Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscars for their searing portrayals of the African-American mother and daughter. Produced - inevitably - by Ross Hunter. It was Wright in fact who suggested the possibility of acting to Quinn and even paid for an operation to cure a speech impediment. But in Quinn's case, it's all true. The opening and closing cast credits vary in order. (1972), The Front Page (1974) and Buddy Buddy (1981). "It's drama. -- Karin Dicker, as the young Sarah Jane Johnson, beginning to question her position as an African-American. Enter Ross Hunter, producer of lavish women's pictures for Universal, who had breathed new life into the careers of aging stars like Jane Wyman and Barbara Stanwyck. Famous Quotes from IMITATION OF LIFE Susie (Sandra Dee) and Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner) are now teens, Lora (Lana Turner) now a Broadway star and Annie (Juanita Moore) still her . material -- at least for a matinee." Two years later legendary editor William Shawn hired Kael as film critic for The New Yorker, completing her jump into the limelight. Not many actors can boast that they've inspired a Bob Dylan song but Anthony Quinn - who passed away June 3rd at the age of 86 - was one of the select few. (1954), another lightweight romantic comedy. It features Claudette Colbert, Louise Beavers, and Freddie Wa. Quinn divorced DeMille's daughter and married the costumer. "Stunningly produced but dully acted, making its racially sensitive plot seem To keep the budget under control, Turner agreed to lower her fee in return for half of the film's profits. The rest of his career might be summed up by the year 1991 when he gathered critical acclaim for his appearance in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, was nominated for a Razzie as Worst Actor in Mobsters, co-starred with Bo Derek in Ghosts Can't Do It, worked beside John Candy and Macaulay Culkin in Chris Columbus' Only the Lonely and made a film so obscure it appears to have never appeared on video. 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. The son of a doughnut manufacturer, Lemmon later attended Harvard University but was bitten by the acting bug and left the prestigious college for Broadway. It had no cast members from the earlier series and only lasted six episodes.) Editing: Milton Carruth (It also produced one of TV's oddest spinoffs in1994's 704 Hauser about a multi-racial family living in Archie Bunker's old house. Lora discovers that Annie and Sarah Jane have no place to go, and although she is poor herself, having come to New York in search of an acting career, she invites the two to stay the night in her small apartment. We strive to provide reliability in our movie trivia database, and we . 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. Closed captioning. In 1988, O'Connor took the role of a Southern sheriff in a TV series based on the movie In the Heat of the Night and found himself in another hit, this one lasting until 1995. (It also produced one of TV's oddest spinoffs in1994's 704 Hauser about a multi-racial family living in Archie Bunker's old house. At the same time, her African-American housekeeper finds herself rejected by her light-skinned daughter who wants to pass for white. When Susie accuses Lora of loving her career more than her, Lora offers to give Steve up, but Susie has decided to go away to college. There she majored in philosophy at University of California at Berkeley though she didn't graduate (the school later gave her an honorary degree). A year later, Lemmon hit the major leagues when he supported Hollywood heavyweights Henry Fonda, James Cagney and William Powell in Mister Roberts (1955). 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. It has Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. give an imitation of life. The rest of his career might be summed up by the year 1991 when he gathered critical acclaim for his appearance in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, was nominated for a Razzie as Worst Actor in Mobsters, co-starred with Bo Derek in Ghosts Can't Do It, worked beside John Candy and Macaulay Culkin in Chris Columbus' Only the Lonely and made a film so obscure it appears to have never appeared on video. Was considered to play the role of the young daughter of Lana Turner in the classic melodrama directed by Douglas Sirk. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Director and comic star went on to make five more films: Irma la Douce (1963), The Fortune Cookie (1966), Avanti! The couple were married on a train of rebel soldiers. Fannie Hurst's novel, Imitation of Life, was the story of two single mothers, one white and one black, who join forces and become successful businesswomen. Kael's anti-intellectual streak came forward but since auteurism wasn't meant to be a genuinely rigorous theory (such attempts came later in the 70s) this was a sort of Brer Rabbit vs. tar baby fight that Kael could never win. (The idea for the book was born when Hurst traveled with black author Zora Neale Hurston and encountered racism, although the story was not remotely based on either of their lives.) In April of 1958, Lana Turner's teenage daughter Cheryl Crane stabbed Lana's mobster lover, Johnny Stompanato, to