Elaine Guthrie Lorillard (October 11, 1914 – November 26, 2007) was an American socialite who founded the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

with her husband, Louis Lorillard.

Early life

Elaine Guthrie was born in Tremont, Maine, to Walter Edward Guthrie and Eliza Pray Guthrie. After attending

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and serving in World War I, Walter founded the family printing company in Boston. Eliza, called Lida, was a classical singer. Guthrie attended the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

, and in 1943 she joined the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

where she taught piano and painting to orphans in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy. In Naples she met Louis Livingston Lorillard (1919–1986), a United States Army lieutenant. While serving in Naples, Guthrie and Lorillard shared an interest in listening to jazz, which they had experienced in New York City.

Newport Jazz Festival

In 1953, Guthrie and Lorillard visited the Storyville nightclub in Boston with her brother, Thomas T. Guthrie, and his friend, Professor Borne from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. They met

George Wein George Wein (October 3, 1925 – September 13, 2021) was an American jazz promoter, pianist, and producer.

, who founded and managed the nightclub, and they discussed the possibility of bringing an outdoor jazz concert to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, where they lived. With the guidance of John Hammond and

George Avakian George Mesrop Avakian (; russian: Геворк Авакян; March 15, 1919 – November 22, 2017) was an American record producer, artist manager, writer, educator and executive. Best known for his work from 1939 to the early 1960s at Decca Re ...

, two record producers and executives at

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, they came up with a list of performers. With a $20,000 grant from the Lorillards, the first Newport Jazz Festival took place in July 1954, attracting 11,000 fans. The Lorillards supported the festival until 1961. The Lorillards said that the festival was founded as a nonprofit organization.

Biopic

The movie ''

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 ...

'' (1956), with a storyline by family friend Cleveland Amory, documented the Lorillards' love story and marriage.

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

was cast for her resemblance to Elaine Lorillard. The movie was filmed in Newport with scenes from the Lorillards' life, from a convertible passing their house, "Quatrel", on Bellevue Avenue, to their daughter sitting at their piano with

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Personal life

In 1946, she married Louis Livingston Lorillard (1919–1986). Louis was a descendant of Robert Livingston, first Lord of

Livingston Manor Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. History Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted ...

, and Pierre Lorillard, who founded the P. Lorillard Company in 1760. Before their 1962 divorce, they had two children: * Edith Pray Lorillard, who married

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians norma ...

Robert Cowley Robert Cowley is an American military historian, who writes on topics in American and European military history ranging from the Civil War through World War II. He has held several senior positions in book and magazine publishing and is the foundi ...

, son of writer

Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), his lyrical memoir, ''Exile's Return ...

, in 1978. * Pierre Livingston Lorillard Lorillard died in the Heatherwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Newport, where she had been treated for pneumonia/

MRSA Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...

at the age of 93.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lorillard, Elaine 1914 births 2007 deaths American socialites Lorillard family Infectious disease deaths in Rhode Island People from Tremont, Maine Deaths from pneumonia in Rhode Island Deaths from staphylococcal infection