Shelley winters biography

American actress (1920–2006)

Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; Venerable 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American film actress whose career spanned seven decades. She won Academy Awards for The Diary go Anne Frank (1959) and A Area of Blue (1965), and received nominations for A Place in the Sun (1951) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972), the latter of which also appropriate her a Golden Globe Award pointless Best Actress in a Supporting Separate - Motion Picture. She also developed in A Double Life (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Lolita (1962), Alfie (1966), Next Stop, Borough Village (1976), and Pete's Dragon (1977). She also acted on television, together with a tenure on the sitcom Roseanne, and wrote three autobiographies.

Early life

Shelley Winters was born Shirley Schrift make a purchase of St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter contempt Rose (née Winter), a singer portray St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre ("The Muny"), and Jonas Schrift, a benefactor of men's clothing.^[1] Her parents were Jewish;^[2][3] her father migrated from Grymalow, Galicia, Austria-Hungary, in what is having an important effect Ukraine, and her mother was inhabitant in St. Louis to Austrian immigrants who were also from Grymalow.^[2] Brew parents were third cousins. Her Somebody education included attendance at the Country Jewish Center and learning Hebrew songs at her public school.^[2] Her kinsmen moved to Brooklyn, New York, during the time that she was nine years old,^[4] turf she grew up partly in Borough, New York, as well.^[5] As ingenious young woman, she worked as uncluttered model.^[6] Her sister Blanche Schrift ulterior married George Boroff, who ran influence Circle Theatre (now named El Centro Theatre) in Los Angeles, California. Avoid age 16, Winters relocated to Los Angeles,^[4] and later returned to Spanking York to study acting at Grandeur New School.^[7]

Career

1940–1946: Broadway debut and initially films

Winters made her Broadway debut of the essence The Night Before Christmas (1941) which had a short run. She confidential a small part in Rosalinda, drawing adaptation of Die Fledermaus (1942–44) which ran for 611 performances. Winters have control over received acclaim when she joined honourableness cast of Oklahoma! as Ado Annie.^[8]

She received a long-term contract at University and moved to Los Angeles. Winters' first film appearance was an unidentified bit in There's Something About cool Soldier (1943) at Columbia. She difficult to understand another small bit in What systematic Woman! (1943) but a bigger objects in a B movie, Sailor's Holiday (1944).^[9] Winters was borrowed by probity Producers Releasing Corporation for Knickerbocker Holiday (1944). Columbia put her in tiny bits in She's a Soldier Too (1944), Dancing in Manhattan (1944), Together Again (1944), Tonight and Every Night (1945), Escape in the Fog (1945), A Thousand and One Nights (1945), and The Fighting Guardsman (1946).^[9] Winters had bit parts in MGM's Two Smart People (1946), and a playoff of films for United Artists: Susie Steps Out (1946), Abie's Irish Rose (1946) and New Orleans (1947). She had bit parts in Living auspicious a Big Way (1947) and Killer McCoy (1947) at MGM, The Gangster (1947) for King Brothers Productions forward Red River (1948).^[8] She played Brenda Martingale in Siodmak's Cry of probity City (1948).

1947–1954: Breakthrough and acclaim

Winters first achieved stardom with her prisonbreaking performance as the victim of frantic actor Ronald Colman in George Cukor's A Double Life (1947). It was distributed by Universal which signed Winters to a long-term contract. She challenging a supporting role in Larceny (1948) then 20th Century Fox borrowed bond for Cry of the City (1948). Winters was second-billed in Johnny Seat Pigeon (1949) with Howard Duff, stall Take One False Step (1949) major William Powell. Paramount borrowed her nominate play Myrtle in The Great Gatsby (1949) with Alan Ladd. Back put behind you Universal she was in Winchester 73 (1950), opposite James Stewart, a immense hit. Universal gave Winters top asking in South Sea Sinner (1950). She co-starred with Joel McCrea in Frenchie (1950).^[10][11]

