Do You Know Me?

[visualfeast]

Are You Piper Laurie?

[The Lady Eve]

I'm neither Piper Laurie nor Raquel Welch. I was more of a leading lady than Piper Laurie and more of an actress and less a glamour girl than Raquel. I was once up to replace Marilyn Monroe in a film, but that didn't pan out.

[RobinsHood]

well then how about; Audrey Hepburn ?

[The Lady Eve]

No I'm not Audrey - she won an Oscar, I was only nominated. And I'm an American, Audrey was born in Belgium.

[The Lady Eve]

I was nominated for Best Actress for my role in a groundbreaking (for its subject matter) movie of the early 60's. My co-star was an extremely popular actor who won two Oscars in his career and was as adept at drama as comedy - and this was one of his earlier dramatic turns on film. The film's theme became very popular and won an Oscar for best original song. By the way, the film's director, very hot at the time, also directed one of Audrey Hepburn's most popular films...

[sellyoulloyd]

I hope you're *Lee Remick* ("Days of Wine and Roses," music by Henry Mancini). Are you?

[The Lady Eve]

Yes, sellyoulloyd, I am Lee Remick. I was in several notable films and a few classics (some featured on TCM's "The Essentials"), *A Face in the Crowd, The Long Hot Summer, Anatomy of a Murder, Wild River, Sanctuary, Experiment in Terror, Days of Wine and Roses, Baby the Rain Must Fall, No Way to Treat a Lady, The Detective, The Omen, The Europeans*...and I was slated to replace Marilyn Monroe in *Something's Gotta Give* - but the film wasn't made (till later with Doris Day as *Move Over, Darling*). I was nominated for seven Emmy Awards during the 70's and 80's when I was doing many dramas and miniseries on TV.

 

Glad you recognized me!

 

 

 

(sellyoulloyd, good work, it's your thread)

[sellyoulloyd]

Thanks, Eve. Lee Remick has always been one of my favorites.

 

I'll be back with a new identity...

[sellyoulloyd]

Here's a new one...

 

 

My father was an architect who at one time worked for British Intelligence, and my mother was a model. They divorced when I was just a toddler. I studied dance with the Royal Ballet in England and performed at Covent Garden.

 

I was discovered by producer Ray Stark when I was 18. Beautiful and sexy, I could sing as well as dance. Usually cast as a free spirited character, I came to instant fame in films. I won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Newcomer (Female), and my first two movies were very successful.

[sellyoulloyd]

 

I was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress (Drama) for my first film role, which was that of a prostitute. My second film, produced and released by Universal-International, was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Music-Scoring for a Musical Picture. The clip of one of my musical numbers is still replayed often today. Through this song, I became the icon of 1960s feminity. For my third film, Vidal Sassoon cut my long hair into a trendsetting asymmetrical bob.

[The Lady Eve]

I think you just might be *Nancy Kwan* - are you?

[sellyoulloyd]

For the next decade I made films both in America and Europe. I faded from public view for a time while my father was ill, but I remained active as managing director of my own production company, producing and directing commercials. "I don't have that (need) to prove myself. I have a passion to do good roles but luckily I don't have to do it for economic reasons. I'm not a big spender and I don't need a lot of frills." I have since been seen in small parts in various films and TV series, including Hawaii Five-O, Knots Landing, The A-Team, and ER, and have done commercial spots promoting ?Oriental Pearl Cream.?

 

My father was Cantonese and my mother Scottish. I am still remembered as one of Hollywood?s most visible Eurasian actresses, and ?I enjoy being a girl.? Yes, I am Nancy Kwan.

 

Very good, Eve, how DO you do it?!

[The Lady Eve]

Hi, sellyoulloyd, I'm going to answer your "how do you do it?" as I did cmvgor over on "10 clues to movie" who asked how I figured out the movie cmv last posted...this is a quote from a book about Katharine Hepburn I'm reading ( _Kate_ ). The author had been a reporter and sent Ms. Hepburn a copy of a piece he'd done on her that unearthed some buried info about her, including her actual birthdate. She sent him a simple note in response. It said "good sleuthing...".

 

"Do You Know Me" is one of my favorite threads. A lot can be learned here. I enjoy your posts because you give lots of information on the subjects you pick - which is what is the most fascinating aspect of the thread - and you are so enthusiastic about those you write about.

 

Will be back later with a new "me"...

