Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during theGolden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her performance inRobert Siodmak'sfilm noirThe Killers.
During the 1950s, Gardner established herself as a leading lady and one of the era's top stars with films likeShow Boat andPandora and the Flying Dutchman both in 1951. Gardner went on to star in a series of action adventures throughout the 1950s, includingThe Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952),Mogambo (1953), andThe Barefoot Contessa (1954). At the end of the decade she starred opposite Gregory Peck and Fred Astaire inOn the Beach (1959).
Ava Lavinia Gardner was born on December 24, 1922, inGrabtown, North Carolina,[3] the youngest of seven children. When Gardner was born, by community standards, they were “better than well-to-do” with her father having the deed to their tobacco and cotton farm, and owning a sawmill and a country store.[4] She was ofEnglish andScots Irish ancestry.[5][6][7]
She was raised in her mother's Baptist faith. During theDepression, while Gardner was still young, the family lost their property. Gardner's mother received an offer to work as a cook and housekeeper at a dormitory for teachers at the nearby Brogden School that included board for the family. Gardner's fathersharecropped tobacco[8] and supplemented the dwindling work with odd jobs at sawmills.[8] In 1931, the teachers' school closed, forcing the family to finally give up on their property dreams and move toNewport News, Virginia, where Gardner's mother found work managing a boarding house for the city's many shipworkers.[8]
While in Newport News, Gardner's father became ill and died from bronchitis in 1938. Gardner was 15 years old. After her father's death, the family moved to Rock Ridge nearWilson, North Carolina. Gardner's mother ran another boarding house for teachers and Gardner attended high school in Rock Ridge. She graduated in 1939. The family was not well off and to the ridicule of her classmates, she had to wearhand-me-down clothes to school.[4] She then attended secretarial classes atAtlantic Christian College in Wilson for about a year.[9]
Both Gardner and a close friend of hers, Alberta Cooney, recalled that she had a preference for being barefoot.[10][11]
Gardner in a publicity photo forThe Killers (1946)Gardner in a 1950s publicity photoGardner withDirk Bogarde inThe Angel Wore Red (1960)
Gardner was visiting her sister in New York City in the summer of 1940 when her brother-in-law, a professional photographer, offered to take her portrait as a gift for her mother.[12][13] He was so pleased with the results that he displayed the finished product in the front window of his photography studio onFifth Avenue.[9]
Barnard Duhan, a legal clerk atLoews Theatres, spotted Gardner's portrait in her brother-in-law's studio. At the time, Duhan often posed as aMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) talent scout to meet girls, using the fact that MGM was a subsidiary of Loews. Duhan entered Gardner's brother-in-law's studio and tried to get her number, but he was rebuffed by the receptionist. Duhan made the comment: "somebody should send her info to MGM." Her brother-in-law did so shortly after Gardner, who at the time was a student at Atlantic Christian College, traveled to New York.
She was interviewed at MGM's New York office by Al Altman, head of MGM's New York talent department. With cameras rolling, he directed the 18-year-old to walk toward the camera, turn and walk away, then rearrange some flowers in a vase. He did not attempt to record her voice because her strong Southern accent made understanding her difficult for him.Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, however, purportedly sent a telegram to Altman: "She can't sing. She can't act. She can't talk. She's terrific!"[9] She was offered a standard contract by the studio and left school for Hollywood in 1941, with her sister accompanying her. MGM's first order of business was to provide her with a speech coach because herCarolina drawl was nearly incomprehensible to them,[14] andHarriet Lee as her singing teacher.[15]
Her first appearance in a feature film was as a walk-on in theNorma Shearer vehicleWe Were Dancing (1942). Fifteen bit parts later, she received her first screen billing inGhosts on the Loose (1943), and she is featured by name on the theatrical poster.[16] After five years of bit parts, mostly at MGM and many of them uncredited, Gardner came to prominence in theMark Hellinger productionThe Killers (1946), playing thefemme fatale Kitty Collins. Although she had good reviews, she kept a fragile self-image. “Ava wouldn't even go eat in the commissary because she was so scared to walk in and seeLana Turner andGreer Garson,” says actressArlene Dahl.[4] The next twelve years beganThe Hucksters (1947) and culminated withOn the Beach, the Oscar nomination forMogambo being the high point. Other films includedOne Touch of Venus (1948),Show Boat (1951),The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), andThe Sun Also Rises. Off-camera Gardner was witty and pithy, as in her assessment of directorJohn Ford, who directedMogambo ("The meanest man on earth. Thoroughly evil. Adored him!")[17]
InThe Barefoot Contessa, she played the role of doomed beauty Maria Vargas, a fiercely independent woman who goes from Spanish dancer to international movie star with the help of a Hollywood director played byHumphrey Bogart, with tragic consequences. Gardner's decision to accept the role was influenced by her own lifelong habit of going barefoot.[18] Gardner played the role ofGuinevere inKnights of the Round Table (1953), with actorRobert Taylor asSir Lancelot. Indicative of her sophistication, she portrayed a duchess, a baroness, and other women of noble lineage in her films of the 1950s.