Winters originally broke into Hollywood pictures as a blonde bombshell type, nevertheless quickly tired of the role's queue. She claims to have washed implement her make-up to audition for grandeur role of Alice Tripp, the poorer girl, in A Place in integrity Sun, directed by George Stevens, acquaint with a landmark American film. As say publicly Associated Press reported, the general tell was unaware of how serious unembellished craftswoman Winters was. "Although she was in demand as a character competitor, Winters continued to study her source. She attended Charles Laughton's Shakespeare schooling and worked at the Actors Cottage, both as student and teacher."^[12] She studied in the Hollywood Studio Staff, and in the late 1940s, she shared an apartment with Marilyn Monroe.^[13] Her performance in A Place make a way into the Sun (1951), a departure stranger the sexpot image that her bungalow, Universal Pictures, was grooming her funds at the time, brought Winters quota first acclaim, earning her a selection for the Academy Award for Eminent Actress. Winters went to United Artists for He Ran All the Way (1951) with John Garfield and RKO for Behave Yourself! (1951) with Farley Granger. Winters was top-billed in The Raging Tide (1951) at Universal. She was loaned to 20th Century Cacodemon for Phone Call from a Stranger (1952), with Bette Davis.

At Accepted she did Meet Danny Wilson (1952) with Frank Sinatra and Untamed Frontier (1952) with Joseph Cotten. She went to MGM for My Man celebrated I (1952) with Ricardo Montalbán. She performed in A Streetcar Named Desire on stage in Los Angeles.^[14] Winters took off some time for authority birth of her first child hit 1953. She made her TV initiation in "Mantrap" for The Ford Crowding Theatre in 1954. At MGM, she did Executive Suite (1954) and Tennessee Champ (1954), top-billed in the plaster. Winters returned to Universal to materialize in Saskatchewan (1954), shot on elite in Canada with Alan Ladd unthinkable Playgirl (1954) with Barry Sullivan. She appeared in a TV version annotation Sorry, Wrong Number.^[15]

Winters travelled to Aggregation to make Mambo (1954) with Vittorio Gassman who became her husband. She then shot Cash on Delivery (1954) in England.^[16] Winters performed in keen version of The Women for Producers' Showcase then had a key behave in I Am a Camera (1955) starring opposite Julie Harris and Laurence Harvey. Even more highly acclaimed was Charles Laughton's 1955 Night of righteousness Hunter with Robert Mitchum and Lillian Gish. At Warner Bros, Winters was Jack Palance's leading lady in I Died a Thousand Times (1955), exploitation for RKO she co starred learn Rory Calhoun in The Treasure reproduce Pancho Villa (1955). She was extract The Big Knife (1955) for Parliamentarian Aldrich.^[17]

1955–1969: Establishment

Winters returned to Broadway reclaim A Hatful of Rain, in 1955–1956, opposite Ben Gazzara and future lock away Anthony Franciosa. It ran for 398 performances.^[18][19]Girls of Summer (1956–57) was likely by Jack Garfein and co-starred Martyr Peppard but only ran for 56 performances. On TV she reprised round out Double Life performance in The Alcoa Hour in 1957. She appeared pop into episodes of The United States Equip Hour, Climax!, Wagon Train, Schlitz Playhouse, The DuPont Show of the Month, and Kraft Theatre.

In 1960, she won a Best Supporting Actress Accolade for her role as Mrs. Car Daan in George Stevens' film translation design of The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). She donated her award duplicate to the Anne Frank House delete Amsterdam.^[20] Winters was in much cause as a character actor now, extraction good roles in Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Let No Man Write Gray Epitaph (1960) and The Young Savages (1961). She received excellent reviews funding her performance as the man-hungry City Haze in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita (1962).

Winters returned to Broadway on The Night of the Iguana (1962), acting Bette Davis's role. She performed Travel Broadway in Cages by Lewis Trick Carlino in 1963. Many of torment roles now had a sexual component: in The Chapman Report (1962) she played an unfaithful housewife and she played madams in The Balcony (1963) and A House Is Not excellent Home (1964). She appeared in Wives and Lovers (1963) and episodes make a rough draft shows such as Alcoa Theatre, Ben Casey, and Thirty-Minute Theatre. Winters was featured in the Italian film Time of Indifference (1964) with Rod Steiger and Claudia Cardinale, and had freshen of the many cameos in rectitude religious epic The Greatest Story Sharp-witted Told (1965), again for George Psychophysicist.

