name	Kim Stanley
birth name	Patricia Beth Reid
birth date	February 11, 1925
birth place	Tularosa, New Mexico, United States
death date	August 20, 2001
death place	Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
alma mater	Actors StudioUniversity of New Mexico
spouse	Bruce Hall (1945–1946; divorced)Curt Conway (1949–1956; divorced) 2 childrenAlfred Ryder (1958–1964; divorced) 1 childJoseph Siegel (1964–1967; divorced)
occupation	Actress
years active	1950–1985 }}

Kim Stanley (February 11, 1925 – August 20, 2001) was an American actress, primarily in television and theatre, but with occasional film performances.

She began her acting career in theatre, and subsequently attended the Actors Studio in New York City, New York. She received the 1952 Theatre World Award for her role in ''The Chase'' (1952), and starred in the Broadway productions of ''Picnic'' (1953) and ''Bus Stop'' (1955). Stanley was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her roles in ''A Touch of the Poet'' (1959) and ''A Far Country'' (1962).

During the 1950s, Stanley was a prolific performer in television, and later progressed to film, with a well-received performance in ''The Goddess'' (1959). She was the narrator of ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962) and starred in ''Séance on a Wet Afternoon'' (1964), for which she won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was less active during the remainder of her career; two of her later film successes were as the mother of Frances Farmer in ''Frances'' (1982), for which she received a second Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, and as Pancho Barnes in ''The Right Stuff'' (1983). She received an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie for her performance as Big Mama in a television adaptation of ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1985).

She did not act during her later years, preferring the role of teacher, in Los Angeles, California, and later Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she died in 2001, of uterine cancer.

Early life

Stanley was born Patricia Beth Reid in Tularosa, New Mexico, the daughter of Ann (''née'' Miller), an interior decorator, and J. T. Reid, a professor of philosophy and education at the University of New Mexico, located in Albequerque. Her father was of Irish or Scottish descent, born and raised in Texas, where he met her mother (of German and English ancestry). She had three brothers (Howard Clinton Reid, a psychiatrist; Kenneth Reid, killed in pilot training during World War II; and Justin Truman Reid, a lawyer); and a half-sister, Carol Ann Reid.

She was a drama major at the University of New Mexico and later studied at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. She took her maternal grandmother's surname as her stage name.

Career

Stanley was a successful Broadway actress with only a few film roles. She was singled out by ''The New York Times'' critic Brooks Atkinson for her early work. She eventually attended the Actors Studio, studying under Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg. She received the 1952 Theatre World Award for her performance as Anna Reeves in ''The Chase'', and starred in such Broadway hits as ''Picnic'' (1953), playing Millie Owens (which she never felt received the credit it deserved) and ''Bus Stop'' (1955), playing Cherie.

She was nominated for the 1959 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for ''A Touch of the Poet'' and the 1962 Tony for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Elizabeth von Ritter in Henry Denker's ''A Far Country''.

Stanley also portrayed Maggie "The Cat" in ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' in the original London production of the play.

She was also the leading lady of live television drama, which flourished in New York City during the 1950s. Among her many starring roles was Wilma, a star-struck 15-year-old girl from the U.S. Gulf Coast of Texas in Horton Foote's ''A Young Lady of Property'', which aired on ''The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse'' on April 5, 1953.

Following a savaging by English critics after her London performance of "Masha" in an Actors Studio production of Anton Chekhov's play ''The Three Sisters'' (1965) she vowed never to perform on stage again, a vow she kept for the rest of her life.

Film

Stanley's first film was ''The Goddess'' (1958), playing a tragic movie star modeled on Marilyn Monroe (though she and director, John Cromwell, would forever deny Marilyn's influence, using Rita Hayworth as being more accurate). She starred in ''Séance on a Wet Afternoon'' (1964), winning both the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

A filmed version of Strasberg-directed ''Three Sisters'' (1966) opened with Stanley reprising the role of Masha, and is the only time one can see her perform in a film alongside Geraldine Page, Sandy Dennis, Shelley Winters and other well-known names of the Actors Studio.

She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance as Frances Farmer's possessive mother in ''Frances'' (1982). She also played Pancho Barnes in ''The Right Stuff'' (1983).

Stanley was the uncredited narrator in the drama film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962). As the narrator, she represents the character Jean Louise Finch ("Scout") as an adult. Mary Badham portrays Scout as a child in the film.

She received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her appearance in the episode, "A Cardinal Act of Mercy" (1963), of the television series, ''Ben Casey'' (1961–1966), and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for her appearance in Tennessee Williams's Southern melodrama ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1985), this time as Big Mama.

Personal life

Stanley was married four times – Bruce Hall (1945–1946), Curt Conway (1949– 1956), Alfred Ryder (1958–1964) and Joseph Siegel (1964–1967) – with all four marriages ending in divorce.

She had three children, one by Conway, one by Brooks Clift (brother of Montgomery Clift) while she was married to Conway, and one by Ryder. During her marriage to Ryder, Stanley converted to Judaism.