death. Natalie Zacharenko (later Natasha Gurdin) was born of Russian immigrants. During filming, he sent flowers and gifts to Turner's dressing room regularly. By 1970, it had made over $25 million worldwide. In 1965, his relationship with an Italian costumer created a minor scandal when it was revealed that the couple had two children. Donahue was actually Merle Johnson Jr, born in New York City on Jan 27, 1936. The playwright wants to marry her, but as she admits one day to Annie, who still works for her, she does not really love him. The two mothers are now alone in the house. Very few actors today can match Lemmon's range on the screen. lamentable soap opera/"women's picture"/"problem" picture.The most honest Sign Up now to stay up to date with all of the latest news from TCM. The sometimes cynical comic sense of director Billy Wilder provided Lemmon with the perfect complement. Lana Turner took no salary and worked for 50% of the film's profits, which earned her over $2 million (setting a record for an actress at the time). scene has white Troy Donahue brutally beating date Kohner, who he has learned . Cast & Crew Read More Douglas Sirk Director Lana Turner Lora Meredith John Gavin Steve Archer Sandra Dee Susie Meredith, age sixteen Susan Kohner Sarah Jane [Johnson], age eighteen Robert Alda Allen Loomis Photos & Videos View All Both Susan Kohner and Juanita Moore were nominated for Golden Globes for Best For the next ten years, Lora stars in one hit David Edwards play after another. In this part, take pleasure in our galleria of Natalie Wood near-nude photos as nicely. Music: Frank Skinner Her next film, The Reluctant Debutante, a bubbly romantic comedy with Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall and John Saxon, proved Dee to be adept in light comedy. All seating is unreserved. During her audition, Lora suggests that David rewrite portions of his play, and though angry at first, he soon realizes she is right. His parents were involved in Pancho Villa's revolutionary struggle and must have made a striking couple since the father was half Irish and mother Mexican Indian. initial U.S. release, placing number five on the year's list of top box-office Between theatrical gigs, he played piano accompaniment to silent films shown at the Knickerbocker Music Hall in New York. His first film was Parrish (1961) though he eventually acted in over a dozen films during the Sixties including Cleopatra (1963), Marlowe (1969), Hawaii (1966) and Point Blank (1967). In exchange for her small room, Annie offers to keep house and look after Susie while Lora seeks acting and modeling jobs. Lemmon plays her levelheaded boyfriend but finds himself on the sidelines when the suave and sophisticated Peter Lawford appears on the scene. Forty years ago, actress Natalie Wood drowned off the coast of Catalina Island. She Was Terrified Of Water. Note: This Imitation of Life trivia and all movie trivia on notstarring.com is submitted and reviewed by movie fans from around the world. Director: Douglas Sirk Quinn was a pope in The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), an Islamic leader in The Message (1976), a thinly disguised Aristotle Onassis in The Greek Tycoon (1978) and an assortment of gangsters, con men, military leaders and what have you. Back home, she sobs in frustration while Annie attempts to comfort and encourage her. Blanche Met Brando. The Apartment (1960) focused on a working stiff who lends his home to his supervisors for their extramarital affairs. When no arguments could convince her to return to the church and shoot the scene, her makeup woman slapped her in the face, breaking her out of her hysterics. His first film was Parrish (1961) though he eventually acted in over a dozen films during the Sixties including Cleopatra (1963), Marlowe (1969), Hawaii (1966) and Point Blank (1967). As Ensign Pulver, a deckhand who avoids work whenever possible, Lemmon won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar®. The film is. -- Robert Alda, as Allen Loomis, explaining the business to Turner, as Lora. She also had a limousine and driver at her disposal. Quoting the actress herself, she claimed, "I'm . The role finally went to Juanita Moore, who had mostly played uncredited roles as African-American domestics to that point. 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. In Cowboy (1958), Lemmon plays a city slicker venturing out on the wild frontier. One cold day, Annie brings Sarah Jane's galoshes to school, where she discovers that her daughter has been trying to conceal her race from her classmates. Quinn was a pope in The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), an Islamic leader in The Message (1976), a thinly disguised Aristotle Onassis in The Greek Tycoon (1978) and an assortment of gangsters, con men, military leaders and what have you. Oddly enough, in Viva Zapata! But that's just one of many incidents in a life that can only be described as colorful. It was in Ireland that O'Connor started acting in several local productions. Universal-International Pictures Co., Inc. Hollywood, California, United States; Los Angeles--Moulin Rouge nightclub, California, United States, SYNOPSIS She is survived by her son Dodd; and two granddaughters -Alexa and Olivia. "If the