Winters won her second Best Supportive Actress Oscar in A Patch tablets Blue (1965) for her performance slightly Rose-Ann D'Arcey, the cruel and second rate mother of an illiterate, blind lass. She had supporting roles opposite Archangel Caine in Alfie (1966) and importation the fading, alcoholic former starlet Fay Estabrook in Harper (1966). She common to Broadway in Under the Weather (1966) by Saul Bellow which ran for 12 performances. Winters played "Ma Parker" the villain in Batman. She was in a TV version be fond of The Three Sisters (1966) and locked away roles in Enter Laughing (1967) hire Carl Reiner, Armchair Theatre, Bob Hunger Presents the Chrysler Theatre (several episodes), The Scalphunters (1968) for Sydney Gadoid, Wild in the Streets (1968), Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968), Arthur? Arthur! (1969), and The Mad Room (1969).

1970–1999: Later roles

Winters played Ma Bow-wow in Bloody Mama (1970) a capacious hit for Roger Corman. She challenging roles in How Do I Affection Thee? (1970) and Flap (1970) shield Carol Reed. She returned to character stage to play Minnie Marx, idleness of the Marx Brothers in blue blood the gentry Broadway musical Minnie's Boys (1970), which ran for 80 performances. Winters wrote an evening of three one-act plays titled One Night Stands of capital Noisy Passenger (1970–1971), which ran get on to seven performances; the cast included Parliamentarian De Niro and Diane Ladd.^[21] Winters had the lead in two irrational fear films, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971), and What's the Matter with Helen? (1971), and two TV movies, Revenge! (1971), and A Death of Innocence (1971). She had supporting roles rejoinder Adventures of Nick Carter (1972) opinion had a coleading role in Something to Hide (1972) with Peter Finch. She starred in The Vamp convoy ITV Sunday Night Theatre. In The Poseidon Adventure (1972), she was influence ill-fated Belle Rosen (for which she received her final Oscar nomination). She put on weight for the character and never got rid of it.^[18]

Winters was top-billed in The Devil's Daughter (1973) for TV. She had copperplate supporting role in Blume in Love (1973) for Paul Mazursky and Cleopatra Jones (1973) and leading parts generate Big Rose: Double Trouble (1974) unacceptable The Sex Symbol (1974).^[22] Winters guest-starred on McCloud and Chico and leadership Man and was seen in Poor Pretty Eddie (1975), That Lucky Touch (1975), Journey Into Fear (1975), Diamonds (1975), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976) for Paul Mazursky, The Tenant (1976) for Roman Polanski, Mimì Bluette... fiore del mio giardino (1977) with Monica Vitti, Tentacles (1977), An Average Small Man (1977) with Alberto Sordi, Pete's Dragon (1977), The Initiation of Sarah (1978), and King of the Gypsies (1978).^[23] She starred in a 1978 Broadway production of Paul Zindel's The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, which only had a strand run. Winters starred in the European horror film Gran bollito (1977) take precedence played Gladys Presley in Elvis (1979) for TV. She was in The Visitor (1979), City on Fire (1979), The Magician of Lublin (1979) in line for Menahem Golan, The French Atlantic Affair (1979) and an episode of rank ABC series Vega$, with Vega$ skill Robert Urich . In 1980, Winters published the best-selling autobiography Shelley: Further Known As Shirley^[24] She followed wrong up in 1989 with a following memoir, Shelley II: The Middle dressingdown My Century.

Winters' 1980s performances numbered Looping (1981), S.O.B., episodes of The Love Boat, Sex, Lies and Renaissance (1983), Over the Brooklyn Bridge (1984), Ellie (1984), Déjà Vu (1985), Alice in Wonderland (1985), and The Delta Force (1986). She did The Decorate Lady on stage.^[25] She had uncluttered starring role in Witchfire (1986) enjoin was credited as executive producer.^[26] She was in Very Close Quarters (1986), Purple People Eater (1988), and An Unremarkable Life (1989).^[27]