She next appeared again withBurt Lancaster, her co-star fromThe Killers, this time withKirk Douglas andFredric March, inSeven Days in May (1964), a thriller about an attempted military takeover of the US government. Gardner played a former love interest of Lancaster's who could have been instrumental in Douglas preventing a coup against the President of the United States.
He [Huston] had more faith in me than I did myself. Now I'm glad I listened, for it is a challenging role and a very demanding one. I start out as a young wife, and age through various periods, forcing me to adjust psychologically to each age. It is a complete departure for me, and most intriguing. In this role, I must create a character, not just play one.[19]
Two years later, in 1966, Gardner briefly sought the role of Mrs. Robinson inMike Nichols'The Graduate (1967). She reportedly called Nichols and said "I want to see you! I want to talk about thisGraduate thing!" Nichols never seriously considered her for the part, preferring to cast a younger woman (Anne Bancroft was 35, while Gardner was 44), but he did visit her hotel, where he later said "she sat at a little French desk with a telephone, she went through every movie star cliché. She said, 'All right, let's talk about your movie. First of all, I strip for nobody.'"[20] Gardner moved to London in 1966, undergoing an elective hysterectomy to allay her worries of contracting the uterine cancer that had claimed the life of her mother. Two years later, she appeared inMayerling, in which she played the supporting role of AustrianEmpress Elisabeth of Austria, withJames Mason as EmperorFranz Joseph I.
Her last appearance was in 1986 in the television filmMaggie.[1] Gardner authored a book about her life titledAva: My Story published byRandom House Publishing Group in 1990.[21]
Soon after Gardner arrived in Los Angeles, she met fellow MGM contract playerMickey Rooney; they married on January 10, 1942. The ceremony was held in the remote town ofBallard, California, because MGM studio headLouis B. Mayer was worried that fans would desert Rooney'sAndy Hardy movie series if it became known that their star was married. Gardner divorced Rooney in 1943, citing mental cruelty,[22] privately blaming his gambling and womanizing. She did not ruin his on-screen image as the clean-cut, judge's son Andy Hardy that the public adored.[23][24]
Gardner's second marriage was equally brief, to jazz musician and bandleaderArtie Shaw, from 1945 to 1946. Shaw previously had been married toLana Turner. Gardner's third was to singer and actorFrank Sinatra from 1951 to 1957. She later said in her autobiography that he was the love of her life. Sinatra left his wife Nancy for Gardner, and their marriage made headlines.[25]
Sinatra was criticized by gossip columnistsHedda Hopper andLouella Parsons, the Hollywood establishment, the Catholic Church, and by his fans for leaving his wife. Gardner used her considerable influence, particularly withHarry Cohn, to get Sinatra cast in hisOscar-winning role inFrom Here to Eternity (1953). This role and the award revitalized both Sinatra's acting and singing careers.[26]
The Gardner–Sinatra marriage was tumultuous. During their marriage, Gardner became pregnant twice, but aborted both pregnancies. "MGM had all sorts of penalty clauses about their stars having babies", according to her autobiography, which was published eight months after her death.[27] Gardner filed for divorce in 1954,[28] and the divorce was finalized in 1957.[29]Following their divorce, Gardner and Sinatra remained good friends for the rest of her life.[30]
Gardner became a friend and protegé of businessman and aviatorHoward Hughes in the early to mid-1940s, and the relationship lasted into the 1950s. Gardner stated in her autobiography,Ava: My Story, that she was never in love with Hughes, but he was in and out of her life for about 20 years. Hughes' trust in Gardner was what kept their relationship alive. She described him as "painfully shy, completely enigmatic, and more eccentric...than anyone [she] had ever met".[30]
Gardner lived her last 35 years outside of the United States. She first visited Spain in 1950, and she moved toMadrid in 1955, living there until 1966, when she moved to London.[33][34] She lived at 34 Ennismore Gardens inWestminster in London, her final residence when she died.[35]
Gardner had a close friendship withGregory Peck, with whom she starred in three films, the first one beingThe Great Sinner (1949).[36] Their friendship lasted the rest of Gardner's life, and, upon her death in 1990, Peck took in both her housekeeper and her dog.[37]
Gardner at Kastrup Airport CPH in Copenhagen (1955)