Stanley died of uterine cancer while living in a Santa Fe, New Mexico, nursing home at the age of 76. She was survived by her first husband, Bruce Hall, her brother Justin, her three children, and several nephews and nieces.

A biography, ''Female Brando: the Legend of Kim Stanley'' (2006), by Jon Krampner, was published by Back Stage Books, a division of Watson-Guptill.

See also

List of American film actresses

List of American television actresses

References

External links

Biographer Jon Krampner KimStanley.net Website

Telegraph obituary

Category:1925 births Category:2001 deaths Category:20th-century actors Category:20th-century American people Category:21st-century American people Category:Actors from Los Angeles, California Category:Actors from New Mexico Category:Actors from New York City Category:Actors Studio alumni Category:American film actors Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Cancer deaths in New Mexico Category:Deaths from uterine cancer Category:Emmy Award winners Category:People from Otero County, New Mexico Category:People from Santa Fe, New Mexico Category:University of New Mexico alumni

de:Kim Stanley es:Kim Stanley fr:Kim Stanley he:קים סטנלי it:Kim Stanley nl:Kim Stanley pl:Kim Stanley ru:Ким Стэнли sr:Ким Стенли tl:Kim Stanley

Kim may refer to:

Names

Kim (given name)

Kim (surname)

Kim (Korean name)

Kim, Vietnamese form of Jin (surname)

Places

KIM, IATA code for Kimberley Airport in South Africa

Kim, Colorado, United States

Kim, a town near Surat, Gujarat, India

Camp Kim, Seoul, South Korea, a US military facility

Media

''Kim'' (novel), by Rudyard Kipling

''Kim'' (film), a 1950 American adventure film

''Kim'' (TV film), a 1984 British film

"Kim" (song), by Eminem

Other uses

Kim people of Chad

* Kim language

Gim (food), also spelled kim, Korean for edible seaweed

Tropical Storm Kim, eight tropical Pacific Ocean cyclones

KIM-1, a microcomputer

Kingdom Identity Ministries, a Christian organization

See also

Khim

KIMM

da:Kim de:Kim es:Kim eo:Kim fr:Kim ko:킴 it:KIM hu:Kim (egyértelműsítő lap) nl:Kim ja:キム no:Kim pl:Kim pt:Kim ru:Ким fi:Kim (täsmennyssivu) sv:KIM (olika betydelser) tr:Kim

birth name	Elaine Bawson Stritch
birth date	February 02, 1925
birth place	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
occupation	Actress/Vocalist
years active	1944–present
spouse	John Bay (1973-82; his death) }}

Elaine Bawson Stritch (born February 2, 1925) is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs. She is known for her performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" in Stephen Sondheim's 1970 musical ''Company'', her 2001 one-woman show ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'', and recently for her role as Jack Donaghy's mother Colleen on NBC's ''30 Rock.'' She has been nominated for the Tony Award four times in various categories, and won for ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty''.

Biography

Early years

Elaine Bawson Stritch was born in 1925 in Detroit, Michigan to Mildred (née Jobe), a homemaker, and George Joseph Stritch, an executive with B.F. Goodrich. Her family was wealthy and devoutly Roman Catholic. Stritch's father was of Irish descent and her mother was of Welsh descent. Stritch was a niece of Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago.

Stritch trained at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York City under Erwin Piscator; other students at the Dramatic Workshop at this time included Marlon Brando and Bea Arthur.

Beginning stage career

Stritch made her stage debut in 1944. However, her Broadway debut came in the revue ''Angel in the Wings'' in which she performed comedy sketches and the song "Civilization". Stritch understudied Ethel Merman for ''Call Me Madam'', and, at the same time, appeared in the 1952 revival of ''Pal Joey'', singing "Zip". Stritch later starred in the national tour of ''Call Me Madam'' and appeared in a supporting role in the original Broadway production of William Inge's play ''Bus Stop''. She was the lead in ''Goldilocks''.

She starred in Noel Coward's ''Sail Away'' on Broadway in 1961. Stritch started in the show in a "relatively minor role and was only promoted over the title and given virtually all the best songs when it was reckoned that the leading lady...although excellent, was rather too operatic for a musical comedy." During out-of-town tryouts in Boston, Coward was "unsure about the dramatic talents" of one of the leads, opera singer Jean Fenn. "They were, after all, engaged for their voices and...it is madness to expect two singers to play subtle 'Noel Coward' love scenes with the right values and sing at the same time." Joe Layton suggested "What would happen if ...we just eliminated [Fenn's] role and gave everything to Stritch? ... The show was very old-fashioned, and the thing that was working was Elaine Stritch... every time she went on stage [she]was a sensation. The reconstructed 'Sail Away'...opened in New York on 3 October."

Stritch became known as a singer with a brassy, powerful voice, most notably originating on Broadway the role of Joanne in ''Company'' (1970). After over a decade of successful runs in shows in New York, Stritch moved in 1972 to London, where she starred in the West End production of ''Company''.

