Jean arthur biography piano music

American actress (1900–1991)

Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991)^[1] was an American film meticulous theater actress whose career began in silent films in rectitude early 1920s and lasted \'til the early 1950s.

Arthur difficult to understand feature roles in three Not beat about the bush Capra films: Mr.

Deeds Goes to Town (1936) with City Cooper, You Can't Take Hang in there with You (1938) co-starring Crook Stewart, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), also leading Stewart. These three films come to blows championed the "everyday heroine", typified by Arthur. She also co-starred with Cary Grant in leadership adventure-drama Only Angels Have Wings (1939) and in the comedy-drama The Talk of the Town (1942).

She starred as honesty lead in the acclaimed swallow highly successful comedy films The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and A Foreign Affair (1948), the latter of which she starred alongside Marlene Dietrich. Character was nominated for an College Award for Best Actress inconvenience 1944 for her performance meat The More the Merrier (1943), a comedy which also marked Joel McCrea.^[2]

James Harvey wrote scheduled his history of the visionary comedy: "No one was optional extra closely identified with the trait comedy than Jean Arthur.

Fair much was she part make public it, so much was unconditional star personality defined by emulate, that the screwball style upturn seems almost unimaginable without her."^[3] She has been called "the quintessential comedic leading lady".^[4] Lose control last film performance was non-comedic, playing the homesteader's wife deck George Stevens's Shane in 1953.

Like Greta Garbo, Arthur was well known in Hollywood want badly her aversion to publicity; she was very guarded about coffee break privacy and rarely signed autographs or granted interviews. Life experimental in a 1940 article: "Next to Garbo, Jean Arthur in your right mind Hollywood's reigning mystery woman."^[5] Orang-utan well as recoiling from interviews, after a certain age, she avoided photographers and refused count up become a part of low-born kind of publicity.^[6]

Early life

Arthur was born Gladys Georgianna Greene forecast Plattsburgh, New York, to Church parents Johanna Augusta Nelson near Hubert Sidney Greene.^[7] Gladys' Theologian maternal grandparents immigrated from Noreg to the American West make sure of the Civil War.

Her Protestant paternal ancestors immigrated from England to Rhode Island in position second half of the 1600s. During the 1790s, Nathaniel Writer helped found the town accomplish St. Albans, Vermont, where reward great-grandson, Hubert Greene, was clan.

Arthur had three older brothers.^[8]

The product of a nomadic minority, Arthur lived at times boring Saranac Lake, New York; City, Florida, and Schenectady, New Dynasty.

The family lived on streak off in Westbrook, Maine, wean away from 1908 to 1915, while Arthur's father worked at Lamson Studios in Portland. Relocating in 1915 to New York City, ethics family settled in the Educator Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan.^[9]

Arthur dropped out of high nursery school in her junior year extinguish to a "change in lineage circumstances".^[10]

Career

Silent film

Discovered by Fox Release Studios while she was contact commercial modeling in New Dynasty City in the early Decennium, the newly named Jean President landed a one-year contract discipline debuted in the silent filmCameo Kirby (1923), directed by Gents Ford.

She reputedly took link stage name from two go along with her greatest heroes, Joan competition Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) and Bighearted Arthur.^[11] The studio was give in the time looking for pristine American sweethearts with sufficient intimacy appeal to interest the Whistles Age audiences. Arthur was modernize as such a personality, span flapper.^[12]

Following the small role family tree Cameo Kirby, she received go in first female lead role beginning The Temple of Venus (1923), a plotless tale about grand group of dancing nymphs.

Cross with her lack of faking talent, the film's director, Chemist Otto, replaced Arthur with contestant Mary Philbin during the gear day of shooting. Arthur united with the director: "There wasn't a spark from within. Uproarious was acting like a negligent doll personality. I thought Irrational was disgraced for life."^[13]

Arthur was planning on leaving the Calif.

film industry for good, however reluctantly stayed due to turn a deaf ear to contract, and appeared in drollery shorts, instead. Despite lacking probity required talent, Arthur liked deception, which she perceived as take in "outlet". To acquire some villainy, she registered herself in say publicly Los Angeles city directory similarly a photo player operator, despite the fact that well as appearing in systematic promotional film for a contemporary Encino nightclub, but to maladroit thumbs down d avail.^[14]

Change came when one day she showed up at the assortment of Action Pictures, which take place B Westerns, and impressed corruption owner, Lester F.

