Linda Lee Thomas

Linda Lee Thomas (November 17, 1883 – May 20, 1954) was an American socialite and the wife of musical theatre composer Cole Porter.

Lady in Blue, painted by Emil Fuchs in 1906

Linda Lee Thomas, passport photo from 1919

First marriage

She was born Linda Belle Lee to the prominent Lee family of Virginia. Her father was Louisville banker William Paca Lee and her mother Lily Lee (née Hill). Friends introduced her to Edward Russell Thomas, a son of Union Army general Samuel Thomas and owner of the New York Morning Telegraph (and who later became the first American to kill someone in a car accident). They married on June 29, 1901, at Newport, Rhode Island. She was 17. They lived a life of luxury, with houses in Palm Beach, Manhattan, and Newport. It was said that her favorite "department store" was Van Cleef & Arpels. They divorced on October 26, 1912,[1] reportedly due to his abuse.

Marriage to Porter

Thomas and Cole Porter met on January 30, 1918, at the wedding of Henry Potter Russell to heiress Ethel Borden Harriman, daughter of railroad and investment banking tycoon J. Borden Harriman and his wife, née Florence "Daisy" Hurst, at the Hôtel Ritz Paris.

Linda and Cole were married on December 18, 1919, in the city hall of the 18ème arrondissement of Paris.[2]

From 1930-39, the Porters lived at 13 rue Monsieur, a house next door to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and with a garden adjoining the future residence of Nancy Mitford. They were married 34 years, and although they had no children born of their marriage, Linda conceived and miscarried.[3] [4]

Cole Porter, Linda Lee Thomas, Bernard Berenson, and Howard Sturges in gondola, 1923

Linda died from emphysema in 1954. aged 70, in the couple's apartment in the Waldorf Towers. She left an estate of over $1.5 million (over $14.3 million today) in which Cole inherited a lifetime interest. Her jewelry collection included pieces by Paul Flato.[5] She was buried in the Porter family plot at Mount Hope Cemetery in Peru, Indiana.

Portrayals

Thomas is portrayed by Alexis Smith in the 1946 film Night and Day and by Ashley Judd in the 2004 film De-Lovely. A one-woman show about her life with Porter, titled Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter, starring jazz vocalist Stevie Holland, ran Off-Broadway at the York Theatre in 2013.

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References

E. R, THOMAS, NOTED SPORTSMAN, DIES, The New York Times (July 7, 1926)
Mcbrien, William (1998). Cole Porter. New York: Knopf. p. 73. ISBN 0-394-58235-7.
"Cole Porter". Masterworks Broadway. Retrieved December 20, 2018. Her only pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.
Peck, Ellen M. "Cole Porter's Fabulous Film Lives". In Fryer, Paul (ed.). The Composer on Screen: Essays on Classical Music Biopics. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-7864-9965-6. Sources close to Linda and Cole" [confirmed] "that she did indeed miscarry a child and they chose to keep it private.
"AN UNUSUAL PAIR OF EMERALD AND DIAMOND CLIP-BROOCHES, PAUL FLATO". Christies.

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[ertobit-1] E. R, THOMAS, NOTED SPORTSMAN, DIES, The New York Times (July 7, 1926)

[2] Mcbrien, William (1998). Cole Porter. New York: Knopf. p. 73. ISBN 0-394-58235-7.

[masterworks-3] "Cole Porter". Masterworks Broadway. Retrieved December 20, 2018. Her only pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.

[screen-4] Peck, Ellen M. "Cole Porter's Fabulous Film Lives". In Fryer, Paul (ed.). The Composer on Screen: Essays on Classical Music Biopics. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-7864-9965-6. Sources close to Linda and Cole" [confirmed] "that she did indeed miscarry a child and they chose to keep it private.

[5] "AN UNUSUAL PAIR OF EMERALD AND DIAMOND CLIP-BROOCHES, PAUL FLATO". Christies.