Heir to a banking fortune, William (Billy) Woodward Jr. married the infamous Ann “Eden” Crowell, a Manhattan showgirl. After a tumultuous marriage, Ann fatally shot Billy in 1955 in their Long Island mansion, in what Life Magazine called “the shooting of the century.”
Following Billy’s death, both of Ann’s sons William “Woody” and Jimmy, joined René and his brother at Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland. The widowed Ann had an on-again, off-again relationship with René’s father.
She committed suicide on learning of Truman Capote’s then soon-to-be-released book, Answered Prayers, in which she was portrayed as a cold-blooded killer. Later, both her sons also died at their own hands.
René will reference Dominick Dunne’s book and mini-series The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. The infamous story regained fame through 2024s TV series Feud: Capote vs the Swans. Audio/visual clips from these shows will be used to illustrate the presentation, and from personal experience René will share the programs’ inaccuracies.
René will reveal details about Ann and the infamous shooting and will include many personal anecdotes.
