Versatile actor best known for her roles in The Sound of Music and Of Human Bondage
In the Hollywood of the 1940s and 50s, when typecasting was an essential constituent of stardom, Eleanor Parker, who has died aged 91, never gained the recognition she deserved, because she refused to be pigeonholed. "It means I've been successful in creating the characters that I've portrayed – that I'm not just a personality who is seen in a variety of roles." Dana Andrews, her co-star in Madison Avenue (1962), called her "the least heralded great actress".
The 1957 film Lizzie is almost a reflection of her career. Parker plays three separate and distinct characters harboured inside one woman – the shy, self-effacing Elizabeth; the wanton, raunchy Lizzie; and the "normal" Beth – and switches brilliantly from one to the other. Parker was always able to be convincing in these three sorts of characters. She was naive as the girl...
In the Hollywood of the 1940s and 50s, when typecasting was an essential constituent of stardom, Eleanor Parker, who has died aged 91, never gained the recognition she deserved, because she refused to be pigeonholed. "It means I've been successful in creating the characters that I've portrayed – that I'm not just a personality who is seen in a variety of roles." Dana Andrews, her co-star in Madison Avenue (1962), called her "the least heralded great actress".
The 1957 film Lizzie is almost a reflection of her career. Parker plays three separate and distinct characters harboured inside one woman – the shy, self-effacing Elizabeth; the wanton, raunchy Lizzie; and the "normal" Beth – and switches brilliantly from one to the other. Parker was always able to be convincing in these three sorts of characters. She was naive as the girl...
- 12/11/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Versatile actor best known for her roles in The Sound of Music and Of Human Bondage
In the Hollywood of the 1940s and 50s, when typecasting was an essential constituent of stardom, Eleanor Parker, who has died aged 91, never gained the recognition she deserved, because she refused to be pigeonholed. "It means I've been successful in creating the characters that I've portrayed – that I'm not just a personality who is seen in a variety of roles." Dana Andrews, her co-star in Madison Avenue (1962), called her "the least heralded great actress".
The 1957 film Lizzie is almost a reflection of her career. Parker plays three separate and distinct characters harboured inside one woman – the shy, self-effacing Elizabeth; the wanton, raunchy Lizzie; and the "normal" Beth – and switches brilliantly from one to the other. Parker was always able to be convincing in these three sorts of characters. She was naive as the girl...
In the Hollywood of the 1940s and 50s, when typecasting was an essential constituent of stardom, Eleanor Parker, who has died aged 91, never gained the recognition she deserved, because she refused to be pigeonholed. "It means I've been successful in creating the characters that I've portrayed – that I'm not just a personality who is seen in a variety of roles." Dana Andrews, her co-star in Madison Avenue (1962), called her "the least heralded great actress".
The 1957 film Lizzie is almost a reflection of her career. Parker plays three separate and distinct characters harboured inside one woman – the shy, self-effacing Elizabeth; the wanton, raunchy Lizzie; and the "normal" Beth – and switches brilliantly from one to the other. Parker was always able to be convincing in these three sorts of characters. She was naive as the girl...
- 12/10/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Eleanor Parker dead at 91: ‘The Sound of Music’ actress, three-time Best Actress Oscar nominee (photo: Eleanor Parker ca. 1945) Eleanor Parker, one of the best and most beautiful actresses of the studio era, a three-time Best Actress Academy Award nominee, and one of the stars of the 1965 blockbuster and Best Picture Oscar winner The Sound of Music, died today, December 9, 2013, of complications from pneumonia at a medical facility near her home in the Southern Californian desert town of Palm Springs. Eleanor Parker was 91. “I’m primarily a character actress,” Parker told the Toronto Star in 1988. “I’ve portrayed so many diverse individuals on the screen that my own personality never emerged.” At one point, wildly imaginative publicists called her The Woman of a Thousand Faces — an absurd label, when you think of Man of a Thousand Faces Lon Chaney. Eleanor Parker never altered her appearance the way Chaney did — her...
- 12/10/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Former President Ronald Reagan, whose career as an actor preceded his highly successful run in politics, died Saturday after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease; he was 93. Reagan died at his home in California, after his health reportedly took a swift turn for the worse, and word of his death was given to news sources on condition of anonymity by a family friend, who also said the Reagan family was currently making funeral arrangements and would issue an official statement later Saturday. "Dutch" Reagan, as he was known in his younger years, started his career as a radio sportscaster in Chicago and moved to Hollywood in 1937, where he became a contract player for Warner Bros., making his debut in Love Is on the Air. Numerous Warner films followed through the 30s and 40s, most notably a supporting role opposite Bette Davis in Dark Victory and the iconic part of George Gipp, aka "the Gipper," in Knute Rockne All American. 1942's Kings Row (where Reagan uttered the memorable line, "Where's the rest of me?") marked a turning point for the actor, and after completing military service during World War II and returning to Hollywood, well-received roles in The Voice of the Turtle, The Hasty Heart, and Storm Warning followed. Alas, most of his post-war films were less than memorable . though Bedtime for Bonzo, in which Reagan was paired with a monkey, became something of a comedy classic . but 1957's Hellcats of the Navy paired him with his second wife, Nancy Davis, whom he married in 1952 (he had previously been married to Oscar-winning actress Jane Wyman from 1940-1948).
TV work followed, though Reagan also began pursuing a career in politics, serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild twice; he also made a notable turn from liberal to conservative in the 60s. Reagan made his last film in 1964 . the acclaimed The Killers opposite Lee Marvin . and successfully ran for governor of California in 1966, a post he held for eight years. Though he lost the Republican party's candidacy for president in 1976, he successfully ran again in 1980, and his eight year term as President, in which he survived an assassination attempt, defined the 80s; the rest, as they say, is history. After his presidency, Reagan's health quickly declined due to Alzheimer's, and was said to have contributed to his rapidly deteriorating mental condition; he lived the rest of his life in seclusion, tended to by his wife. According to news reports, Reagan's body is expected to be taken to his presidential library in Simi Valley, CA, and then flown to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. A funeral is expected to be at the National Cathedral, with his body to be returned to California for a sunset burial at the library. Living longer than any US President, Reagan is survived by his wife, Nancy, and three children: Michael Reagan, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan Jr. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
TV work followed, though Reagan also began pursuing a career in politics, serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild twice; he also made a notable turn from liberal to conservative in the 60s. Reagan made his last film in 1964 . the acclaimed The Killers opposite Lee Marvin . and successfully ran for governor of California in 1966, a post he held for eight years. Though he lost the Republican party's candidacy for president in 1976, he successfully ran again in 1980, and his eight year term as President, in which he survived an assassination attempt, defined the 80s; the rest, as they say, is history. After his presidency, Reagan's health quickly declined due to Alzheimer's, and was said to have contributed to his rapidly deteriorating mental condition; he lived the rest of his life in seclusion, tended to by his wife. According to news reports, Reagan's body is expected to be taken to his presidential library in Simi Valley, CA, and then flown to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. A funeral is expected to be at the National Cathedral, with his body to be returned to California for a sunset burial at the library. Living longer than any US President, Reagan is survived by his wife, Nancy, and three children: Michael Reagan, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan Jr. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 6/6/2004
- IMDb News
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