birth name	John Uhler Lemmon III
birth date	February 08, 1925
birth place	Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.
death date	June 27, 2001
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
alma mater	Harvard University
years active	1949–2000
occupation	Actor
spouse	Cynthia Stone (1950–1956; divorced; 1 child)Felicia Farr (1962–2001; his death; 1 child) }}

John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including ''Some Like It Hot'', ''The Apartment'', ''Mister Roberts'' (for which he won the 1955 Best Supporting Actor Academy Award), ''Days of Wine and Roses'', ''The Great Race'', ''Irma la Douce'', ''The Odd Couple'', ''Save the Tiger'' (for which he won the 1973 Best Actor Academy Award), ''The Out-of-Towners'', ''The China Syndrome'', ''Missing'' (for which he won 'Best Actor' at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival), ''Glengarry Glen Ross'', ''Grumpy Old Men'' and ''Grumpier Old Men''.

Early life

Lemmon was born in an elevator at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. He was the only child of Mildred Burgess LaRue (née Noel) and John Uhler Lemmon, Jr., who was the president of a doughnut company. Lemmon attended John Ward Elementary School in Newton and The Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts. He later revealed that he knew he wanted to be an actor from the age of eight. Lemmon attended Phillips Academy (Class of 1943) and Harvard University (Class of 1947) where he lived in Adams House and was an active member of several Drama Clubs - becoming president of the Hasty Pudding Club - as well as a member of the Delphic Club for Gentleman, a final club at Harvard. After Harvard, Lemmon joined the Navy, receiving V-12 training and serving as an ensign. On being discharged, he took up acting professionally, working on radio, television and Broadway. He studied acting under Uta Hagen. He also became enamored of the piano and learned to play it on his own. He could also play the harmonica, organ, and the double bass.

Career

Lemmon's film debut was a bit part as a plasterer/painter in the 1949 film ''The Lady Takes a Sailor'' but he was not noticed until his official debut opposite Judy Holliday in the 1954 comedy ''It Should Happen to You''. Lemmon worked with many legendary leading ladies, among them Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Betty Grable, Janet Leigh, Shirley MacLaine, Romy Schneider, Doris Day, Kim Novak, Judy Holliday, Rita Hayworth, June Allyson, Virna Lisi, Ann Margret, Sophia Loren and many more. He was also close friends with Tony Curtis, Ernie Kovacs, Walter Matthau and Kevin Spacey. He made two films with Curtis, three films with Kovacs (''Operation Mad Ball'', ''Bell, Book, and Candle'', and ''It Happened to Jane''), and eleven with Matthau.

Early in Lemmon's career, Lemmon met Ernie Kovacs during the filming of ''Operation Mad Ball'' and co-starred with the comedian in this film. Lemmon and Kovacs became close friends and appeared together in two subsequent films - ''Bell, Book, and Candle''. and ''It Happened to Jane'' In 1977 PBS broadcast a compilation series of Kovacs' television work, and Lemmon served as the narrator of the series. Lemmon discussed his friendship with Kovacs in the documentary, ''Ernie Kovacs: Television's Original Genius''.

He became a favorite actor of director Billy Wilder, starring in his films ''Some Like It Hot'', ''The Apartment'', ''Irma la Douce'', ''The Fortune Cookie'', ''Avanti!'', ''The Front Page'' and ''Buddy Buddy''. Wilder felt Lemmon had a natural tendency toward overacting that had to be tempered; the Wilder biography ''Nobody's Perfect'' quotes the director as saying, "Lemmon, I would describe him as a ham, a fine ham, and with ham you have to trim a little fat". The biography also quotes Jack Lemmon as saying, "I am particularly susceptible to the parts I play... If my character was having a nervous breakdown, I started to have one".

He also had a longtime working relationship with director Blake Edwards, starring in ''My Sister Eileen'' (1955), ''Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), ''The Great Race'' (1965) and ''That's Life!'' (1986).

Lemmon recorded an album in 1958 while filming ''Some Like It Hot'' with Marilyn Monroe. Twelve jazz tracks were created for Lemmon and another twelve were added. Lemmon played the piano and recorded his own versions of Monroe's trademark songs, ''I Wanna Be Loved By You'' and ''I'm Through With Love'', for the album which was released in 1959 as ''A Twist of Lemmon/Some Like It Hot''.

Lemmon was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1956 for ''Mister Roberts'' (1955) and the Best Actor Oscar for ''Save the Tiger'' (1973), becoming the first actor to achieve this double. He was also nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role in the controversial film ''Missing'' in 1982 and for his roles in ''Some Like it Hot'' (1959), ''The Apartment'' (1960), ''Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), ''The China Syndrome '' (1979), and ''Tribute'' (1980). In 1988, the American Film Institute gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award.

''Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962) was one of his favorite roles. He portrayed Joe Clay, a young, fun-loving alcoholic businessman. In that film, Lemmon delivered the line, "My name is Joe Clay ... I'm an alcoholic." Three and a half decades later, he admitted on the television program, ''Inside the Actors Studio'', that he was not acting when he delivered that line, that he really was a recovering alcoholic at the end of his life.

Lemmon's production company JML produced ''Cool Hand Luke'' in 1967. Paul Newman was grateful to Lemmon for his support and offered him the role later made famous by Robert Redford in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' but Lemmon turned it down. He did not like riding horses and he also felt he'd already played too many aspects of the Sundance Kid's character before.

Lemmon often appeared in films partnered with Walter Matthau. Among their pairings was 1968's ''The Odd Couple'', as Felix Ungar (Lemmon) and Oscar Madison (Matthau). They also starred together in ''The Fortune Cookie'' (for which Matthau won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), ''The Front Page'' and ''Buddy Buddy''. In 1971, Lemmon directed Matthau in the comedy ''Kotch''. It was the only movie that Lemmon ever directed and Matthau was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his performance.

Additionally, Lemmon and Matthau had small parts in Oliver Stone's 1991 film, ''JFK'' (the only film in which both appeared without sharing screen time). In 1993, the duo teamed up again to star in ''Grumpy Old Men''. The film was a surprise hit, earning the two actors a new generation of young fans. During the rest of the decade, they would go on to star together in ''Out to Sea'', ''Grumpier Old Men'' and the widely panned ''The Odd Couple II''.

Lemmon starred in ''Some Like it Hot'', for which he was awarded Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1982, he won another Cannes award for his performance in ''Missing'' (which received the Palme d'Or).

At the 1998 Golden Globe Awards, he was nominated for "Best Actor in a Made for TV Movie" for his role in ''Twelve Angry Men'' losing to Ving Rhames. After accepting the award, Rhames asked Lemmon to come on stage and, in a move that stunned the audience, gave his award to him. (The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the Golden Globes, decided to have a second award made and sent to Rhames.).

He received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1988.

Personal life

Kevin Spacey recalled that Lemmon is remembered as always making time for other people. When already regarded as a legend, he met the teenage Spacey backstage after a theater performance and spoke to him about pursuing an acting career. Spacey would later work with Lemmon in ''Dad'' (1989), the critically acclaimed film ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1992) and on stage in a revival of ''Long Day's Journey Into Night''. Lemmon's performance also inspired Gil Gunderson, a character on The Simpsons that is modeled on Lemmon's.

Lemmon was married twice. His son Chris Lemmon (b. 1954), was his first child by his first wife, actress Cynthia Stone (b. February 26, 1926, Peoria, Illinois, d. December 26, 1988). His second wife was the actress Felicia Farr, with whom he had a daughter, Courtney (b.1966).

Lemmon admitted that he was an alcoholic in the late 1960s. (Source: Los Angeles Tomes Obituary.)

Felicia Farr had another daughter from a previous relationship (her marriage to Lee Farr) called Denise, who would become Lemmon's stepdaughter.

Death

Jack Lemmon died of colon cancer and metastatic cancer of the bladder on June 27, 2001. He had been fighting the disease, very privately, for two years before his death. He was interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California where he is buried near his friend and co-star, Walter Matthau, who died almost exactly one year before Lemmon. In typical Jack Lemmon wit, his gravestone simply reads "JACK LEMMON in". After Matthau's death in 2000, Lemmon appeared with friends and relatives of the actor on a ''Larry King Live'' show in tribute. A year later, many of the same people appeared on the show again to pay tribute to Lemmon.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1949	''''	Plasterer	Uncredited
1954	''It Should Happen to You''	Pete Sheppard
1954	''Phffft!''	Robert Tracey
1955	''Three for the Show''	Martin 'Marty' Stewart
1955		Ens. Frank Thurlowe Pulver	Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1955		Robert 'Bob' Baker
1955	''Hollywood Bronc Busters''	Himself
1956	''You Can't Run Away from It''	Peter Warne
1957		Tony
1957	''Operation Mad Ball''	Pvt. Hogan
1958		Frank Harris
1958		Nicky Holroyd
1959	''Some Like It Hot''	Jerry - 'Daphne'	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
1959	''It Happened to Jane''	George Denham
1960	''''	C.C. Baxter	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
1960	''Stowaway in the Sky''	Narrator	voice
1960		Himself	Cameo appearance as Daphne
1960	''''	Lt. Rip Crandall
1962	''''	William 'Bill' Gridley
1962		Joe Clay	San Sebastián International Film Festival Award for Best ActorNominated — Academy Award for Best ActorNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1963	''Irma la Douce''	Nestor Patou / Lord X	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1963	''Under the Yum Yum Tree''	Hogan	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1964	''Good Neighbor Sam''	Sam Bissel	Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1965	''How to Murder Your Wife''	Stanley Ford	Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1965	''''	Professor Fate / Prince Hapnick	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1966	''''	Harry Hinkle
1967		Harry Berlin
1968	''There Comes a Day''
1968	''''	Felix Ungar	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1969	''''	Howard Brubaker
1970	''''	George Kellerman	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1971	''Kotch''	Sleeping bus passenger	uncredited
1972	''''	Peter Edward Wilson
1972	''Avanti!''	Wendell Armbruster, Jr.	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1973	''Save the Tiger''	Harry Stoner	Academy Award for Best ActorNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1974	''''	Narrator	voice
1974	''''	Hildy Johnson	David di Donatello for Best Actor Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1975	''Wednesday''	Jerry Murphy
1975	''''	Narrator
1975	''''	Mel Edison
1976	''Alex & the Gypsy''	Alexander Main
1977	''Airport '77''	Capt. Don Gallagher
1979	''''	Jack Godell	Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)David di Donatello for Best Actor BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated — Academy Award for Best ActorNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1980		Scottie Templeton
1981	''Buddy Buddy''	Victor Clooney
1982		Ed Horman	Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)Nominated — Academy Award for Best ActorNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1984		Father Tim Farley
1985		Robert Traven
1986		Harvey Fairchild	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1989		Jake Tremont	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1991		Jack Martin
1992	''Beyond 'JFK': The Question of Conspiracy''	Himself	also archive footage
1992	''''	Himself
1992		Shelley Levene
1993	''Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman In Carver County''	Himself
1993	''Short Cuts''	Paul Finnigan	Golden Globe Award for Best Ensemble CastVolpi Cup
1993		John Gustafson	Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture
1995	''''	Dr. Morris Ritz
1995	''Grumpier Old Men''	John Gustafson
1996		Max Mueller / Karl Luger
1996	''My Fellow Americans''	President Russell P. Kramer
1996		Marcellus
1997	''Out to Sea''	Herb Sullivan
1997	''Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's''	Himself
1998	''Puppies for Sale''	Pet Shop Owner
1998	''''	Felix Ungar
2000	''''	Narrator / Old Hardy Greaves	uncredited

