Piper Laurie, the three-time Academy Award-nominated actress whose seven-decade career including starring roles in the classic films “Carrie” and “The Hustler, has died. She was 91.
Laurie’s death was confirmed by her manager, Marion Rosenberg, in a statement to Variety.
“A beautiful human being and one of the great talents of our time,” Rosenberg said.
Laurie also starred in 1986’s “Children of a Lesser God,” for which she received an Oscar nomination for her supporting role, one of three Academy Award nominations she received in her career. Her first acting credits were for the 1950 films “The Milkman” and “Louisa.”
Her first Oscar nod came for 1961’s “The Hustler,” an iconic poolhall tale in which she starred opposite Paul Newman, playing his love interest. She also received an Oscar nomination for Brian De Palma’s 1976 Stephen King adaptation “Carrie,” in which she played the overbearing mother of Sissy Spacek’s telekinetic protagonist.
Laurie’s death was confirmed by her manager, Marion Rosenberg, in a statement to Variety.
“A beautiful human being and one of the great talents of our time,” Rosenberg said.
Laurie also starred in 1986’s “Children of a Lesser God,” for which she received an Oscar nomination for her supporting role, one of three Academy Award nominations she received in her career. Her first acting credits were for the 1950 films “The Milkman” and “Louisa.”
Her first Oscar nod came for 1961’s “The Hustler,” an iconic poolhall tale in which she starred opposite Paul Newman, playing his love interest. She also received an Oscar nomination for Brian De Palma’s 1976 Stephen King adaptation “Carrie,” in which she played the overbearing mother of Sissy Spacek’s telekinetic protagonist.
- 10/14/2023
- by Jeremy Bailey
- The Wrap
Piper Laurie, who blossomed as an actress only after extricating herself from the studio system and went on to rack up three Oscar nominations, has died. She was 91.
Laurie’s manager Marion Rosenberg confirmed the news to Variety, writing, “A beautiful human being and one of the great talents of our time.”
Laurie scored her first Oscar nomination for her work opposite Paul Newman in 1961’s classic poolhall drama “The Hustler,” in which she played an alcoholic who memorably tells Newman’s character, “Look, I’ve got troubles and I think maybe you’ve got troubles. Maybe it’d be better if we just leave each other alone.”
Though she informally retired to raise a family for more than a decade, she returned to film and television in the mid-’70s and racked up an impressive roster of characterizations, including Oscar-nominated turns in “Carrie” and in “Children of a Lesser God,...
Laurie’s manager Marion Rosenberg confirmed the news to Variety, writing, “A beautiful human being and one of the great talents of our time.”
Laurie scored her first Oscar nomination for her work opposite Paul Newman in 1961’s classic poolhall drama “The Hustler,” in which she played an alcoholic who memorably tells Newman’s character, “Look, I’ve got troubles and I think maybe you’ve got troubles. Maybe it’d be better if we just leave each other alone.”
Though she informally retired to raise a family for more than a decade, she returned to film and television in the mid-’70s and racked up an impressive roster of characterizations, including Oscar-nominated turns in “Carrie” and in “Children of a Lesser God,...
- 10/14/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-winning actor who played threatened heroines for Alfred Hitchcock in Rebecca and Suspicion
It was hard to cast the lead in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1939. The female fans of the bestseller were very protective of the naive woman whom the widower Max de Winter marries and transports to his ancestral home of Manderley. None of the contenders – including Vivien Leigh, Anne Baxter and Loretta Young – felt right for the second Mrs de Winter, who was every lending-library reader's dream self.
To play opposite Laurence Olivier in the film, the producer David O Selznick suggested instead a 21-year-old actor with whom he was smitten: Joan Fontaine. The prolonged casting process made Fontaine anxious. Vulnerability was central to the part, and you can see that vulnerability, that inability to trust her own judgment, in every frame of the film. The performance brought Fontaine, who has died...
It was hard to cast the lead in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1939. The female fans of the bestseller were very protective of the naive woman whom the widower Max de Winter marries and transports to his ancestral home of Manderley. None of the contenders – including Vivien Leigh, Anne Baxter and Loretta Young – felt right for the second Mrs de Winter, who was every lending-library reader's dream self.
To play opposite Laurence Olivier in the film, the producer David O Selznick suggested instead a 21-year-old actor with whom he was smitten: Joan Fontaine. The prolonged casting process made Fontaine anxious. Vulnerability was central to the part, and you can see that vulnerability, that inability to trust her own judgment, in every frame of the film. The performance brought Fontaine, who has died...
