Marjorie Winifred Kendall Bird
- Bobby Kelley
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
(September 3, 1898 - July 22, 1961)
Marjorie “Winnie” Bird, a glamorous socialite, was born in humble circumstances in a shack along the railroad tracks of Missouri, where her father worked for the railroad. Determined to escape that life, she packed a suitcase and boarded a train to New York in 1917.
Her beauty and striking presence soon caught the attention of famed impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, who cast her in one of his shows. Among those captivated by her onstage was Wallis Bird, who sent her a dozen red roses after seeing her perform. Winnie, unimpressed by his shorter stature, initially dismissed his advances. Her true ambition was to make a name for herself in the world of cinema.
In time, however, Winnie fell for Bird, and the two married. They settled at Farnsworth, their lavish Oyster Bay estate, where their extravagant parties became legendary. True to his promise, Wallis created professional-quality films of their celebrations, including footage of circus horses performing on the front lawn and glamorous poolside gatherings at their massive 60-foot swimming pool. Though far from Hollywood, Winnie became the radiant star of their homemade films, dressed in couture gowns and sparkling jewels.
Wallis was equally passionate about his stable of forty horses and his spectacular twenty-car garage, which housed treasures like Hispano-Suizas, custom Rolls-Royces, Bugattis, Stutz Bearcats, Bentleys, and an Alfa Romeo. Winnie immersed herself in a life of fashion, acquiring exquisite Parisian gowns and wearing diamonds even while swimming. She quickly became a fixture on best-dressed lists and was frequently featured in Vogue magazine.
Her flair for drama became well known. At one tea party, she arrived dressed entirely in bubblegum pink, including matching gloves, hat, shoes, and even dyed hair. The Birds meticulously filmed their social world, with Wallis hosting weekly screenings in their ballroom. Decades later, rusting projectors and vandalized reels of film would scatter across the abandoned estate, preserving haunting glimpses of the Gold Coast’s heyday: Winnie dancing in flapper dresses, posing elegantly with champagne, or riding horseback with Wallis. One reel even depicted Bird proudly showing off his luxury cars or preparing to pilot his private plane at Roosevelt Field—the same plane that would seal his fate.
On June 5, 1940, while flying to the Catskills, Wallis’s plane was struck by lightning during a violent storm and crashed near the Hudson River. His body was found the next day. Heartbroken, Winnie ordered the wreckage collected and stored in Farnsworth’s basement.
The tragedy shattered her. She spent years in Doctors Hospital in New York, largely abandoning the Oyster Bay estate. Despite her fragile mental state, she retained control of her vast fortune and maintained the freedom to come and go. Over time, she adopted a persona reminiscent of Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard, lounging in fur-trimmed negligees by day and venturing out by night, dripping in jewels, to glamorous venues like the Stork Club and El Morocco.
During a trip to Paris, she met Nicolas Sturdza, a self-proclaimed prince, designer, and polyglot who reminded her of her late husband. He charmed her with dramatic tales of escaping Communist Romania, surviving in a mountain cave, and losing his parents to political persecution. Deeply moved, Winnie gave him $50,000 to “save his family.” She gushed to the press, “I’m in love with a prince. He makes me feel twenty again.” He was sixteen years younger, and despite friends’ warnings, she defended him fiercely, insisting he was no opportunist. They became engaged, and Winnie began restoring Farnsworth, funding lavish travels across Europe, buying treasures for the home, and covering every expense. Sturdza never introduced her to royalty as promised, and rumors swirled of his involvement with young men. As Winnie began tiring of him, he conspired with his associate, disgraced psychiatrist Dr. Gerard Savoy. Together, they exerted complete control over her, allegedly forcing her to take up to one hundred pills a day. In this drugged state, she was coerced into extravagant shopping trips, purchasing tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of jewels, which were locked away in hotel vaults.
Even in her haze, Winnie sensed danger. She cabled her attorney in New York, pleading for help and expressing fear for her life, but her cries were ignored. In July 1961, her lawyer received a cable announcing her sudden death at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Lausanne. Dr. Savoy listed the cause as a cerebral hemorrhage, but suspicions ran high. Her attorney alerted local authorities, and an autopsy revealed she had been poisoned with a lethal dose of morphine. The sensational murder trial captivated audiences across Europe and America. Sturdza, exposed as a fraud who was never a prince, and Savoy, stripped of his medical license, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Much of Winnie’s legendary jewelry collection vanished without a trace.
Headlines
The Car's From The Auction
Winifred Bird’s dramatic life, marked by dazzling glamour, tragedy, and betrayal, ended far from the glittering world she once ruled. She was laid to rest in the Bird Mausoleum, entombed beside the man who had once made her his star.
The fate of Farnsworth
"Farnsworth" remained unoccupied for almost two decades until Mrs. Bird's murder on July 22, 1961
On May 12, 1962, an auction attended by an estimated 3,000 curious visitors descended on the estate for a chance to bid on the Birds' possessions. Most sought-after were Mr. Bird's automobiles, which had sat in the garage for 21 years.
The buildings suffered abuse from vandals and the elements. The main house was demolished in 1966, Superintendent's house in 2008, servant quarters, greenhouses and power house have also been demolished.
In the days before the demolition author Monica Randall explored the ruins finding "Miles of black and white 35 millimeter movie film..... You could hold strips of film up to the light and make out the images that captured life on the Gold Coast during its heyday."
The fate of farnsworth is from Half Pudding Half Sauce
If you would like to leave Winnie a flower, you can do so on her find a grave memorial Here.
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