dramatist's club want to eat and sleep with you, you'll eat and sleep with them. ( ) ( : ampas) . Quinn also appeared on stage in 1936 playing opposite Mae West. (Director Elia Kazan tried to start a rivalry between the two actors but they were great admirers of each other.) Lana Turner, on the brink 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. To view this content, please use one of the following compatible browsers: Two mothers, one white, one black, face problems with their rebellious daughters. At the mortuary,. With her fetching blonde curls and pretty face, Dee found herself moving up quickly on the modeling ladder. racial identity, and hope lost and found. degeneration of family bondsForget those who decry the '50s Hollywood Helping boost the success of Imitation of Life was the studio's unprecedented decision to release it simultaneously to both white and black theatres in the South. Lemmon waived his salary to act in Save the Tiger (1973), the 'great American tragedy' of a businessman at the end of his rope. Lana Turner was back on top, and a rich woman as well. Quinn divorced DeMille's daughter and married the costumer. He has acted in everything from lightweight sex farces (How to Murder Your Wife, 1965) to musicals (My Sister Eileen, 1955) to social dramas (Days of Wine and Roses, 1962) to political thrillers (The China Syndrome, 1979). Join 15 other subscribers Rosie, and Doctor, You've Got To Be Kidding (both 1967) were pretty dreadful and were disasters at the box-office; and her divorce from Bobby Darin that same year, put a dent in her personal life, so Dee wisely took a sabbatical from the limelight for a few years. is black." Eve, Close-Up On Sunset Boulevard, and When The closer he gets to his goal, the clearer it becomes that a government conspiracy is behind his son's disappearance. 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. -- Arthur Knight, The Saturday personality drama that's both an irresistible women's Quinn was born April 21, 1915 in Mexico. It was appraised at $1 million. Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Richard H. Riedel Her deal for half the profits kept her financially comfortable for the rest of her life, particularly after fifth husband Fred May invested much of the money in real estate. If a novelist had invented a character like Quinn, she would be accused of unbelievable invention. "Sirk's last movie in Hollywood is a coldly brilliant weepie, a rags-to-riches previous biographies of movies: All About All About Missing was inspired by a true story - the production was condemned by the Reagan administration and awarded the Golden Palm at the Cannes film festival. Lora Meredith. Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscars for their searing portrayals of the African-American mother and daughter. The series lasted until 1979 and brought O'Connor four Emmys, even leading to a four-year spinoff Archie Bunker's Place starring O'Connor. Sarah Jane is furious, exclaiming, "I'm somebody else, I'm white." by Michael T. Toole, PAULINE KAEL 1919-2001 -- Lypsinka, "My Favorite He signed with Warner Brothers in 1959 and immediately jumped to stardom in films like A Summer Place and Imitation of Life (both 1959). Natalie Wood, Thelma Ritter. 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. In addition to the usual writer's assortment of jobs (seamstress, cook, retail clerk) she started writing about film in 1953; her first review was of Charlie Chaplin's Limelight which she disliked. A modern source reported that Sirk had read the novel before directing this film, but had not seen the 1934 film. In 2018, "48 Hours" first reported that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department had talked for the first . Imitation Of Life (1959) -- (Movie Clip) A Falling Star! They give an imitation of movie acting at its less Only producer Ross Hunter was consistently delivering solid box office returns. The book's reviews were mixed, with the best notices going to the depiction of Delilah and the story's racial issues. Lora and Susie gently lead her into the hearse, where they reassure her that she did not cause her mother's death. continually counterpointed by an emphasis upon racial tension and the This video shows clips from the original 1934 film "Imitation of Life" directed by John Stall . Towards the end of that decade he appeared in Nicholas Ray's The Savage Innocents (1959) as an Eskimo, inspiring Bob Dylan to write "Quinn the Eskimo" (a Top Ten hit for Manfred Mann in 1968). Authorities classified her death as an accident, concluding the 43-year-old star of "West Side Story," who. (The idea for the book was born when Hurst traveled with black author Zora Neale Hurston and encountered racism, although the story was not remotely based on either of their lives.) Quinn also appeared on stage in 1936 playing opposite Mae West. But there was a serious side too. More than 40 women were considered for the role of Annie (Delilah in the original), including Pearl Bailey and classical singer Marian Anderson. When Sarah Jane runs from Annie, her distressed mother turns to Lora and asks, "How do you explain to your child that she was born to be hurt?" ), Released in United States March 1997 (Shown at London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival March 13-27, 1997. Turner Classic Movies cherishes the memory of this remarkable talent. Troy Donahue claimed that after the film's release, blacks actually came up to him and thanked him for beating up Kohner on screen. "Oh, Mama, stop acting. The Apartment (1960) focused on a working stiff who lends his home to his supervisors for their extramarital affairs. 