Vreeland, Diana

John Edward Heys was born in New Jersey on April 24, 1944. He moved to New York in 1967. Heys is an actor/performer who performed with numerous performance groups including the Angels of Light, the Cockettes, and Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company. Heys knew and worked with numerous artists including Charles Ludlam, Ethyl Eichelberger, Jackie Curtis, Cookie Mueller, Bill Vehr, Tomata du Plenty, and Gary Indiana

Heys began his career as an usher then stage manager and designer for Ethyl Eichelberger. He was a member of the New York based Angels of Light and the Cockettes and performed in several of the Palm Casino Revues in the 1970s. A onetime lover of Charles Ludlam, Heys acted in several Ridiculous Theatrical Company productions. He starred as Moderna 83 in Le Bourgeois Avant-Garde (1982), Aristotle Plato Socrates Odysseus in Galas (1983), and as Schahabarim in Salammbo (1985).

In the 1980s Heys acted in several shows with Cookie Mueller including A Car Story and Two Chin People . He acted in Gary Indiana's The Roman Polanski Story in 1981 and then in Indiana's ca. 1984 Roman a Clef . In 1987 he was one of the celebrated ensemble members for Excerpts from Champagne & Glamour, Glory, & Gold by Jackie Curtis . Heys was also a favorite model of photographers including Peter Hujar.

Heys performed several one-man shows beginning with an autobiographical monologue in 1980s The Childhood Show . In 1982 he presented La Mamounia (Crime Doesn't Pay Interest), an autobiographical show written and performed at the Open Gate Theatre at Bellevue Hospital. In 1983 he performed La Mamounia in Berlin. He presented his Moroccan Bride based on his trips to Morocco and Spain in New York in the 1980s and in Berlin in 1997. His celebrated portrayal of Diana Vreeland was performed in New York at La Mama in the early 1990s, at Ellen Stewart's 30th Anniversary celebration at La Mama in 1992, and in Berlin in 1997 as The Empress V at Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbewegung . He also created A Diana Vreeland Christmas for La Mama in 1991. In 1997 he directed Alba Clemente in Rene Ricard's translation of Jean Cocteau's A Human Voice . and his short documentary film co-created with Matthias Küntzel concerning Charlotte von Mahlsdorf premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Heys currently lives in Berlin.

From the guide to the John Edward Heys papers, circa 1962-2001, 1969-2000, (The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.)

Diana Vreeland, renowned editor-in-chief of Vogue, and fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar, was a dominant force in the fashion industry of the mid-twentieth century. She was born Diana Dalziel in Paris in 1903, the daughter of British stockbroker Frederick Young Dalziel and Emily Key Hoffman, an American. In 1924, she married Thomas Reed Vreeland (1899-1906), a banker and international financier. The Vreeland marriage produced two sons, Thomas Reed, Jr. and Frederick Dalziel.

Although born into a wealthy and socially prominent family, Vreeland worked for most of her life. From the late 1920s to the mid-1930s, she ran a small lingerie business in London. After the Vreelands returned to the United States, she began writing a freelance column "Why don't you?" for Harper's Bazaar. In 1937, Vreeland was hired for the as fashion editor and she remained at Harper's Bazaar for twenty-five years. She resigned in March of 1962, disappointed that she was not asked to succeed Carmel Snow as editor-in-chief.

Vreeland's next career move was to Vogue, the leading rival of Harper's Bazaar. In an article in the New York Times announcing Vreeland's appointment as associate editor, Carrie Donovan wrote, "Mrs. Vreeland is the most respected editor in the fashion business today. Her appearance at a fashion show is a the highest accolade a designer can hope for. ... Along with the late Carmel Snow, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, Mrs. Vreeland is credited with shaping the image of the magazine and, in turn, the looks of thousands of women." (New York Times, March 28, 1962).

At Vogue, she quickly rose to the position of editor-in-chief. She put her own personal stamp on the magazine and continued to make headlines in the fashion and business world. However, her personal style and extravagant spending conflicted with the priorities of the magazine's publisher. She was replaced as editor-in-chief in 1971, retaining the position of consultant.

During the final stage in her very long career, Vreeland revived the dormant Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Under her guidance and patronage, the Costume Institute would launch several spectacular exhibits that attracted the social elite and received high profile publicity. Among her Costume Institute triumphs were "The World of Balenciaga" in 1972 and "Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design" in 1974.

During the 1980s, Vreeland published two books, Allure (co-authored with Christopher Hemphill) and her autobiography, D.V..

Vreeland died in 1989, in New York City after a long period of illness.

From the guide to the Diana Vreeland papers, 1899-2000, 1930-1989, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)