The Feast of San Gennaro (in Italian: ''Festa di San Gennaro''), also known as San Gennaro Festival, is a Neapolitan and Italian-American patronal festival dedicated to Saint Januarius, patron saint of Naples and Little Italy, New York. His feas ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The two, Elizabeth in a bridal gown and John in military attire, wed in a public ceremony that year. The wedding received widespread attention in local media, even being featured on a segment of

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

's news show, ''

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature st ...

''. Following a series of suicide attempts, which Wojtowicz attributed to Eden's despondency over her inability to afford gender-reassignment surgery, Eden was admitted to a

psychiatric institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

. The following year, on August 22, 1972, Wojtowicz attempted to rob a Chase Manhattan bank branch in

Gravesend, Brooklyn Gravesend is a neighborhood in the south-central section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, on the southwestern edge of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is bounded by the Belt Parkway to the south, Bay Parkway to the west ...

. He claimed that he attempted the robbery in order to obtain funds so that Eden could have surgery. However, the claim was disputed by some, with Arthur Bell, a respected ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' columnist and investigative journalist who knew Wojtowicz, stating that the robbery was due to Wojtowicz's debts to the

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

. Wojtowicz had also previously expressed opposition to Eden's desire to undergo surgery. Eden was not aware of the plan. Wojtowicz was sentenced to 20 years, but released in 1978. Wojtowicz did two more stretches in prison for parole violations in 1984 and 1986-87. He said he was released in April 1987, and Eden visited him in New York about once a month. The film ''Dog Day Afternoon'' shows Sonny (the Wojtowicz character) making out a will to give Leon (Eden's character) his life insurance so that even if he were killed, "Leon" could pay for the operation. The real-life Wojtowicz was paid $7500, plus 1% of the film's net profits, for the rights to his story, from which he gave Eden enough money to pay for the surgery.

Later life

Following her sex reassignment surgery, Eden legally married someone else, then divorced. Eden died of AIDS-related

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on September 29, 1987, aged 41, at Genesee Hospital in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

, after contracting the virus through a blood transfusion following a car accident.

Legacy

Her personal papers and photographs were donated posthumously to the National Archive of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender History at the

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (formerly Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center), commonly called The Center, is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population of New ...

(New York) on June 14, 1990.

References

External links

Liz Eden (Ernest Aron) Papers
via LGBT Community Center New York * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eden, Elizabeth 1946 births 1987 deaths AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) LGBT people from New York (state) Transgender women People from Ozone Park, Queens Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) 20th-century LGBT people American Jews