Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929—September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. She assumed the title of Her Serene Highness, the Princess of Monaco, and was commonly referred to as Princess Grace.
After embarking on an acting career in 1948, at the age of 18, Grace Kelly appeared in New York City theatrical productions as well as more than 40 live broadcasts during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television. In 1954, she became a movie star with the release of five films, one of which, The Country Girl, provided her with an Academy Award-winning role as Best Actress. Retiring from acting at 26 and entering upon her duties in Monaco, she and Prince Rainier became the parents of three children: Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie. She also retained her American roots, maintaining a dual U.S. and Monegasque citizenship. Her death, two months before her 53rd birthday, was the result of a car accident caused by a stroke. In June 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her #13 amongst the Greatest Female Stars of All Time.
Family
A native of Philadelphia, Grace Kelly was born to John Brendan "Jack" Kelly (1889–June 20, 1960), the son of Irish immigrants, and his wife, Margaret Katherine Majer (1899–January 6, 1990), whose parents arrived in America from Germany. The newborn was named in memory of her father's sister who died at a young age. The family lived in a house at 3901 Henry Avenue in the East Falls neighborhood of the city.[1] Before her marriage, Margaret Majer studied physical education at Temple University and later became the first woman to head the Physical Education Department at the University of Pennsylvania. Jack Kelly was a local hero as a triple Olympic-gold-medal-winning sculler. He became a self-made millionaire, with his brick business rising to become the largest such enterprise on the East Coast. Registering as a Democrat, he obtained the party's nomination for mayor in the 1935 election and lost by the closest margin for any Democrat in the city's electoral history. In later years, he served on the Fairmount Park Commission and, during World War II, was appointed by President Roosevelt as National Director of Physical Fitness.
When Grace was born, the Kellys already had two children, Margaret Katherine, known as Peggy (June 13, 1925–November 23, 1991) and John Brendan, Jr., known as Kell (May 24, 1927–May 2, 1985. After Grace, another daughter was born, Elizabeth Anne (June 25, 1933-November 24, 2009), known as Lizanne.
At Margaret's christening in 1925, Jack Kelly's mother, Mary Costello Kelly, expressed her disappointment that the baby was not named Grace in memory of her last daughter who died young. Upon his mother's death the following year, Jack Kelly resolved that his next daughter would bear the name and, three years later, with the arrival of Grace Patricia in November 1929, his late mother's wish was honored.
Following in his father's athletic footsteps, John Jr. won in 1947 the James E. Sullivan Award as the country's top amateur athlete. Also, similar to his father's gold medals in rowing at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics, he competed in the sport at the 1948, 1952 and, finally the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne where, on November 27, seven months after his sister's Monaco wedding, he won a bronze medal, which he gave to her as gift of the occasion. He was also a city councilman and Philadelphia's Kelly Drive is named for him.
Two of Grace Kelly's uncles were prominent in the arts — her father's brother, Walter, performed in vaudeville and another brother, George who, due to his homosexuality was estranged from the family, became renowned in the 1920s as a playwright, screenwriter and director and was awarded the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[2]
Acting career
| Grace Kelly |
from the film To Catch a Thief |
| Born |
Grace Patricia Kelly
|
| Years active |
1950–1956 |
While attending the prestigious Ravenhill Academy, Kelly modeled fashions at local social events with her mother and sisters. At the age of twelve she played a lead role in a play produced by the Old Academy Players in East Falls, called Don't Feed the Animals.[2] During high school, she acted and danced, graduating from Stevens School, a small private school in a mansion on Walnut Lane in Germantown, Philadelphia, in May 1947. Her graduation yearbook listed her favorite actress as Ingrid Bergman; her favorite actor, Joseph Cotten; her favorite summer resort, Ocean City; her favorite drink, a black and white chocolate milkshake; her favorite piece of classical music, Debussy's "Clair de Lune"; her favorite orchestra, Benny Goodman; and her favorite female singer, Jo Stafford.[3] Written in the "Stevens' Prophecy" section was, “Miss Grace P. Kelly - a famous star of stage and screen.”
Theatre
Because of low mathematics scores, Kelly was rejected by Bennington College in July 1947.[citation needed] To the dismay of her mother, Kelly decided to pursue her dreams of a career in the theater. For an audition into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York she used a scene from her uncle's 1923 play, The Torch-Bearers. Although the school already selected its semester quota, Kelly wangled an interview with the school's admission officer, Emile Diestel. Alumni of the school include Katharine Hepburn, Lauren Bacall, Gene Tierney, and Spencer Tracy. Living in Manhattan's Barbizon Hotel for Women, a prestigious establishment which barred men from entering after 10 p.m., and working as a model to support her studies, Kelly began her first term the following October. A diligent student, she would use a recorder to practice and perfect her speech. Her early acting pursuits led her to the stage, most notably a Broadway debut in Strindberg’s The Father alongside Raymond Massey. At 19, her graduation performance was in The Philadelphia Story, a role with which she would also end her film career, in the MGM musical film version High Society.