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1949–50	''That Wonderful Guy''	Harold
1950	''Toni Twin Time''	Host	Episode dated May 31, 1950
1951	''''	Celebrity Panelist	Ended after 5 episodes
1951–52	''''	Newlywed	in 'The Couple Next Door' sketches
1952	''Heaven for Betsy''	Pete Bell	September 30, 1952 to December 23, 1952
1954	''''	Surgeon	cancelled after a few weeks
1956	''''	John Wilkes Booth	February 11, 1956
1957	''What's My Line?''	Mystery Guest	November 3, 1957 Episode # 388, Season 9, Ep 10
1957–58	''Alcoa Theatre''	Henry CoyleSteve TylerWally MallLieutenant Tony CrawfordEdward King	Episode: "Disappearance"Episode: "Most Likely to Succeed"Episode: "Loudmouth"Episode: "The Days of November"Episode: "Souvenir"
1976	''''	Archie Rice
1987	''Long Day's Journey Into Night''	James Tyrone Sr.	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1988	''''	Gov. John Slaton	Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a MovieNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1992	''For Richer, for Poorer''	Aram Katourian
1993	''''	Robert	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1994	''Wild West''	host
1996	''''	Bud Bailey
1997	''''	Frank Ormand	Voice role; Episode: "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson"
1997		Juror #8	Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a MovieNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television FilmNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
1998	''''	Thomas Gerrin
1999		Henry Drummond	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television FilmNominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
1999		Morrie Schwartz	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a MovieScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television MovieNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film

Discography

''A Twist of Lemmon/Some Like It Hot'' (1959)

Piano Selections from ''Irma La Douce'' (1963)

Piano and Vocals (1990)

''Peter and the Wolf'' (1991)

Songs and music from'' Some Like It Hot'' (2001)

Bibliography

References

External links

"The Films of Jack Lemmon", compilation of movie clips, 4 minutes

Actor Jack Lemmon dead at 76

Jack Lemmon at the Archive of American Television

Obituary in the Los Angeles Times

Category:1925 births Category:2001 deaths Category:20th-century actors Category:Actors from Massachusetts Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actor Academy Award winners Category:Best Foreign Actor BAFTA Award winners Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actor Golden Globe winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners Category:Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:Deaths from bladder cancer Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Epic Records artists Category:Genie Award winners for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Newton, Massachusetts Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:Phillips Academy alumni Category:People from Malibu, California Category:United States Navy officers

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name	Walter Matthau
birth name	Walter John Matthow
birth date	October 01, 1920
birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
death date	July 01, 2000
death place	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
occupation	Actor
years active	1948–2000
spouse	Grace Geraldine Johnson (1948–58; divorced; 2 children)Carol Grace (1959–2000; his death; 1 child) }}

Walter Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in ''The Odd Couple'' and his frequent collaborations with ''Odd Couple'' star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy ''The Bad News Bears''. He won an Academy Award for his performance in the 1966 Billy Wilder film ''The Fortune Cookie.''

Early life

Matthau was born Walter John Matthow in New York City's Lower East Side on October 1, 1920, the son of Rose (née Berolsky; from Lithuania), who worked in a sweatshop, and Milton Matthow, an electrician and peddler (from Russia), both Jewish immigrants. His surname has often incorrectly been listed as Matuschanskayasky (see below for a detailed discussion). As a young boy, Walter attended a Jewish non-profit sleepaway camp, Tranquillity Camp, where he first began acting in the shows the camp would stage on Saturday nights. He also attended Surprise Lake Camp. His high school was Seward Park High School.

Career

During World War II, Matthau served in the U.S. Army Air Forces with the Eighth Air Force in England as a B-24 Liberator radioman-gunner, in the same 453rd Bombardment Group as James Stewart. He reached the rank of staff sergeant and became interested in acting. He took classes in acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York with the influential German director Erwin Piscator. He often joked that his best early review came in a play where he posed as a derelict. One reviewer said, "The others just looked like actors in make-up, Walter Matthau really looks like a skid row bum!" Matthau was a respected stage actor for years in such fare as ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' and ''A Shot in the Dark''. He won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a play.

In 1952, Matthau appeared in the pilot of ''Mr. Peepers'' with Wally Cox. For reasons unknown he used the name Leonard Elliot. His role was of the gym teacher Mr. Wall. In 1955, he made his motion picture debut as a whip-wielding bad guy in ''The Kentuckian'' opposite Burt Lancaster.

Matthau appeared as a villain in subsequent movies, such as 1958's ''King Creole'' (in which he is beaten up by Elvis Presley). That same year, he made a western called ''Ride a Crooked Trail'' with Audie Murphy and ''Onionhead'' starring Andy Griffith and Erin O'Brien, which was a flop. Matthau had a featured role opposite Griffith in the well received drama ''A Face in the Crowd'', directed by Elia Kazan. Matthau also directed a low-budget 1960 movie called ''The Gangster Story''. In 1962, he was a sympathetic sheriff in ''Lonely are the Brave'', which starred Kirk Douglas. He appeared opposite Audrey Hepburn in ''Charade'', which also starred Cary Grant.

Appearances on television were common too, including two on ABC's police drama, ''Naked City'', as well as the 1963 episode "A Tumble from a Tall White House" of ''The Eleventh Hour''. He appeared eight times between 1962 and 1964 on ''The DuPont Show of the Week'' and as Franklin Gaer in 1964 in the episode "Man Is a Rock" on ''Dr. Kildare''. Lastly, he starred in the syndicated crime drama ''Tallahassee 7000'', as a Florida-based state police investigator, in the 1961-1962 season.

Comedies were rare in Matthau's work at that time. He was cast in a number of stark dramas, such as 1964's ''Fail-Safe'', in which he portrayed a White House adviser during a catastrophic global incident.

In 1965, however, a plum comedy role came Matthau's way when Neil Simon cast him in the hit play ''The Odd Couple'' playing the slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison opposite Art Carney as Felix Unger. Matthau would later join Jack Lemmon in the movie version. Also in 1965, he played detective Ted Casselle in the Hitchcockian thriller ''Mirage'', with Gregory Peck and Diane Baker, a film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based on a novel by Howard Fast.

He achieved great film success in a 1966 comedy as a shyster lawyer called "Whiplash Willie" Gingrich starring opposite Lemmon in ''The Fortune Cookie'', the first of numerous collaborations with Billy Wilder, and a role that would earn him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Filming had to be placed on a five-month hiatus after Matthau suffered a heart attack.

Matthau was visibly banged up during the Oscar telecast, having been involved in a bicycle accident, nonetheless he scolded actors who had not bothered to come to the ceremony, especially the other major award winners that night: Elizabeth Taylor, Sandy Dennis and Paul Scofield.

Oscar nominations would come Matthau's way again for 1972's ''Kotch'', directed by Lemmon, and 1975's ''The Sunshine Boys'', another Simon vehicle transferred from the stage, this one about a pair of former vaudeville stars. For the latter role he won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.

Broadway hits turned into films continued to cast Matthau in the leads with 1969's ''Hello, Dolly!'' and that same year's ''Cactus Flower'', for which co-star Goldie Hawn received an Oscar. He played three different roles in the 1971 film version of Simon's ''Plaza Suite'' and was in the cast of its followup ''California Suite'' in 1978.

Matthau starred in three crime dramas in the mid-'70s, as a detective investigating a mass murder on a bus in ''The Laughing Policeman'', as a bank robber on the run from the Mafia and the law in ''Charley Varrick'' and as a New York transit cop in the action-adventure ''The Taking of Pelham One Two Three''. A change of pace about misfits on a Little League baseball team turned out to be a solid hit in 1976 when Matthau starred as coach Morris Buttermaker in the comedy ''The Bad News Bears''

He starred in Hopscotch(1980) He played Miles Kendig, who knows too much. One of the CIA's top international operatives, he's suddenly relegated to a desk job in an agency power play. Unwilling to go quietly, Kendig, aided by a Viennese widow (Glenda Jackson), begins writing a memoir that exposes the darkest secrets of every major intelligence agency in the world. The CIA wants Kendig dead, but he refuses to cooperate -- he's having too much fun.

