Best Known As: Savvy, no-nonsense leading lady of the silver screen
Name at birth: Ruby Stevens
Barbara Stanwyck left the vaudeville stage for the movies in the late 1920s, but her career didn't take off until the '30s, thanks in part to director Frank Capra. Known as a hard-working professional, Stanwyck played a variety of roles in comedy and dramas, and by the end of the 1930s she was a reliable leading lady. Her characters were usually tough, smart and resolute, giving the impression of having been around the block, as Stanwyck herself had: orphaned at the age of four, she was raised by an older sister and quit school at the age of 13. In the 1940s she was at her career peak, starring in Lady Eve (1941), Meet John Doe (1941), Double Indemnity (1944) and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). She seemed to play mostly matriarchs and cattle baronesses in the '50s, and later had a second career in television, with The Barbara Stanwyck Show (1960-61) and The Big Valley (1965-69) and The Thorn Birds (1983). Stanwyck was nominated for an Oscar four times, but never won; she was, however, given an Academy Award in 1981 for Lifetime Achievement.
Stanwyck was married to actor Frank Fay from 1928-1935, and to actor Robert Taylor from 1951. Both marriages ended in divorce... Actor Robert Wagner revealed in 2008 that he and Stanwyck had a four-year romance after her divorce from Taylor, beginning when he Wagner was 22 and Stanwyck was 45... She was reportedly given her stage name in 1926 by director William Mack, who was inspired by a theater poster advertising "Jane Stanwyck in Barbara Frietchie."
(born July 16, 1907, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. — died Jan. 20, 1990, Santa Monica, Calif.) U.S. film actress. She made her screen debut in 1927 and went on to appear in over 80 films, often portraying strong-willed, independent women. Her movies include Stella Dallas (1937), Union Pacific (1939), Ball of Fire (1942), Double Indemnity (1944), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), and Executive Suite (1954). She later starred in the television series The Big Valley (1965 – 69), and she appeared in the popular miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983). She received several Academy Award nominations, but she failed to win an award until she was granted an honorary award in 1981.
Born: Jul 16, 1907 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Died: Jan 20, 1990 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California
Occupation: Actor
Active: '30s-'60s, '80s
Major Genres: Drama, Romance
Career Highlights: Double Indemnity, Stella Dallas, The Thorn Birds
First Major Screen Credit: Broadway Nights (1927)
Biography
In an industry of prima donnas, actress Barbara Stanwyck was universally recognized as a consummate professional; a supremely versatile performer, her strong screen presence established her as a favorite of directors, including Cecil B. De Mille, Fritz Lang, and Frank Capra. Born Ruby Stevens July 16, 1907, in Brooklyn, NY, she was left orphaned at the age of four and raised by her showgirl sister. Upon quitting school a decade later, she began dancing in local speakeasies and at the age of 15 became a Ziegfeld chorus girl. In 1926, Stanwyck made her Broadway debut in The Noose, becoming a major stage star in her next production, Burlesque. MGM requested a screen test, but she rejected the offer. She did, however, agree to a supporting role in 1927's Broadway Nights, and after completing her stage run in 1929 appeared in the drama The Locked Door. With her husband, comedian Frank Fay, Stanwyck traveled to Hollywood. After unsuccessfully testing at Warner Bros., she appeared in Columbia's low-budget Mexicali Rose, followed in 1930 by Capra's Ladies of Leisure, the picture which shot her to stardom. A long-term Columbia contract was the result, and the studio soon loaned Stanwyck to Warners for 1931's Illicit. It was a hit, as was the follow-up Ten Cents a Dance. Reviewers were quite taken with her, and with a series of successful pictures under her belt, she sued Columbia for a bigger salary; a deal was struck to share her with Warners, and she split her time between the two studios for pictures including Miracle Woman, Night Nurse, and Forbidden, a major hit which established her among the most popular actresses in Hollywood. Over the course of films like 1932's Shopworn, Ladies They Talk About, and Baby Face, Stanwyck developed an image as a working girl, tough-minded and often amoral, rarely meeting a happy ending; melodramas including 1934's Gambling Lady and the following year's The Woman in Red further established the persona, and in Red Salute she even appeared as a student flirting with communism. Signing with RKO, Stanwyck starred as Annie Oakley; however, her contract with the studio was non-exclusive, and she also entered into a series of multi-picture deals with the likes of Fox (1936's A Message to Garcia) and MGM (His Brother's Wife, co-starring Robert Taylor, whom she later married).