- 12/16/2013
- by Veronica Horwell
- The Guardian - Film News
Joan Fontaine movies: ‘This Above All,’ ‘Letter from an Unknown Woman’ (photo: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine in ‘Suspicion’ publicity image) (See previous post: “Joan Fontaine Today.”) Also tonight on Turner Classic Movies, Joan Fontaine can be seen in today’s lone TCM premiere, the flag-waving 20th Century Fox release The Above All (1942), with Fontaine as an aristocratic (but socially conscious) English Rose named Prudence Cathaway (Fontaine was born to British parents in Japan) and Fox’s top male star, Tyrone Power, as her Awol romantic interest. This Above All was directed by Anatole Litvak, who would guide Olivia de Havilland in the major box-office hit The Snake Pit (1948), which earned her a Best Actress Oscar nod. In Max Ophüls’ darkly romantic Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), Fontaine delivers not only what is probably the greatest performance of her career, but also one of the greatest movie performances ever. Letter from an Unknown Woman...
- 8/6/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Elmer Gantry Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month Jean Simmons' film series comes to a close tonight, with the presentation of seven Jean Simmons movies. Directed by veteran Mervyn LeRoy, Home Before Dark is on right now. Next in line is Richard Brooks' Elmer Gantry (1960), which earned Burt Lancaster a somewhat undeserved Oscar. Lancaster gutsily tackles the role of a charlatan traveling preacher, but as was often the case in his career, "gutsy" didn't exactly translate into "truthful." Simmons, on the other hand, quietly shines as an Aimee Semple McPherson-inspired Christian preacher, and so does Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Shirley Jones as the traveling preacher's pet sex worker. Though hardly as hard-hitting as it could have been, Elmer Gantry should be mandatory viewing at Christian schools and churches everywhere. Adults will learn that if you sin, you'd better not get caught; kids will enjoy the circus fire.
- 6/29/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor in Richard Brooks‘ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Paul Newman on TCM: Hud, Rachel Rachel, The Prize Schedule (Pt) and synopses from the TCM website: 3:00 Am Rack, The (1956) A Korean War veteran is accused of cracking under enemy torture. Cast: Paul Newman, Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis. Dir: Arnold Laven. Bw-100 mins 4:45 Am Until They Sail (1957) Four sisters in New Zealand fall for Allied sailors en route to World War II. Cast: Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Paul Newman. Dir: Robert Wise. Bw-95 mins. 6:30 Am Prize, The (1963) An American Nobel Prize-winner mixes it up with spies when he travels to Stockholm to collect his award. Cast: Paul Newman, Elke Sommer, Edward G. Robinson. Dir: Mark Robson. C-135 mins. 8:45 Am Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) True story of boxer Rocky Graziano’s rise from juvenile delinquent to world champ. Cast: Paul Newman, Pier [...]...
- 8/21/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Jean Simmons, Paul Newman in Until They Sail Jean Simmons, who died this past January, was remembered in this year’s In Memoriam segment at the 2010 Oscar ceremony. Well, great. Simmons was a fantastic actress. As far as I’m concerned, she stole Hamlet from Laurence Olivier, Elmer Gantry from Burt Lancaster, and Spartacus from Kirk Douglas. But why an image of Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette (right) above Simmons’ name? Oops! That mistake reminded me of another homage a few years back, when on the occasion of the Oscar’s Grand 75th Anniversary the Academy honored every Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress winner with a one-minute (or whereabouts) montage. The very first actress to win the Oscar was Janet [...]...
- 3/9/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
British-born film star known for her roles in Great Expectations and Spartacus
Jean Simmons, who has died aged 80, had a bounteous moment, early in her career, when she seemed the likely casting for every exotic or magical female role. It passed, as she got out of her teens, but then for the best part of 15 years, in Britain and America, she was a valued actress whose generally proper, if not patrician, manner had an intriguing way of conflicting with her large, saucy eyes and a mouth that began to turn up at the corners as she imagined mischief – or more than her movies had in their scripts. Even in the age of Vivien Leigh and Elizabeth Taylor, she was an authentic beauty. And there were always hints that the lady might be very sexy. But nothing worked out smoothly, and it is somehow typical of Simmons that her most astonishing...
Jean Simmons, who has died aged 80, had a bounteous moment, early in her career, when she seemed the likely casting for every exotic or magical female role. It passed, as she got out of her teens, but then for the best part of 15 years, in Britain and America, she was a valued actress whose generally proper, if not patrician, manner had an intriguing way of conflicting with her large, saucy eyes and a mouth that began to turn up at the corners as she imagined mischief – or more than her movies had in their scripts. Even in the age of Vivien Leigh and Elizabeth Taylor, she was an authentic beauty. And there were always hints that the lady might be very sexy. But nothing worked out smoothly, and it is somehow typical of Simmons that her most astonishing...
