Elizabeth Debbie Eden (born August 19, 1946 – September 29, 1987) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

transgender woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

whose husband,

John Wojtowicz John Stanley Joseph Wojtowicz (, ; March 9, 1945January 2, 2006) was an American bank robber whose story inspired the film ''Dog Day Afternoon''. Early life Wojtowicz was the son of a Polish father and an Italian-American mother, Terry Basso. ...

, attempted a bank robbery, allegedly to pay for her

gender-affirming surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associated ...

. The incident was adapted into the crime drama film ''

Dog Day Afternoon ''Dog Day Afternoon'' is a 1975 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick and Charles Durning. The screenplay ...

'' (

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

), directed by

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

. The character Leon Shermer, played by

Chris Sarandon Christopher Sarandon (; born July 24, 1942) is an American actor. He is well known for playing Jerry Dandrige in '' Fright Night'' (1985), Prince Humperdinck in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Detective Mike Norris in '' Child's Play'' (1988), a ...

, is loosely based on Eden.

Biography

Early life

Eden was born on August 19, 1946, in

Ozone Park, Queens Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens, New York (state), New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone ...

. She was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Relationship with Wojtowicz

In 1971, she and Wojtowicz met at the

Feast of San Gennaro The Feast of San Gennaro (in Italian language, Italian: ''Festa di San Gennaro''), also known as San Gennaro Festival, is a Naples, Neapolitan and Italian-American patronal festival dedicated to Saint Januarius, patron saint of Naples and Little ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The two, Elizabeth in a bridal gown and John in military attire, wed in a public ceremony that year. The wedding received widespread attention in local media, even being featured on a segment of

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

's news show, ''

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featu ...

''. Following a series of suicide attempts, which Wojtowicz attributed to Eden's despondency over her inability to afford gender-reassignment surgery, Eden was admitted to a

psychiatric institution A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with c ...

. The following year, on August 22, 1972, Wojtowicz attempted to rob a Chase Manhattan bank branch in

Gravesend, Brooklyn Gravesend is a neighborhood in the south-central section of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn, on the southwestern edge of Long Island in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is bounded ...

. He claimed that he attempted the robbery in order to obtain funds so that Eden could have surgery. However, the claim was disputed by some, with Arthur Bell, a respected ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' columnist and investigative journalist who knew Wojtowicz, stating that the robbery was due to Wojtowicz's debts to the

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

. Wojtowicz had also previously expressed opposition to Eden's desire to undergo surgery. Eden was not aware of the plan. Wojtowicz was sentenced to 20 years, but released in 1978. Wojtowicz did two more stretches in prison for parole violations in 1984 and 1986–87. He said he was released in April 1987, and Eden visited him in New York about once a month. The film ''Dog Day Afternoon'' shows Sonny (the Wojtowicz character) making out a will to give Leon (Eden's character) his life insurance so that even if he were killed, "Leon" could pay for the operation. The real-life Wojtowicz was paid $7500, plus 1% of the film's net profits, for the rights to his story, from which he gave Eden enough money to pay for the surgery.

Later life

Following her gender-affirming surgery, Eden legally married someone else, then divorced. Eden died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

-related

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on September 29, 1987, aged 41, at

Genesee Hospital Genesee Hospital was a hospital in Rochester, New York, United States, that was open from September 19, 1889, to May 21, 2001. Closure In April 2001, Via Health, the company that owned the hospital, announced that the hospital would close within ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

Legacy

Her personal papers and photographs were donated posthumously to the National Archive of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender History at the

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (formerly Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center), commonly called The Center, is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) population of New Yo ...

in New York, on June 14, 1990. After her death, she was adapted as a character in the ''

Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's executive p ...

'' episode "Love," telling the story of her romance with Wojtowicz and the robbery that followed it. She was portrayed by trans actress

Trace Lysette Trace Lysette (born 2 October 1981) is an American actress whose most notable roles include Shea in the television series '' Transparent'' (2014–2019) and Tracey in the feature film '' Hustlers'' (2019). As a trans actress, she also featured in ...

References

External links

Liz Eden (Ernest Aron) Papers
via LGBT Community Center New York * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eden, Elizabeth 1946 births 1987 deaths AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) LGBTQ people from New York (state) American transgender women People from Ozone Park, Queens Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) 20th-century American LGBTQ people Jews from New York (state) 20th-century American Jews