Television producer Delbert Mann cast Kelly as "Bethel Merriday", an adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis novel of the same name, in her first of nearly sixty live television programs. Success on television eventually brought her a role in a major motion picture. Kelly made her film debut in a small role in the 1951 film Fourteen Hours. She was noticed during a visit to the set by Gary Cooper, who subsequently starred with her in High Noon. Cooper was charmed by Kelly and said that she was "different from all these sexballs we've been seeing so much of." However, her performance in Fourteen Hours was not noticed by critics, and did not lead to her receiving other film acting roles. She continued her work in the theater and on television.[2]
She was performing in Colorado’s Elitch Gardens when she received a telegram from Hollywood producer Stanley Kramer, offering her the starring role opposite Gary Cooper in High Noon. According to one biographer, Wendy Leigh, at age 22 Kelly had an off-set romance with both Cooper and director Fred Zinnemann.[citation needed] High Noon would go on to be a popular film of the 1950s.
Actress for MGM
To audition for the role of Linda Nordley in MGM's production of Mogambo, the studio had Kelly flown to Los Angeles in September 1952. Gene Tierney was initially cast in the role, but due to emotional problems dropped out at the last minute.[4][5] Kelly won the role, along with a 7-year contract, although she was hired at a relatively low salary of $850 a week. Kelly signed the deal under two conditions: First, one out of every two years, she have time off to work in the theater and second, that she be able to live in New York City, at the now-landmarked Manhattan House, at 200 E 66th Street.[6] Just two months later, in November, the cast arrived in Nairobi to begin production. She later told famed Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, "Mogambo had three things that interested me. John Ford, Clark Gable, and a trip to Africa with expenses paid. If Mogambo had been made in Arizona, I wouldn't have done it."[7] The role garnered her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
After the heightened success of Mogambo, Kelly starred in a TV play The Way of an Eagle, with Jean-Pierre Aumont before being cast in the film adaptation of Frederick Knott's Broadway hit Dial M for Murder. Alfred Hitchcock was slated to direct the film and would become one of Kelly's last mentors. Hitchcock also took full advantage of Kelly's virginal beauty on-camera. In a scene in which her character Margot Wendice is nearly murdered, a struggle breaks out between her and her would-be-killer Tony Dawson as she kicks her legs and flails her arms attempting to fight off her killer. Dial M for Murder opened in theaters in May 1954 to both positive reviews and box-office triumph. The role of Margot Wendice was a beginning for Kelly as a poised and confident role-playing actress.
Kelly began filming scenes for her next film, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, in January 1954 with William Holden. The role of Nancy, the cordially wretched wife of naval officer Harry (played by Holden), proved to be a minor but pivotal part of the story. Released in January 1955, The New Yorker wrote of Kelly and Holden's unbridled onscreen chemistry, taking note of Kelly's performance of the part "with quiet confidence."
In October 1954, Kelly received a telegram that Alfred Hitchcock had scheduled her a wardrobe fitting with Edith Head, arguably Hollywood's most premier and elite costume designer, for the director's next film, Rear Window. In going forth with the role of Lisa Fremont, Kelly unhesitatingly turned down the opportunity to star alongside Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, which won her replacement, Eva Marie Saint, an Academy Award. "All through the making of Dial M for Murder, he [Hitchcock] sat and talked to me about Rear Window all the time, even before we had discussed my being in it."[8] Much like the shooting of Dial M for Murder, Kelly and Hitchcock shared a close bond of humor and admiration. Sometimes, however, minor strifes would emerge on set concerning the wardrobe.
| “ |
At the rehearsal for the scene in Rear Window when I wore a sheer nightgown, Hitchcock called for Edith Head. He came over here and said, 'Look, the bosom is not right, we're going to have to put something in there.' He was very sweet about it; he didn't want to upset me, so he spoke quietly to Edith. When we went into my dressing room and Edith said, 'Mr. Hitchcock is worried because there's a false pleat here. He wants me to put in falsies.' Well, I said, 'You can't put falsies in this, it's going to show and I'm not going to wear them.' And she said, 'What are we going to do?' So we quickly took it up here, made some adjustments there, and I just did what I could and stood as straight as possible - without falsies. When I walked out onto the set Hitchcock looked at me and at Edith and said, 'See what a difference they make?' |
” |
Kelly's new co-star, James Stewart, was highly enthusiastic about working with her.[9] The role of Lisa Fremont, a wealthy Manhattan socialite and model, was unlike any of the previous women which she had played. For the very first time, she was an independent career woman. Stewart played a speculative photographer with a broken leg, bound to a wheelchair, who is curiously reduced to observing the happenings of tenants outside his window. Kelly is not seen until twenty-two minutes into the movie. Just as he had done earlier, Hitchcock provided the camera with a slow-sequenced silhouette of Kelly, along with a close-up of the two stars kissing and finally lingering closely on her profile. With the film's opening in October 1954, Kelly was yet again praised. Variety's film critic remarked on the casting, commenting about the "earthy quality to the relationship between Stewart and Miss Kelly. Both do a fine job of the picture's acting demands."[10]
Kelly won the role of Bing Crosby's long-suffering wife, Georgie Elgin, in The Country Girl, after a pregnant Jennifer Jones bowed out. Already familiar with the play, Kelly was desperate for the part. This meant that, to MGM's dismay, she would have to be loaned out to Paramount. Kelly threatened the studio that she would pack her bags and leave for New York for good. The vanquished studio caved in, and the part was hers. The Country Girl was shot in black and white, surprising an audience that had become accustomed to seeing the blonde in Technicolor.