In 1982, Matthau portrayed Herbert Tucker in ''I Ought to Be in Pictures''. There he worked with Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff, the daughter of the actress whom Matthau starred with in ''Plaza Suite'', Lee Grant.

Matthau played Albert Einstein in the film "IQ", also starring Tim Robbins and Meg Ryan.

His partnership with Lemmon became one of the most successful pairings in Hollywood. They became lifelong friends after making ''The Fortune Cookie'' and would make a total of 10 movies together—11 counting Kotch, in which Lemmon has a cameo as a sleeping bus passenger. Aside from their many comedies, each appeared (though not on screen together) in the 1991 Oliver Stone drama about the presidential assassination, ''JFK''.

They had a surprise box-office hit in the comedy ''Grumpy Old Men'', reuniting for a sequel, ''Grumpier Old Men'', that co-starred Sophia Loren and Ann-Margret. That led to more pairings late in their careers, notably ''Out to Sea'' and a Simon-scripted sequel to one of their great successes, ''The Odd Couple II''. ''Hanging Up'', a 2000 film directed by Diane Keaton, was Matthau's final appearance on screen.

Personal life

Marriages

Matthau was married twice; first to Grace Geraldine Johnson (1948–58), and then from 1959 until his death in 2000 to Carol Marcus. He had two children, Jenny and David, by his first wife, and a second son, Charlie Matthau, with his second wife. David is a radio news reporter, currently at WKXW "New Jersey 101.5" in Trenton, New Jersey. Jenny is president of the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. Matthau also helped raise his stepchildren, Aram Saroyan and Lucy Saroyan. His grandchildren include William Matthau, an engineer, and Emily Rose Roman, a student at SUNY Binghamton. Charlie Matthau directed his father in ''The Grass Harp'' (1995).

Death

Matthau died from complications of colon cancer in Santa Monica on July 1, 2000. After undergoing heart surgery some years before, doctors discovered that he had the cancer, which, by the time of his death, had spread to his liver, lungs, and brain. However, on his death certificate the causes of death are listed as cardiac arrest and atherosclerotic heart disease, with ESRD and atrial fibrillation added as ''"other significant conditions contributing to death but not related to [primary] cause..."'' His remains are interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Less than a year later, remains of Jack Lemmon (who died of colon and bladder cancer) were buried at the same cemetery. After Matthau's death, Lemmon as well as other friends and relatives had appeared on ''Larry King Live'' in an hour of tribute and remembrance; many of those same people appeared on the show one year later, reminiscing about Lemmon.

Carol Marcus, also a native of New York, died of a brain aneurysm in 2003. Her remains are buried next to Matthau's.

The remains of actor George C. Scott are also buried next to those of Walter Matthau, in an unmarked grave.

Jokey pseudonyms

There have been persistent but erroneous beliefs about Matthau's birth name. Among the names that have been incorrectly asserted as having been the name he was born under are Matuschanskayasky, Matashansky and Matansky. As reported by the authors of ''Matthau: A Life'' by Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferberg (along with Charlie Matthau), Walter Matthau often told tall tales. In his youth, he found that the joy of embellishment lifted a story (and the listener) to such enjoyable heights that he could not resist trying to pass off the most bogus of information, just to see who was gullible enough to believe it. Matthau told many stories to many reputable people, including, reportedly, the Social Security Administration. When he registered for a number, he was amazed that they only wanted him to write his name, and offer no proof of his identity. So, as another of his traditional goofs, he wrote that his true name was "Walter Foghorn Matthau". The rumor that his birth name was "Matuschanskayasky" was given additional credence by the release of the 1974 film ''Earthquake'' in which Matthau had agreed to provide a cameo performance without compensation on the condition that he not be credited under his real name. His character was credited to Walter Matuschanskayasky. Though this was a jokey pseudonym, its appearance in the film's end credits contributed to the urban legend that this was his real name. As recently as 2009, this erroneous information appeared in the ''World Almanac'' section on "Original Names of Selected Entertainers" (p. 278).

Work

Filmography

''Atomic Attack'' (1950) (short subject)

''The Kentuckian'' (1955)

''The Indian Fighter'' (1955)

''Bigger Than Life'' (1956)

''A Face in the Crowd'' (1957)

''Slaughter on Tenth Avenue'' (1957)

''King Creole'' (1958)

''Voice in the Mirror'' (1958)

''Ride a Crooked Trail'' (1958)

''Onionhead'' (1958)

''Gangster Story'' (1960) (also director)

''Strangers When We Meet'' (1960)

''Lonely are the Brave'' (1962)

''Who's Got the Action?'' (1962)

''Island of Love'' (1963)

''Charade'' (1963)

''Ensign Pulver'' (1964)

''Fail-Safe'' (1964)

''Goodbye Charlie'' (1964)

''Mirage'' (1965)

''The Fortune Cookie'' (1966)

''A Guide for the Married Man'' (1967)

''The Odd Couple'' (1968)

''The Secret Life of an American Wife'' (1968)

''Candy'' (1968)

''Hello, Dolly!'' (1969)

''Cactus Flower'' (1969)

''A New Leaf'' (1971)

''Plaza Suite'' (1971)

''Kotch'' (1971)

''Pete 'n' Tillie'' (1972)

''The Laughing Policeman'' (1973)

''Charley Varrick'' (1973)

''The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' (1974)

''Earthquake'' (1974) (credited as "Walter Matuschanskayasky")

''The Front Page'' (1974)

''The Lion Roars Again'' (1975) (short subject)

''The Gentleman Tramp'' (1975) (documentary)

''The Sunshine Boys'' (1975)

''The Bad News Bears'' (1976)

''Casey's Shadow'' (1978)

''House Calls'' (1978)

''California Suite'' (1978)

''Portrait of a 60% Perfect Man'' (1980) (documentary)

''Little Miss Marker'' (1980)

''Hopscotch'' (1980)

''First Monday in October'' (1981)

''Buddy Buddy'' (1981)

''I Ought to Be in Pictures'' (1982)

''The Survivors'' (1983)

''Movers & Shakers'' (1985)

''Pirates'' (1986)

''The Little Devil'' (1988)

''The Couch Trip'' (1988)

''JFK'' (1991) as Senator Russell B. Long

''Beyond 'JFK': The Question of Conspiracy'' (1992) (documentary)

''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' (1992)

''Dennis the Menace'' (1993)

''Grumpy Old Men'' (1993)

''I.Q.'' (1994)

''The Grass Harp'' (1995)

''Grumpier Old Men'' (1995)

''I'm Not Rappaport'' (1996)

''Out to Sea'' (1997)

''The Odd Couple II'' (1998)

''The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg'' (1998) (documentary)

''Hanging Up'' (2000)

Stage

''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1948)

''The Liar'' (1950)

''Twilight Walk'' (1951)

''Fancy Meeting You Again'' (1952)

''One Bright Day'' (1952)

''In Any Language'' (1952)

''The Grey-Eyed People'' (1952)

''The Ladies of the Corridor'' (1953)

''The Burning Glass'' (1953)

''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' (1955)

''Guys and Dolls'' (1955)

''Once More, with Feeling!'' (1958)

''Once There Was a Russian'' (1961)

''A Shot in the Dark'' (1961)

''My Mother, My Father and Me'' (1963)

''The Odd Couple'' (1965)

Television

''Justice'' (1954)

''Dry Run'', episode of ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' series (1959)

''Juno and the Paycock'' (1960)

''Route 66'' (1961)

''Tallahassee 7000'' (cast member in 1961)

''Awake and Sing!'' (1972)

''Actor'' (1978)

''The Stingiest Man in Town'' (1978) (voice)

''The Incident'' (1990)

''Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love'' (1991)

''Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore'' (1992)

''Incident in a Small Town'' (1994) as Harmon Cobb

''The Marriage Fool'' (1998)

''Target: The Corruptors!'' (1961–1962), two episodes

References

Further reading

External links

Category:1920 births Category:2000 deaths Category:American film actors Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners Category:Best Actor BAFTA Award winners Category:Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in California Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer Category:Jewish actors Category:American Jews Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American Jews Category:People from New York City Category:Tony Award winners Category:United States Army Air Forces soldiers

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name	Ving Rhames
birth name	Irving Rameses Rhames
birth date	May 12, 1959
birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
occupation	Actor
years active	1985–present
spouse	Deborah Reed (2000–present) Valerie Scott (1994–1999) (divorced) }}

Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames (born May 12, 1959) is an American actor best known for his work in ''Bringing Out the Dead'', ''Pulp Fiction'', ''Baby Boy'', ''Don King: Only in America'', and the ''Mission: Impossible'' film series.

Early life and education

Rhames was born in New York City, New York, the son of Reather, a homemaker, and Ernest Rhames, an auto mechanic. His parents were raised as sharecroppers in South Carolina. Named after the late NBC journalist, Irving R. Levine, Irving Rhames grew up in Harlem.

A good student, he entered New York's School of Performing Arts, where he discovered his love of acting. After high school, he studied drama at SUNY Purchase. His fellow acting student Stanley Tucci gave him his nickname "Ving". Rhames later transferred to Juilliard, where he began his career in New York theater.

Career

Rhames first appeared on Broadway in the play ''The Winter Boys'' in 1984. Ving continued his rise to fame through his work in soap operas. He found work as a supporting actor, and came to the attention of the general public by playing the role of Marsellus Wallace in ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994). Rhames also was getting public exposure on television as Peter Benton's brother-in-law on the medical drama ER, a recurring role he filled for 3 seasons. Not long after, Rhames was cast with Tom Cruise as the ace computer hacker Luther Stickell in Brian De Palma's ''Mission: Impossible'' (1996). With solid performances in two of these highly popular productions, his face was now known to moviegoers, and the work offers began rolling in more frequently. In 1997, Rhames portrayed the Character of Nathan 'Diamond Dog' Jones in the popular film ''Con Air''.

