Hope Lange | |
|---|---|
 Lange in 1957 | |
| Born | Hope Elise Ross Lange (1933-11-28)November 28, 1933 Redding, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | December 19, 2003(2003-12-19) (aged 70) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Reed College |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1942–1998 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, includingChristopher Murray |
Hope Elise Ross Lange (November 28, 1933 – December 19, 2003)[1] was an American film, stage, and television actress. She was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal ofSelena Cross in the 1957 filmPeyton Place. In 1969 and 1970, she twice won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Carolyn Muir in the sitcomThe Ghost & Mrs. Muir.
Lange was born into a theatrical family inRedding, Connecticut.[2] Her father, John George Lange, was a cellist and the music arranger forFlorenz Ziegfeld and conductor for Henry Cohen; her mother, Minette (née Buddecke), was an actress.[3] They had two other daughters, Minelda and Joy, and a son, David.[4][5][6] John worked in New York City and the family moved toGreenwich Village when Hope was a young child.[citation needed]
Lange sang with other children in the playLife, Laughter and Tears, which opened at theBooth Theatre in March 1942.[7] Her father died in September 1942. The family stayed in New York City after his death.[8] At age 9, she had a speaking part in the award-winningBroadway playThe Patriots, which opened in January 1943.[9][10] From 1944 to 1956 Minette ran a restaurant on Macdougal Street, nearWashington Square Park,[3] called Minette's of Washington Square. (Some sources confuse it withMinetta Tavern, an Italian restaurant on Macdougal Street, founded in 1937.) The entire family worked there; Minelda ran the cash register, and Joy and Hope waited on tables.[11][12]
In high school, Lange studied dance, modeled, and worked in the family restaurant. She sometimes walked the dog of formerFirst LadyEleanor Roosevelt, who had a nearby apartment.[13] When her photo appeared in the newspaper, she received an offer to work as a New York City advertising model.[14] She appeared on the June 1949 cover ofRadio-Electronics magazine wearing the "Man from Mars"Radio Hat. This portable radio built into apith helmet was a sensation in 1949.[15]
Lange attendedReed College inPortland, Oregon,[16] studying dance and theater. At Reed, she was a student of artistXenia Cage.[17] After completing her first year of studies, Lange transferred to Barmore Junior College in New York,[18] where she met her first husband,Don Murray.[19]
Lange began working in television in the 1950s with appearances onKraft Television Theatre. She was seen by a Hollywood producer and contracted to20th Century Fox. She came to prominence in her first film role inBus Stop withMarilyn Monroe andDon Murray, whom she married on April 14, 1956. Murray later said that Monroe grew jealous of another blonde being hired for the movie and asked the producers to dye Lange's blonde hair light brown.[2]
After favorable reviews, Lange landed a major role in the then-risqué 1957 filmPeyton Place. Her strong performance earned her a nomination for aGolden Globe Award and another for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She subsequently became well known for such supportingingénue roles, and said that the resultingtypecasting shortened her movie career.[20]
She went on to appear inNicholas Ray's filmThe True Story of Jesse James (1957) as James' wife, oppositeRobert Wagner; and inThe Young Lions withMontgomery Clift. She starred as the wife ofJeffrey Hunter's character in Anton Myrer's wartime dramaIn Love and War (1958). These roles led to her earning top billing inThe Best of Everything (1959), withSuzy Parker andJoan Crawford.[2]
Lange appeared asElvis Presley's olderpsychologist love interest inWild in the Country (1961), despite being only 13 months Elvis's senior. She then appeared inFrank Capra's final movie,Pocketful of Miracles, withGlenn Ford (for whom she had left her husband, fellow actorDon Murray). The next year, she co-starred with Ford again, in the romantic comedyLove Is a Ball.[2]
Lange returned to television for a 1966 role on the seriesThe Fugitive (1963). She starred from 1968 to 1970 on the television series,The Ghost & Mrs. Muir for which she earned twoEmmy Awards.[21][22] and a Golden Globe Award nomination. This success was followed by three seasons onThe New Dick Van Dyke Show asDick Van Dyke's wife, Jenny Preston, from 1971 to 1974, after which she declined to return for a fourth season of the show.[2] She also appeared in twelve television movies, one beingCrowhaven Farm where she played the role of a witch. In 1977, she returned to the Broadway stage where her acting career had originally begun. She also played the murdered wife ofCharles Bronson's vigilante character inDeath Wish (1974). In 1985, she appeared inA Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, and in 1986, she took a role asLaura Dern's mother inDavid Lynch'sBlue Velvet. She took a Broadway role inSame Time, Next Year and then made appearances in the television movie based onDanielle Steel'sMessage from Nam and inClear and Present Danger (1994).
