Gloria Grahame | |
|---|---|
 Grahame in the 1940s | |
| Born | Gloria Penelope Hallward[1] (1923-11-28)November 28, 1923 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 5, 1981(1981-10-05) (aged 57) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1942–1981 |
| Known for | Oklahoma! It's a Wonderful Life The Bad and the Beautiful Crossfire |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (1952) Hollywood Walk of Fame (1960) |
Gloria Grahame (bornGloria Penelope Hallward; November 28, 1923 – October 5, 1981) was an American actress. She began her acting career in theater, and in 1944 made her first film forMGM.[2] Many biographies indicate she was born Gloria Grahame Hallward, but she adopted the surname Grahame, her mother's acting name, as her professional name.[3]
Despite a featured role inIt's a Wonderful Life (1946), MGM did not believe she had the potential for major success and sold hercontract toRKO. Often cast infilm noir projects, Grahame was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress forCrossfire (1947), and later won the award for her work inThe Bad and the Beautiful (1952). After starring oppositeHumphrey Bogart inIn a Lonely Place (1950), she achieved her highest profile withSudden Fear (1952),The Big Heat (1953),Human Desire (1954), andOklahoma! (1955), but her film career began to wane soon afterwards. She returned to work on the stage, but continued to appear in films and television productions, usually in supporting roles.[4]
She was diagnosed withbreast cancer in 1974. It went into remission less than a year later and Grahame returned to work. The cancer returned in 1980, but she continued working and traveled to the United Kingdom to appear in a play. By 1981, her health had declined rapidly, and at her family's insistence, she returned to New York City on October 5, 1981, dying the same day atSt. Vincent's Hospital at the age of 57.
Grahame was born in Los Angeles, the younger child of Michael and Jean Hallward.[5] She was raised aMethodist.[2] Her English father, Reginald Michael Bloxam Hallward (later known as Michael Hallward) was anarchitect and author; her Scottish mother, Jean McDougall, who used the stage name Jean Grahame, was a stage actress and acting teacher.[6] Grahame's only sibling, her elder sister Joy Hallward, was an actress who marriedJohn Mitchum (younger brother of actorRobert Mitchum). During Gloria's childhood and adolescence, her mother taught her acting. Grahame attendedHollywood High School before dropping out to pursue acting.[3]
An early stage appearance was in the long-running farceGood Night, Ladies at Chicago'sBlackstone Theatre, starringBuddy Ebsen, which opened on April 12, 1942.[7]
Grahame made herBroadway debut on December 6, 1943, at theRoyale Theatre as Florrie inNunnally Johnson'sThe World's Full of Girls, which was adapted fromThomas Bell's 1943 novelTill I Come Back to You.[8] She was signed to a contract withMGM Studios under her professional name afterLouis B. Mayer saw her performance.[citation needed] Another Broadway role was in April-May 1944'sHighland Fling.[9] She made her film debut inBlonde Fever (1944) and then achieved one of her most widely praised roles as the vixenish Violet Bick, saved from disgrace byGeorge Bailey inIt's a Wonderful Life (1946). MGM felt unable to develop her potential as a star, and her contract was sold toRKO Studios in 1947.[4]
Grahame was often featured in film noir pictures as a tarnished beauty with an irresistible sexual allure. During this time, she made films for several Hollywood studios. She received anOscar nomination forBest Supporting Actress forCrossfire (1947).[10]
Grahame starred withHumphrey Bogart in the filmIn a Lonely Place (1950) forColumbia Pictures, a performance for which she gained praise. Though today it is considered among her finest performances, it was not a box-office hit, andHoward Hughes, owner of RKO, admitted that he never saw it. When she asked to be lent out for roles inBorn Yesterday (also 1950) andA Place in the Sun (1951), Hughes refused and instead made her perform a supporting role inMacao (1952).[11]
Despite appearing for only a little over nine minutes on screen, she won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress in MGM'sThe Bad and the Beautiful (also 1952);[12][13] she long held the record for the shortest performance on screen to win an acting Oscar untilBeatrice Straight won forNetwork (1976) with a five-minute performance.[11]
Grahame's other memorable roles included the scheming Irene Neves inSudden Fear (also 1952); mob moll Debby Marsh inFritz Lang'sThe Big Heat (1953) in which, in a horrifying off-screen scene, she is scarred by hot coffee thrown in her face byLee Marvin's character; and thefemme fatale Vicki Buckley in Fritz Lang'sHuman Desire (1954). Grahame appeared as wealthy seductress Harriet Lang inStanley Kramer'sNot as a Stranger (1955) starringOlivia de Havilland, Robert Mitchum, andFrank Sinatra. Grahame also did her own stunts as Angel the Elephant Girl inCecil B. DeMille'sThe Greatest Show on Earth, which won theOscar for best film of 1952.[14]