Television

Her earliest television appearances were in ''The Growing Paynes'' (1949) and the ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' (1953–55). She also appeared on episodes of ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' in 1954. She was the first and original Trixie Norton in the pilot for ''Honeymooners'' sketch with Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Pert Kelton. Her character was a burlesque dancer, but the role was rewritten and Trixie became a regular housewife. Stritch was replaced by Joyce Randolph. Other television credits, include a number of dramatic programs in the 1950s and 1960s, including ''Studio One''.

In 1975, Stritch starred in the British LWT comedy series ''Two's Company'' opposite Donald Sinden. She played Dorothy McNab, an American writer living in London who was famous for her lurid and sensationalist thriller novels. Sinden played Robert, her English butler, who disapproved of practically everything Dorothy did and the series derived its comedy from the inevitable culture clash between Robert's very British stiff-upper-lip attitude and Dorothy's devil-may-care New York view of life. ''Two's Company'' was exceptionally well-received in Britain and ran for four seasons until 1979, despite being buried in the "graveyard slot" of Sundays at 10:30pm. Stritch and Sinden also sang the theme tune to the programme.

Her other British television appearances included Roald Dahl's ''Tales of the Unexpected''. Although she appeared several times in different roles, perhaps her most memorable appearance was in the story "William and Mary," in which she played the wife of a man who has cheated death by having his brain preserved. In his introduction to the episode, Dahl observed that humor should always be used in horror stories, in order to provide light to the shade, and that was why Stritch had been cast, as ''"an actress who knows a lot about humor"''.

Stritch became a darling of the British chat show circuit, appearing with Michael Parkinson and Terry Wogan many times, usually ending the appearance with a song. She also appeared on BBC One's children's series, ''Jackanory'', reading, among other stories, ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' by Roald Dahl.

On returning to live in the United States, she was a regular on the short-lived'' The Ellen Burstyn Show'' in 1986, playing Burstyn's character's mother. She appeared as stern schoolteacher Mrs. McGee on three episodes of ''The Cosby Show'' (1989–1990). She followed later with appearances on ''Law & Order'' (1992, 1997) as Lainie Steiglitz; as Judge Grace Lema on ''Oz'' (1998); and as the character Martha Albright (mother of Jane Curtin's character) on two episodes of ''3rd Rock From the Sun'' (1997, 2001), alongside her Broadway co-star George Grizzard, who played George Albright (the names George and Martha were a play on the characters Stritch and Grizzard played in ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'').

Stritch was reportedly considered for the role of Dorothy Zbornak on ''The Golden Girls'' but, as she related in her show ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'', she "blew her audition". The role was subsequently cast with Bea Arthur (who had appeared with Stritch in 1956 in the television series ''Washington Square'').

More recently, she was seen on ''One Life to Live'' (1993) and recurring roles on ''Law & Order'' (1992, 1997) and ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1997, 2001).

On April 26, 2007, she began guest appearances on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'' as Colleen, the fearsome mother of Alec Baldwin's lead character, Jack Donaghy.

In 2008, Stritch appeared as herself in an episode during the second season of ''The Big Gay Sketch Show''. She was spoofed during the first season as well as the second season.

BBC Radio

In 1982, Stritch appeared on an edition of the long running BBC Radio comedy series ''Just a Minute'' alongside Kenneth Williams, Clement Freud and Barry Cryer. The show has been described by long-time chairman Nicholas Parsons as being among the most memorable because of the way Stritch stretched the show's rules. It was on this occasion that Stritch famously described Kenneth Williams as being able to make "one word into a three-act play". She also appeared as Martha in a radio adaptation of Edward Albee's ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (she understudied Uta Hagen in the same role during the show's original Broadway run, performing during matinees before taking over the role entirely).

Later stage work

After John Bay's death from brain cancer in 1982, Stritch returned to America. After a lull in her career and struggles with alcoholism, Stritch began performing again in the 1990s. She appeared in a one-night only concert of ''Company'' in 1993, as Parthy in a Broadway revival of the musical ''Show Boat'' in 1994, and as Claire in a revival of Edward Albee's ''A Delicate Balance'' in 1996.

Her one-woman show, ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'', a summation of her life and career, premiered at New York's Public Theater, running from November 7, 2001 to December 30, 2001, and then ran on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre from February 21 to May 27, 2002. ''Newsweek'' noted:

Now we see how ''At Liberty'', the amazing one-woman show Stritch is moving to Broadway from the Public Theater this week, acquired the credit, ''"Constructed by John Lahr. Reconstructed by Elaine Stritch"''. "The reconstruction means I had the last say", she says. "Damn right I did."... In case you didn't notice, Stritch is not the kind of woman who goes in for the sappy self-indulgence that pollutes most one-person shows. In fact, ''At Liberty'' is in a class by itself, a biting, hilarious and even touching tour-de-force tour of Stritch's career and life. Almost every nook and cranny of "At Liberty" holds a surprise. Turns out she dated Marlon Brando, Gig Young and Ben Gazzara, though she dropped Ben when Rock Hudson showed an interest in her. "And we all know what a bum decision that turned out to be", she says. And then there were the shows. A British writer recently called Stritch ''"Broadway's last first lady"'', and when you see her performing her signature numbers from ''Company'' and ''Pal Joey'' and hear her tell tales of working with Merman, Coward, Gloria Swanson and the rest, it's hard to argue. Especially since she does it all dressed in a long white shirt and form-fitting black tights. It's both a metaphor for her soul-baring musical and a sartorial kiss-my-rear gesture to anyone who thinks there isn't some life left in the 76-year-old [sic] diva. "Somebody said to me the other day, 'Is this the last thing you're going to do?'", says Stritch. "In your dreams! I can't wait to get back into an Yves Saint Laurent costume that isn't mine--but will be when the show is over.