For 1937's Stella Dallas, Stanwyck scored the first of four Academy Award nominations. Refusing to be typecast, she then starred in a screwball comedy, Breakfast for Two, followed respectively by the downcast 1938 drama Always Goodbye and the caper comedy The Mad Miss Manton. After the 1939 De Mille Western Union Pacific, she co-starred with William Holden in Golden Boy, and with Henry Fonda she starred in Preston Sturges' outstanding The Lady Eve. For the 1941 Howard Hawks comedy Ball of Fire, Stanwyck earned her second Oscar nomination. Another superior film, Capra's Meet John Doe, completed a very successful year. Drama was the order of the day for the next few years, as she starred in pictures like The Gay Sisters and The Great Man's Lady. In 1944, she delivered perhaps her most stunning performance in Billy Wilder's classic noir Double Indemnity. Stanwyck's stunning turn as a femme fatale secured her a third Oscar bid and helped make her, according to the IRS, the highest-paid woman in America. It also won her roles in several of the decade's other great film noirs, including 1946's The Strange Love of Martha Ivers and 1949's The File on Thelma Jordon.
In between, Stanwyck also starred in the 1948 thriller Sorry, Wrong Number, her final Academy Award-nominated performance. The 1950s, however, were far less kind, and strong roles came her way with increasing rarity. With Anthony Mann she made The Furies and with Lang she appeared opposite Marilyn Monroe in 1952's Clash by Night, but much of her material found her typecast -- in 1953's All I Desire, she portrayed a heartbroken mother not far removed from the far superior Stella Dallas, while in 1954's Blowing Wild she was yet another tough-as-nails, independent woman. Outside of the all-star Executive Suite, Stanwyck did not appear in another major hit; she let her hair go gray, further reducing her chances of winning plum parts, and found herself cast in a series of low-budget Westerns. Only Samuel Fuller's 1957 picture Forty Guns, a film much revered by the Cahiers du Cinema staff, was of any particular notice. It was also her last film for five years. In 1960, she turned to television to host The Barbara Stanwyck Show, winning an Emmy for her work.
Stanwyck returned to cinemas in 1962, portraying a lesbian madam in the controversial Walk on the Wild Side. Two years later, she co-starred with Elvis Presley in Roustabout. That same year, she appeared in the thriller The Night Walker, and with that, her feature career was over. After rejecting a role in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, she returned to television to star in the long-running Western series The Big Valley, earning another Emmy for her performance as the matriarch of a frontier family. Upon the show's conclusion, Stanwyck made a TV movie, The House That Would Not Die. She then appeared in two more, 1971's A Taste of Evil and 1973's The Letters, before vanishing from the public eye for the remainder of the decade. In 1981, she was awarded an honorary Oscar; two years later, she was also the recipient of a Lincoln Center Life Achievement Award. Also in 1983, Stanwyck returned to television to co-star in the popular miniseries The Thorn Birds. Two years later, she headlined The Colbys, a spin-off of the hugely successful nighttime soap opera Dynasty. It was her last project before retiring. Stanwyck died January 20, 1990. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Barbara Stanwyck (July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, a star of film and television, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra. After a short stint as a stage actress, she made more than 80 films in 38 years in Hollywood, before turning to television.
