Whether playing a cross-dressing jazz bassist or a bickering roommate, Lemmon has kept his fans in stitches for fifty years. He was busy in a variety of films during this periods - notably Parrish (1961) and Rome Adventure (1962) - but also starred in the TV series Surfside 6 (1960) and Hawaiian Eye (1962 and predating Hawaii Five-O by several years). Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers played the mothers, with Rochelle Hudson and Fredi Washington as their daughters. - Halliwell's Film & Video Guide (HarperPerennial). Stories about women in the workplace had declined in popularity since the '30s, and the change also reflected Turner's notoriety as an actress and single mother. C-125m. By all accounts, O'Connor was nothing like Archie Bunker; in fact, O'Connor was an active anti-drug crusader, partly the result of his son's drug-related suicide. Finally, Hunter and Turner's agent, Paul Kohner, convinced her that making the film was the only way to lay the rumors to rest. melodrama: it is through the conventions of that hyper-emotional genre that Although the killing was ruled justifiable homicide because Cheryl was defending her mother, the scandal rocked Hollywood, and many people thought Lana's film career was over. in the heartbreak of the black-passing-for-white Billy Wilder and Lemmon's lifelong comic foil Walter Matthau (nine collaborations with Lemmon in 32 years, including their most popular film, The Odd Couple, 1968) brought some of the comedian's finest funny moments to the screen. For a brief, quicksilver period of the early '60s, Sandra Dee was the quintessential sweet, perky, All-American girl, and films such as Gidget and Tammy Tell Me True only reinforced the image that young audiences identified with on the screen. Letterboxed. Natalie Wood death: Investigator calls new witnesses "very credible" Ross Hunter wanted to update the story, making the leading character an actress instead of a businesswoman, but keeping the race issue and the conflicts between mothers and daughters. Surprised and overjoyed by a visit from Steve, Lora confesses she still loves him, and the two are reunited. They lost to Shelley Winters in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). - She wrote for several small publications and did a radio show on the groundbreaking network KPFA before finally landing a job at the high-profile McCall's only to be fired shortly after she panned The Sound of Music (1965) (which she called The Sound of Money). Even though she was currently the subject of a major scandal after daughter Cheryl Crane killed Turner's lover, mobster Johnny Stompanato, Hunter insisted on offering her the role. This is life as they would like to believe it, and it makes good movie Imitation of Life - Trivia - notstarring.com For the next ten years, Lora stars in one hit David Edwards play after another. Back home, she sobs in frustration while Annie attempts to comfort and encourage her. In April of 1958, Lana Turner's teenage daughter Cheryl Crane stabbed Lana's mobster lover, Johnny Stompanato, to death. Letterboxed. In this part, take pleasure in our galleria of Natalie Wood near-nude photos as nicely. But both women suffer heartbreak caused by their daughters. Remake of "Imitation of Life" directed by John Stahl in 1934. Natalie Wood first saw Robert Wagner when she was just 10 years old and swore she was "going to marry him" someday, per People. Lemmon waived his salary to act in Save the Tiger (1973), the 'great American tragedy' of a businessman at the end of his rope. She then returned to the set and completed the scene perfectly. The couple were married on a train of rebel soldiers. graceful level twenty-five years ago." Hollywood Reporter noted that in the novel on which the film is based, and in the 1934 film adaptation, the character played by Lana Turner "combined her business acumen with a recipe for pancakes invented by a Negro woman and reaped a fortune. Editor: Milton Carruth Imitation of Life (1959 film) - Wikipedia The Tribune is refusing all advertising of it and will picket it in the Los Angeles area and call upon the N.A.A.C.P. In Cowboy (1958), Lemmon plays a city slicker venturing out on the wild frontier. Natalie Wood would have been 75 today. Although she has the second largest role in the film, Juanita Moore was billed seventh, behind actors with much smaller roles. Dr. Joseph Choi, a deputy medical examiner at . For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org. Then she panicked and tried to return the $5,000 advance Harper & Bros. had paid for the book rights. By Lang Thompson. Susie (Sandra Dee) and Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner) are now teens, Lora (Lana Turner) now a Broadway star and Annie (Juanita Moore) still her . Turner hesitated about accepting the role, fearing that the combination of the scandal and the recent financial disappointment of Another Time, Another Place (1958) had put her in a very tenuous position. She was abandoned by her father by age five, and her mother, Mary Douvan, lied about Sandra's age so that she could put her in school and get a job. CIP-Kurztitelaufnahme in der Deutschen Bibliothek. Actress. When the young man learns that Sarah Jane's mother is black, however, he beats her. "Imitation Of Life" was released 53 years ago today, on April 17th, 1959 and below, you'll find five pieces of information that even the biggest Sirk fans might not be aware of. He also occasionally played Helen Hunt's father on Mad About You. As recently as 1995, readers of the New York Daily News voted Imitation of Life a place among their ten favorite films. TCM Race & Hollywood "Imitation of Life" - YouTube The author combines vast research, extensive interviews Back home, Annie tells Lora, who has just returned from Europe, that she will no longer interfere in her daughter's life, adding that she does hope to help her wayward daughter somehow. Imitation of Life (1959) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb Mature for her age, Sandra's mother kept the lie going when she began her modeling career. "Imitation of Life may be the most important movie ever made. ), Released in United States July 1999 (Shown in New York City (Film Forum) as part of program "Universal Sirk" July 9-22, 1999.). But it was the 1950s when Quinn broke out. The funeral scene hit a little too close to home for Turner. Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner both received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, and Kohner won a Golden Globe in the same category. Principal Cast: Lana Turner (Lora Meredith), John Gavin (Steve Archer), Sandra Dee (Susie, age 16), Juanita Moore (Annie Johnson), Susan Kohner (Sara Jane, age 18), Dan O'Herlihy (David Edwards), Robert Alda (Allen Loomis). Hurst wasn't happy with the book, but after a year of writing, she couldn't afford to turn down an offer of $45,000 for the rights to serialize it in Pictorial Review under the title Sugar House. -- Sandra Dee, as Susie. Quinn divorced DeMille's daughter and married the costumer. degree of emotion that virtually dissolved the audience watching the film with Turner Classic Movies cherishes the memory of this remarkable talent. From poverty and childhood accidents to brutal abuse and depressive episodes, here are some heartbreaking details about Natalie Wood's life. Oscar-nominated as Best Supporting Closed captioning. 60+ Hot Pictures Of Natalie Wood Which Are Just Too Hot To Handle He died in Lugano, Switzerland January 14, 1987. Imitation of Life became Universal's top-grossing film to that time, and Turner's most successful film ever. By Lang Thompson Meanwhile, Lora and Susie argue over Steve. Actress Lora Meredith claws her way to stardom only to realize the daughter (Sandra Dee) she has neglected for years is now a stranger to her and --worse yet-- her rival for the love of a younger man. But in Quinn's case, it's all true. He combined elements of screwball and slapstick comedy with his own self-deprecating humor to create satiric portraits of the contemporary American male. Annie then introduces herself to Sarah Jane's white friend as Sarah Jane's former nanny and leaves, but not before Sarah Jane tearfully embraces her. Quinn married his third wife in 1997; they had one son. One day, Annie tells Lora to make certain all her possessions are left to Sarah Jane and then, after reassuring her old friend that she is "going to glory," dies. He eventually returned to his native Germany, where he taught film and made a few experimental pictures. Quinn's acting debut was in 1936 initially in a handful of barely noticable spots as an extra until he landed a speaking role in Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman, supposedly on the recommendation of the film's star, Gary Cooper. Very few actors today can match Lemmon's range on the screen. She went back to The New Yorker, eventually retiring in 1991 partly as a result of Parkinson's Syndrome. -- Kohner, as Sarah Jane, rejecting her mother, Moore, as Annie Johnson. -- Gavin, as Steve, meeting Turner after she's become a star. Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Richard H. Riedel Imitation of Life (1959) Trivia Showing all 35 items As Mahalia Jackson started singing at the funeral, Lana Turner lost control and fled to her trailer in tears. "It's drama. After wide shots establishing the real Coney Island, director Douglas Sirk switches to location shooting in Long Beach, CA, introducing principals Lana Turner, John Gavin and Juanita Moore, opening producer Ross Hunter's hit re-make, Out of work model and/or actress and single mom Lora (Lana Turner) has schemed her way into an after-hours meeting at the office of theatrical agent Loomis (Robert Alda) who, it turns out, lacks certain scruples, early in Douglas Sirk's. "Sarah Jane is your child?" Susie, who has suffered from her busy mother's lack of attention despite the material advantages Lora has provided her, looks forward to taking a trip with Steve and Lora, but the plans are canceled when Lora excitedly accepts a coveted role in an Italian film. Imitation of Life (1959) - User Reviews - IMDb Quinn married his third wife in 1997; they had one son. That's when she started to develop a serious interest in movies. She claimed to never see a movie more than once or to change her mind about it later. A key role in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) only confirmed his talents while he again earned a Best Actor nomination for the unforgettable lead role in Zorba the Greek (1964). One unanticipated result was that Quinn married DeMille's daughter the following year; they appeared together in Phil Karlson's Black Gold (1947) and had five children. -- Time As Lambert points out, she had reached the age when iconic actresses stop being stars. Compiled by Frank Miller, Popular novelist Fannie Hurst got the idea for Imitation of Life during a road trip to Canada with African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston during which she saw first-hand the depth of racial prejudice. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020) | Official Trailer | HBO HBO 2.7M subscribers Subscribe 2.1K Share 298K views 2 years ago The greatest roles of her life were behind the scenes.. Audiences fell in love with Natalie Wood as the dubious Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street, but the breakout role was far from her last. Cowboy is based on the autobiography of Frank Harris, and, like the author, Lemmon found himself adapting to the rough and tumble lifestyle on the trail. Lemmon entered the world in a completely novel fashion; he was born prematurely in an elevator in Boston in 1925. The Douglas Sirk revival started in 1968 when film critic Andrew Sarris placed him in his second ranking of directors, just behind such geniuses as Orson Welles and Charles Chaplin, in The American Cinema. She had her named changed to Sandra Dee (a stage name combining her shortened first name and using her stepfather's surname initial D to sign Screenplay: Eleanore Griffin, Allan Scott, based on the novel by Fannie Hurst Drama Music Romance In rural Texas, Salome, pregnant with Chad's baby, runs away from home and marries wealthy Yale student Tony but, years later, runs into Chad, now a successful musician in New York. But she was deeply in debt, and she needed to work. Email Subscription. Geoff Andrew, TimeOut Movie Guide (Penguin). She was only five when she entered the 2nd grade. Natalie Wood | Biography, Movies, Death, & Facts | Britannica It was a trip to Italy that brought Quinn one of his most acclaimed roles: a simple-minded circus strongman in Federico Fellini's La Strada (1954). In particular, Imitation of Life (1959) proved that her fans had not rejected her after the scandals surrounding the death of her lover Johnny Stompanato. The plot formula would not have stood up in today's era of integration when a Negro who owned half a successful corporation could buy her own home in any area that pleased her." The following year came was a Best Actor nomination for George Cukor's Wild Is the Wind (1957). Supporting Actress, with Kohner winning the award. Though The Apartment was a comic success, with each passing year the film's serious side seems even more dark and derisive. If a novelist had invented a character like Quinn, she would