- 1/24/2010
- by David Thomson
- The Guardian - Film News
Broadway playwright Robert Anderson has died, aged 91.The author, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease in recent years, died of pneumonia at his Manhattan, New York home on Monday.
Anderson wrote several Hollywood screenplays, TV scripts and novels but was best known for his Broadway hit Tea and Sympathy as well as You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running.
Tea And Sympathy debuted on Broadway in 1953, with Deborah Kerr and John Kerr taking the starring roles. The actors reprised their parts for a 1956 film adaptation, which was directed by Vincente Minnelli.
Anderson wrote the screenplays for the 1957 movie Until They Sail, 1966's The Sand Pebbles, and The Nun's Story, for which he received an Oscar nomination in 1959.
A memorial service for Anderson is due to take place on Friday.
Anderson wrote several Hollywood screenplays, TV scripts and novels but was best known for his Broadway hit Tea and Sympathy as well as You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running.
Tea And Sympathy debuted on Broadway in 1953, with Deborah Kerr and John Kerr taking the starring roles. The actors reprised their parts for a 1956 film adaptation, which was directed by Vincente Minnelli.
Anderson wrote the screenplays for the 1957 movie Until They Sail, 1966's The Sand Pebbles, and The Nun's Story, for which he received an Oscar nomination in 1959.
A memorial service for Anderson is due to take place on Friday.
- 2/10/2009
- WENN
Paul Newman, who combined Method training with matinee idol looks to become the personification of the cool '60s rebel in such iconic roles as the reckless Hud, the defiant Cool Hand Luke and the hotshot Butch Cassidy, died Friday. Surrounded by friends and family, including his wife, Joanne Woodward, the actor and philanthropist passed away at his farmhouse home near Wesport, Conn., after a long battle with cancer. He was 83.
In a film career that spanned nearly six decades, Newman received seven Oscar nominations before he was finally presented with an Honorary Oscar in 1986 "in recognition of his many and memorable and compelling screen performances and for his personal integrity and dedication to his craft."
But then he pulled out a trump card of his own, winning the best actor Academy Award the following year for "The Color of Money," in which he reprised the role of pool shark Fast Eddie Felsen,...
In a film career that spanned nearly six decades, Newman received seven Oscar nominations before he was finally presented with an Honorary Oscar in 1986 "in recognition of his many and memorable and compelling screen performances and for his personal integrity and dedication to his craft."
But then he pulled out a trump card of his own, winning the best actor Academy Award the following year for "The Color of Money," in which he reprised the role of pool shark Fast Eddie Felsen,...
- 9/27/2008
- by By Gregg Kilday and Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Actress Sandra Dee, best known as the irrepressible Gidget of film fame and the wife of singer Bobby Darin, died Sunday in Los Angeles; she was 62. The actress died of complications from kidney disease after spending nearly two weeks in the hospital, and had been on dialysis for the past four years. Born Alexandra Zuck, Dee was groomed for stardom from the beginning by her ambitious mother, who enrolled the young girl in school early and lied about her age in order to give her fresh-faced daughter a head start on the road to fame -- Dee was only four years old when she entered the second grade. Already a model by the age of 12, Dee worked on television commercials before landing her first movie role in 1957's Until They Sail. Two short years later, she would skyrocket to fame with the help of three extremely successful films: the teen comedy Gidget, a role for which she would be forever associated; the romantic drama A Summer Place, where her blonde good looks found their male counterpart in Troy Donahue; and the Douglas Sirk melodrama Imitation of Life, in which she played the daughter of Lana Turner. Her quintessential ingénue beauty, charismatic screen presence and bubbly personality made her an instant favorite of audiences, and she became a screen queen for Universal at the tender young age of 17.