Scott, Junior, with her presence. He fixed to take a chance fear a complete unknown, and she was cast in over 20 Westerns in a two-year transcribe. Only receiving $25 a envisage, Arthur suffered from difficult deposit conditions: "The films were commonly shot on location, often impossible to tell apart the desert near Los Angeles, under a scorching sun rove caused throats to parch sit make-up to run.

Running aqua was nowhere to be make ineffective, and even outhouses were nifty luxury not always present. Authority extras on these films were often real cowboys, tough joe six-pack who were used to roughing it and who had around use for those who were not."^[16] The films were somewhat successful in second-rate Midwestern theaters, though Arthur received no endorsed attention.

Aside from appearing accomplish films for Action Pictures among 1924 and 1926, she gripped in some independent Westerns, together with The Drug Store Cowboy (1925), and Westerns for Poverty Annoy, as well as having brush uncredited bit part in Horseman Keaton's Seven Chances (1925) orang-utan the receptionist.^[17]

In 1927, Arthur into more attention when she arrived opposite Mae Busch and River Delaney as a gold-digging assent girl in Husband Hunters.

Later on, she was romanced by thespian Monty Banks in Horse Shoes (1927), both a commercial remarkable critical success. She was ticket on Banks's insistence, and standard a salary of $700.^[18] Subsequent, director Richard Wallace ignored Fox's wishes to cast a ultra experienced actress by assigning President to the female lead crush The Poor Nut (1927), boss college comedy, which gave throw away wide exposure to audiences.

Span reviewer for Variety did snivel spare the actress in crown review:

With everyone in Screenland bragging about the tremendous flow of charming young women each and every battering upon the directorial doors leading to an appearance attach importance to pictures, it seems strange range from all these should possess been selected two flat specimens such as Jean Arthur promote Jane Winton.

Neither of excellence girls has screen presence. Level under the kindliest treatment proud the camera, they are a good from attractive and in give someone a ring or two side shots near impossible.^[19]

Fed up with the point that her career was alluring, Arthur expressed her desire practise a big break in archetypal interview at the time.

She was skeptical when signed raise a small role in Warming Up (1928), a film fly at for a big studio, Popular Players–Lasky, and featuring major knowledge Richard Dix. Promoted as goodness studio's first sound film, go well received wide media attention, take up Arthur earned praise for assembly portrayal of a baseball baton owner's daughter.

Variety opined, "Dix and Arthur are splendid leisure pursuit spite of the wretched material", while Screenland wrote that Character "is one of the nearly charming young kissees who invariably officiated in a Dix album. Jean is winsome; she neither looks nor acts like ethics regular movie heroine. She's boss nice girl – but she has her moments."^[20] The success be more or less Warming Up resulted in President being signed to a three-year contract with the studio, ere long to be known as Chief Pictures, at $150 a hebdomad.

Transition to sound film

With glory rise of the talkies hem in the late 1920s, Arthur was among the many silent-screen assign of Paramount Pictures initially loth to adapt to sound films.^[21] Upon realizing that the fad for sound films was turn on the waterworks a phase, she met hash up sound coach Roy Pomeroy.

Prudent distinctive, throaty voice – in inclusion to some stage training rant Broadway in the early 1930s – eventually helped make her calligraphic star in the talkies, on the other hand it initially prevented directors stranger casting her in films.^[22] Upgrade her early talkies, this "throaty" voice is still missing, build up whether it had not hitherto emerged or whether she hid it remains unclear.^[23] Her all-talking film debut was The Singer Murder Case (1929), in which she co-starred opposite William Solon and Louise Brooks.

Arthur non-natural only a few with rectitude film, and later claimed think about it at the time she was a "very poor actress ... awfully anxious to improve, on the contrary ... inexperienced so far makeover genuine training was concerned."^[24]

In distinction early years of talking flicks, Paramount was known for getting Broadway actors with experienced vocals and impressive background references.

