Miriam Hopkins(1902-1972)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born into wealth in Savannah, Georgia, on October 18, 1902, Ellen Miriam
Hopkins was able to attend the finest educational institutions,
including Goddard Seminary in Plainfield, Vermont, and Syracuse
University in New York State. Studying dance in New York, she received
her first taste of show business as a chorus girl at twenty. She
appeared in local musicals before she began expanding her horizons by
trying out dramatic roles four years later. By 1928, Miriam was
appearing in stock companies on the East Coast, and her reviews were
getting better after she had been vilified earlier in her career. In
1930, Miriam decided to try the silver screen and signed with Paramount
Studios. Because she was already established on Broadway, Paramount felt
it was getting a seasoned performer after the rave reviews she had
received on Broadway. Her first role was in
Fast and Loose (1930). The role, in which Miriam played a rebellious girl, was a good start. After
appearing in 24 Hours (1931), in which she
is killed by her husband, Miriam played Princess Anna in
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)
opposite Maurice Chevalier.
Still considered a newcomer, Miriam displayed a talent that had all the
earmarks of stardom. She was to finish out the year by playing Ivy
Pearson in
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931).
Miriam began filming
The World and the Flesh (1932),
which was not a box-office blockbuster. Later, she appeared in
Dancers in the Dark (1932)
with George Raft. The film was unexpectedly strong and enjoyable, which
served as a catalyst to propel Miriam and Raft to bigger stardom. In
Two Kinds of Women (1932),
directed by William C. de Mille,
Miriam once again performed magnificently. Later that year, she played
Lily Vautier in the sophisticated comedy
Trouble in Paradise (1932). A
film that should have been nominated for an Academy Award, it has
lasted through the years as a masterpiece in comedy. Even today, film
buffs and historians rave about it. Miriam's brilliant performance in
Design for Living (1933)
propelled her to the top of Paramount's salary scale. Later that year,
Miriam played the title role in
The Story of Temple Drake (1933).
Paramount was forced to tone down the film's violence and the character's
rape in order to pass the Hayes Office code. Despite being watered down,
it was still a box-office smash. In 1934, Miriam filmed
All of Me (1934), which was less than
well received. Soon, the country was abuzz as to who would play
Scarlett O'Hara in Margaret Mitchell's
Gone with the Wind (1939).
Miriam wanted the coveted spot, especially because she was a Southern lady
and a Georgia native. Unfortunately, as we all know, she didn't win the
role. As a matter of fact, her only movie role that year was in
The Old Maid (1939). By that time,
the roles were only trickling in for her. With the slowdown in film
work, Miriam found herself returning to the stage. She made two films
in 1940, none in 1941, one in 1942, and one in 1943. The
stage was her work now. However, in 1949, she received the role of
Lavinia Penniman in
The Heiress (1949). Miriam made only
three films in the 1950s, but she had begun making appearances on
television programs. Miriam made her final big-screen appearance in
Hollywood Horror House (1970). Nine days
before her 70th birthday, on October 9, 1972, Miriam died of a heart
attack in New York.