Rhames won a Golden Globe in 1998 for best actor in a TV miniseries for his performance in HBO's ''Don King: Only in America''. At the ceremony Rhames gave his award to fellow nominee Jack Lemmon, saying ''"I feel that being an artist is about giving, and I'd like to give this to you."'' Lemmon was clearly touched by the gesture as was the celebrity audience who gave Lemmon a standing ovation. Lemmon, who tried unsuccessfully to give the award back to Rhames said it was ''"one of the sweetest moments I've ever known in my life."'' The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced later that they would have a duplicate award prepared for Rhames. That moment was #98 on E!'s 101 Awesome Moments in Entertainment. ''The New York Times'' lauded Rhames for the act, writing that in doing so he "demonstrated his capacity for abundant generosity".

But Gary Dauphin, writing in ''Vibe'', described Rhames' effort to give away his Golden Globe Award as "a grateful Negro happy to be invited to the party". Sacha Jenkins, in her 2002 book ''Ego Trip's big book of racism'', called it "Best Example of a Negro Thinking Awards Grow on Trees". Riché Richardson wrote in ''Black masculinity and the U.S. South: from Uncle Tom to gangsta'' (2007) that the Spike Lee 2000 movie ''Bamboozled'' alludes to the 1999 Golden Globes ceremony incident. Richardson writes that when the character "Delacroix" tries similarly to give his own award to his white liberal boss in the movie, he is both reflecting on the Golden Globes Award ceremony incident and epitomizing the submissive-to-white-people Uncle Tom stereotype.

Rhames contributed attention-grabbing performances in ''Striptease'' (1996 as the wisecracking bodyguard Shad), ''Bringing Out the Dead'' (1999), reprised his Luther Stickell role for ''Mission: Impossible II'' (2000), playing Johnnie Cochran in ''American Tragedy'' (2000), as the ex-con boyfriend of Jodie's mother in the John Singleton film Baby Boy, portraying a gay drag queen in the television movie ''Holiday Heart'', contributed his deep bass voice for the character of Cobra Bubbles in ''Lilo & Stitch'' (2002) and the subsequent TV series, and played a stoic cop fighting zombie hordes in ''Dawn of the Dead'' (2004) and the ''Day of the Dead'' 2008 "remake." Rhames has also appeared in a series of television commercials for RadioShack, usually performing with Vanessa L. Williams.

In March 2005, Rhames played the lead role on a new "Kojak" series, on the USA Network cable channel (and on ITV4 in the UK). The bald head, lollipops, and "Who loves ya, baby?" catchphrase remained intact, but little else remained from the Savalas original.

Rhames voiced the part of Tobias Jones in the computer game ''Driv3r''.

In 2006, Rhames reprised his role in ''Mission: Impossible III'', making him the only actor besides Tom Cruise to appear in all three ''Mission: Impossible'' films, and was announced that he would have a role in the Aquaman-based show ''Mercy Reef''. In the integrating of The WB and UPN for the new network, CW, ''Mercy Reef'' was not picked up. It is an early contender for a midseason replacement, but currently no plans to air the series have been announced. Rhames played a homosexual, possibly also homicidal, firefighter who comes out of the closet in ''I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry''. He narrates the BET television series ''American Gangster''.

In the 2008 film ''Saving God'' he played an ex-con who is released from prison a changed man looking to take over his father's former church congregation in a deteriorating neighborhood. Rhames also stars in ''Phantom Punch'', a biopic of boxer Sonny Liston released directly to DVD as well as ''The Tournament'' portraying a fighter out to win a no-rules tournament.

Rhames makes an appearance in Ludacris's song "Southern Gangstas" on his album ''Theater of the Mind''. Rappers Playaz Circle and Rick Ross are also featured on the track.

He is engaged in a lawsuit with the producer of a film titled ''Red Canvas''.

His next current release is movie is "Submission" with Ernie Reyes, Jr. and UFC lightweight contender Gray Maynard and Randy Couture.

Rhames has been linked with a possible appearance in the upcoming fourth installment of the ''Mission Impossible'' series of movies – scheduled for release in 2011.

Upcoming films include The River Sorrow, with Ray Liotta, and Soldiers of Fortune, with Sean Bean. Both have Rhames co-starring with Christian Slater as well. In 2010, Rhames starred in Piranha 3D as Deputy Fallon, and it is rumored that he will returned in the planned sequel. He also will appear as Deputy Fallon as a spin off character in the movie Shark Night 3D.

Filmography

''Patty Hearst (film) ''Casualties of War'' ''The Long Walk Home'' ''Flight of the Intruder'' ''Stop ''Blood in Blood Out'' ''Pulp Fiction'' ''Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Lightning'' ''Mission: Impossible (film) ''Dangerous Ground'' ''Body Count'' ''Entrapment (film) ''Mission: Impossible II'' ''Baby Boy (film) ''Sins of the Father (film) ''Stitch ''Dawn of the Dead (2004 film) ''Back in the Day (film) ''Aquaman (TV program) ''Football Wives'' ''A Broken Life'' ''Echelon Conspiracy'' ''Rogue's Gallery (film) ''Death Race 2''

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Film	Role	Notes
1986	''Native Son''	Jack
1988	Patty Hearst'' ||	Cinque
1989	|	Lt. Reilly
rowspan=2>1990	|	Herbert Cotter
''Jacob's Ladder (film)	Jacob's Ladder''	George
rowspan=3	1991	|	CPO Frank McRae
''Homicide (1991 film)	Homicide''	Robert Randolph
''The People Under the Stairs''	Leroy
1992	Or My Mom Will Shoot''	Mr. Stereo
rowspan=3	1993	|	Ivan
''Dave (film)	Dave''	Duane Stevenson
''The Saint of Fort Washington''	Little Leroy
rowspan=2	1994	|	Marcellus Wallace
''Drop Squad''	Garvey
rowspan=3	1995	|	Detective Artie Brown	TV film
''Kiss of Death (1995 film)	Kiss of Death''	Omar
''Deadly Whispers''	Det. Jackson
rowspan=2	1996	Mission: Impossible'' ||	Luther Stickell
''Striptease (film)	Striptease''	Shad (bodyguard)
rowspan=4	1997	|	Muki
''Rosewood (film)	Rosewood''	Mann
''Con Air''	Nathan 'Diamond Dog' Jones
''Don King: Only in America''	Don King (boxing promoter)>Don King
rowspan=2	1998	|	Pike
''Out of Sight''	Buddy Bragg
rowspan=2	1999	Entrapment'' ||	Aaron Thibadeaux
''Bringing Out the Dead''	Marcus
rowspan=3	2000	|	Luther Stickell
''American Tragedy (film)	American Tragedy''	Johnnie Cochran
''Holiday Heart''	Holiday Heart
rowspan=2	2001	Baby Boy'' ||	Melvin
''Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within''	Ryan Whittaker
rowspan=6	2002	Sins of the Father'' ||	Garrick Jones	TV film
''Little John''	John Morgan
''Undisputed''	George "Iceman" Chambers
''Lilo & Stitch''	Cobra Bubbles
''RFK (film)	RFK''	Judge Jones
''Dark Blue (film)	Dark Blue''	Arthur Holland
rowspan=3	2003	The Movie''	Cobra Bubbles
''Mission: Impossible – Operation Surma''	Luther Stickel
''Sin''	Eddie Burns
rowspan=2	2004	Dawn of the Dead'' ||	Sgt. Kenneth Hall
''Driv3r''	Tobias Jones
rowspan=4	2005	Back in the Day'' ||	J-Bone
''Kojak (2005 TV series)	Kojak''	Theo Kojak
''Animal (2005 film)	Animal''	James "Animal" Allen
''Shooting Gallery (film)	Shooting Gallery''	Cue Ball Carl Bridgers
rowspan=3	2006	Aquaman'' ||	McCaffery	TV pilot
''Mission: Impossible III''	Luther Stickell
''Idlewild (film)	Idlewild''	Spats
rowspan=2	2007	|	Frank Wallingford	TV pilot
''I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry''	Fred G. Duncan
rowspan=3	2008	|	Vet
''Day of the Dead (2008 film)	Day of the Dead''	Capt. Rhodes
''Saving God''	Armstrong Cane
rowspan=8	2009	|	Agent Dave Grant
''Phantom Punch (film)	Phantom Punch''	Sonny Liston
''The Bridge to Nowhere''	Drug-dealer Nate
''Evil Angel (film)	Evil Angel''	Carruthers
''The Tournament (film)	The Tournament''	Joshua Harlow
''The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard''	Jibby Newsome
''Surrogates (film)	Surrogates''	The Prophet
''Give 'Em Hell, Malone''	Boulder
rowspan=6	2010	Rogue's Gallery'' ||	Judgement
''Gravity (TV series)	Gravity''	Dogg McFee
''Caged Animal''	Miles "Cain" Skinner
''Master Harold...and the Boys (2010 film)	Master Harold...and the Boys''	Sam
''Piranha 3-D''	Deputy Fallon
''Red Canvas''<
rowspan=6>2011	|	Weyland
''Soldiers of Fortune (film)	Soldiers of Fortune''	Grimaud
''The River Sorrow''	Captain Langley
''Piranha 3DD''	Deputy Fallon
''Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol''	Luther Stickell

References

External links

Ving Rhames interview

Category:1959 births Category:Actors from New York City Category:African American film actors Category:African American television actors Category:American stage actors Category:American voice actors Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actor Golden Globe winners Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Manhattan Category:State University of New York at Purchase alumni

an:Ving Rhames da:Ving Rhames de:Ving Rhames es:Ving Rhames fa:وینگ رهامس fr:Ving Rhames he:וינג ריימס id:Ving Rhames it:Ving Rhames nl:Ving Rhames ja:ヴィング・レイムス no:Ving Rhames pl:Ving Rhames pt:Ving Rhames ru:Рэймс, Винг sr:Винг Рејмс fi:Ving Rhames sv:Ving Rhames zh:文·雷姆斯

name	Billy Wilder
birth name	Samuel Wilder
birth date	June 22, 1906
birth place	(now Sucha Beskidzka, Poland)
death date	March 27, 2002
death place	Beverly Hills, California, United States
years active	1929-1995
cause death	Pneumonia
occupation	Film director, producer and screenwriter
spouse	Audrey Young (1949-2002) }}

Billy Wilder (22 June 190627 March 2002) was an Austro-Hungarian-born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age. Wilder is one of only five people who have won Academy Awards as producer, director, and writer for the same film (''The Apartment'').