Lange made appearances in theMaine town in whichPeyton Place had been filmed during the film's 40th anniversary celebrations in 1998.[2]
Lange's year of birth is often reported as 1931, but the correct year is 1933. A possible source of this error is theReader's Digest Almanac and Yearbook.[23] It had shown the year as 1931 from as early as its 1980 edition up until its 2009 issue. (TheAlmanac and Yearbook's 1976 and earlier editions had consistently reported Lange's year of birth as 1933.)[24] Other references such asChase's Annual Events have always shown 1933,[1] as does herSocial Security Death Index entry.
The 1933 year also matches the ages given in newspaper accounts of Lange in her youth.The New York Times covered the annual "Young People's Concert" awards given atCarnegie Hall. Lange received an award in April 1945[25] and again in April 1946, when her age was given as 12.[26] Lange's age of 12 in April 1946 would correspond to a birthdate in November 1933, not 1931.
Also, a short feature story was published in February 1951 about Hope Lange's culinary skills. The first paragraph gives the biography of a 17-year-old Hope Lange of Greenwich Village, New York. Her late father was "director of music forFlorenz Ziegfield [sic]" and her mother had a catering business. In addition to modeling, acting, and dancing, Hope could make "terrific" sandwiches. The article gives her recipes for "Sardine Strips" and "Cheese Ribbon" sandwiches.[27] Born in 1933, Lange would have been 17 years old in February 1951.
Lange's first marriage was to actorDon Murray. They married while he was filming his breakout role inBus Stop withMarilyn Monroe in 1956; they had two children,[2] actorChristopher Murray and photographer Patricia Murray. Lange left Don Murray in 1961 for actorGlenn Ford, the associate producer and co-star ofPocketful of Miracles. They had a four-year relationship but never married.[2] From October 19, 1963, until their divorce in 1971, Lange was married to film directorAlan J. Pakula.[28]
In 1972, Hope datedFrank Sinatra and began a relationship with the married novelistJohn Cheever.[29] In 1986, she married theatrical producer Charles Hollerith, Jr. (1927–2011), with whom she remained for the rest of her life.[2]
Lange died on December 19, 2003, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, as a result of anischemic colitis infection at the age of 70. Her body was cremated.[30]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Bus Stop | Elma Duckworth | Alternative title:The Wrong Kind of Girl | [31] |
| 1957 | The True Story of Jesse James | Zee James | Alternative title:The James Brothers | [31] |
| 1957 | Peyton Place | Selena Cross | [31] | |
| 1958 | The Young Lions | Hope Plowman | [31] | |
| 1958 | In Love and War | Andrea Lenaine Kantaylis | [31] | |
| 1959 | The Best of Everything | Caroline Bender | [31] | |
| 1961 | Wild in the Country | Irene Sperry | [31] | |
| 1961 | Pocketful of Miracles | Elizabeth "Queenie" Martin | [31] | |
| 1963 | Love Is a Ball | Millicent "Millie" Mehaffey | Alternative title:All This and Money Too | [31] |
| 1968 | Jigsaw | Helen Atterbury | [31] | |
| 1974 | I Love You... Good-bye | Karen Chandler | ||
| 1974 | Death Wish | Joanna Kersey | [31] | |
| 1983 | The Prodigal | Anne Stewart | [31] | |
| 1983 | I Am the Cheese | Betty Farmer | [31] | |
| 1985 | A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge | Shirl Walsh | [31] | |
| 1986 | Blue Velvet | Mrs. Williams | [31] | |
| 1990 | Tune in Tomorrow | Margaret Quince | Alternative title:Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter | [31] |
| 1994 | Clear and Present Danger | Senator Mayo | [32] | |
| 1995 | Just Cause | Libby Prentiss | [33] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Kraft Television Theatre | Randy | Episode: "Snapfinger Creek" | |
