The Estate of LeGrand Mellon

10/18/2024 General

NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle is honored to auction property from the Estate of LeGrand Mellon in select auctions this season. Born in Manhattan on All Saints' Day 1937, LeGrand received her self-described "first lucky break" early on when she was adopted by Harold Council and Eloise LeGrand of Greenville, MS. Their Delta farm boasted "the richest soil west of the River Nile," as she would fondly say. Grateful for her stable upbringing during challenging financial times, LeGrand cherished her adoptive parents and spent much of her childhood with the family's horses, recalling those joyful memories throughout her life.

LeGrand’s “second lucky break” came when she met her first husband, William Larimer Mellon, III, known as Billy, at the Greenville Air Force Base. Heir to his family’s banking and oil fortune, Billy was the son of philanthropists Dr. William Larimer Mellon, Jr. and Gwendolyn Grant Mellon, founders of Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Deschappelles, Haiti. Sharing their passion for Haiti, LeGrand and Billy traveled there frequently, LeGrand playing a key role in launching micro-businesses that created vital employment opportunities in the region. Sadly, Billy died in 1963 at the age of 30, but LeGrand's work with his parents and Haiti continued.

After Billy's death, LeGrand moved from the home they shared on Cape Cod to New York, where she pursued a career in acting and singing. She appeared in television shows like The Wild Wild West and The Kraft Summer Music Hall and released songs such as Move It on Over and Baby Please Don't Go before stepping back from performing.

LeGrand received her "third lucky break" in 1965 when she met Herb Sargent, whom she married in 1991. A renowned comedy writer and producer on such shows as The Tonight Show and SNL, Herb introduced LeGrand to a glamorous lifestyle filled with celebrities, alongside work with the Democratic Party and the Jimmy Carter campaign. During these years LeGrand continued her commitment to Haiti, and following Herb’s death in 2005, she dedicated the rest of her life to Hôpital Albert Schweitzer and the people of Haiti.

Property from the Estate of LeGrand Mellon is sold to benefit the Grant Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports Hôpital Albert Schweitzer. For information on Hôpital Albert Schweitzer, visit hashaiti.org

Above (L-R): Bernard Buffet. Auction Nov 20 | David Hockney. Auction Oct 31 | Edmond Léon Cortès. Auction Nov 20.