''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' played to British audiences in 2002-03. She reprised ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' at Hartford Stage in June 2008. She appeared in the Broadway revival of Sondheim's ''A Little Night Music'', from July 2010 to January 2011, succeeding Angela Lansbury in the role of Madame Armfeldt, the wheelchair-bound mother who remembers her life as a courtesan in the song "Liaisons". The AP reviewer of the musical (with the two new leads) wrote "Devotees of Stritch, who earned her Sondheim stripes singing, memorably, "The Ladies Who Lunch" in "Company" 40 years ago, will revel in how the actress, who earned a huge ovation before her very first line at a recent preview, brings her famously salty, acerbic style to the role of Madame Armfeldt." The theatre critic for ''The Toronto Star'' wrote:

"Stritch offers a sophisticated gloss on her by now patented, plain-talking woman who reveals all the home truths everyone ever wanted (or didn't) to hear about themselves. When Stritch tears into her big set-piece, "Liaisons", about all the affairs in her life, it's not just a witty catalogue of indiscretions but a deeply moving fast-forward through a life filled equally with love, loss, joy and regret.

Cabaret

Stritch has been performing a cabaret act at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City since 2005 (she is a resident of the Carlyle Hotel). Her first show at the Carlyle was titled "At Home at the Carlyle". The ''New York Times'' reviewer wrote

Amazingly, none of the 16 songs she performs have ever been in her repertory, and just as amazingly, you don't miss signature numbers... [L]etting them go has allowed her to venture into more sensitive emotional territory. Interpreting stark, talk-sing versions of Rodgers and Hart's "He Was Too Good to Me", "Fifty Percent" from the musical ''Ballroom'', and Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's "That's Him", she comes into her own as a dramatic ballad singer.

Between musical numbers, Stritch told stories from the world of stage and screen, tales from her everyday life and personal glimpses of her private tragedies and triumphs. She most recently performed at the Cafe Carlyle in January and February 2010, and again in March 2010 in ''At Home at the Carlyle: Elaine Stritch Singin' Sondheim…One Song at a Time''.

Personal life

Her late husband, John Bay, was part of the family that owns the Bay's English Muffins company, and Stritch sends English muffins as gifts to friends. Said John Kenley: "Every Christmas, she still sends me English muffins." When she was based in London, instead of renting or buying a property Stritch and her husband lived at the Savoy Hotel. She is good friends with gossip columnist Liz Smith, who shares the same birthday (February 2) as Stritch.

Stritch has been candid about her struggles with alcohol. She took her first drink at 13, and began using it as a crutch prior to performances to vanquish her stage fright and insecurities. Her drinking worsened after Bay's death, and she sought help after experiencing issues with effects of alcoholism, as well as the onset of diabetes. ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' discusses the topic at length.

Popular culture

Stritch's voice and vocal delivery are spoofed in the ''Forbidden Broadway'' songs "The Ladies Who Screech" and "Stritch," parodies of "The Ladies Who Lunch" and "Zip", songs she performed in the musicals ''Company'' and ''Pal Joey''. In 2009, a parody by Bats Langley entitled "How the Stritch Stole Christmas" (loosely based on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas") appeared on YouTube.

On ''The Big Gay Sketch Show,'' she was spoofed as a Wal-Mart greeter who's still a theater gal at heart. ("I'm heeere. I'm still heeeerrre." "Here's to the ladies who shop... at ''Wal-Mart!''") This draws inspiration from footage of D.A. Pennebaker's documentary film, ''Company: Original Cast Album'', in which she says "I'm just screaming", self-critiquing during recording "The Ladies Who Lunch". The sketch also spoofs ''Elaine Stritch Live at Liberty'' in which she refers to her feat, as a young stage actress and understudy for Ethel Merman in ''Call Me Madam'', where she had to check in with Merman at half hour to curtain in New York, then commute to Connecticut for the out of town tryout of ''Pal Joey'', and on some days make the round trip twice when there was a matinee and evening performance of both shows.

In a subsequent episode of ''The Big Gay Sketch Show'', Stritch is spoofed as an airport security guard, who's still "on" and isn't able to tone down her over-the-top antics. In yet another episode, "Stritch" (played by Nicol Paone) is promoting her self-titled perfume, "Stritchy" in dramatic fashion when she's confronted by the real-life Elaine Stritch, who makes a cameo appearance.