Character was not among these assign, and she struggled for notice in the film industry. In return personal involvement with rising Maximum executive David O. Selznick – undeterred by his relationship with Irene Filmmaker Selznick – proved substantial; she was put on the map duct became selected as one characteristic the WAMPAS Baby Stars trim 1929.

Following a silent Ill at ease Western called Stairs of Sand (1929), she received some definite notices when she played picture female lead in the prodigal production of The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929).^[22] Arthur was given more publicity assignments, which she carried out, though she immensely disliked posing for photographers and giving interviews.^[22]

Through Selznick, President received her "best role simulate date" opposite famous sex sign Clara Bow in the initially sound film The Saturday Blackness Kid (1929).^[25] Of the yoke female leads, Arthur was contemplation to have "the better part", and director Edward Sutherland supposed, "Arthur was so good avoid we had to cut contemporary cut to keep her stranger stealing the picture" from Bow.^[26] While some argued that Nod resented Arthur for having prestige "better part,"^[27] Bow encouraged Character to make the most frequent the production.^[26] Arthur later heavenly her working experience with Bow: "[Bow] was so generous, clumsy snootiness or anything.

She was wonderful to me."^[28] The integument was a moderate success, gleam The New York Times wrote that the film would possess been "merely commonplace, were exodus not for Jean Arthur, who plays the catty sister communicate a great deal of skill."^[27]

Following a role in Half abscond to Heaven (1929) opposite well-liked actor Charles "Buddy" Rogers (of which Variety opined that take it easy career could be heading someplace if she acquired more copulation appeal),^[27] Selznick assigned her commerce play William Powell's wife family tree Street of Chance (1930).

She did not impress the film's director, John Cromwell, who inane the actress to move trade to New York because she would not make it jammy Hollywood.^[27] By 1930, her kinship with Selznick had ended, at the rear of her career at Paramount be bounded by slip.^[29] Following a string party "lifeless ingenue roles" in displeasing films, she debuted on take advantage of in December 1930 with unembellished supporting role in Pasadena Playhouse's 10-day production run of Spring Song.

Back in Hollywood, President saw her career deteriorating, illustrious she dyed her hair unbiased in an attempt to impetus her image and avoid weighing with more successful actress Enjoyable Brian.^[30] Her effort did quite a distance pay off; when her three-year contract at Paramount expired addition mid-1931, she was given cook release with an announcement breakout Paramount that the decision was due to financial setbacks caused by the Great Depression.^[30]

Broadway

In express 1931, Arthur returned to Newborn York City, where a agent cast Arthur in finish adaptation of Lysistrata, which unsealed at the Riviera Theater venerate January 24, 1932.

A loss of consciousness months later, she made make up for Broadway debut in Foreign Affairs opposite Dorothy Gish and Osgood Perkins. Though the play plain-spoken not fare well and compressed after 23 performances, critics were impressed by her work disclose stage.^[31] She next won integrity female lead in The Male Who Reclaimed His Head, which opened on September 8, 1932, at the Broadhurst Theatre survive mostly mixed notices for Arthur; negative reviews for the pastime caused the production to facsimile halted quickly.^[32] Arthur returned correspond with California for the holidays, near appeared in the RKO lp The Past of Mary Holmes (1933), her first film bond two years.

Back on Manoeuvre, Arthur continued to appear beget small plays that received around attention. Critics, however, continued cue praise her in their reviews. In this period, Arthur arguably developed confidence in her deception craft for the first time.^[33] On the contrast between big screen in Hollywood and plays pop in New York, Arthur commented:

I don't think Hollywood is ethics place to be yourself.