The film also paired Kelly again with William Holden. The wife of a washed-up alcoholic singer, played by Crosby, Kelly's character is emotionally torn between two lovers. Holden willfully begs Kelly to leave her husband and be with him. A piece of frail tenderness manages to cloak itself inside of her, even after having been demonized by Crosby, describing "a pathetic hint of frailty in a wonderful glowing man. That appeals a lot to us. It did to me. I was so young. His weaknesses seemed touching and sweet, they made me love him more."
As a result of her performance in The Country Girl, Kelly was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her main competitor for the prize was Judy Garland's much heralded comeback performance in A Star Is Born; playing not only the part of an up and coming actress-singer, but also ironically, the wife of an alcoholic movie star. Although Kelly won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for best actress for her performances in her three big movie roles of 1954 (Rear Window, Dial M For Murder, and The Country Girl), she and Garland both received Golden Globe Awards for their respective performances.
By the following March, the race between Kelly and Garland for the Oscar was very close. On the night of the Academy Awards telecast, 30 March 1955, Garland was unable to attend due to the fact she was in the hospital just having given birth to her son, Joseph Luft. However, she was rumored to be the odds-on favorite, so NBC Television cameras were set up in her hospital room so that if her name was announced as the winner, Garland could make her acceptance speech live from her hospital bed. However, when William Holden announced Kelly as the winner, the technicians immediately dismantled the cameras without saying one word to Garland. Garland was reported not to have been very gracious about Kelly's win saying in later years, "I didn't appreciate Grace Kelly taking off her makeup and walking away with my Oscar."
In April 1954, Kelly flew to Colombia for a brief 10-day shoot to film her next project, Green Fire, with Stewart Granger. Kelly plays Catherine Knowland, a coffee plantation owner. In Granger's autobiography he writes of his distaste for the film's script, while Kelly later confided to Hedda Hopper, "It wasn't pleasant. We worked at a pathetic village - miserable huts and dirty. Part of the crew got shipwrecked ... It was awful."[7] Green Fire was a critical and box-office failure.
After the back-to-back shooting of Rear Window, Toko-Ri, Country Girl and Green Fire, Kelly flew to France, along with department store heir Bernard "Barney" Strauss, to begin work on her third and final film for Alfred Hitchcock, To Catch a Thief. Kelly and her new co-star, Cary Grant, developed a mutual admiration. The two cherished their time together for the rest of their lives. Years later, when asked to name his all-time favorite actress, Cary replied without hesitation: "Well, with all due respect to dear Ingrid Bergman, I much preferred Grace. She had serenity."[11] The fireworks scene has been the subject of much commentary, as Hitchcock subliminally peppers an undertone of sexual innuendo during the sequence.
Marriage
Kelly headed the U.S. delegation at the Cannes Film Festival in April 1955. While there, she was invited to participate in a photo session at the Palace of Monaco with Prince Rainier III, the ruling sovereign of the principality. After a series of delays and complications, Kelly met the prince in Monaco.
Upon returning to America, Kelly began work on The Swan, in which she coincidentally portrayed a princess. Meanwhile, she was privately beginning a correspondence with Rainier. In December, Rainier came to America on a trip officially designated as a tour, although it was speculated that Rainier was actively seeking a wife. A 1918 treaty with France stated that if Rainier did not produce an heir, Monaco would revert to France. At a press conference in the United States, Rainier was asked if he was pursuing a wife, to which he answered "No." A second question was posed, asking, "If you were pursuing a wife, what kind would you like?" Rainier smiled and answered, "I don't know — the best." Rainier met with Kelly and her family, and after three days, the prince proposed. Kelly accepted and the families began preparing for what the press called "The Wedding of the Century." Kelly and her family had to provide Prince Rainier with dowry of $2,000,000 USD in order for the marriage to go ahead. The religious wedding was set for 19 April 1956. News of the engagement was a sensation even though it meant the possible end to Kelly's film career. Industry professionals realized that it would have been impractical for her to continue acting and wished her well. Alfred Hitchcock had quipped that he was, "very happy that Grace has found herself such a good part."
