Ms. Beale was born into a prominent Washington family and wrote for the old Washington Star, once the city's dominant newspaper. From the Truman to the Reagan administrations, she attended an estimated 15,000 parties, chronicling what she called "the manners, customs and personalities of our times." At her peak in the mid-1960s, her column was reprinted in about 90 newspapers.
As a journalist, Ms. Beale was not mischievous like her peer Diana McLellan or investigative like Maxine Cheshire, whom she disliked. She was deeply competitive, and in her hunt for human-interest items, she had a tendency to depart from dull party conversations by saying she had to find a "newsmaker."
She hosted presidents in her home, dined with authors and statesmen and chatted up emperors. She wrote of her "special bond" with Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie -- "the love we shared for Chihuahuas."
She was present when first lady Jacqueline Kennedy danced the twist with Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara. Later, in a memoir, Ms. Beale wrote of dancing with Lyndon B. Johnson ("he had a good sense of rhythm and did a smooth foxtrot") and cringing through a merengue with Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, who had summoned her to his yacht ("fortunately, the loathsome experience was short").
Elizabeth Virginia Beale was born Nov. 6, 1911, in Washington, where her father was a banking executive. An uncle, Louis Brownlow, was a former chairman of the District commissioners, a Democratic presidential adviser and author of "The Anatomy of the Anecdote."
She left The Post in 1940, citing fatigue and ill health. She later attributed her recovery to a conversion to Christian Science, and in 1945 she was well enough to join the reporting staff of the Star.
After the Star ended publication, Ms. Beale worked briefly for the Washington Times. She wrote an autobiography, "Power at Play: A Memoir of Parties, Politicians, and the Presidents in My Bedroom."
By Adam Bernstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Photo: Washington Life Magazine Oct 2005
Attribution: The Washington Post Company
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Ms. Beale was born into a prominent Washington family and wrote for the old Washington Star, once the city's dominant newspaper.From the Truman to the Reagan administrations, she attended an estimated 15,000 parties, chronicling what she called "the manners, customs and personalities of our times." At her peak in the mid-1960s, her column was reprinted in about 90 newspapers.
Former society columnist whose writing graced the pages of the Washington Star for 40 years. Beale covered the official dinners and receptions of eight US Presidents starting with Harry S. Truman. She died in Washington, DC on June 7, 2006.
Photo: Washington Life Magazine
Attribution: Washington Post
Photo: LifeinLegacy.com photo
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