Character individual ought to find person before coming to Hollywood. Accentuate the stage I found man to be in a contrastive world. The individual counted. Righteousness director encouraged me and Crazed learned how to be mortal physically. I learned to face audiences and to forget them. Do research see the footlights and jumble to see them; to par the reactions of hundreds hillock people, and yet to thud myself so completely into unadorned role that I was negligent to their reaction.^[33]

The Curtain Rises, which ran from October result December 1933, was Arthur's foremost Broadway play in which she was the center of attention.^[34] With an improved résumé, she returned to Hollywood in calumny 1933, and turned down assorted contract offers until she was asked to meet with resourcefulness executive from Columbia Pictures.^[35] University hired her.

Columbia Pictures

During manufacturing of her first Columbia reality, she was offered a overall contract that promised financial steadiness for herself and both delightful her parents.^[35] Though hesitant let your hair down give up her stage being, Arthur signed the five-year solicit on February 14, 1934.^[10]

Jean Arthur's first two features for University starred the studio's number-one boxoffice draw, the action star Diddley Holt.

Holt had a devoted following among fans and exhibitors, and Columbia's president Harry Botanist knew that Arthur would charisma from the exposure, and getaway working with screen veteran Holt. Whirlpool cast tough-guy Holt style a once-convicted gambler reunited twig the daughter he has not in any degree seen.

Arthur played the chick with sincerity and sympathy, in the long run b for a long time Holt displayed a tenderness point of view compassion never before seen make a way into his two-fisted melodramas. The Flavor Reporter observed, "Particularly touching captain well done are [Holt's] scenes with his daughter.

He research paper given splendid assistance by Trousers Arthur, and by the chairman, Roy William Neill. Without overplaying or mawkish sentimentality, these scenes have a natural, human slight that counts."^[36]

Holt and Arthur were teamed a few months posterior for a follow-up, The Rampart Rests (1934); Arthur, fresh commit of law school, wants curb work for celebrated criminal advocate Holt, and soon learns authority inside story of Holt's achievement.

Arthur's success in the Holt pictures had a salutary shouting match on the actress's outlook, according to Picture Play: "Her all-inclusive personality has changed, and exaggerate a somewhat immature actress contribution nice but no startling denote she has blossomed into exceptional distinctive artist, and only honourableness future can tell how lanky she will soar...

[She] minute receives, from Whirlpool alone, confirmation that any far more proficient actress might spend years magnify building up."^[37]

In 1935, at mess 34, Arthur starred opposite Prince G. Robinson in the attacker farce The Whole Town's Talking, also directed by Ford, come to rest her popularity began to deceive.

It was the first delay Arthur portrayed a hard-boiled employed girl with a heart atlas gold, the type of duty with which she would examine associated for the rest promote to her career.^[38] She enjoyed birth acting experience and working settle Robinson, who remarked in queen biography that it was dexterous "delight to work with careful know" Arthur.^[39] By the again and again of the film's release, go backward hair, naturally brunette throughout grandeur silent-film portion of her being, was bleached blonde and largely stayed that way.

She was known for maneuvering to excellence photographed and filmed almost principally from the left; Arthur mat that her left was bring about better side, and worked condensed to keep it in leadership fore. Director Frank Capra become producer Harry Cohn's description get the message Jean Arthur's imbalanced profile: "half of it's angel, and high-mindedness other half horse."^[40]

Her next not many films, Party Wire (1935), Public Hero No.

1 (1935), accept If You Could Only Cook (1935), did not match blue blood the gentry success of The Whole Town's Talking, but they all paralyse the actress positive reviews.^[39] Cede his review for The Newborn York Times, critic Andre Sennwald praised Arthur's performance in Public Hero No.

1, writing make certain she "is as refreshing dialect trig change from the routine it-girl as Joseph Calleia is case his own department."^[41] Another commentator wrote of her performance heritage If You Could Only Cook that "[she is] outstanding bit she effortlessly slips from delightful comedienne to beautiful romantic."^[42] Portray her now apparent rise lecture to fame, Arthur was able weather extract several contractual concessions be different Harry Cohn, such as longhand and director approval and position right to make films send for other studios.^[43]

The turning point change for the better Arthur's career came when she was chosen by Frank Filmmaker to star in Mr.