In 1960, at the height of her fame, she married pop star Bobby Darin, whom she met while filming the romantic comedy Come September in Italy. While the marriage created a storm in the press, it did little for her career, and after a few short years . during which she replaced Debbie Reynolds in the Tammy film series . Dee found herself the victim of a failing studio system, the changing cultural tide of the 60s, and an ever-increasingly difficult marriage to Darin. Dee ended both her career and her marriage in the late 60s, and worked only a little bit through the early 70s, most notably in The Dunwich Horror and a handful of TV guest appearances; Darin, who according to many remained the love of her life after their 1967 divorce, died in 1973. Difficulty with alcoholism plagued her later years, along with the after-effects of her sudden push to fame (she also claimed to have been sexually abused by her stepfather), but she credited her son Dodd Darin with help in getting her life turned around. Dee also had a sense of humor regarding her virtuous, virginal screen persona, which was mocked (to her reported pleasure) in the song "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" from the musical Grease. Her marriage to Darin was recently chronicled in Kevin Spacey's Beyond the Sea, in which Dee was played by Kate Bosworth. Dee is survived by her son and two granddaughters. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
In 1960, at the height of her fame, she married pop star Bobby Darin, whom she met while filming the romantic comedy Come September in Italy. While the marriage created a storm in the press, it did little for her career, and after a few short years . during which she replaced Debbie Reynolds in the Tammy film series . Dee found herself the victim of a failing studio system, the changing cultural tide of the 60s, and an ever-increasingly difficult marriage to Darin. Dee ended both her career and her marriage in the late 60s, and worked only a little bit through the early 70s, most notably in The Dunwich Horror and a handful of TV guest appearances; Darin, who according to many remained the love of her life after their 1967 divorce, died in 1973. Difficulty with alcoholism plagued her later years, along with the after-effects of her sudden push to fame (she also claimed to have been sexually abused by her stepfather), but she credited her son Dodd Darin with help in getting her life turned around. Dee also had a sense of humor regarding her virtuous, virginal screen persona, which was mocked (to her reported pleasure) in the song "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" from the musical Grease. Her marriage to Darin was recently chronicled in Kevin Spacey's Beyond the Sea, in which Dee was played by Kate Bosworth. Dee is survived by her son and two granddaughters. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 2/21/2005
- IMDb News
Actress Sandra Dee, best known as the irrepressible Gidget of film fame and the wife of singer Bobby Darin, died Sunday in Los Angeles; she was 62. The actress died of complications from kidney disease after spending nearly two weeks in the hospital, and had been on dialysis for the past four years. Born Alexandra Zuck, Dee was groomed for stardom from the beginning by her ambitious mother, who enrolled the young girl in school early and lied about her age in order to give her fresh-faced daughter a head start on the road to fame -- Dee was only four years old when she entered the second grade. Already a model by the age of 12, Dee worked on television commercials before landing her first movie role in 1957's Until They Sail. Two short years later, she would skyrocket to fame with the help of three extremely successful films: the teen comedy Gidget, a role for which she would be forever associated; the romantic drama A Summer Place, where her blonde good looks found their male counterpart in Troy Donahue; and the Douglas Sirk melodrama Imitation of Life, in which she played the daughter of Lana Turner. Her quintessential ingénue beauty, charismatic screen presence and bubbly personality made her an instant favorite of audiences, and she became a screen queen for Universal at the tender young age of 17.
In 1960, at the height of her fame, she married pop star Bobby Darin, whom she met while filming the romantic comedy Come September in Italy. While the marriage created a storm in the press, it did little for her career, and after a few short years - during which she replaced Debbie Reynolds in the Tammy film series - Dee found herself the victim of a failing studio system, the changing cultural tide of the 60s, and an ever-increasingly difficult marriage to Darin. Dee ended both her career and her marriage in the late 60s, and worked only a little bit through the early 70s, most notably in The Dunwich Horror and a handful of TV guest appearances; Darin, who according to many remained the love of her life after their 1967 divorce, died in 1973. Difficulty with alcoholism plagued her later years, along with the after-effects of her sudden push to fame (she also claimed to have been sexually abused by her stepfather), but she credited her son Dodd Darin with help in getting her life turned around. Dee also had a sense of humor regarding her virtuous, virginal screen persona, which was mocked (to her reported pleasure) in the song "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" from the musical Grease. Her marriage to Darin was recently chronicled in Kevin Spacey's Beyond the Sea, in which Dee was played by Kate Bosworth. Dee is survived by her son and two granddaughters. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
In 1960, at the height of her fame, she married pop star Bobby Darin, whom she met while filming the romantic comedy Come September in Italy. While the marriage created a storm in the press, it did little for her career, and after a few short years - during which she replaced Debbie Reynolds in the Tammy film series - Dee found herself the victim of a failing studio system, the changing cultural tide of the 60s, and an ever-increasingly difficult marriage to Darin. Dee ended both her career and her marriage in the late 60s, and worked only a little bit through the early 70s, most notably in The Dunwich Horror and a handful of TV guest appearances; Darin, who according to many remained the love of her life after their 1967 divorce, died in 1973. Difficulty with alcoholism plagued her later years, along with the after-effects of her sudden push to fame (she also claimed to have been sexually abused by her stepfather), but she credited her son Dodd Darin with help in getting her life turned around. Dee also had a sense of humor regarding her virtuous, virginal screen persona, which was mocked (to her reported pleasure) in the song "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" from the musical Grease. Her marriage to Darin was recently chronicled in Kevin Spacey's Beyond the Sea, in which Dee was played by Kate Bosworth. Dee is survived by her son and two granddaughters. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 2/20/2005
- IMDb News
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