Honors and awards

Stritch has been nominated for the Tony Award four times:

Best Featured Actress in a Play for ''Bus Stop'', 1956

Best Actress in a Musical for ''Sail Away'', 1962, as Mimi Paragon

Best Actress in a Musical for ''Company'', 1971

Best Actress in a Play for ''A Delicate Balance'', 1996

In 2002, her one-woman show ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' won the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show. In ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' she shared stories and songs from her life in theatre and observations on her experiences with alcoholism. The D.A. Pennebaker documentary of ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' (2004) combined rehearsal elements and her stage performance to win several Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Achievement in a Variety or Music Program. She received an Emmy Award in September 2007 for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance on ''30 Rock''.

Work

Stage

''Loco'' (October 16 - November 16, 1946)

''Angel in the Wings'' (December 11, 1947 - September 4, 1948)

''Yes, M'Lord'' (October 4 - December 18, 1949)

''Call Me Madam'' (October 12, 1950 - May 3, 1952) (understudy for Ethel Merman) (replaced by Nancy Andrews when on national tour)

''Pal Joey'' (Revival) (January 3, 1952 - April 18, 1953) (replaced by Betty O'Neil)

''On Your Toes'' (Revival) (October 11 - December 4, 1954)

''Bus Stop'' (March 2, 1955 - April 21, 1956)

''The Sin of Pat Muldoon'' (March 13–16, 1957)

''Goldilocks'' (October 11, 1958 - February 28, 1959)

''Sail Away'' (October 3, 1961 - February 24, 1962)

''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (October 13, 1962 - May 16, 1964) (replacement for Uta Hagen starting in 1963)

''Company'' (April 26, 1970 - January 1, 1972) (replaced by Jane Russell in 1971)

''Love Letters'' (October 31, 1989 - January 21, 1990) (replacement for Kate Nelligan)

''Company'' (April 11 and April 12, 1993) (concert staging)

''Show Boat'' (Revival) (October 2, 1994 - January 5, 1997) (replaced by Carole Shelley)

''A Delicate Balance'' (Revival) (April 21 - September 29, 1996)

''Angela Lansbury - A Celebration'' (November 17, 1996) (benefit concert)

''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' (February 21 - May 27, 2002)

''Endgame'', Brooklyn Academy of Music, (April 25 - May 17, 2008)

''The Full Monty'', Papermill Playhouse, (June 10 - July 12, 2009)

''A Little Night Music'' (Broadway Revival), (July 13, 2010 - January 9, 2011) (replacement for Angela Lansbury)

Filmography

Stritch performed in more than 30 feature films and television films, including ''A Farewell to Arms,'' Woody Allen's ''September,'' ''Screwed,'' ''Out to Sea,'' ''Monster-In-Law,'' and ''Autumn in New York.'' She has been interviewed in documentaries such as ''Broadway: The Golden Years, by the Legends Who Were There'' (2003) and ''The Needs of Kim Stanley'' (2005).

Selected filmography

''Three Violent People'' (1957)

''A Farewell to Arms'' (1957)

''The Perfect Furlough'' (1958)

''Too Many Thieves'' (1966)

''The Spiral Staircase'' (1975)

''Providence'' (1977)

''September'' (1987)

''Cocoon: The Return'' (1988)

''Cadillac Man'' (1990)

''One Life to Live'' (1994)

''Out to Sea'' (1997)

''3rd Rock from the Sun'' as Martha Albright (2 episodes: 1997, 2001)

''Krippendorf's Tribe'' (1998)

''Screwed'' (2000)

''Autumn in New York'' (2000)

''Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There'' (2003) (documentary)

''Monster-in-Law'' (2005)

''Romance & Cigarettes'' (2005)

''30 Rock'' (6 episodes: 2007−present)

''The Big Gay Sketch Show'' (2008)

References

External links

Just A Minute Transcript

Father Beck interviews Elaine Stritch

Elaine Stritch interview: Performance Working in the Theatre CUNY-TV video by the American Theatre Wing, September 1989

Category:1925 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Michigan Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics

de:Elaine Stritch es:Elaine Stritch fr:Elaine Stritch it:Elaine Stritch nl:Elaine Stritch ru:Стритч, Элейн fi:Elaine Stritch sv:Elaine Stritch tl:Elaine Stritch

name	Kim Stanley Robinson
birth date	March 23, 1952
birth place	Waukegan, Illinois
occupation	Writer
nationality	United States
genre	Science fiction
website	}}

Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning ''Mars'' trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research and lifelong fascination with the planet Mars.

Robinson's work has been labeled by reviewers as literary science fiction.

Biography

Kim Stanley Robinson was born in Waukegan, Illinois, but grew up in Southern California. In 1974 he earned a B.A. in literature from the University of California, San Diego. In 1975, he earned a M.A. in English from Boston University and in 1982, he earned a PhD in English from the University of California, San Diego. His doctoral thesis, ''The Novels of Philip K. Dick'', was published in 1984.

Robinson describes himself as a backpacker but not a mountain climber, though mountain climbing appears in several of his fiction works, most notably ''Antarctica'', the ''Mars'' trilogy, "Green Mars" (a short story found in ''The Martians''), ''Forty Signs of Rain'', and ''Escape from Kathmandu''.