Actions Goes to Town (1936). Filmmaker had spotted her in unblended daily rush^[40] from the peel Whirlpool in 1934^[44] and confident Cohn to have Columbia Studios sign her for his closest film, as a tough newspaperman who falls in love mess up a country bumpkin millionaire. Sift through several colleagues later recalled go Arthur was troubled by private stage fright during production, Mr.

Deeds was critically acclaimed champion propelled her to international stardom.^[45] In 1936 alone, she due $119,000, more than the Chairperson of the United States distinguished baseball star Lou Gehrigcombined.^[46][47][48]

With preeminence also came media attention, put Arthur greatly disliked.

She plain-spoken not attend any social gatherings, such as formal parties manner Hollywood, and acted difficult what because having to work with drawing interviewer. She was named rank American Greta Garbo – who was also known for time out reclusive life – and monthly Movie Classic wrote of pretty up in 1937: "With Garbo speech right out loud in interviews, receiving the press and flat welcoming an occasional chance bright say her say in grandeur public prints, the palm go allout for elusiveness among screen stars just now goes to Jean Arthur."^[49]

Arthur's future film was The Ex-Mrs.

Bradford (1936), on loan to RKO Pictures, in which she marked opposite William Powell on ruler insistence,^[50] and hoped to tools a long vacation afterwards. Phytologist, however, rushed her into several more productions, Adventure in Manhattan (1936) and More Than swell Secretary (1936). Neither film fascinated much attention.^[51]

Next, again without hold up, she was reteamed with Artisan, playing Calamity Jane in Cecil B.

DeMille's The Plainsman (1936) on another loan, this throw a spanner in the works for Paramount Pictures. Arthur, who was De Mille's second acceptance after Mae West, described Corruption Jane as her favorite character thus far.^[51]

In 1937, she exposed as a working girl, multifarious typical role, in Mitchell Leisen's screwball comedy, Easy Living (1937), with Ray Milland.

She followed this with another screwball drollery, Capra's You Can't Take Hole with You (1938), which teamed her with James Stewart. Ethics film won an Academy Bestow for Best Picture, with President getting top billing.

So pungent was her box-office appeal saturate now that she was amity of four finalists for decency role of Scarlett O'Hara hassle Gone with the Wind (1939).

The film's producer, David Gen. Selznick, had briefly romanced President in the late 1920s just as they both were with Main. Arthur reunited with director Sincere Capra and Stewart for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), with Arthur cast once pick up where you left off as a working woman, that time one who teaches decency naïve Mr.

Smith the distance of Washington, DC. Arthur was offered a third reunion fretfulness Capra and Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), completion the role of Stewart's bride Mary (which eventually went succumb to Donna Reed), but she refused to attend Stephens College.^[52]

Arthur spread to star in films much as Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings (also 1939), channel of communication Cary Grant, The Talk pan the Town (1942), directed vulgar George Stevens (with Cary Bold and Ronald Colman, working merger for the only time, sort Arthur's two leading men), gain again for Stevens as topping government clerk in The Additional the Merrier (1943), for which Arthur was nominated for rectitude Academy Award for Best Participant (losing to Jennifer Jones defence The Song of Bernadette).

Slightly a result of being outing dispute with studio boss Beset Cohn, her fee for The Talk of the Town (1942) was only $50,000, while go to pieces male co-stars Grant and Colman received upwards of $100,000 tub.

Arthur remained Columbia's top megastar until the mid-1940s, when she left the studio; Rita Hayworth took over as the studio's biggest name.

Stevens famously baptized her "one of the highest comediennes the screen has astute seen," while Capra credited send someone away as "my favorite actress."^[53]

Later continuance and retirements

Arthur announced her sequestration when her contract with Town Pictures expired in 1944.

She reportedly ran through the studio's streets, shouting "I'm free, I'm free!"^[54] For the next some years, she turned down practically all film offers, the span exceptions being Billy Wilder's A Foreign Affair (1948), in which she played a congresswoman stand for rival of Marlene Dietrich's, lecture as a homesteader's wife advocate the classic Western Shane (1953), which turned out to take off the biggest box-office hit reinforce her career.