Barbara Stanwyck was born Ruby Katherine Stevens in Brooklyn, New York on July 16, 1907.[2] She was the fifth and last child of Byron and Catherine McGee Stevens; the couple were working-class natives of Chelsea, Massachusetts and were of English and Irish extraction, respectively.[2] When Ruby was four, her mother was killed when a drunken stranger pushed her off a moving streetcar.[3] Two weeks after the funeral, Byron Stevens joined a work crew digging the Panama canal;[4] and was never seen again.[3] Ruby and her brother Byron were raised by their sister Mildred, who was five years older than Ruby.[4] When Mildred got a job as a John Cortshowgirl, Ruby and Byron were placed in a series of foster homes (as many as four in a year), from which Ruby often ran away.[5] Ruby attended various public schools in Brooklyn, where she received uniformly poor grades and routinely picked fights with the other students.[6]
During the summers of 1916 and 1917, when Ruby was nine and 10 years old, she toured with her sister Mildred, and practiced Mildred's routines backstage.[6] Another influence toward performing was watching the movies of Pearl White, whom Ruby idolized.[7] At age 14, she dropped out of school to take a job wrapping packages at a Brooklyn department store.[8][9] Soon after she took a job filing cards at the Brooklyn telephone office for a salary of $14 a week, a salary that allowed her to become financially independent.[10] Ruby disliked both jobs; she was interested in show business, but her sister Mildred discouraged the idea, so Ruby next took a job cutting dress patterns for Vogue; customers complained of her poor work and Ruby was fired.[11] Ruby's next job was as a typist for the Jerome H. Remick Music Company, a job she enjoyed; her true interest, however, was still show business, and her sister gave up dissuading her.[12] In 1923, a few months short of her 16th birthday, Ruby auditioned for a place in the chorus at the Strand Roof, a night club over the Strand Theatre in Times Square.[13] A few months thereafter she obtained a job as a Ziegfeld girl in the 1922 and 1923 editions of the Ziegfeld Follies.[14] For the next several years, Ruby worked as a chorus girl, performing from midnight to seven a.m. at various nightclubs owned by Texas Guinan; she also occasionally served as a dance instructor at a speakeasy for gays and lesbians owned by Guinan.[15]
"I knew that after fourteen I'd have to earn my own living, but I was willing to do that.... I've always been a little sorry for pampered people, and of course, they're very sorry for me."
In 1926, Ruby was introduced to Willard Mack by Billy LaHiff, who owned a popular pub frequented by showpeople.[16] Mack was casting his play The Noose; LaHiff suggested that the part of the chorus girl could be played by a real chorus girl, and Mack agreed to let Ruby audition.[17] Ruby obtained the part, but the play was not a success. In a bid to add pathos to the drama, Ruby's part was expanded.[18] At the suggestion of either Mack or David Belasco, Ruby adopted the stage name of Barbara Stanwyck; the "Barbara" came from Barbara Frietchie and the "Stanwyck" from English actor Jane Stanwyck.[19]The Noose re-opened on October 20, 1926,[19] became one of the most successful of the season, running for nine months and 197 performances.[14] Stanwyck co-starred with actors Rex Cherryman and Wilfred Lucas. Cherryman and Stanwyck began a romantic relationship.[20]
Her performance in The Noose earned rave reviews, and she was summoned by film producer Bob Kane to make a screen test for his upcoming 1927 silent film Broadway Nights where she won a minor part of a fan dancer after losing out the lead role, because she couldn't cry during the screen test.[21] This marked Stanwyck's first film appearance. She also played her first lead part on stage that year in Burlesque; the play was critically panned, but Stanwyck's performance netted her rave reviews.[5] While playing in Burlesque, Stanwyck was introduced to actor Frank Fay by Oscar Levant; Stanwyck and Fay both later claimed they had hated each other immediately, but they became close after the sudden death of Rex Cherryman at the age of 30.[5] Cherryman had become ill early in 1928, and his doctor had advised a sea voyage; while on a ship to Paris, where he and Stanwyck had arranged to meet, Cherryman died of septic poisoning.[22] Stanwyck and Fay married in August of that year and moved to Hollywood.[5]
Stanwyck was known for her accessibility and kindness to the backstage crew on any film set. She knew the names of their wives and children, and always asked after them by name. Frank Capra said she was "destined to be beloved by all directors, actors, crews and extras. In a Hollywood popularity contest she would win first prize hands down."[24] She received an Academy Honorary Award "for superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting" in 1982. Long time film critic Pauline Kael described Stanwyck's acting as "[she] seems to have an intuitive understanding of the fluid physical movements that work best on camera" and in reference to her early 1930s film work "...early talkies sentimentality ...only emphasizes Stanwyck's remarkable modernism."[25]
Television career
When Stanwyck's film career declined in 1957, she moved to television. Her 1961–1962 series The Barbara Stanwyck Show was not a ratings success but earned the star her first Emmy Award.[14] The 1965–1969Western series The Big Valley on ABC made her one of the most popular actresses on television, winning her another Emmy.[14] She was billed as "Miss Barbara Stanwyck," and her role as head of a frontier family was likened to that of Ben Cartwright, played by Lorne Greene in series Bonanza. Stanwyck's costars included Richard Long (who had been in Stanwyck's 1953 film All I Desire), Peter Breck, Linda Evans, and Lee Majors.