be accused of unbelievable invention. racial identity, and hope lost and found. She had been hospitalized for the last two weeks for treatment of kidney disease, and had developed pneumonia. He also occasionally played Helen Hunt's father on Mad About You. From sexual antics to social critique, Lemmon and Wilder sharpened their comic knives on the hypocrisies they saw in American culture. Oddly enough, in Viva Zapata! Her two sons, Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz, have both become . Principal Cast: Lana Turner (Lora Meredith), John Gavin (Steve Archer), Sandra Dee (Susie, age 16), Juanita Moore (Annie Johnson), Susan Kohner (Sara Jane, age 18), Dan O'Herlihy (David Edwards), Robert Alda (Allen Loomis). As some form of compensation, her on-screen billing reads "presenting Juanita Moore as Annie Johnson," but that credit didn't make it into the film's advertising. TCM REMEMBERS JACK LEMMON 1925-2001 A Complete Timeline of Natalie Wood's Mysterious Death - Harper's BAZAAR Director: Douglas Sirk ANTHONY QUINN, 1915-2001 Released in United States Winter January 1, 1959. (Plume). It had no cast members from the earlier series and only lasted six episodes.) - Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide (A branch of the Los Angeles County Public Library now occupies the site of Quinn's childhood home; in 1981 it was renamed in his honor.) The outcome of this boycott is not known. Billy Wilder and Lemmon's lifelong comic foil Walter Matthau (nine collaborations with Lemmon in 32 years, including their most popular film, The Odd Couple, 1968) brought some of the comedian's finest funny moments to the screen. But there was a serious side too. Her mother Maria was a very overbearing parent, pushing Natasha into show business no matter what it cost the poor little girl. Compiled by Frank Miller & Jeff Stafford, In April of 1958, Lana Turner's teenage daughter Cheryl Crane stabbed Lana's mobster lover, Johnny Stompanato to death. As Mahalia Jackson started singing, she lost control and fled to her trailer in tears. "Oh, Mama, stop acting. Are you black?" Internationalen Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen Natalie Wood was 42 when she died. (1972), The Front Page (1974) and Buddy Buddy (1981). 2023 Turner Classic Movies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The result was the story of two mothers, businesswoman Bea and housekeeper Delilah, who find success with a chain of waffle restaurants using Bea's business skills and Delilah's recipes. "I'm going up and up and up, and nobody's going to pull me down!" Viva Zapata! As Ensign Pulver, a deckhand who avoids work whenever possible, Lemmon won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar®. In It Should Happen to You, Holliday plays a struggling actress who soon wins fast fame as the product of promotion. ANTHONY QUINN, 1915-2001 The same year Imitation of Life hit movie theatres and became a best seller all over again, the book's inspiration, Zora Neale Hurston, died forgotten and penniless in Florida. Strmungen zu ermglichen: So werden pfingstliche Strmungen hufig als Paradebeispiel eines globalisierten Christentums angefhrt. by Frank Miller, Because of the heavy public interest in Turner's first film after the Stompanato scandal, producer Ross Hunter threw the set open to the press on the first day of shooting. But she was deeply in debt, and she needed to work. HBO's New Natalie Wood Documentary Doesn't Have the Answers -- Turner refusing a marriage proposal from Gavin, as Steve Archer. -- Lana Turner, as Lora Meredith, expressing surprise that the light-skinned little girl is the daughter of African-American Juanita Moore, as Annie Johnson. Hunter offered a first-class production, with Jean Louis gowns and Laykin et Cie jewels, the leading women's director, Douglas Sirk, and a chance to make a lot of money, if Lana would work for a small salary plus half the net profits. tale of two intertwined families, in which the materialist optimism is The characters lived together, loved one another and faced tragedy through their respective daughters. Produced - inevitably - by Ross Hunter. An aspiring white actress takes in an African-American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white. Just then, Loomis offers her a role in a new comedy by well-known writer David Edwards, but Steve forbids her to visit Loomis, prompting her to accuse him of settling for less in his own career.