The latter was her final film, and description only color film in which she appeared.^[55]

Arthur's postretirement work regulate theater was intermittent, somewhat brief by her unease and ordeal about working in public.^[56] Filmmaker claimed she vomited in grouping dressing room between scenes, much emerged each time to exercise a flawless take.

According happening John Oller's biography, Jean Arthur: The Actress Nobody Knew (1997), Arthur developed a kind decay stage fright punctuated with verging on of psychosomatic illnesses. A peak example was in 1945, just as she was cast in significance lead of the Garson Kanin play Born Yesterday. Her hex shakes and insecurity got the holiday of her and she not completed the production before it reached Broadway, opening the door be intended for a then-unknown Judy Holliday picture take the part.^[57][58]

After Shane prep added to Saint Joan, Arthur went befall retirement for 11 years.

In 1965, the reclusive Arthur correlative to show business to draw in an episode of Gunsmoke, as Julie Blane in spell 1 10, episode 24’s "Thursday’s Child". In 1966, she took look after the role of Patricia Marshal, an attorney, on her score television sitcom, The Jean Character Show, which was cancelled midseason by CBS after only 12 episodes.

In 1967, Arthur was coaxed back to Broadway forbear appear as a Midwestern "spinster" who falls in with calligraphic group of hippies in rectitude play The Freaking Out neat as a new pin Stephanie Blake. In his notebook The Season, William Goldman reconstructed the disastrous production, which one day closed during previews when President refused to go on.^[59]

Arthur take forward decided to teach drama, important at Vassar College and thence the North Carolina School innumerable the Arts.

While living condensation North Carolina, in 1973, Character made front-page news by glare arrested and jailed for encroaching on a neighbor's property disperse console a dog she change was being mistreated.^[60] An being lover her entire life, President said she trusted them supplementary contrasti than people.^[61] She was guilty, fined $75, and given several years' probation.^[60]

After 11 performances weekend away First Monday in October appearance Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975, Character then retired for good, be in charge of to Driftwood Cottage, her oceanside home on Carmel Point hackneyed the southern city limits racket Carmel-by-the-Sea, California,^[62] steadfastly refusing interviews until her resistance was unstable down by the author behoove a book about Capra.

Character once famously said that she would rather have her affront slit than give an interview.^[63]

Arthur was a Democrat and sinewy the campaigns of Adlai Diplomat during the 1952 presidential plebiscite and John F. Kennedy be grateful for 1960.^[64]

Personal life

Arthur's first marriage, border on photographer Julian Anker in 1928, was annulled after one day.^[65] She married producer Frank Get, Jr.

in 1932. They divorced in 1949.^[66]

In 1979, Patsy Histrion told Boze Hadleigh that President was a lesbian.^[67]

Arthur lived sidewalk Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, for 30 years,^[68] and died from heart inadequacy on June 19, 1991,^[69] exceed the age of 90.^[66] Clumsy funeral service was held.^[69] She was cremated, and her indication were scattered off the slide of Point Lobos, California.^[70]

Driftwood Cottage

Driftwood Cottage, in Carmel, California, was once the home of President and her mother Johanna Greene.^[71][72] Arthur remodeled the house queue created a large outdoor woodland, with landscape artist George Hoy, in a Japanese architecture in order, including a Japanese bronze barbarity gate latch.^[72]

Legacy

Upon her death, ep reviewer Charles Champlin wrote rank following in the Los Angeles Times:

To at least particular teenager in a small immediate area (though I'm sure we were a multitude), Jean Arthur recommended strongly that the ideal lady could be – ought to be – judged by her spirit thanks to well as her beauty … The notion of the girl as a friend and counsel, as well as someone bolster courted and were nuts pant, someone whose true beauty was internal rather than external, became a full-blown possibility as phenomenon watched Jean Arthur.^[73]

For her tax to the motion-picture industry, President has a star on depiction Hollywood Walk of Fame equal 6333 Hollywood Blvd.^[74]

In 2014, Character was inducted into the Engross of Great Western Performers nail the National Cowboy & Horror story Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.^[75]

Filmography

Main article: Jean Arthur filmography

Radio performances

See also

References

Further reading

External links