Wilder became a screenwriter in the late 1920s while living in Berlin. After the rise of Adolf Hitler, Wilder, who was Jewish, left for Paris, where he made his directorial debut. He relocated to Hollywood in 1933, and in 1939 he had a hit as a co-writer of the screenplay to the screwball comedy ''Ninotchka''. Wilder established his directorial reputation after helming ''Double Indemnity'' (1944), a ''film noir'' he co-wrote with mystery novelist Raymond Chandler. Wilder earned the Best Director and Best Screenplay Academy Awards for the adaptation of a Charles R. Jackson story ''The Lost Weekend'', about alcoholism. In 1950, Wilder co-wrote and directed the critically acclaimed ''Sunset Boulevard''.

From the mid-1950s on, Wilder made mostly comedies. Among the classics Wilder created in this period are the farces ''The Seven Year Itch'' (1955) and ''Some Like It Hot'' (1959), satires such as ''The Apartment'' (1960), and the romantic comedy ''Sabrina'' (1954). He directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated performances. Wilder was recognized with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1986. In 1988, Wilder was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. In 1993, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Wilder holds a significant place in the history of Hollywood censorship for expanding the range of acceptable subject matter.

Life and career

Austria and Germany

Born Samuel Wilder to a Jewish family in Sucha Beskidzka, Austria-Hungary (now Poland) to Max Wilder and Eugenia Dittler, Wilder was nicknamed Billie by his mother (he changed that to "Billy" after arriving in America). His parents had a successful and well-known cake shop in Sucha Beskidzka's train station and unsuccessfully tried to persuade their son to join the family business. Soon the family moved to Vienna, where Wilder attended school. After dropping out of the University of Vienna, Wilder became a journalist. To advance his career Wilder decided to move to Berlin, Germany. While in Berlin, before achieving success as a writer, Wilder allegedly worked as a taxi dancer.

After writing crime and sports stories as a stringer for local newspapers, he was eventually offered a regular job at a Berlin tabloid. Developing an interest in film, he began working as a screenwriter. He collaborated with several other tyros (with Fred Zinnemann and Robert Siodmak on the 1929 feature ''People on Sunday''). After the rise of Adolf Hitler, Wilder, a Jew, left for Paris, where he made his directorial debut with the 1934 film ''Mauvaise Graine''. He relocated to Hollywood prior to its release. His mother, grandmother, and stepfather perished in Auschwitz concentration camp.

Hollywood career

After arriving in Hollywood in 1933, Wilder continued his career as a screenwriter. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1934. Wilder's first significant success was ''Ninotchka'' in 1939, a collaboration with fellow German immigrant Ernst Lubitsch. This screwball comedy starred Greta Garbo (generally known as a tragic heroine in film melodramas), and was popularly and critically acclaimed. With the byline, "Garbo Laughs!", it also took Garbo's career in a new direction. The film also marked Wilder's first Academy Award nomination, which he shared with co-writer Charles Brackett (although their collaboration on ''Bluebeard's Eighth Wife'' and ''Midnight'' had been well received). For twelve years Wilder co-wrote many of his films with Brackett, from 1938 through 1950. He followed ''Ninotchka'' with a series of box office hits in 1942, including his ''Hold Back the Dawn'' and ''Ball of Fire'', as well as his directorial feature debut, ''The Major and the Minor''.

He had a major impact his third film as director with ''Double Indemnity'' (1944), a ''film noir'', nominated for Best Director and Screenplay, which was co-written with mystery novelist Raymond Chandler; the two men though did not get along. ''Double Indemnity'' not only set conventions for the ''noir'' genre (such as "venetian blind" lighting and voice-over narration), but was also a landmark in the battle against Hollywood censorship. The original James M. Cain novel ''Double Indemnity'' featured two love triangles and a murder plotted for insurance money. While the book was highly popular with the reading public, it had been considered unfilmable under the Hays Code, because adultery was central to its plot. ''Double Indemnity'' is credited by some as the first true film noir, combining the stylistic elements of ''Citizen Kane'' with the narrative elements of ''The Maltese Falcon'' (1941). Wilder was the Editors Supervisor in the 1945 US Army Signal Corps documentary/propaganda film ''Death Mills''.

Two years later, Wilder earned the Best Director and Best Screenplay Academy Awards for the adaptation of a Charles R. Jackson story ''The Lost Weekend'' (1945), the first major American film to make a serious examination of alcoholism, another difficult theme under the Production Code. In 1950, Wilder co-wrote and directed the dark and cynical and critically acclaimed ''Sunset Boulevard'', which paired rising star William Holden with Gloria Swanson. Swanson played Norma Desmond, a reclusive silent film star who dreams of a comeback; Holden is an aspiring screenwriter who becomes a kept man.

In 1951, Wilder followed ''Sunset Boulevard'' with ''Ace in the Hole'' (aka ''The Big Carnival''), a tale of media exploitation of a caving accident. It was a critical and commercial failure at the time, but its reputation has grown over the years. In the fifties, Wilder also directed two adaptations of Broadway plays, the prisoner of war drama ''Stalag 17'' (1953), which resulted in a Best Actor Oscar for William Holden, and the Agatha Christie mystery ''Witness for the Prosecution'' (1957). In the mid 1950s, Wilder became interested in doing a film with one of the classic slapstick comedy acts of the Hollywood Golden Age. He first considered, and rejected, a project to star Laurel and Hardy. He then held discussions with Groucho Marx concerning a new Marx Brothers comedy, tentatively titled "A Day at the U.N." This project was abandoned when Chico Marx died in 1961.

From the mid-1950s onwards, Wilder made mostly comedies. Among the classics Wilder created in this period are the farces ''The Seven Year Itch'' (1955) and ''Some Like It Hot'' (1959), satires such as ''The Apartment'' (1960), and the romantic comedy ''Sabrina'' (1954). Wilder's humor is sometimes sardonic. In ''Love in the Afternoon'' (1957), a young and innocent Audrey Hepburn does not wish to be young or innocent with playboy Gary Cooper, and pretends to be a married woman in search of extramarital amusement. The film was Wilder's first collaboration with writer-producer I. A. L. Diamond, an association that continued until the end of both men's careers.

In 1959, United Artists released Wilder's Prohibition-era farce ''Some Like It Hot'' without a Production Code seal of approval, withheld due to the film's unabashed sexual comedy, including a central cross-dressing theme. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis play musicians who disguise themselves as women to escape pursuit by a Chicago gang. Curtis's character courts a singer played by Marilyn Monroe, while Lemmon is wooed by Joe E. Brown—setting up the film's final joke in which Lemmon reveals that his character is a man and Brown blandly replies "Well, nobody's perfect". The film's box-office success, record-breaking for a comedy, is widely considered to be one of several death blows to the Hays code. After winning three Academy Awards for 1960's ''The Apartment'' (for Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay), Wilder's career slowed. His Cold War farce ''One, Two, Three'' (1961) featured a rousing comic performance by James Cagney, but was followed by apparently lesser films but now of cult status such as ''Irma la Douce'' and ''Kiss Me, Stupid''. Wilder gained his last Oscar nomination for his screenplay ''The Fortune Cookie'' -UK Meet Whiplash Willie - (1966). His 1970 film ''The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' was intended as a major roadshow release, but was heavily cut by the studio and has never been fully restored. Later films such as ''Fedora'' (1978) and ''Buddy Buddy'' (1981) failed to impress critics or the public.

After that Wilder never ceased to complain that Hollywood was making a big mistake by not giving him any films to direct. He did so at film festivals, in interviews, on television, and whenever he had the opportunity. He often hinted that he was being discriminated against, due to his age. His complaining did not help: for whatever reason, the studios were unwilling to hire him. One "consolation" which Wilder had in his later years, besides his art collection (see "Later Life," below), was the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical version of ''Sunset Boulevard''. The musical itself had an uneven success and is generally considered to be one of the least of Webber's musicals.

Directorial style

Wilder's directorial choices reflected his belief in the primacy of writing. He avoided the exuberant cinematography of Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles because, in Wilder's opinion, shots that called attention to themselves would distract the audience from the story. Wilder's pictures have tight plotting and memorable dialogue. Despite his conservative directorial style, his subject matter often pushed the boundaries of mainstream entertainment. Once a subject was chosen, he would begin to visualize in terms of specific artists. His belief was that no matter how talented the actor, none was without limitations and the end result would be better if you bent the script to their personality rather than force a performance beyond their limitations. Wilder was skilled at working with actors, coaxing silent era legends Gloria Swanson and Erich von Stroheim out of retirement for roles in ''Sunset Boulevard''. For ''Stalag 17'', Wilder squeezed an Oscar-winning performance out of a reluctant William Holden (Holden wanted to make his character more likeable; Wilder refused). Wilder sometimes cast against type for major parts such as Fred MacMurray in ''Double Indemnity'' and ''The Apartment''. MacMurray had become Hollywood's highest-paid actor portraying a decent, thoughtful character in light comedies, melodramas, and musicals; Wilder cast him as a womanizing schemer. Humphrey Bogart shed his tough guy image to give one of his warmest performances in ''Sabrina''. James Cagney, not usually known for comedy, was memorable in a high-octane comic role for Wilder's ''One, Two, Three''. Wilder coaxed a very effective, and in some ways memorable performance out of Marilyn Monroe in ''Some Like It Hot''.