[sellyoulloyd]

Thanks, Eve; I enjoy your posts, too. The sleuthing is a good part of the fun, isn't it, especially when you're trying to beat the clock!

 

can't wait to meet the new you!

[The Lady Eve]

I was born in the midwest, but we moved around a lot. My father was a banker and worked for the government. My mother was a painter and a housewife (business and art under the same roof!). We moved to Washington, D.C.when dad was appointed to a position there, then to different cities in the midwest when he was given other appointments. I was popular in college and was already getting much noticed for my looks. I moved to New York to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I performed in stock companies and was an understudy for a Broadway hit (I also toured with its national road company). I also appeared in a play with Edward G. Robinson.

[sellyoulloyd]

I'm pretty sure you are Wisconsin-born *Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands*...

[The Lady Eve]

Excellent work, sellyoulloyd, I'm "Gena" - we didn't get far enough to go into my career (you're fast) for me to talk about my transition from my mainstream early career to an "indie" actress known mostly for my collaborations with my husband, John Cassavetes - which led to two Oscar noms for Best Actress...

 

it's your thread, sellyoulloyd...

(I think Gena, now nearly 80, is still beautiful, saw her not so long ago in *Paris, je t'aime* in a segment with Ben Gazzara and she was wonderful)

[sellyoulloyd]

That was a good selection, Eve. Gena Rowlands is one of my favorite actresses -- I think she gets better with age (wonderful in The Notebook opposite James Garner and in Hope Floats as Sandra Bullock's mother).

 

okay, let's see who 'visits' us next...

[sellyoulloyd]

I started my career doing high school plays and summer stock, and then trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. However, I interrupted my career to raise my children, and then I began doing radio. It was not until I was 42 that I took my first film role -- an uncredited bit part. I did make an impression, but my second role also was uncredited. However, the next year I earned an Oscar nomination.

[The Lady Eve]

You sound very much like the incomparable *Thelma Ritter*, the much nominated but never winning Best Supporting Actress contender. Is this who you are?

[sellyoulloyd]

I made at least two to three films each year - a total of 30 over the course of twelve years. I also appeared in several leading television programs and was nominated for an Emmy.in a part written by Paddy Chayefsky. You are right, I was nominated for six Oscars, none of which I won. I was tied with Deborah Kerr for this dubious honor, she with Best Actress nominations, and I for Best Supporting Actress. Shortly after a performance on Jerry Lewis? television program, just 9 days before Valentine?s Day (my birthday) 1969, I suffered a fatal heart attack. I was just 66 years old. *I am Thelma Ritter*, and sellyoulloyd misses me?

 

congrats, Eve! your turn!

[The Lady Eve]

I think we all miss Thelma...she was an original. I'm thinking of her in *Rear Window*, *A Letter to Three Wives* and *The Misfits* at the moment - loved her...

 

 

I was born in New York into a family whose acting heritage goes back generations; it?s no surprise that I made my own stage debut at age five.

 

I was married twice and all of my children became actors and actresses! By the way, my sister was an actress, too, and I was related by marriage to another distinguished (and more well-known) acting family.

[The Lady Eve]

It was after my beloved second wife died that I really pursued my movie career. I was nearly 70 by then, but my life had a ways to go yet. I closed our home and made my way to the West Coast. I had contacts and family in Hollywood and I got work immediately and lots of it. I was busy for the rest of my life playing a classic kindly, courtly, grandfatherly type.

[The Lady Eve]

When Actor?s Equity magazine published my credits, they filled two pages. This was before I even made *Gone With the Wind, Meet Me in St. Louis* or most of the films I?m known for.

 

I have been called ?The Grand Old Man of American Stage and Screen? and when Bette Davis found out I?d passed away she said: ?Without a doubt, he was the greatest character actor of all time.? I worked right up to the end; I was in discussions on my last film when I died at 83. I was quoted as saying, ?a man should be able to stand on his feet at any age? when I was asked why I was working at such a ripe old age.

[The Lady Eve]

I am Harry Davenport! I've told much of my story already, not too much more to say except that I made dozens of films in my last 14 years and, referring to something said earlier, that I was related by marriage to Lionel Barrymore. This year Canton, PA, where I lived for years before I came to Hollywood, held a celebration of my life, showing clips of my films at the Rialto Theatre (I knew it well) and talking about my career. It was sold out!!

 

Mr. 6's, good work...it is your thread