Preparations for the wedding were elaborate. The Palace of Monaco was painted and redecorated throughout. On 4 April 1956, leaving from Pier 84 in New York Harbor, Kelly, with her family, bridesmaids, poodle, and over eighty pieces of luggage boarded the ocean liner SS Constitution for the French Riviera. Some 400 reporters applied to sail, though most were turned away. Thousands of fans sent the party off for the eight day voyage. In Monaco, more than 20,000 people lined the streets to greet the future princess consort.
That same year, MGM released Kelly's final film, the musical comedy High Society, (based on the studio's 1940 comedy Philadelphia Story). One highlight of the film was when Kelly sang a duet with Bing Crosby, "True Love," with words and music by Cole Porter.
Princess of Monaco
Kelly's wedding was a 40-minute civil ceremony that took place in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on 18 April 1956, and was broadcast across Europe. To cap the ceremony, the 142 official titles (counterparts of Rainier's) that Kelly acquired in the union were formally recited. The event concluded the following day with the church ceremony at Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Kelly's wedding dress, designed by MGM's Academy Award–winning Helen Rose, was worked on for six weeks by three dozen seamstresses. The 600 guests included Hollywood stars David Niven and his wife Hjördis, Gloria Swanson, Ava Gardner, the crowned head Aga Khan, and Conrad Hilton. Frank Sinatra initially accepted an invitation but at the last minute decided otherwise, afraid of upstaging the bride on her wedding day. The ceremony was watched by an estimated 30 million people on television. The prince and princess left that night for their seven-week Mediterranean cruise honeymoon on Rainier's yacht, Deo Juvante II.
As Princess of Monaco, she founded AMADE Mondiale, a Monaco-based non-profit organization eventually recognized by the United Nations as a Non-Governmental Organization. According to UNESCO's website, AMADE promotes and protects the "moral and physical integrity" and "spiritual well-being of children throughout the world, without distinction of race, nationality or religion and in a spirit of complete political independence." Her daughter Princess Caroline carries the torch for AMADE today in her role as President.
Children and family
Princess Grace gave birth to the couple's first child, Princess Caroline nine months and four days after the wedding. 21 guns announced the event, a national holiday was called, gambling ceased, and free champagne flowed throughout the principality. A little over a year later, 101 guns announced the birth of their second child, Prince Albert. Prince Rainier and Princess Grace had three children:
Later years
After the wedding, Prince Rainier banned the screening of Kelly's films.[12] Hitchcock offered Kelly the lead in his film Marnie in 1962. She was eager, but public outcry in Monaco against her involvement in a film that portrayed her as a kleptomaniac made her reconsider and ultimately reject the project. Director Herbert Ross attempted to lure Princess Grace for his 1977 film The Turning Point, but Prince Rainier quashed the idea. Later that year, Kelly returned to the arts in a series of poetry readings on stage and the narration of the documentary The Children of Theater Street. She also narrated ABC's made-for-television film The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966).
As princess, Kelly was active in improving the arts institutions of Monaco, and eventually the Princess Grace Foundation was formed to support local artisans. She was one of the first celebrities to support and speak on behalf of La Leche League, an organization that advocates breastfeeding; she planned a yearly Christmas party for local orphans, and dedicated a Garden Club that reflected her love of flowers.
In 1981, the Prince and Princess celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.
Personal life
Kelly was the object of the tabloids and gossip throughout her life. Her love life was a particular focus of speculation. Stories of affairs circulated from her first major role in motion pictures and eventually included the names of almost every major actor at the time.
During the making of Dial M for Murder, her co-star Ray Milland attempted to seduce her. Milland was 22 years older than she, but just as charming and suave as he was when she swooned over him years earlier as a teenager watching The Lost Weekend. Milland was married to Muriel Milland for thirty years, and the two had a son. Milland assured Kelly that he had left his wife, which she would later find out to have been a lie.[13] Muriel Milland was one of the most popular wives in Hollywood and had the support of many friends, including gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. After Milland found out about the alleged affair, Kelly was branded a homewrecker. After Kelly gave a press interview explaining her side of the story the town seemed to lose interest in the scandal. It was never proven that Kelly actually succumbed to Milland's advances; in fact, her friends at the time, such as Rita Gam, believed she had little interest in him.
Russian fashion designer Oleg Cassini, having just seen Mogambo earlier that evening, encountered Kelly having dinner at Le Veau d'Or. Cassini, who was raised in Florence, having an abundance of charm and courtliness and whose ex-wife was actress Gene Tierney, (who was the original choice for the role of Linda Nordley in Mogambo), became just as captivated by Kelly in person as he had previously watching her in the film. Kelly's curiosity was soon piqued when she began receiving a bouquet of red roses every day. Cassini's persistence paid off when Kelly accepted his invitation to lunch, with the provision that she bring her sister Peggy along. Kelly broke off her relationship with Oleg Cassini, due to her parents refusal to accept a divorced Protestant as a future son in law.
In a 1960s interview, Kelly explained how she had grown to accept the scrutiny as a part of being in the public eye, but expressed concern for her children’s exposure to such relentless scandalmongering. After her death, celebrity biographers chronicled the rumors with renewed enthusiasm.