In 1982 he married Lisa Howland Nowell, an environmental chemist, and they have two sons. Robinson has lived in Washington, D.C.; California; and during some of the 1980s in Switzerland. He now lives in Davis, California.

Robinson was an instructor at the Clarion Workshop in 2009. In 2010, Robinson was guest of honor at the 68th World Science Fiction Convention, held in Melbourne, Australia. In April 2011 Robinson presented at the second annual Rethinking Capitalism conference, held at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Among other points made, his talk addressed the cyclical nature of capitalism.

Important works

''Three Californias''

This trilogy is also referred to as the Orange County trilogy. The component books are titled ''The Wild Shore'' (1984), ''The Gold Coast'' (1988) and ''Pacific Edge'' (1990). It is not a trilogy in the traditional sense; rather than telling a single story, the books present three different future Californias.

''The Wild Shore'' portrays a California struggling to return to civilization after having been crippled, along with the rest of America, by a nuclear war. ''The Gold Coast'' portrays an over-industrialized California increasingly obsessed with and dependent on technology and torn apart by the struggles between arms manufacturers and terrorists. ''Pacific Edge'' presents a California in which ecologically sane, manageable practices have become the norm and the scars of the past are slowly being healed.

Though they initially appear unconnected, the three books work together to present a unified statement. The first shows humanity crippled by a lack of technology, the second humanity swamped and almost completely dehumanized by too much technology (along with the attendant environmental damage), and the third a workable, livable compromise between the two. Although the third is a utopian novel, there is still conflict, sadness, and tragedy. The stories all contain a common character, whose circumstances serve to put the three alternatives in perspective.

The ''Mars'' trilogy

This trilogy is Robinson's best-known work. It is an extended work of science fiction that deals with the first settlement of the planet Mars by a group of scientists and engineers. Its three volumes are ''Red Mars'', ''Green Mars'', and ''Blue Mars'', the titles of which mark the changes that the planet undergoes over the course of the saga. The tale begins with the first colonists leaving Earth for Mars in 2027 and covers the next 200 years of future history. By the conclusion of the story, Mars is heavily populated and terraformed, with a flourishing and complex political and social dimension.

Many threads of different characters' lives are woven together in the Mars Trilogy. Science, sociology, and politics are all covered in great detail, evolving over the course of the narrative. Robinson's fascination with science and technology is clear, although he balances this with a strong streak of humanity. Robinson's personal interests, including ecological sustainability, sexual dimorphism, and the scientific method, come through strongly.

''The Martians''

Billed as a companion piece, ''The Martians'' (1999) is a collection of short stories that involves many of the same characters and settings introduced in the ''Mars'' trilogy. Some stories occur before, during, or instead of the events of the trilogy; some expand on existing characters, and others introduce new ones. It also includes the Constitution of Mars and poetry written in character by a Martian citizen.

''Antarctica''

''Antarctica'' (1997) follows very closely in the footsteps of the Mars trilogy, and it covers much of the same ground despite the differences in setting. It is set on the icy continent of the title, much closer to the present day, but it evokes many of the same themes, dealing as it does with scientists in an isolated environment, the effect that this has on their personalities and interactions, and economic systems.

As with all of Robinson's later work, ecological sustainability is a major theme in ''Antarctica''. Much of the action is catalyzed by the recent expiration of the Antarctic Treaty and the threat of invasion and despoiling of the near-pristine environment by corporate interests.

''The Years of Rice and Salt''

''The Years of Rice and Salt'' (2002) is a work of alternative history that concerns a world in which the Black Plague wiped out 99 percent of the European population (instead of the actual generally estimated 30 percent), leaving the world free for Asian expansion. It covers ten generations of history, focusing on the successive reincarnations of the same few characters as they pass through varying genders, social classes, and, in one notable example, species.

''The Years of Rice and Salt'' features Muslim, Chinese, and Hindu cultures and philosophies.

Science in the Capital series

The ''Science in the Capital'' series encompasses three novels: ''Forty Signs of Rain'' (2004), ''Fifty Degrees Below'' (2005), and ''Sixty Days and Counting'' (2007). This series explores the consequences of global warming, both on a global level and as it affects the main characters—several employees of the National Science Foundation and those close to them. A recurring theme of Robinson's is that of Buddhist philosophy, which is represented in the series by the agency of ambassadors from Khembalung, a fictional Buddhist micro-state located on an offshore island in the Ganges delta. Their state is threatened by rising sea levels, and the reaction of the Khembalis is compared to that of the Washingtonians.

Other novels

''Icehenge'' (1984) tells the story of the discovery of a monument in the style of Stonehenge found carved from ice on Pluto and the subsequent investigation into its origin. The setting of this novel bears strong resemblances of the ''Mars'' trilogy, albeit with darker, more dystopian undertones.

''The Memory of Whiteness'' (1985) deals with a fantastic, unique musical instrument and the trials faced by its newest master as he tours the solar system; how it is described seems to contain the beginnings of many of the ideas later put to use in the ''Mars'' trilogy, although it is set centuries later.