Grahame's career began to wane after her performance in the musical filmOklahoma! (1955). She, whom audiences were used to seeing as a film noir siren, was viewed by some critics to be miscast as an ignorant country lass in a wholesome musical, and the paralysis of her upper lip from plastic surgery altered her speech and appearance. Additionally, she was rumored to have been difficult on the set ofOklahoma!, upstaging some of the cast and alienating her co-stars.[15]
Grahame also guest-starred in television series, including the science-fiction seriesThe Outer Limits. In the 1964 episode of that series titled "The Guests", Grahame plays a forgotten film star living in the past. She also appears in an episode ofThe Fugitive ("The Homecoming", 1964) and an episode ofBurke's Law ("Who Killed The Rabbit's Husband", 1965). Grahame can be seen also in a 1970 episode ofMannix titled “Duet for Three” (season four, episode 13) and in small roles in the miniseriesRich Man, Poor Man andSeventh Avenue.[11]
The playThe Time of Your Life was revived on March 17, 1972, at theHuntington Hartford Theater in Los Angeles with Grahame,Henry Fonda,Richard Dreyfuss,Lewis J. Stadlen,Ron Thompson,Jane Alexander,Richard X. Slattery, andPepper Martin among the cast, andEdwin Sherin directing.[16]
Over time, Grahame became increasingly concerned with her physical appearance; she particularly felt her upper lip was too thin and had ridges that were too deep. She began stuffing cotton or tissues under it, which she felt gave her a sexier look. Several co-stars discovered this during kissing scenes.[17] In the mid-1940s, Grahame began undergoing small cosmetic procedures on her lips and face. According to her niece, Vicky Mitchum, Grahame's obsession with vanity led her to undergo more cosmetic procedures that rendered her upper lip immobile because of nerve damage. Mitchum said, "Over the years, she [Grahame] carved herself up, trying to make herself into an image of beauty she felt should exist but didn't. Others saw her as a beautiful person, but she never did, and crazy things spread from that."[18]
Grahame was married four times and had four children. Her first marriage was to actorStanley Clements in August 1945. They divorced in June 1948.[19]
The day after her divorce from Clements was final, Grahame married directorNicholas Ray. They had a son. After several separations and reconciliations, Grahame and Ray divorced in 1952.[20]
According toGlenn Ford's son Peter, Grahame had an affair with Ford during the filming ofHuman Desire in 1954.[21]
Grahame's third marriage was to writer and TV producerCy Howard. They married in August 1954 and had a daughter.[22][23] Grahame filed for divorce from Howard in May 1957, citing mental cruelty.[22] Their divorce was final as of November 1957.[23]
Grahame's fourth and final marriage was to actorAnthony "Tony" Ray, when he was 23 years old and she was 37.[24] He was the son of her second husband Nicholas Ray and his first wife Jean Evans, and was Grahame's former stepson. According to Nicholas Ray, he caught Grahame and a 13-year-old Tony in bed together, which effectively ended their marriage in 1950.[25][26] However, Grahame's former partner and biographer, Peter Turner, disputed this, saying the story of Tony being underage when Grahame began a sexual relationship with him is "fiction".[27] Grahame and Anthony Ray began dating in 1958 and married inTijuana,Mexico, in May 1960. The couple had two boys born during the marriage.[28]
News of the 1960 marriage to Tony was kept private until 1962, when it was written about in the tabloids. The ensuing scandal damaged Grahame's reputation and affected her career. After learning of her marriage to Anthony Ray, Grahame's third husband, Cy Howard, attempted to gain sole custody of the couple's daughter. Howard claimed Grahame was an unfit mother, and the two fought over custody of their daughter for years. The stress of the scandal, her waning career, and her custody battle with Howard took its toll on Grahame and she had a nervous breakdown. She later underwentelectroconvulsive therapy in 1964.[29]
Despite the scandal, Grahame's marriage to Anthony Ray was the only one of four to last beyond four years, ending a few days short of their 14th anniversary in May 1974.[29]
From 1979 to 1981, Grahame had a relationship with British actor Peter Turner. Turner authored a book about his time with Grahame calledFilm Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, which was later turned into amovie of the same name.