Although Gardner was raisedBaptist, at the end of her life she said she had no religion.[38][39][40] Christianity never played a positive role in her life, according to biographers and Gardner, in her autobiographyAva: My Story. Her friend Zoe Sallis, who met her on the set ofThe Bible: In the Beginning... when Gardner was living withJohn Huston in Puerto Vallarta, said Gardner always seemed unconcerned about religion.[40] When Sallis asked her about religion once, Gardner replied, "It's not anything Christian".[40][better source needed]
Another factor that contributed to Gardner's outlook was the death of her father during her youth. She said, "Nobody wanted to know Daddy when he was dying. He was so alone. He was scared. I could see the fear in his eyes when he was smiling. I went to see the preacher, the guy who'd baptized me. I begged him to come and visit Daddy, just to talk to him, you know? Give him a blessing or something. But he never did. I had no time for religion after that."[40][better source needed]
Concerning politics, Gardner was a lifelongDemocrat, and she supportedAdlai Stevenson II in the1952 United States presidential election.[41][42] Gardner was a staunch supporter of civil rights for African Americans throughout her life. As a child growing up in North Carolina, she would often sit with African American children in segregated parts of movie theaters. Her personal assistant, Rene Jordan, was African American, and Gardner would often take her to clubs that were for whites only. She supportedHenry A. Wallace of theProgressive Party, whose campaign in 1948 for the presidential election sought racial equality and desegregation.[43]
She became a member of theNAACP in August 1968.[44]
In 1986, Gardner suffered a stroke.[45][46] Although she could afford her medical expenses,Frank Sinatra wanted to pay for her visit to a specialist in the United States, and she allowed him to make the arrangements for a medically staffed private plane. She died at age 67 ofbronchopneumonia on January 25, 1990 inWestminster, London, England.[35][47][48]
Gardner was buried on January 29 in Sunset Memorial Park inSmithfield, North Carolina, next to her siblings and their parents, Jonas and Molly Gardner.[49] TheAva Gardner Museum, incorporated in 1996, is located nearby.[50]
In the last years of her life, Gardner asked Peter Evans to ghostwrite her autobiography, stating: "I either write the book or sell the jewels." Despite meeting with Evans frequently, and approving of most of his copy, Gardner eventually learned that Evans, along with the BBC, had once been sued by her ex-husband Frank Sinatra. Gardner and Evans's friendship subsequently cooled, and Evans left the project. Evans' notes and sections of his draft of Gardner's autobiography, which he based on their taped conversations, were published in his bookAva Gardner: The Secret Conversations after Evans' death in 2012.[52]
The 2018 Spanish television seriesArde Madrid is a comedy-drama with thriller elements based on elements of Ava Gardner's life in mid-20th century Spain. Gardner is portrayed byDebi Mazar.[60]
^abcEncyclopedia of World Biography Vol. 25 (2005) Gale, Detroit
^Gardner, Ava (1992).Ava: My Story (Large print ed.). F. A. Thorpe (Publishing) Ltd. p. 9.ISBN0708986315.The only thing I didn't care for about school was having to force my feet into those hated, confining things called shoes. In those days, thousands of children throughout the South ran around barefoot for half a year or more. Shoes were expensive. Besides, I've always loved the feel of baked earth, green grass, soft mud, and stream water under my feet. It was a special sort of freedom, and to this day I try and recapture it every chance I get.
^Server, Lee (April 2006).Ava Gardner: "Love Is Nothing".St. Martin's Press. p. 31.ISBN0312312091. [Quoting Alberta Cooney] "Soon as [Ava] came to our house she was always barefoot. In the summertime as soon as she got off the bus at my house she'd take off her shoes and put them in the mailbox. Not me; I never went barefoot, but she did. Our street was not paved at that time and she just loved it, the dirt and the grass in her feet. [...] And every time she took her shoes and stuck them in the mailbox till she had to go home."
^Cannon, Doris Rollins (2001).Grabtown Girl: Ava Gardner's North Carolina Childhood and Her Enduring Ties to Home. Asheboro, NC: Down Home Press.ISBN1-878086-89-8.
^Server, Lee (April 2006).Ava Gardner: "Love Is Nothing".St. Martin's Press. pp. 270, 279.ISBN0312312091. "Ava said she thought the picture was shooting in Rome, and the character was barefoot, and go make the deal." (p. 270) [...] "[T]here were numerous parallels between Ava Gardner and the invented contessa - her humble beginnings, her independence, her tempestuous affairs, her long-running friendship with Howard Hughes, not to mention the shared fondness for bare feet." (p. 279)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