Friendship with Josephine Baker
In 1951, the newly famous Kelly took a bold stand against a racist incident involving Black American expatriate singer/dancer Josephine Baker, when the Sherman Billingsley's Stork Club in New York refused Baker as a customer. Kelly, who was dining at the club when this happened, was so disgusted that she rushed over to Baker (whom she had never met), took her by the arm, and stormed out with her entire party, vowing never to return (and she never did).[14]. The two women became close friends after that night. A significant testament to their close friendship was made evident when Baker was near bankruptcy, and was offered a villa and financial assistance by Kelly (who by that time had become The Princess of Monaco) and her husband Rainier III of Monaco. The princess also encouraged Baker to return to performing and financed Baker's triumphant comeback in 1975, attending the opening night's performance. When Baker died, the Princess secured her burial in Monaco.[citation needed]
Death
On 13 September 1982, while driving with her daughter Stéphanie to Monaco from their country home, Princess Grace suffered a stroke, which caused her to drive her Rover P6[15] off the serpentine road down a mountainside. Grace was pulled alive from the wreckage, but had suffered serious injuries and was unconscious. She died the following day at the Monaco Hospital (renamed Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace – The Princess Grace Hospital Centre in English – in 1985), having never regained consciousness. It was initially reported that Princess Stéphanie suffered only minor bruising, although it later emerged that she had suffered a serious cervical fracture.[16] It was rumored that Princess Grace had been driving on the same stretch of highway that had been featured in her 1955 movie To Catch a Thief, but her son has always denied it.
She was buried in the Grimaldi family vault on 18 September 1982, after a requiem mass in Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco.[17] The 400 guests at the service included representatives of foreign governments and of present and past European royal houses. Diana, Princess of Wales represented the British royal family. Cary Grant was among the members of the film community in attendance. Nearly 100 million people worldwide watched her funeral.[18] Prince Rainier, who did not remarry after Kelly's death, was buried alongside her following his death in 2005.
In his eulogy, James Stewart said:
| “ |
You know, I just love Grace Kelly. Not because she was a princess, not because she was an actress, not because she was my friend, but because she was just about the nicest lady I ever met. Grace brought into my life as she brought into yours, a soft, warm light every time I saw her, and every time I saw her was a holiday of its own. No question, I'll miss her, we'll all miss her, God bless you, Princess Grace. |
” |
Legacy
Commemorative Euro coin of Monaco
The Princess Grace Foundation, Monaco was founded in 1964 with the aim of helping those with special needs for whom no provision was made within the ordinary social services. In 1983, following Princess Grace's death, Caroline, Princess of Hanover assumed the duties of President of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. Albert II, Prince of Monaco is Vice-President.[19]
The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) was established following the death of Princess Grace of Monaco to continue the work she did, anonymously, during Her lifetime – assisting emerging theater, dance and film artists in America. Incorporated in 1982, PGF-USA is headquartered in New York, and is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, publicly supported organization. The Princess Grace Awards, a program of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, has awarded nearly 500 artists at more than 100 institutions in the U.S. with more than $7 million to date. The Princess Grace Foundation-USA also holds the exclusive rights and facilitates the licensing of Princess Grace of Monaco's name and likeness throughout the world. Princess Grace Foundation-USA
On 18 June 1984, Prince Rainier inaugurated a public rose garden in Monaco in Princess Grace's memory due to her passion for the flower.[20]
In 1993, Princess Grace became the first U.S. actress to appear on a U.S. postage stamp.[12][21]
In 2003, 83 years after Olympic Gold Medalist John Kelly, Sr. was rejected entry at the most prestigious rowing event in the world, the Henley Royal Regatta renamed the Women's Quadruple Sculls after his daughter, "Princess Grace Challenge Cup". Princess Grace was invited to give out the prizes at the Henley Royal Regatta in 1981 as a peace offering by the Henley Stewards to put a long conflict (61 years) between the Kelly family and Stewards to rest. Kelly's brother John Kelly, Jr. won the Diamond Sculls at the Henly Royal Regatta in 1947 and 1949 as well as a Bronze Medal in the single sculls at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. In 2004, Kelly's son Prince Albert gave out the prizes at the Henley Royal Regatta.
On 1 April 2006, The Philadelphia Museum of Art presented an exhibition entitled, Fit for a Princess: Grace Kelly's Wedding Dress, that ran through 21 May 2006. The exhibition was in honor of the 50th anniversary of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier's wedding.[22]
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of her death €2 commemorative coins were issued on 1 July 2007 with the "national" side bearing the image of Princess Grace. In Monaco (at the Grimaldi Forum) and the United States (at Sotheby's) a large Princess Grace exhibition, coordinated by the Princely Family, called "Grace, Princess of Monaco: A Tribute to the Life and Legacy of Grace Kelly", celebrated her life and her contribution to the arts through her Foundation.