''A Short, Sharp Shock'' (1990) one of Robinson's few fantasy stories, dealing with an amnesiac man traveling through a mysterious land in pursuit of a woman who features in his first memories.

''Galileo's Dream'' is a partially fictionalized biography of Galileo Galilei in which he is summoned by 29th century inhabitants of the Galilean moons who seek his advice. (UK release: August 6, 2009; US release: December 29, 2009).

Short stories

Robinson published his first two short stories in ''Orbit 18'' in 1976. Most are collected in ''The Planet on the Table'' (1986), ''Remaking History'' (1991), ''Down and Out in the Year 2000'' (1992), and ''Vinland the Dream'' (2001). Four humorous novellas featuring American expatriates in Nepal are collected in ''Escape from Kathmandu'' (1989). ''The Martians'' (1999), discussed above, further explores the world of the ''Mars'' Trilogy. On August 1, 2010, Night Shade Books released a collection entitled, "The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson."

Selected story bibliography

"A History of the Twentieth Century, with Illustrations" (in: ''Vinland the Dream'', originally published in ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'', 1991, revised for ''Remaking History'')

"A Martian Childhood"

"A Martian Romance" (in ''The Martians'')

"A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" (in ''Vinland the Dream'')

"A Transect"

"An Argument for the Deployment of All Safe Terraforming Technologies" (in ''The Martians''),

"Arthur Sternbach Brings the Curveball to Mars" (in ''The Martians''),

"Before I Wake" (in ''Remaking History'')

"Big Man in Love" (in ''The Martians'')

"Black Air" (in ''Vinland the Dream''; originally published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1983'')

"Coming Back to Dixieland" (in ''Vinland the Dream''; originally published in ''Orbit 18'')

"Coyote Makes Trouble" (in ''The Martians'')

"Coyote Remembers" (in ''The Martians'')

"Discovering Life" (in ''Vinland the Dream'' and in ''The Martians'')

"Down and Out in the Year 2000"

"Enough is as Good as a Feast" (in ''The Martians',

"Escape from Kathmandu" (in ''Escape from Katmandu'')

"Exploring Fossil Canyon" (in ''The Martians'')

"Festival Night"

"Four Teleological Trails" (in ''The Martians'')

"Glacier" (in ''Remaking History'')

"Green Mars" (in ''The Martians'')

"''If Wang Wei Lived on Mars'' and Other Poems" (in ''The Martians'')

"Jackie on Zo" (in ''The Martians'')

"Keeping the Flame" (in ''The Martians'')

"Maya and Desmond" (in ''The Martians'')

"Mercurial" (in ''Vinland the Dream''; originally published in ''Universe 15''),

"Michel in Antarctica" (in ''The Martians'')

"Michel in Provence" (in ''The Martians'')

"Mother Goddess of the World" (in ''Escape from Katmandu'')

"Muir on Shasta" (in ''Vinland the Dream'')

"Odessa" (in ''The Martians'')

"On the North Pole of Pluto"

"Our Town"

"Purple Mars" (in ''The Martians'')

"Remaking History" (in ''Remaking History'' and ''Vinland the Dream'' originally published in ''What Might Have Been'', edited by Gregory Benford and Martin H. Greenberg)

"Ridge Running" (in ''Vinland the Dream''; originally published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', 1984 edition)

"Salt and Fresh" (in ''The Martians'')

"Saving Noctis Dam" (in ''The Martians'')

"Sax Moments" (in ''The Martians'')

"Selected Abstracts from ''The Journal of Aerological Studies''" (in ''The Martians'')

"Sexual Dimorphism" (in ''The Martians'')

"Some Work Notes and Commentary on the Constitution by Charlotte Dorsa Brevia" (in ''The Martians'')

"Stone Eggs" (in ''Vinland the Dream''; originally published in ''Universe 13'')

"The Archaeae Plot" (in ''The Martians'')

"The Blind Geometer"

"The Constitution of Mars" (in ''The Martians'')

"The Disguise" (in ''Vinland the Dream''; originally published in ''Orbit 19''),

"The Kingdom Underground" (in ''Escape from Katmandu'')

"The Lucky Strike" (in ''Vinland the Dream''; originally published in ''Universe 14'')

"The Lunatics"

"The Memorial"

"The Part of Us That Loves" (in ''Remaking History'')

"The Return from Rainbow Bridge"

"The Translator" (in ''Remaking History'')

"The True Nature of Shangri-La" (in ''Escape from Katmandu'')

"The Way the Land Spoke to Us" (in ''The Martians'')

"To Leave a Mark"

"Venice Drowned" (in ''Vinland the Dream''; originally published in ''Universe 11'')

"Vinland the Dream" (in ''Vinland the Dream''; originally published in ''Remaking History'')

"What Matters" (in ''The Martians'')

"Zürich"

Non-fiction

Robinson's doctoral thesis examined ''The Novels of Philip K. Dick'' (1984). A hardcover version was published by UMI Research Press. He also edited and wrote the introduction of the anthology ''Future Primitive: The New Ecotopias'' (1994).

