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1932-2011
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One of the last great stars of the studio era, she
started as a beautiful young lady, but developed into one of the most
recognizable figures in the industry. When she started with MGM with “Lassie
Come Home,” she also was cast in “The White Cliffs of Dover”
and the classic “Jane Eyre” although cast in miniscule
parts in both films. However, her big break came with
MGM's “National Velvet,” which grossed $4 million (a
princely sum in that period) She gained a long-term contract with MGM and
was the top child star. She returned to the screen two years later with
“Courage of Lassie” and “Life With Father,” alongside William
Powell, Irene Dunne, and Zasu Pitts. One of the smaller roles where she
cast without credit was as a Christian prisoner was in the classic
“Quo Vadis.” She later was cast in the classic “Giant”
with James Dean.
Her first nomination for an Oscar came from her role
in what was considered an overblown epic that was panned as “dry as dust.”
“Raintree County.” One of her landmark roles was the film
adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”
as Maggie Pollitt, which earned her a second nomination for best
actress. Another nomination came for her role in “Suddenly Last
Summer.” In 1960 she brought in her Oscar for the landmark
“BUtterfield 8.” Three years later, she starred in the title role
of “Cleopatra,” which at that time was one of the most
expensive productions ever, as well as the salary she received for it,
$1,000,000. She later co-starred with her then husband Richard Burton in
Franco Zeffirelli’s “The Taming of the Shrew”
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Although her career started to wane in the ‘70s and
80’s, she managed to make some appearances in the daytime serials "All
My Children" and "General Hospital, but had a
few notable appearances, including “Between Friends” with
Carol Burnett and a tour-de-force performance in the TV mini-series
“North and South.” Later appearances include “Poker Alice,”
“Malice in Wonderland,” “Victory at Entebbe,” multiple roles in the
children’s classic “The Blue Bird,” in the 90's there
was Pearl Slaghoople in “The Flintstones”
(“A role where you can get away with working bare feet!”) and her final
performance in 2001 in TV film, “These Old Broads.”
Her humanitarian efforts include board membership with
several AIDS organizations, a cause that she deeply believed in. |
             
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