Grahame was diagnosed withbreast cancer in March 1974. She underwent radiation treatment, changed her diet, stopped smoking and drinking alcohol, and soughthomeopathic remedies andChristian Science treatment. In less than a year, the cancer went intoremission[30] but returned in 1980. Grahame fell ill while performing atThe Dukes inLancaster, England, in the fall of 1981.[31]
She contacted her former lover, actor Peter Turner, and asked him not to contact doctors or her family (which he did anyway). According to Turner's memoir,Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, Turner's local family physician told Grahame she had a cancerous tumor "the size of a football" in her abdomen. Breast cancer is not mentioned in the book.[32] Turner informed Grahame's children of her illness; they brought her back to the United States against her wishes and those of her doctor and Turner. She was immediately admitted toSt. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan on October 5, 1981, where she died a few hours later of stomach cancer andperitonitis at age 57.[33]
Grahame's remains were interred atOakwood Memorial Park Cemetery inChatsworth, Los Angeles.[34]
For her contributions to the motion-picture industry, Grahame had a star placed on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6522 Hollywood Boulevard on February 8, 1960.[35][36]
The movieFilm Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017), based on Peter Turner's account of the final years of Grahame's life, was released in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2017. The film was released in the United States on December 29, 2017. In the film, Grahame was portrayed byAnnette Bening.[32]
Grahame had kept an apartment at theManhattan Plaza residential complex, and its community room, where her portrait hangs, is dedicated to her.[4]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Blonde Fever | Sally Murfin | Alternative title:Autumn Fever |
| 1945 | Without Love | Flower girl | |
| 1946 | It's a Wonderful Life | Violet Bick | |
| 1947 | It Happened in Brooklyn | Nurse | |
| Crossfire | Ginny Tremaine | Nominated –Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| Song of the Thin Man | Fran Ledue Page | ||
| Merton of the Movies | Beulah Baxter | ||
| 1949 | A Woman's Secret | Susan Caldwell aka Estrellita | |
| Roughshod | Mary Wells | ||
| 1950 | In a Lonely Place | Laurel Gray | |
| 1952 | The Greatest Show on Earth | Angel | |
| Macao | Margie | ||
| Sudden Fear | Irene Neves | ||
| The Bad and the Beautiful | Rosemary Bartlow | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated –Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | |
| 1953 | The Glass Wall | Maggie Summers | |
| Man on a Tightrope | Zama Cernik | ||
| The Big Heat | Debby Marsh | ||
| Prisoners of the Casbah | Princess Nadja aka Yasmin | ||
| 1954 | The Good Die Young | Denise Blaine | |
| Human Desire | Vicki Buckley | ||
| Naked Alibi | Marianna | ||
| 1955 | The Cobweb | Karen McIver | |
| Not as a Stranger | Harriet Lang | ||
| Oklahoma! | Ado Annie Carnes | ||
| 1956 | The Man Who Never Was | Lucy Sherwood | |
| 1957 | Ride Out for Revenge | Amy Porter | |
| 1959 | Odds Against Tomorrow | Helen | |
| 1966 | Ride Beyond Vengeance | Bonnie Shelley | |
| 1971 | Blood and Lace | Mrs. Deere | |
| The Todd Killings | Mrs. Roy | ||
| Black Noon | Bethia | ||
| Chandler | Selma | Alternative title:Open Shadow | |
| 1972 | The Loners | Annabelle | |
| 1973 | The Magician | Natalie | Alternative title:Tarot |
| 1974 | Mama's Dirty Girls | Mama Love | |
| 1976 | Mansion of the Doomed | Katherine | Alternative title:The Terror of Dr. Chaney |
| 1979 | A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square | Ma Fox | |
| Chilly Scenes of Winter | Clara | Alternative title:Head Over Heels | |
| 1980 | Melvin and Howard | Mrs. Sisk | |
| 1981 | The Nesting | Florinda Costello | Alternative titles:Phobia andMassacre Mansion |
| 1984 | Tales of the Unexpected (Episode: "Sauce for the Goose") | Olivia |
| Year | Organization | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Crossfire | Nominated | [37] |
| 1953 | The Bad and the Beautiful | Won | [38] | ||
| 1953 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Nominated | [39] | |
| 1960 | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Star - Motion Pictures | N/a | Honored | [40] |