Major themes

Ecological sustainability

Virtually all of Robinson's novels have an ecological component; sustainability would have to be counted among his primary themes. (A strong contender for the primary theme would be the nature of a plausible utopia.) The ''Orange County'' trilogy is about the way in which the technological intersects with the natural, highlighting the importance of keeping the two in balance. In the ''Mars'' trilogy, one of the principal divisions among the population of Mars is based on dissenting views on terraforming; It is heavily debated whether or not the seemingly barren Martian landscape has a similar ecological or spiritual value to a living ecosphere like Earth's. ''Forty Signs of Rain'' is entirely ecologically themed, taking as it does global warming for its principal theme.

Economic and social justice

Robinson's work often explores alternatives to modern capitalism. In the ''Mars'' trilogy, it is argued that capitalism is an outgrowth of feudalism, which could be replaced in the future by a more democratic economic system. Worker ownership and cooperatives figure prominently in ''Green Mars'' and ''Blue Mars'' as a replacement for traditional corporations. The ''Orange County'' trilogy explores similar arrangements; ''Pacific Edge'' includes the idea of attacking the legal framework behind corporate domination to promote social egalitarianism.

Robinson's work often portrays characters struggling to preserve and enhance the world around them in an environment characterized by individualism and entrepreneurialism, often facing the political and economic authoritarianism of corporate power acting within this environment. Robinson has been described as anti-capitalist, and his work often portrays a form of frontier capitalism that promotes ideals that closely resemble anarcho-syndicalist and socialist systems, and faced with a capitalism that is staunched by entrenched hegemonic corporations. In particular, his Martian Constitution draws upon social democratic ideals explicitly emphasizing a community-participation element in political and economic life, while a persistent threat to social democracy is embodied by transnational corporations, the characteristics of which resemble those predicted by institutionalist and socialist economists such as Ted Wheelwright and Karl Marx.

Robinson's works often portray the worlds of tomorrow as in a similar way to the mythologized American Western frontier, showing a sentimental affection for the freedom and wildness of the frontier. This aesthetic includes a preoccupation with competing models of political and economic organization.

The environmental, economic, and social themes in Robinson's oeuvre stand in marked contrast to the right-wing libertarian streak prevalent in much of science fiction (Robert A. Heinlein, Poul Anderson, Larry Niven, and Jerry Pournelle being prominent examples), and his work has been called the most successful attempt to reach a mass audience with a left-wing libertarian and anti-capitalist utopian vision since Ursula K. Le Guin's 1974 novel, ''The Dispossessed''.

Scientists as citizens

Robinson's work often features scientists as heroes. They are portrayed in a mundane way compared to most work featuring scientists: rather than being adventurers or action heroes, Robinson's scientists become critically important because of research discoveries, networking and collaboration with other scientists, political lobbying, or becoming public figures. The ''Mars'' trilogy and ''The Years of Rice and Salt'' rely heavily on the idea that scientists must take responsibility for ensuring public understanding and responsible use of their discoveries. Robinson's scientists often emerge as the best people to direct public policy on important environmental and technological questions, on which politicians are often ignorant.

Awards

Robinson's novels have won eleven major science fiction awards, and have been nominated on twenty-nine occasions.

Robinson won the Hugo Award for Best Novel with ''Green Mars'' (1994); and ''Blue Mars'' (1997); the Nebula Award for Best Novel with ''Red Mars'' (1993); the Nebula Award for Best Novella with ''The Blind Geometer'' (1986); the World Fantasy Award with ''Black Air'' (1983); a John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel with ''Pacific Edge'' (1991); and Locus Awards for ''The Wild Shore'' (1985), ''A Short, Sharp Shock'' (1991), ''Green Mars'' (1994), ''Blue Mars'' (1997), ''The Martians'' (2000), and ''The Years of Rice and Salt'' (2003).

References

External links

KimStanleyRobinson.info – unofficial site

A podcast episode featuring Kim Stanley Robinson discussing his novel Sixty Days and Counting

Short descriptions of K.S. Robinson's novels

An interview with K.S. Robinson

All of Kim Stanley Robinson's audio interviews on the podcast ''The Future And You'' (in which he describes his expectations of the future)

Author's IBList.com Entry

Guardian interview with K.S. Robinson

"Comparative Planetology: an Interview with Kim Stanley Robinson" at BLDGBLOG

Audio interview from IT Conversations – recorded 2006-01-01 covering the ''Science in the Capital'' series

Complete list of sci-fi award wins and nominations by novel

Interview on the SciFiDimensions Podcast

Category:1952 births Category:Living people Category:Alternate history writers Category:American science fiction writers Category:American socialists Category:Boston University alumni Category:Clarion Writers' Workshop Category:Environmental fiction writers Category:Hugo Award winning authors Category:Nebula Award winning authors Category:People from Davis, California Category:People from Waukegan, Illinois Category:University of California, San Diego alumni Category:World Fantasy Award winning authors Category:Writers from California Category:Writers from Illinois

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