Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters, who boasted a long career and colorful life, was a true star of Hollywood. She found her niche in character parts, winning two Oscars. Winters wrote many confessional autobiographies, alienating a few people along the way. Winters was born in 1920 and raised in Brooklyn, New York from the age of three. She studied at the famous Actors Studio in the city and then began in small movie parts. Another young hopeful named Marilyn Monroe was her roommate in Hollywood. British actor and director Charles Laughton was one of her early mentors.
The 1949 version of The Great Gatsby, directed by Elliot Nugent, starred Alan Ladd as Gatsby. Shelley Winters was cast as Myrtle. Shelley was given a bigger role in A Place In The Sun, directed by George Stevens. This critically acclaimed film starred Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. Charles Laughton cast Shelley in the film noir, The Night of the Hunter, opposite Robert Mitchum. Lillian Gish was in support. Shelley was re-united with George Stevens for The Diary of Anne Frank. Millie Perkins played Anne and Richard Beymer was one of the co-stars.
In 1962, the controversial Stanley Kubrick film, Lolita, was released. Kubrick cast Shelley Winters and James Mason starred next to her. After, Winters co-starred in a movie about racial prejudice called A Patch of Blue, starring Sidney Poitier and Elizabeth Hartman. Guy Green directed. The swinging sixties were underway in the UK, and Shelley was cast in Alfie, starring Michael Caine as the amoral anti hero. Directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-starred Millicent Martin and Shirley Anne Field.
The 1970s was the decade of the Hollywood disaster movie and one of the most popular was The Poseidon Adventure. Shelley Winters gave a memorable performance on the doomed ocean liner, along with Gene Hackman, Earnest Borgnine, Carol Lynley, Red Buttons and Roddy McDowell. Ronald Neame directed. The TV movie Elvis was aired in 1979, featuring Shelley as Mother to Elvis, Gladys Presley. John Carpenter directed and Kurt Russell played Elvis Presley. Ed Begley Jr. also featured.
Winters continued as a busy actress into the 1980s and beyond. Blake Edwards cast her in S.O.B. The comedy starred Julie Andrews and the support cast included William Holden, Larry Hagman and Robert Loggia. Jane Campion directed an impressive cast in The Portrait of a Lady, starring Nicole Kidman. Shelley co-starred with John Malkovich, Shelley Duvall, Barbara Hershey, and Mary Louise Parker.
From 1991 – 1996, Winters had a recurring role in the hit sitcom, Roseanne. She played Nana Mary, Grandmother to Roseanne. The blue collar comedy starred Roseanne Barr (Arnold when she married) and John Goodman. Sara Gilbert played Roseanne’s daughter.
Shelley Winters was teamed with another Hollywood great when she made Gideon with Charlton Heston. The romantic comedy was directed by Claudia Hoover and Christopher Lambert. Carroll O’Connor and Shirley Jones also graced the screen with their appearances.
There was always a lot of interest surrounding the private life of Shelley Winters. Her relationships included William Holden, Burt Lancaster, and Marlon Brando. She had one daughter and was Godmother to actresses Sally Kirkland and Laura Dern. Shelley was married four times. Her second marriage was to the Italian actor, Vittorio Gassman. Her third marriage was to another actor, Anthony Franciosa. The ceremony for her final marriage was conducted hours before her sudden death in January, 2006. Winters lived a full life, right up to the end, and deserves her place as one of the greats. |