| 1957–1958 | Playhouse 90 | Raiya Jessica Lovell Alex Winter | 3 episodes | |
| 1962 | Cyrano De Bergerac | Roxane | Television film | |
| 1962; 1975 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Roxane Mrs. Douglas | 2 episodes | |
| 1966 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Rachel Douglas | Episode: "Shipwrecked" | |
| 1966 | The Fugitive | Annie Johnson | Episode: "The Last Oasis" | [33] |
| 1967 | CBS Playhouse | Lois Graves | Episode: "Dear Friends" | [33] |
| 1968–1970 | The Ghost & Mrs. Muir | Carolyn Muir | 50 episodes | |
| 1970 | Crowhaven Farm | Maggie Porter | Television film | [33] |
| 1971–1974 | The New Dick Van Dyke Show | Jenny Preston | 72 episodes | [33] |
| 1972 | That Certain Summer | Janet Salter | Television film | |
| 1973 | The 500 Pound Jerk | Karen Walsh | Television film | |
| 1974 | I Love You, Good-bye | Karen Chandler | Television film | |
| 1974 | Fer-de-Lance | Elaine Wedell | Television film | |
| 1975 | The Secret Night Caller | Pat Durant | Television film | |
| 1975 | Medical Story | Diana Hopkins | Episode: "Woman In White" | |
| 1975 | The Rivalry | Mrs. Douglas | Television film | |
| 1976 | Gibbsville | Harriet | Episode: "Afternoon Waltz" | |
| 1977 | Police Story | Ann Wells | Episode: "Nightmare on a Sunday Morning" | |
| 1977 | The Love Boat II | Elaine Palmer | Television film | |
| 1978 | The Love Boat | Sandra Newberry | Episode: "Where Is It Written?/Julie's Aunt/The Big Deal" | [33] |
| 1978 | Match Game | Herself (panelist) | 5 episodes | |
| 1979 | Like Normal People | Roz Meyers | Television film | |
| 1980 | The Day Christ Died | Claudia | Television film | |
| 1980 | Beulah Land | Deborah Kendrick | Miniseries | [33] |
| 1980 | Pleasure Palace | Madelaine Calvert | Television film | |
| 1982 | Matt Houston | Kate Riley | Episode: "Recipe for Murder" | |
| 1983 | Fantasy Island | Marion Stamford | Episode: "Naughty Marietta/The Winning Ticket" | |
| 1983–1986 | Hotel | Gwen Andrews Dr. Hannah Fielding | 2 episodes | |
| 1984 | Finder of Lost Loves | Catherine Connally Smith | Episode: "Maxwell Ltd: Finder of Lost Loves Pilot" | |
| 1985 | Survival Guide | Television film | ||
| 1985 | Private Sessions | Mrs. Coles | Television film | |
| 1987 | Ford: The Man and the Machine | Clara Ford | Television film | |
| 1987 | Trying Times | Frances Fletcher | Episode: " A Family Tree" | |
| 1987–1993 | Murder, She Wrote | Charlotte Newcastle Helen Lewis | 2 episodes | [33] |
| 1989 | Knight & Daye | Gloria Daye | 7 episodes | [33] |
| 1993 | Dead Before Dawn | Virginia DeSilva | Television film | |
| 1993 | Cooperstown | Cassie Willette | Television film | |
| 1993 | Message from Nam | Marjorie Wilson | Television film | |
| 1998 | Before He Wakes | Helen Rawlings | Television film, (final film role) |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Peyton Place | Nominated | [34] |
| 1969 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series | The Ghost & Mrs. Muir | Won | [35] |
| 1970 | Won | ||||
| 1973 | Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | That Certain Summer | Nominated | ||
| 1957 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Peyton Place | Nominated | [36] |
| 1968 | Best TV Star – Female | The Ghost & Mrs. Muir | Nominated | ||
| 1957 | Laurel Awards | Top New Female Personality | — | Nominated | |
| 1973 | TP de Oro | Best Foreign Actress | — | 5th Place | |
| 2008 | TV Land Awards | Favorite Character from the "Other Side" | The Ghost & Mrs. Muir | Nominated |
Hope Lange, actress, born at Reading Ridge, CT, Nov. 28, 1933
Life, Laughter and Tears arrives at the Booth on March 11. Mildred Dunnock, Gene Ross, Mervin Taylor, Hope Lange and Joan Shepherd are recent additions to the cast.
Miss Lange was on Broadway at the age of 9, appearing in something calledThe Patriot
Hope Lange (1931– ) actress
Hope Lange (1933– ) actress