In total, he directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Barbara Stanwyck in ''Double Indemnity'', Ray Milland in ''The Lost Weekend'', William Holden in ''Sunset Boulevard'' and ''Stalag 17'', Gloria Swanson in ''Sunset Boulevard'', Erich von Stroheim in ''Sunset Boulevard'', Nancy Olson in ''Sunset Boulevard'', Robert Strauss in ''Stalag 17'', Audrey Hepburn in ''Sabrina'', Charles Laughton in ''Witness for the Prosecution'', Elsa Lanchester in ''Witness for the Prosecution'', Jack Lemmon in ''Some Like It Hot'' and ''The Apartment'', Jack Kruschen in ''The Apartment'', Shirley MacLaine in ''The Apartment'' and ''Irma la Douce'' and Walter Matthau in ''The Fortune Cookie''. Milland, Holden and Matthau won Oscars for their performances in Wilder films. Wilder mentored Jack Lemmon and was the first director to pair him with Walter Matthau, in ''The Fortune Cookie'' (1966). Wilder had great respect for Lemmon, calling him the hardest working actor he had ever met. Lemmon starred in seven of Wilder's films.

Wilder's work has had to meet some critical challenges. Although he is admired by many critics and filmgoers, he has not won approval from noted critic David Thomson, author of ''A Biographical Dictionary of Film'', and other works. Thomson summarizes his attitude toward Wilder by saying, "I remain skeptical." Thomson emphasizes that, although Wilder created some brilliant films, he also directed some poor ones, especially at the end of his career. Thomson notes that critic Andrew Sarris did not approve of Wilder for a long time but then changed his attitude much later.

Wilder's films often lacked any discernible political tone or sympathies, which was not unintentional. He was less interested in current political fashions than in human nature and the issues that confronted ordinary people. He was not affected by the Hollywood blacklist, and had little sympathy for those who were. Of the blacklisted 'Hollywood Ten' Wilder famously quipped, "Of the ten, two had talent, and the rest were just unfriendly". Wilder reveled in poking fun at those who took politics too seriously. In ''Ball of Fire'', his burlesque queen 'Sugarpuss' points at her sore throat and complains "Pink? It's as red as the ''Daily Worker'' and twice as sore." Later, she gives the overbearing and unsmiling housemaid the name "Franco". Wilder is sometimes confused with director William Wyler; the confusion is understandable, as both were German-speaking Jews with similar backgrounds and names. However, their output as directors was quite different, with Wyler preferring to direct epics and heavy dramas and Wilder noted for his comedies and film noir type dramas.

Later life

Wilder was recognized with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1986. In 1988, Wilder was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. In 1993, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Wilder became well known for owning one of the finest and most extensive art collections in Hollywood, mainly collecting modern art. As he described it in the mid 80’s, “It’s a sickness. I don’t know how to stop myself. Call it bulimia if you want – or curiosity or passion. I have some Impressionists, some Picassos from every period, some mobiles by Calder. I also collect tiny Japanese trees, glass paperweights and Chinese vases. Name an object and I collect it.” A few years before he died, Wilder agreed to a sale of most of the collection at an auction, netting a very large sum of money. He said that he was not selling the art to make money, but that he had enjoyed it as much as he could; he wanted others to have a chance to own it.

Wilder’s artistic ambitions led him to create a series of works all his own. By the early 90’s, Wilder had amassed a beguiling assortment of plastic-artistic constructions, many of which were made in collaboration with artist Bruce Houston. In 1993, art dealer Louis Stern, a long time friend, helped organize an exhibition of Wilder’s work at his Beverly Hills gallery. The exhibition was entitled ''Billy Wilder’s Marché aux Puces'' and the ''Variations on the Theme of Queen Nefertete'' segment was an unqualified crowd pleaser. This series featured busts of the ravishing Egyptian queen wrapped ''a la Christo'' or splattered ''a la Jackson Pollock'' or sporting a Campbell’s soup can in homage to Warhol.

Wilder died in 2002 of pneumonia at the age of 95 after battling health problems, including cancer, in Los Angeles, California and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles, California near Jack Lemmon. Marilyn Monroe's crypt is located in the same cemetery. Wilder died the same day as two other comedy legends: Milton Berle and Dudley Moore. The next day, French newspaper ''Le Monde'' titled its first-page obituary, "Billy Wilder dies. Nobody's perfect", quoting the final gag line in ''Some Like It Hot''.

Legacy

Wilder holds a significant place in the history of Hollywood censorship for expanding the range of acceptable subject matter. He is responsible for two of the film noir era's most definitive films in ''Double Indemnity'' and ''Sunset Boulevard''. Along with Woody Allen and the Marx Brothers, he leads the list of films on the American Film Institute's list of 100 funniest American films with 5 films written and holds the honor of holding the top spot with ''Some Like it Hot''. Also on the list are ''The Apartment'' and ''The Seven Year Itch'' which he directed, and ''Ball of Fire'' and ''Ninotchka'' which he co-wrote. The American Film Institute has ranked four of Wilder's films among their top 100 American films of the 20th century: ''Sunset Boulevard'' (no. 12), ''Some Like It Hot'' (no. 14), ''Double Indemnity'' (no. 38) and ''The Apartment'' (no. 93). For the tenth anniversary edition of their list, the AFI moved ''Sunset Blvd.'' to #16, ''Some Like it Hot'' to #22, ''Double Indemnity'' to #29 and ''The Apartment'' to #80.

Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba said in his acceptance speech for the 1993 Best Non-English Speaking Film Oscar: "I would like to believe in God in order to thank him. But I just believe in Billy Wilder... so, thank you Mr. Wilder." According to Trueba, Wilder called him the day after and told him: "Fernando, it's God." Wilder's 12 Academy Award nominations for screenwriting were a record until 1997 when Woody Allen received a 13th nomination for ''Deconstructing Harry''.

Filmography

Awards

With eight nominations for Academy Award for Best Director, Wilder is the second most nominated director in the history of the Academy Awards, behind William Wyler. Out of these nominations, Wilder won two Oscars.

Writers Guild of America west (WGAw) - Laurel Award, 1957 (with Charles Brackett) and 1980 (with I.A.L. Diamond). In addition to the career awards, Wilder was nominated 15 times for WGA Screenplay awards, winning five times, despite the fact that the award was not offered until 1948.

Directors Guild of America (DGA) - D.W. Griffith Award, 1985 (renamed the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999). In addition to the career award, Wilder was nominated eight times for the DGA Screen Director award, winning for 1960's ''The Apartment''.

WGAw/DGA - Preston Sturges Award, 1991

Golden Globes: Wilder won five Golden Globes after the awards started in 1944: twice as the producer of Best Picture winners (''Some Like It Hot'' and ''The Apartment''); twice as a director (''The Lost Weekend'' and ''Sunset Boulevard''), and once as a screenwriter (''Sabrina'', but this award wasn't presented from 1955 to 1965, during Wilder's most successful years).

In 1993, Wilder was awarded with an Honorary Golden Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.

Academy Award Nominations

Award !Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)Academy Award for Best DirectorAcademy Award for Best DirectorAcademy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)Academy Award for Best DirectorAcademy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)Academy Award for Best DirectorAcademy Award for Best DirectorAcademy Award for Best DirectorAcademy Award for Best Director [[Academy Award for Best PictureAcademy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Year	Film !! Result
1939	Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)>Best Writing, Screenplay	Ninotchka'' >
rowspan=2	1941	Best Writing, Screenplay ||	''Hold Back the Dawn''	Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller – ''Here Comes Mr. Jordan''
Academy Award for Best Story	Best Writing, Original Story	''Ball of Fire''
rowspan=2	1944	Best Director |	Double Indemnity'' |>Leo McCarey – ''Going My Way''
Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)	Best Writing, Screenplay	Frank Butler (writer)>Frank Butler and Frank Cavett – ''Going My Way''
rowspan=2	1945	Best Director |	The Lost Weekend'' |>
Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)	Best Writing, Screenplay
1948	Best Writing, Screenplay ||	''A Foreign Affair''	John Huston – ''The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (film)>The Treasure of the Sierra Madre''
rowspan=2	1950	Best Director |	Sunset Boulevard'' |>Joseph L. Mankiewicz – ''All About Eve''
Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)	Best Writing, Story and Screenplay
1951	Best Writing, Story and Screenplay ||	Ace in the Hole (film)>Ace in the Hole''	Alan Jay Lerner – ''An American in Paris (film)>An American in Paris''
1953	Best Director ||	''Stalag 17''	Fred Zinnemann – ''From Here to Eternity''
rowspan=2	1954	Best Director |	Sabrina'' |>Elia Kazan – ''On the Waterfront''
Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)	Best Writing, Screenplay	George Seaton – ''The Country Girl (1954 film)>The Country Girl''
1957	Best Director ||	Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film)>Witness for the Prosecution''	David Lean – ''The Bridge on the River Kwai''
rowspan=2	1959	Best Director ||	''Some Like It Hot''	William Wyler – ''Ben-Hur (1959 film)>Ben-Hur''
Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)	Best Writing, ScreenplayBased on Material from Another Medium	Neil Paterson (writer)
rowspan=3	1960	Best Motion Picture ||	''The Apartment''
Academy Award for Best Director	Best Director
Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)	Best Writing, Story and ScreenplayWritten Directly for the Screen
1966	Best Writing, Story and ScreenplayWritten Directly for the Screen ||	''The Fortune Cookie''	Claude Lelouch – ''A Man and a Woman''
1987	Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Directed Academy Award performances