In October 2009, Princess Grace of Monaco becomes the first celebrity icon and 15th inductee immortalized in the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style which honors legends of style for their contributions to the worlds of fashion and entertainment joining Giorgio Armani, Edith Head, Tom Ford, Valentino Garavani and many others.[1]
In November 2009, to commemorate what would have been her 80th birthday TCM named her as star of the month which saw Prince Albert II pay a special tribute to his mother, [view].
Titles
- 12 November 1929– 19 April 1956: Miss Grace Patricia Kelly
- 19 April 1956– 14 September 1982: Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco
Screen credits
Filmography
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Director |
Co-stars |
| 1951 |
Fourteen Hours |
Louise Ann Fuller |
Henry Hathaway |
Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Barbara Bel Geddes |
| 1952 |
High Noon |
Amy Fowler Kane |
Fred Zinnemann |
Gary Cooper, Katy Jurado, Lloyd Bridges, Thomas Mitchell |
| 1953 |
Mogambo |
Linda Nordley |
John Ford |
Clark Gable, Ava Gardner |
| 1954 |
Dial M for Murder |
Margot Mary Wendice |
Alfred Hitchcock |
Ray Milland, Robert Cummings, John Williams |
| Rear Window |
Lisa Carol Fremont |
Alfred Hitchcock |
James Stewart, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr |
| The Country Girl |
Georgie Elgin |
George Seaton |
Bing Crosby, William Holden |
| Green Fire |
Catherine Knowland |
Andrew Marton |
Stewart Granger |
| The Bridges at Toko-Ri |
Nancy Brubaker |
Mark Robson |
William Holden, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney, Earl Holliman |
| 1955 |
To Catch a Thief |
Frances Stevens |
Alfred Hitchcock |
Cary Grant |
| 1956 |
The Swan |
Princess Alexandra |
Charles Vidor |
Alec Guinness, Louis Jourdan |
| High Society |
Tracy Samantha Lord |
Charles Walters |
Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm |
Television appearances and filmography
| Year |
TV series and network |
Broadcast date, episode title and number |
Character name |
Other cast members and director |
| 1948 |
Kraft Television Theatre
(NBC) |
November 3, 1948:
"Old Lady Robbins"
season 2 episode 7 |
|
Ethel Owen |
| 1950 |
The Philco Television Playhouse
(NBC) |
January 8, 1950:
"Bethel Merriday", adapted from novel by Sinclair Lewis
season 2 episode 19 |
Bethel Merriday |
Oliver Thorndike, Warren Stevens, Katherine Meskill, Mary Patton, Frank Stephens, Mary K. Wells
directed by Delbert Mann |
Ripley's Believe It or Not
(NBC) |
January 11, 1950:
"The Voice of Obsession"
season 2 episode 2 |
|
John Hudson, Hildy Parks |
Westinghouse Studio One
(CBS) |
January 23, 1950:
"The Rockingham Tea Set", adapted by Matt Harlib and Worthington Miner from Virginia Douglas Dawson story
season 2 episode 20 |
Sara |
Louise Allbritton, Katherine Emmet,
Judson Laire
directed by Franklin J. Schaffner |
The Philco Television Playhouse
(NBC) |
February 12, 1950:
"Ann Rutledge"
season 2 episode 24 |
Ann Rutledge |
Stephen Courtleigh |
Actors Studio
(CBS) |
March 3, 1950:
"The Apple Tree"
season 2 episode 22 |
|
John Merivale, Patricia Kirkland
host: Marc Connelly |
The Play's the Thing
(CBS) |
May 26, 1950:
"The Token"
season 1 episode 7 |
|
Mark Roberts
host: Marc Connelly |
The Play's the Thing
(CBS) |
June 9, 1950:
"The Swan",
adapted from play by Ferenc Molnár
season 1 episode 8 |
Princess Alexandra [will play the role again in 1956 film] |
George Keane, Alfred Ryder, Jane Hoffman, Leopoldine Konstantin, Dennis Hoey
host: Marc Connelly
directed by David Pressman |
Lights Out
(NBC) |
July 17, 1950:
"The Devil to Pay"
season 2 episode 45 |
|
Jonathan Harris, Theodore Marcuse
directed by William Corrigan |
Big Town
(CBS) |
October 5, 1950:
"The Pay-Off"