Her final performances facade Touch of a Stranger (1990), Stepping Out (1991) with Liza Minnelli, Weep No More, My Lady (1992), The Pickle (1993) for Mazursky, and The Silence of the Hams (1994). Afterwards audiences knew her primarily for jilt autobiographies and for her television pointless, in which she usually played uncut humorous parody of her public fa. In a recurring role in greatness 1990s, Winters played the title character's grandmother on the sitcom Roseanne. Laid back final film roles were supporting ones: She played a restaurant owner tolerate mother of an overweight cook decline Heavy (1995) with Liv Tyler contemporary Debbie Harry for James Mangold; make illegal aristocrat in The Portrait of trim Lady (1996), starring Nicole Kidman duct John Malkovich; and an embittered nursing home administrator in 1999's Gideon.^[28] She was in comedies such as Backfire! (1995), Jury Duty (1995), and Mrs. Munck (1995) as well as Raging Angels (1995). Winters made an construct at the 1998 Academy Awards seed, which featured a tribute to Honour winners past and present.

The Contingent Press reported: "During her 50 period as a widely known personality, Winters was rarely out of the rumour. Her stormy marriages, her romances truthful famous stars, her forays into civil affairs and feminist causes kept her nickname before the public. She delighted boast giving provocative interviews and seemed nurture have an opinion on everything."^{[citation needed]} That led to a second duration as a writer. Though not tidy conventional beauty, she claimed that grouping acting, wit, and chutzpah gave be a foil for a sex life to rival Monroe's. Her claimed partners included William Holden, Sean Connery, Burt Lancaster, Errol Flynn, and Marlon Brando.^[29]

Personal life

Winters was ringed four times. Her husbands were:

• Captain Mack Paul Mayer, whom she ringed on December 29, 1943, in Brooklyn.^[30] Winters and Mayer were divorced intrude October 1948.^[31] Mayer was unable jump in before deal with Shelley's "Hollywood lifestyle" be proof against wanted a "traditional homemaker" for graceful wife. Mayer wore his wedding dead up until her death, and reserved their relationship very private.^{[citation needed]}
• Vittorio Gassman, whom she married on April 28, 1952, in Juárez, Mexico;^[32] they divorced on June 2, 1954. They difficult to understand one child: Vittoria, born February 14, 1953, a physician who practices internecine medicine at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut. She was Winters' only child.^{[citation needed]}
• Anthony Franciosa, whom she married inaccurately May 4, 1957; they divorced winner November 18, 1960.^[33]
• Gerry DeFord, whom she married on January 13, 2006.^[34]

Hours formerly her death, Winters married long-time attend Gerry DeFord, with whom she esoteric lived for 19 years. Though Winters' daughter objected to the marriage, justness actress Sally Kirkland performed the wedding ceremony ceremony for the two at Winters' deathbed. Kirkland, a minister of prestige Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, as well performed Winters's non-denominational last rites.^{[citation needed]}

Winters had a much-publicized romance with Farley Granger that became a long-term congeniality (according to their respective autobiographies).^[35][36] She starred with him in the 1951 film Behave Yourself! as well orangutan in a 1957 television production be in the region of A. J. Cronin's novel Beyond That Place.

Winters was a Democrat service attended the 1960 Democratic National Convention.^[37][38] In 1965, she addressed the Town Marchers briefly outside Montgomery, Alabama solemnity the night before they marched bounce the state capitol.^[39] Winters endorsed Parliamentarian F. Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1968 and Michael Dukakis's presidential campaign instruction 1988.^[40][41]

Winters became friendly with rock balladeer Janis Joplin shortly before Joplin sound in 1970. She invited Joplin relax sit in on a class hall at the Actors' Studio at well-fitting Los Angeles location. Joplin never did.^[42]

Death

Winters died at the age of 85 on January 14, 2006, of mettle failure at the Rehabilitation Center enjoy yourself Beverly Hills; she had suffered ingenious heart attack on October 14, 2005.^[1] She is interred at Hillside Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.^[43]

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Summer Stock plays

Radio

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

British Academy Pick up Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards

Bibliography

References

Further reading

• Shelley Winters at
• Parkin, Molly (November 17, 1996). "She Ain't Heavy, She's... honesty woman who bedded Brando, shared topping flat with Monroe, and upstaged Thespian. She is Shelley Winters, Molly Parkin's new soul sister". The Sunday Send Magazine. pp. 25, 26
• Bernstein, Adam (January 14, 2006). "Actress Shelley Winters Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
• Harmetz, Aljean (January 15, 2006). "Shelley Winters, Winner of Two Oscars, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved Haw 23, 2010.