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Performer ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Result |- |colspan="4" align="center" |Academy Award for Best Actor |- | 1945 | Ray Milland | ''The Lost Weekend'' | |- | 1950 | William Holden | ''Sunset Boulevard'' | |- | 1953 | William Holden | ''Stalag 17'' | |- | 1957 | Charles Laughton | ''Witness for the Prosecution'' | |- | 1959 | Jack Lemmon | ''Some Like It Hot'' | |- | 1960 | Jack Lemmon | ''The Apartment'' | |- |colspan="8" align="center" |Academy Award for Best Actress |- | 1944 | Barbara Stanwyck | ''Double Indemnity'' | |- | 1950 | Gloria Swanson | ''Sunset Boulevard'' | |- | 1954 | Audrey Hepburn | ''Sabrina'' | |- | 1960 | Shirley MacLaine | ''The Apartment'' | |- | 1963 | Shirley MacLaine | ''Irma la Douce'' | |- |colspan="8" align="center" |Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor |- | 1950 | Erich von Stroheim | ''Sunset Boulevard'' | |- | 1953 | Robert Strauss | ''Stalag 17'' | |- | 1960 | Jack Kruschen | ''The Apartment'' | |- | 1966 | Walter Matthau | ''The Fortune Cookie'' | |- |colspan="8" align="center" |Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |- | 1950 | Nancy Olson | ''Sunset Boulevard'' | |- | 1957 | Elsa Lanchester | ''Witness for the Prosecution'' | |- |}

Major Awards for Directed Films

GoldenGlobe Noms. ''Mauvaise Graine'' ''The Major and the Minor'' ''Five Graves to Cairo'' ''Double Indemnity (film) ''The Lost Weekend (film) ''The Emperor Waltz'' 2 ''Sunset Boulevard (film) ''Ace in the Hole (film) ''Stalag 17'' ''Sabrina (1954 film) ''The Seven Year Itch'' ''The Spirit of St. Louis (film) 6 ''Some Like It Hot'' ''The Apartment'' ''One, Two, Three'' ''Irma la Douce'' ''Kiss Me, Stupid'' ''The Fortune Cookie'' ''The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' ''Avanti!'' ''The Front Page (1974 film) ''Fedora (film) ''Buddy Buddy''

Year !! Film !! Academy Award Noms. !! Academy Award Wins	|	Golden Globe Wins (beg. 1943)	Directors Guild of America Award>DGA Award (beg. 1948)	Writers Guild of America Award>WGA Award (beg. 1948)
1934	|
1942	|
1943	|	3		*
1944	Double Indemnity'' ||	7		*
1945	The Lost Weekend'' ||	7	4	*	3
rowspan=2	1948	|	2		*
''A Foreign Affair''	|		*
1950	Sunset Boulevard'' ||	11	3	7	4
1951	Ace in the Hole'' ||	1
1953	|	3	1	*
1954	Sabrina'' ||	4	1	*	1
1955	|			*	1
rowspan=3	1957	The Spirit of St. Louis'' ||	1
''Love in the Afternoon (1957 film)	Love in the Afternoon''	|		3
''Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film)	Witness for the Prosecution''	|		5	1
1959	|	6	1	3	3
1960	|	10	5	4	3
1961	|	1		2
1963	|	3	1	3	1
1964	|
1966	|	4	1	1
1970	|
1972	|			6	1
1974	The Front Page'' ||			3
1978	Fedora'' ||
1981	|

-- Only Golden Globe winners reported in these years

Trivia

Wilder's assistant was producer Thomas L. Miller, who is known for his work on such shows as ''Happy Days''.

Wilder used the song "Isn't It Romantic" in many of his films.

Notes

See also

Ruth Chatterton

Billy Wilder filmography

List of film collaborations

David Niven

Laurence Olivier

References

Literature

Phillips, Gene D., "Some Like it Wilder" (The University Press of Kentucky: 2010)

Armstrong, Richard, ''Billy Wilder, American Film Realist'' (McFarland & Company, Inc.: 2000)

Dan Auiler, "Some Like it Hot" (Taschen, 2001)

Chandler, Charlotte, ''Nobody's Perfect. Billy Wilder. A Personal Biography'' (New York: Schuster & Schuster, 2002)

Crowe, Cameron, ''Conversations with Wilder'' (New York: Knopf, 2001)

Guilbert, Georges-Claude, ''Literary Readings of Billy Wilder'' (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007)

Hermsdorf, Daniel, ''Billy Wilder. Filme - Motive - Kontroverses'' (Bochum: Paragon-Verlag, 2006)

Hopp, Glenn, ''Billy Wilder'' (Pocket Essentials: 2001)

Hopp, Glenn / Duncan, Paul, ''Billy Wilder'' (Köln / New York: Taschen, 2003)

Horton, Robert, ''Billy Wilder Interviews'' (University Press of Mississippi, 2001)

Hutter, Andreas / Kamolz, Klaus, ''Billie Wilder. Eine europäische Karriere'' (Vienna, Cologne, Weimar: Boehlau, 1998)

Gyurko, Lanin A., ''The Shattered Screen. Myth and Demythification in the Art of Carlos Fuentes and Billy Wilder'' (New Orleans: University Press of the South, 2009)

Jacobs, Jérôme, ''Billy Wilder'' (Paris: Rivages Cinéma, 2006)

Lally, Kevin, ''Wilder Times: The Life of Billy Wilder'' (Henry Holt & Co: 1st ed edition, May 1996)

Sikov, Ed, ''On Sunset Boulevard. The Life and Times of Billy Wilder'' (New York: Hyperion, 1999)

Neil Sinyard & Adrian Turner, "Journey Down Sunset Boulevard" (BCW, Isle of Wight, UK, 1979)

Wood, Tom, ''The Bright Side of Billy Wilder, Primarily'' (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1969)

Zolotow, Maurice, ''Billy Wilder in Hollywood'' (Pompton Plains: Limelight Editions, 2004)

Hellmuth Karasek, ''Billy Wilder, eine Nahaufnahme'' (Heyne, 2002)

External links

American Master - Billy Wilder

Wilder Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)

Billy Wilder Tribute at NPR

Lifetime Honors - National Medal of Arts.

Writers Guild of America, west - Laurel Award Recipients

Directors Guild of America

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birth name	Shirley MacLean Beaty
birth date	April 24, 1934
birth place	Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
occupation	Actress, singer, dancer, author, activist
years active	1953–present
spouse	Steve Parker(m. 1954–82, divorced)
children	Sachi Parker }}

Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career. In 1983, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in ''Terms of Endearment''. She was nominated for an Academy Award 5 times before her win.

Early life

Named after Shirley Temple, MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty in Richmond, Virginia. Her father, Ira Owens Beaty, was a professor of psychology, public school administrator, and real estate agent, and her mother, Kathlyn Corinne (née MacLean), was a drama teacher born in Nova Scotia, Canada; MacLaine's grandparents were also teachers. The family was devoutly Baptist. While she was still a child, MacLaine's father moved the family from Richmond to Norfolk, and then to Arlington, Virginia and Waverly, eventually taking a position at Arlington's Thomas Jefferson Junior High School.

Shirley had very weak ankles as a child, so her mother decided to enroll her in ballet class. Strongly motivated by ballet throughout her youth, she never missed a class. In classical romantic pieces like "Romeo & Juliet" and "Sleeping Beauty," being the tallest in the class, she always played the boys' role due to the absence of males in the class. She eventually got to play a respectable female role — the fairy godmother in "Cinderella." While warming up backstage, she broke her ankle, but decided to dance the role all the way through. Eventually, MacLaine decided that professional ballet wasn't for her: she had grown too tall (being over 6 feet tall en pointe) and did not have the requisite "beautifully constructed feet" (high arches, high insteps). Also, she found ballet too limiting. After leaving ballet, MacLaine pursued Broadway dancing. Eventually, she turned to acting.

She attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was on the cheerleading squad and acted in the school's productions. The summer before her senior year, she was in New York to try acting on Broadway with some success. After she graduated, she returned and within a year she became an understudy to actress Carol Haney in ''The Pajama Game''; Haney broke her ankle, and MacLaine replaced her. A few months after, with Haney still out of commission, film producer Hal B. Wallis was in the audience, took note of MacLaine, and signed her to work for Paramount Pictures. She later sued Wallis over a contractual dispute, a suit that is credited with ending the old-style studio star system of actor management.

Career

MacLaine made her film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Trouble with Harry'' (1955), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress. In 1956 she had roles in ''Hot Spell'' and ''Around the World in Eighty Days''. At the same time she starred in ''Some Came Running'', the film that gave her her first Academy Award nomination - one of five that the film received - and a Golden Globe nomination.

Her second nomination came two years later for ''The Apartment'', starring with Jack Lemmon. The film won five Oscars, including Best Director for Billy Wilder. She later said, "I thought I would win for ''The Apartment'', but then Elizabeth Taylor had a tracheotomy". She starred in ''The Children's Hour'' (1961) also starring Audrey Hepburn, based on the play by Lillian Hellman. She was again nominated, this time for ''Irma la Douce'' (1963), for which she reunited with Wilder and Lemmon. Don Siegel, her director on ''Two Mules for Sister Sara'' (1970), in which she starred opposite Clint Eastwood, once said, "It's hard to feel any great warmth to her. She's too unfeminine and has too much balls. She's very, very hard."

