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Posted: |
Sep 10, 2007 - 10:35 AM
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By: |
msmith
(Member)
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LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Jane Wyman, an Academy Award winner for her performance as the deaf rape victim in "Johnny Belinda," star of the long-running TV series "Falcon Crest" and Ronald Reagan's first wife, died Monday morning at 93.
Wyman died at her Palm Springs home, said Richard Adney of Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in Cathedral City. No other details were immediately available.
Wyman's film career spanned from the 1930s, including "Gold Diggers of 1937," to 1969's "How to Commit Marriage," co-starring Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason. From 1981 to 1990 she played Angela Channing, a Napa Valley winery owner who maintained her power with a steely will on "Falcon Crest."
Her marriage in 1940 to fellow Warner Bros. contract player Reagan was celebrated in the fan magazines as one of Hollywood's ideal unions. While he was in uniform during World War II, her career ascended, signaled by her 1946 Oscar nomination for "The Yearling."
The couple divorced in 1948, the year she won the Oscar for "Johnny Belinda." Reagan reportedly cracked to a friend: "Maybe I should name Johnny Belinda as co-respondent."
After Reagan became governor of California and then president of the United States, Wyman kept a decorous silence about her ex-husband, who had married actress Nancy Davis. In a 1968 newspaper interview, Wyman explained the reason:
"It's not because I'm bitter or because I don't agree with him politically. I've always been a registered Republican. But it's bad taste to talk about ex-husbands and ex-wives, that's all. Also, I don't know a damn thing about politics."
A few days after Reagan died on June 5, 2004, Wyman broke her silence, saying: "America has lost a great president and a great, kind and gentle man
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Posted: |
Sep 10, 2007 - 4:19 PM
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By: |
manderley
(Member)
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About 12 years ago I worked with Jane Wyman for a short time, and of all the people I met and worked with in the business, she was one of the most delightful!
At the time she got to me, she'd been in the business nearly 60 years, so she had seen it all, done it all, and was a professional, through-and-through.
Before we began our project, the frightened young Producer came to me and said, "Be careful what you say to her, don't ask her about Reagan, walk on tip-toes---I've heard she's tough and will cut you down very quickly! She could be real trouble."
Over the years I've usually taken a selection of photos to work and if the star I'm working with is amenable, at the end of the project I try to have them select their favorite picture of those I have with me, and then autograph it for my own personal memories. So the Producer added, ".....and I know you like her work, but don't ask for an autograph for your collection---it's apt to upset her and then we'll have problems."
Over the years, I always found that most of these really professional show people, particularly from the "old" studio days, if treated with respect, on their level, and with knowledge and understanding of their achievements, understood that you were a professional too, and were totally compliant and helpful with whatever you wanted to do. Very early on, I discovered that one of the secrets of "getting along" was to disarm them right from the beginning.
When Wyman was first entering the soundstage from make-up, she was accompanied by the Producer and his minions, and I walked up to her, introduced myself, and said, "Who was your favorite of all the cameramen who've ever photographed you?" She stopped dead in her tracks (....probably no one had ever asked her that question), looked off thoughtfully as if remembering a time long ago, and said, "Tony Gaudio".
Tony Gaudio was one of Warners top cameramen during the '30s and '40s, and during his near-150-picture, 40-year career, photographed such important films as HELL'S ANGELS, ANTHONY ADVERSE, JUAREZ, THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, THE LETTER, and THE RED PONY. I knew Gaudio's style quite well, and I said to her, "For this project we are going to photograph you like Tony Gaudio would have." She beamed, grabbed my hand, we walked over to the set, we chatted along the way, she asked if her costume was all OK, and when I suggested a minor little change, she said, "Yes, that's what I thought too."
At one moment while I was setting up the lighting (being careful to photograph her from her "best side"), I referred to her as "Miss Wyman" (a procedure with which I usually began a project to show deference), but she said, "No. Jane!"
As "Jane" and I became fast on-set friends, the Producer and his staff stood looking on and still shaking in their boots!
The shoot went very smoothly. We had delightful conversations during the breaks. When I asked her if she still painted, she was taken aback. .....Again, no one had probably asked her that in years. She was once a celebrity-actor painter like Claire Trevor, Henry Fonda, Elke Sommer and others, and some of Wyman's work appeared on Christmas greeting cards back in the 1950s. When I mis-remembered it as Hallmark Cards, she said, "No, it was American Greetings."
I talked about being old and forgetful and we laughed. She said to me, "How old do you think I am?" I KNEW I had to be careful on this one, so I said, "Well, I've personally been seeing you on the screen since the mid-1940s, and it's now 1995, so that's 50 years, and you had to be in your late-teens or twenties then, so I'd guess you're in your early seventies." She let out a whoop and said, "Well, you're wrong! I just had a birthday and I'm 80!". That's certainly something not many actresses want to talk about, but she was proud of her years and her experiences.
Ray Faiola was commenting above on her singing. At one point, I asked her if she still "sang", and, again, she was surprised that anyone remembered. I told her that I had all her Decca recordings, which are lively and charming, and that she should have made more musicals. She thanked me and remembered them fondly.
When the shoot was over, I figured we'd had enough rapport that I'd ask her for an autograph. I have a wonderful old MGM trademark lithograph poster that came originally autographed by about 15 of the MGM stars and over the years I've had it signed by more MGM people I've worked with, so it now has about 70 names on it. Wyman did several pictures at MGM, including her Oscar-nominated THE YEARLING, so she was delighted to sign the poster and add her name to the rest. She then asked if she could sign a photo for me---and as she did it, I was surprised she could remember the photo session, the still photographer, and the costume she wore---all from the early '50s. At 80, she was incredibly sharp and lively.
At the close of the production, as she was preparing to leave, Miss Jane Wyman---this producer-presumed "difficult" person---turned to me and said, "Would it be possible for you to bring the whole crew in here?" I said, "Of course," and when everyone had gathered around, she grabbed my hand, turned to the group and said, "This is one of the most wonderful times I've had on a set in years, and I wanted to thank you all for making my time so memorable and welcoming me so warmly."
Everyone applauded her---and I can tell you that crews don't always applaud the stars they work with!
As she entered her limousine to leave, she apparently told one of the production team about how wonderful I was---which, of course, was flattering to hear, but also touched me. This was someone I had grown up with, admired, and respected. I also realized that this was the first, and probably last, time I'd ever get the chance to work with her.
Over the ensuing years I've often thought about her, living out her days in retirement in Palm Springs, having good times with her very close friend, Loretta Young. When Young died a few years back, I immediately thought of Wyman. It's difficult reaching an age when all your friends, working companions, and much of your family is gone, and I imagined that it would be for her, too. But she had a long, successful, and creative life, and, I suspect, lived it well and contentedly. What more can anyone ask?
RIP, Jane Wyman.
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...and I walked up to her, introduced myself, and said, "Who was your favorite of all the cameramen who've ever photographed you?" She stopped dead in her tracks (....probably no one had ever asked her that question), looked off thoughtfully as if remembering a time long ago, and said, "Tony Gaudio".
That was a fascinating tale, Manderly. Thanks for sharing it! I too have always found that one of the ways to a celebrity's heart is to disarm them with something that they are not commonly asked. I can't tell you how many times I've met someone who I've long admired, and instinctually, I usually bring up something that most people won't...perhaps a lesser known film or performance of theirs, or something you really like about them that isn't mentioned by everyone. It touches them in a way I can't describe because it demonstrates that you noticed a detail about them so many others didn't notice.
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