Years later, Stanwyck earned her third Emmy for The Thorn Birds.[14] In 1985, she made three guest appearances on the hit primetime soap opera Dynasty prior to the launch of its ill-fated spin-off series The Colbys in which she starred alongside Charlton Heston, Stephanie Beacham and Katharine Ross. Disappointed with the experience, Stanwyck remained with the series for only one season[14] (it lasted for two), and her role as Constance Colby Patterson would prove to be her last. Earl Hamner Jr. (producer of The Waltons) had initially wanted Stanwyck for the lead role of Angela Channing on the successful 1980s soap opera, Falcon Crest, but she turned it down. The role ultimately went to Jane Wyman.
William Holden always credited her with saving his career when they co-starred in Golden Boy. They remained lifelong friends. When Stanwyck and Holden were presenting the Best Sound Oscar, Holden paused to pay a special tribute to Stanwyck. Shortly after Holden's death, Stanwyck returned the favor at an awards ceremony, with an emotional reference to "her golden boy."
Her first husband was actor Frank Fay. They were married on August 26, 1928. On December 5, 1932, they adopted a son, Dion Anthony "Tony" Fay, who was one month old. (He and Stanwyck eventually became estranged.) The marriage was a troubled one; Fay's successful career on Broadway did not translate to the big screen, whereas Stanwyck achieved Hollywood stardom, after a short bumpy start. Also, Fay reportedly did not shy away from physical confrontations with his young wife, especially when he was inebriated. Some film historians claim that the marriage was the basis for A Star is Born.[26] The couple divorced on December 30, 1935. Rumors of Stanwyck's sexuality have lingered for decades, with it being said that she was in fact lesbian or bisexual, and that she'd had an affair with actress Tallulah Bankhead, during the same time frame that Bankhead was having her affair with actress Patsy Kelly.[27] While such rumors were never confirmed by Stanwyck, similar stories about her are featured in books about lesbians in Hollywood.
Stanwyck and actor Robert Taylor began living together. Their 1939 marriage was arranged with the help of Taylor's studio MGM, a common practice in Hollywood's golden age. She and Taylor enjoyed their time together outdoors during the early years of their marriage, and were the proud owners of many acres of prime West Los Angeles property. Their large ranch and home in the Mandeville Canyon section of Brentwood in Los Angeles is to this day referred to by locals as the old "Robert Taylor ranch".
Taylor would have several affairs during the marriage, including one with Ava Gardner. Stanwyck was rumored to have attempted suicide when she learned of Taylor's fling with Lana Turner. She ultimately filed for divorce in 1950 when a starlet made her romance with Taylor public. The decree was granted on February 21, 1951. Even after the divorce, they still acted together in Stanwyck's last feature film The Night Walker (1964). Stanwyck was reportedly devastated when many of his old letters and photos were lost in a house fire. She never remarried, collecting alimony of 15 percent of Taylor's salary until his death in 1969.
Stanwyck had an affair with actor Robert Wagner, whom she met on the set of Titanic. Wagner, who was 22 years old, and Stanwyck, who was 45 at the beginning of the affair, enjoyed a four-year romance, as described in Wagner's 2008 memoir, Pieces of My Heart. Stanwyck eventually broke off the relationship.[28]
Later years and death
Stanwyck's retirement years were active, with charity work done completely out of the limelight. Her decline started following a robbery and beating at her Beverly Hills home in 1981.[29]
^ Ruby never attended high school, "although early biographical thumbnail sketches had her attend Brooklyn's famous Erasmus Hall High School" (Madsen [1994], 11).
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Madsen, Axel. Stanwyck: A Biography. HarperCollins, 1994. ISBN 006017997X.
Muller, Eddie. Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir. St. Martin's Griffin, 1998. ISBN 0312180764.
Nassour, Ellis, and Beth A. Snowberger. "Stanwyck, Barbara." American National Biography Online (subscription only), February 2000. Accessed 1 July 2009.
Prono, Luca. Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Popular Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. ISBN 0313335990.
Schackel, Sandra. "Barbara Stanwyck: Uncommon Heroine." In Back in the saddle: essays on Western film and television actors. Ed. by Gary A. Yoggy. McFarland Publishing, 1998. ISBN 078640566X.