In 1975 she received a nomination for Best Documentary Feature for her documentary film ''The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir''. Two years later, she was once again nominated for ''The Turning Point'' co-starring Anne Bancroft, in which she portrayed a retired ballerina much like herself. In 1978, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry. In 1980 she starred in ''A Change of Seasons'' alongside Anthony Hopkins. The pair famously didn't get along and Hopkins said “she was the most obnoxious actress I have ever worked with." In 1983 she won an Oscar for ''Terms of Endearment''. The film won another four Oscars; one for Jack Nicholson and three for director James L. Brooks. In 1988, MacLaine won a Golden Globe for Best Actress (Drama) for ''Madame Sousatzka''.

She continued to star in major films, such as ''Steel Magnolias'' with Julia Roberts and many other stars. She made her feature-film directorial debut in ''Bruno,'' MacLaine starred as Helen in this film, which was released to video as ''The Dress Code.'' In 2007 she completed ''Closing the Ring'', directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Christopher Plummer. Other notable films in which MacLaine has starred include ''Sweet Charity'' (1968), ''Being There'' (1979) with Peter Sellers, ''Postcards From the Edge'' (1990) with actress Meryl Streep, playing a fictionalized version of Debbie Reynolds with a screenplay by Reynolds's daughter, Carrie Fisher, ''Used People'' with Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates, ''Guarding Tess'' (1994) with Nicolas Cage, "Mrs. Winterbourne" (1996), with actress and talk show host, Ricki Lake and actor Brendan Fraser, ''Rumor Has It…'' (2005) with Kevin Costner and Jennifer Aniston and ''In Her Shoes'' with Cameron Diaz.

MacLaine is also set to star in ''Poor Things,'' a drama.

MacLaine has also appeared in numerous television projects including an autobiographical miniseries based upon the book ''Out on a Limb,'' ''The Salem Witch Trials,'' ''These Old Broads'' written by Carrie Fisher and co-starring Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, and Joan Collins, and ''Coco,'' a Lifetime production based on the life of Coco Chanel. She also had a short-lived sit-com called ''Shirley's World.''

MacLaine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1165 Vine Street.

Personal life

MacLaine was married to businessman Steve Parker until they divorced in 1982. In April 2011 while promoting her new book, “I'm Over All That”, she told Oprah Winfrey that she had an open relationship with her husband. They had a daughter, Sachi Parker (born 1956). Shirley shares a birthday (April 24) with her good friend, Barbra Streisand, and they traditionally spend it together each year.

MacLaine has a strong and enduring interest in spirituality and occultism. Many of her best-selling books, such as ''Out on a Limb'' and ''Dancing in the Light'', have it as their central theme. Her interests have led her to such forms of spiritual exploration as walking ''El Camino de Santiago'', working with Chris Griscom, and practicing Transcendental Meditation.

Her well-known interest in New Age spirituality has made its way into several of her films. In Albert Brooks's 1991 romantic comedy ''Defending Your Life'', the recently deceased lead characters, played by Brooks and Meryl Streep, are astonished to find MacLaine introducing their past lives in the "Past Lives Pavilion." In 1990's ''Postcards from the Edge'' (w/a screenplay by Carrie Fisher), MacLaine, playing a character loosely based on Debbie Reynolds, sings a special version of "I'm Still Here", with customized lyrics created especially for her by composer Stephen Sondheim. One of the lyrics was changed to "I'm feeling transcendental--am I here?" In the 2001 made-for-television movie ''These Old Broads'', starring MacLaine, Debbie Reynolds, Joan Collins, and Elizabeth Taylor, and written by Reynolds's daughter, Carrie Fisher, MacLaine's character is a devotee of New Age spirituality.

MacLaine has serous interest in UFO that she gave numerous interviews to CNN, NBC and FOX news channels on the subject through 2007-2008. In her 2007 released book "Sage-ing While Age-ing" she mentioned about her alien encounters and witnessing of Washington DC UFO incidents in 1950s.

MacLaine found her way into many law casebooks when she sued Twentieth Century-Fox for breach of contract. She was to play a role in a film titled ''Bloomer Girl'', but the production was canceled. Twentieth Century-Fox offered her a role in another film, ''Big Country, Big Man'', in hopes of getting out of its contractual obligation to pay her for the canceled film. MacLaine's refusal led to an appeal by Twentieth Century-Fox to the Supreme Court of California in 1970, where the Court ruled against Fox, calling the studio's alternate role offer "different or inferior" employment. ''Parker v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation'', 474 P.2d 689 (Cal. 1970).

She also is godmother to the daughter of U.S. Representative, Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat and former mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.

With her younger brother, Warren Beatty, MacLaine used her celebrity status in instrumental roles as a fundraiser and organizer for George McGovern's campaign for president in 1972. That year, she authored the book ''McGovern: The Man and His Beliefs''.Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | 1959 | ''Career'' | Sharon Kensington | |- |rowspan="3"| 1960 | ''Ocean's Eleven'' | Tipsy girl | uncredited cameo |- | ''Can-Can'' | Simone Pistache | |- | ''The Apartment'' | Fran Kubelik | BAFTA Award for Best Foreign ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyVolpi CupNominated — Academy Award for Best Actress |- |rowspan="3"| 1961 | ''The Children's Hour'' | Martha Dobie | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |- | ''All in a Night's Work'' | Katie Robbins | |- | ''Two Loves'' | Anna Vorontosov | |- |rowspan="2"| 1962 | ''Two for the Seesaw'' | Gittel Mosca | |- | ''My Geisha'' | Lucy Dell/Yoko Mori | |- | 1963 | ''Irma la Douce'' | Irma la Douce | Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated — Academy Award for Best ActressNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress |- |rowspan="2"| 1964 | ''The Yellow Rolls-Royce'' | Mae Jenkins | |- | ''What a Way to Go!'' | Louisa May Foster | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress |- | 1965 | ''John Goldfarb, Please Come Home'' | Jenny Erichson | |- | 1966 | ''Gambit'' | Nicole Chang | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | 1967 | ''Woman Times Seven'' | Paulette/Maria Teresa/Linda/Edith/Eve Minou/Marie/Jeanne | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | 1968 | ''The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom'' | Harriet Blossom | |- | 1969 | ''Sweet Charity'' | Charity Hope Valentine | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | 1970 | ''Two Mules for Sister Sara'' | Sara | |- | 1971 | ''Desperate Characters'' | Sophie Bentwood |Silver Bear for Best Actress at Berlin |- | 1972 | ''The Possession of Joel Delaney'' | Norah Benson | |- |1975 |''The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir'' |Herself |DocumentaryWriter, direct, producerNominated — Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary |- | 1977 | ''The Turning Point'' | Deedee Rodgers |Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress |- | 1979 | ''Being There'' | Eve Rand | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- |rowspan="2"| 1980 | ''A Change of Seasons'' | Karyn Evans | |- | ''Loving Couples'' | Evelyn | |- | 1983 | ''Terms of Endearment'' | Aurora Greenway | Academy Award for Best ActressDavid di Donatello for Best Foreign ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNational Board of Review Award for Best ActressNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role |- | 1984 | ''Cannonball Run II'' | Veronica | |- | 1987 | ''Out on a Limb'' | Herself | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film |- | 1988 | ''Madame Sousatzka'' | Madame Yuvline Sousatzka | Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaVolpi Cup |- | 1989 | ''Steel Magnolias'' | Ouiser Boudreaux | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role |- |rowspan="2"| 1990 | ''Postcards from the Edge'' | Doris Mann | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |- | ''Waiting for the Light'' | Aunt Zena | |- | 1991 | ''Defending Your Life'' | "Past Lives Pavilion" host | |- | 1992 | ''Used People'' | Pearl Berman | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | 1993 | ''Wrestling Ernest Hemingway'' | Helen Cooney | |- | 1994 | ''Guarding Tess'' | Tess Carlisle | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | 1995 | ''The West Side Waltz'' | Margaret Mary Elderdice | |- |rowspan="2"| 1996 | ''The Evening Star'' | Aurora Greenway | |- | ''Mrs. Winterbourne'' | Grace Winterbourne |Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | 1997 | ''A Smile Like Yours'' | Martha | uncredited |- | 1999 | ''Joan of Arc'' | Madame de Beaurevoir | |- | 2000 | ''Bruno'' | Helen |Directed by Shirley MacLaine |- | 2001 | ''These Old Broads'' | Kate Westbourne | |- |rowspan="2"| 2002 | ''Salem Witch Trials'' | Rebecca Nurse | |- | ''Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay'' | Mary Kay |Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film |- | 2003 | ''Carolina'' | Grandma Millicent Mirabeau | |- |rowspan="3"| 2005 | ''Rumor Has It…'' | Katharine Richelieu | |- | ''Bewitched'' | Iris Smythson/Endora | |- | ''In Her Shoes'' | Ella Hirsch | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture |- | 2007 | ''Closing the Ring'' | Ethel Ann | |- |rowspan=2| 2008 | ''Coco Chanel'' |Coco Chanel | Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a MovieNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television FilmNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |- | ''Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning'' |Amelia Thomas | |- |2010 | ''Valentine's Day'' | Estelle Paddington | |- |2011 | ''Bernie'' | Marjorie Nugent | |}

TV work

''Shirley's World'' (1971–1972) and a 1977 one hour special.

''Where Do We Go From Here?'' (1978) Winner of the Rose D'Or

''Out on a Limb'' (1987)

References

Bibliography

(Published in Europe as: )

External links

MacLaine's Official Website

Shirley MacLaine interviewed by Ginny Dougary (2005)

Category:1934 births Category:Living people Category:People from Richmond, Virginia Category:Actors from Virginia Category:American Christians Category:Baptists from the United States Category:American comedians Category:American dancers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American people of Canadian descent Category:American spiritual writers Category:American stage actors Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:People from Arlington County, Virginia Category:Transcendental Meditation practitioners Category:GLAAD Media Awards winners

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