season 1 episode 1 |
|
Patrick McVey, Mary K. Wells
directed by David Lowell Rich |
The Clock
(NBC) |
October 20, 1950:
"Vengeance", adapted from novella by Balzac
season 2 episode 4 |
|
Torin Thatcher
directed by Grey Lockwood |
The Web
(CBS) |
November 1, 1950
"Mirror of Delusion"
season 1 episode 18 |
|
Hugh Franklin, Anna Lee, Mary Stuart
host: Jonathan Blake |
Somerset Maugham TV Theatre
(CBS) |
November 15, 1950:
adapted from story by Somerset Maugham
season 1 episode 5 |
|
Leo Penn
host: W. Somerset Maugham |
Danger
(CBS) |
December 19, 1950:
"The Sergeant and the Doll"
season 1 episode 13 |
|
Laura Weber, James Westerfield
host: Richard Stark |
The Philco Television Playhouse
(NBC) |
December 31, 1950:
"Leaf out of a Book"
season 3 episode 17 |
|
Vicki Cummings, Lauren Gilbert, Claudia Morgan [restaged, with most of the same cast, on July 6, 1952 Goodyear Television Playhouse, also on NBC] |
| 1951 |
The Prudential Family Playhouse
(CBS) |
February 13, 1951
"Berkeley Square", adapted from play by John L. Balderston
season 1 episode 10 |
|
Richard Greene, Rosalind Ivan, Mary Scott |
Nash Airflyte Theater
(CBS) |
February 22, 1951:
"A Kiss for Mr. Lincoln"
season 1 episode 23 |
|
Richard Greene, Bruce Gordon, Sarah Cunningham, Sarah Floyd, host: William Gaxton, directed by David Pressman |
Fourteen Hours
(TCF) |
first theatrical showing:
March 6, 1951 |
Mrs. Louise Ann Fuller |
billed tenth, following Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Barbara Bel Geddes, Debra Paget, Agnes Moorehead, Robert Keith, Howard Da Silva, Jeffrey Hunter and Martin Gabel, directed by Henry Hathaway |
Armstrong Circle Theatre
(NBC) |
June 5, 1951:
"Lover's Leap"
season 1 episode 53 |
|
Leslie Nielsen, Don Murphy, Alan Abel, Larry Buchanan, Michael Keith, Charles Mendick |
Armstrong Circle Theatre
(NBC) |
November 27, 1951:
"Brand from the Burning"
season 2 episode 11 |
|
Thomas Coley
host: Nelson Case |
The Philco Television Playhouse
(NBC) |
December 30, 1951:
"The Sisters", teleplay by Robert Alan Aurthur
season 4 episode 6 |
|
Leslie Nielsen, Dorothy Peterson,
Natalie Schafer
directed by Gordon Duff |
| 1952 |
CBS Television Workshop
(CBS) |
January 13, 1952:
"Don Quixote", adapted from Cervantes classic
season 1 episode 4 |
Dulcinea |
Boris Karloff, Jimmy Savo
directed by Sidney Lumet |
Hallmark Television Playhouse
(NBC) |
January 20, 1952:
"The Big Build Up", adapted from novel by Michael Foster
season 1 episode 4 |
Claire |
Richard Derr, Vinton Hayworth, Parker McCormick, Harry Mehaffey, Elinor Randel
host: Sarah Churchill
directed by William Corrigan |
Danger
(CBS) |
February 5, 1952:
"Prelude to Death"
season 2 episode 21 |
|
Carmen Mathews
host: Richard Stark |
The Philco Television Playhouse
(NBC) |
February 10, 1952:
"Rich Boy", adapted by Walter Bernstein from story by F. Scott Fitzgerald
season 4 episode 9 |
Paula |
Gene Lyons, Phyllis Kirk, Kathleen Comegys, Mary Jackson, Henry Hart, Robert McQueeney, Tom Pedi, Geoffrey Lumb, David White, Eric Sinclair
directed by Delbert Mann |
Lux Video Theatre
(CBS) |
February 18, 1952:
"Life, Liberty and Orrin Dudley", teleplay by John Whedon
season 2 episode 26 |
Beth |
Jackie Cooper
directed by Richard Goode |
Lights Out
(NBC) |
March 17, 1952:
"The Borgia Lamp"
season 4 episode 30 |
|
Robert Sterling, Hugh Griffith |
Robert Montgomery Presents
(NBC) |
June 2, 1952:
"Candles for Theresa"
season 3 episode 31 |
|
Robert Sterling
host: Robert Montgomery |
Kraft Television Theatre
(NBC) |
June 11, 1952:
"The Cricket on the Hearth", adapted from novella by Dickens
season 5 episode 40 |
May Fielding |
Russell Hardie |
Suspense
(CBS) |
Tuesday, July 1, 1952, 9:30–10pm:
"Fifty Beautiful Girls"
season 4 episode 41 |
|
Joseph Anthony, Rusty Lane,
Robert Keith, Jr.