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. "When passed before the moviegoer's eyes, it may force theatre owners to But she was deeply in debt, and she needed to work. Was considered to play the role of the young daughter of Lana Turner in the classic melodrama directed by Douglas Sirk. After Lana Turner's success in Peyton Place (1957), which pointed to a new career for her as the star of big-screen soap operas, she was Universal's only choice for the female lead. But both women suffer heartbreak caused by their daughters. Quinn continued in film parts that gathered acclaim: Crazy Horse in They Died With Their Boots On (1941), a gambler in The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), a soldier in Guadalcanal Diary (1943). -- Kohner realizing the error of her ways. "You know I still have you in my blood, don't you?" Whether playing a cross-dressing jazz bassist or a bickering roommate, Lemmon has kept his fans in stitches for fifty years. Oddly enough, in Viva Zapata! White! Among the directors citing Sirk as an influence on their own work are John Waters and the late Rainer Werner Fassbinder. into a masterpiece of film writing. Illicit love and the corruption of big business might not seem to be the stuff of hit comedies, but Wilder and Lemmon found humor in the most unlikeliest of places. "I'm going up and up and up, and nobody's going to pull me down!" All in the Family was an American version of the British sitcom Till Death Do Us Part that met some initial resistance (ABC rejected the first two pilots) but quickly captivated American audiences and became the country's top-rated TV show. Ads for the film showed Sandra Dee saying "You've given me everything a mother could but the thing I wanted mostyour love!" insincere." For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org. Universal borrowed costume designer Jean Louis from Columbia for the film. At a suburban theatre in the Philadelphia area, the manager stood in the lobby at the film's end with a box of Kleenex for sobbing patrons. Oscar-nominated as Best Supporting C-125m. to condemn, oppose and picket it, too." 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. "Why do we always have to sleep in the back?" She went back to The New Yorker, eventually retiring in 1991 partly as a result of Parkinson's Syndrome. After frantically searching for her lost daughter Susie at Coney Island, an attractive widow named Lora Meredith finds her playing with Sarah Jane, a light-skinned black girl. By Lang Thompson Bea's daughter, Jessie, becomes her romantic rival, while Delilah's light-skinned daughter, Peola, rejects her mother and attempts to pass for white. It was made into a film in 1934, starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, directed by John Stahl. Not only was there a music system in her dressing room, but Hunter even hired somebody to operate it for her. If some producer with a hand as cold as a toad wants to do a painting of you in the nude, you'll accommodate him for a very small part." He returned to the U.S. for his Broadway debut in 1958 and shortly after started to appear on numerous TV shows like The Untouchables and Naked City. The Mirror Crack'd. . Archie became such an icon that his chair is now preserved in the Smithsonian. 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. 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. Best Known For: Natalie Wood was an actress who starred in 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'West Side Story.' She died tragically, drowning during a boating trip in 1981. Although by no means a classic, her role as woman falling pray to a warlock (Dean Stockwell) who sexually and psychologically dominates her in the The Dunwich Horror (1970), was nothing short of startling. 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). That's when she started to develop a serious interest in movies. But she was deeply in debt, and she needed to work. Cinematography: Russell Metty Before graduating, he followed his brother to another college in Ireland (he would later get a Masters in speech from Montana). Imitation of Life (1959) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Douglas Sirk Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Ross Hunter . But in Quinn's case, it's all true. Natalie Wood was producer Ray Stark's first choice for the starring role, but he changed his mind after reading the script and instead offered the . 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. He combined elements of screwball and slapstick comedy with his own self-deprecating humor to create satiric portraits of the contemporary American male. 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. 1944 (conflicting sources give 1942, but the actual birth year has been verified by the family) in Bayonne, New Jersey.
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