host: Rex Marshall |
Armstrong Circle Theatre
(NBC) |
Tuesday, July 1, 1952, 9:30–10pm:
"City Editor"
season 2 episode 41 |
|
Louise Allbritton, Shepperd Strudwick
host: Joe Ripley |
Goodyear Television Playhouse
(NBC) |
July 6, 1952:
"Leaf out of a Book"
season 1 episode 20 |
|
Lauren Gilbert, Claudia Morgan [restaged production, with most of the same cast, of December 31, 1950 episode of The Philco Television Playhouse, also on NBC] |
High Noon
(Stanley Kramer Productions) |
first theatrical showing:
July 7, 1952 |
Amy Fowler Kane |
billed fifth, following Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges and Katy Jurado
directed by Fred Zinnemann |
Kraft Television Theatre
(NBC) |
August 29, 1952:
"The Small House"
season 5 episode 49 |
|
Lauren Gilbert, Katherine Meskill |
Armstrong Circle Theatre
(NBC) |
September 2, 1952:
"Recapture"
season 2 episode 48 |
|
Darren McGavin, Barbara Baxley
host: Joe Ripley
directed by Garry Simpson |
Westinghouse Studio One
(CBS) |
September 22, 1952: "The Kill", adapted by Reginald Rose from novel by Owen Cameron
season 5 episode 1 |
Freda |
Dick Foran, Nina Foch, Paul Langton, Harry Townes, Don Hanmer, Carl Frank, George Mitchell, Joe Maross, Alan Devitt, Frank Marth, James Coots, Arthur Junaluska and Lynn Loring
directed by Franklin J. Schaffner |
Lux Video Theatre
(CBS) |
September 29, 1952:
"A Message for Janice", adapted by S. H. Barnett from story by Walter C. Brown
season 3 episode 6 |
Janice |
Jackie Cooper, George Hall
directed by Richard Goode |
| 1953 |
Lux Video Theatre
(CBS) |
May 14, 1953:
"The Betrayer", written by Charles L. Emmons
season 3 episode 37 |
Meg |
Robert Preston
directed by Fielder Cook |
The Philco Television Playhouse
(NBC) |
June 7, 1953:
"The Way of the Eagle"
season 5 episode 24 |
|
Jean-Pierre Aumont |
Kraft Television Theatre
(NBC) |
June 17, 1953:
"Boy of Mine"
season 6 episode 37 |
|
Henry Jones, Martin Newman |
Mogambo
(MGM) |
first theatrical showing:
October 9, 1953 |
Linda Nordley |
billed third, following Clark Gable and Ava Gardner, directed by John Ford |
Toast of the Town
(CBS) |
October 18, 1953:
season 7 episode 6 |
|
David Wayne, Ralph Meeker, John Forsythe
host: Ed Sullivan |
| 1954 |
Kraft Television Theatre
(NBC) |
January 6, 1954:
"The Thankful Heart"
season 7 episode 19 |
|
Florenz Ames, John Stephen |
26th Academy Awards
(NBC) |
March 25, 1954 |
|
host in Hollywood: Donald O'Connor
host in New York: Fredric March |
The Country Girl
(Paramount) |
first theatrical showing:
May 17, 1954 |
Georgie Elgin |
billed second, following Bing Crosby
directed by George Seaton |
Dial M for Murder
(Warner) |
first theatrical showing:
May 29, 1954 |
Margot Wendice |
billed second, following Ray Milland
directed by Alfred Hitchcock |
Rear Window
(Paramount) |
first theatrical showing:
August 1, 1954 |
Lisa Fremont |
billed second, following James Stewart
directed by Alfred Hitchcock |
Miss America Pageant
(ABC) |
September 11, 1954
[first telecast of Miss America Pageant] |
one of the judges |
host for the pageant: Bob Russell
commentator for ABC network: John Daly
co-host for ABC network: Bess Myerson |
The Bridges at Toko-Ri
(Paramount) |
Los Angeles preview:
September 25, 1954 |
Nancy Brubaker |
billed second, following William Holden
directed by Mark Robson |
Green Fire
(MGM) |
first theatrical showing:
December 24, 1954 |
Catherine Knowland |
billed second, following Stewart Granger
directed by Andrew Marton |
| 1955 |
Toast of the Town
(CBS) |
January 9, 1955:
season 8 episode 18 |
|
José Greco, Forrest Tucker, Guy Mitchell, James Michener, The Shipstad & Johnson Ice Follies with Werner Groebli, The U.S.O. Hollywood Troupe, The Kermond Brothers, Richard Dwyer and Marie Crimmins
host: Ed Sullivan |
27th Academy Awards
(NBC) |
March 30, 1955 |
|
host in Hollywood: Bob Hope
host in New York: Thelma Ritter |
To Catch a Thief
(Paramount) |
first theatrical showing:
August 3, 1955 |
Frances Stevens |
billed second, following Cary Grant
directed by Alfred Hitchcock |
| 1956 |
28th Academy Awards
(NBC) |
March 21, 1956 |
|
host in Hollywood: Jerry Lewis
co-hosts in Hollywood: Claudette Colbert and Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
The Swan
(MGM) |
first theatrical showing:
April 26, 1956 |
Princess Alexandra |
billed first (Alec Guinness is second-billed)
directed by Charles Vidor |
High Society
(MGM) |
first theatrical showing:
July 17, 1956 |
Tracy Lord |
billed second, following Bing Crosby
directed by Charles Walters |
The Perry Como Show
(NBC) |
September 15, 1956:
season 7 episode 6 |
|
Irene Dunne, Sal Mineo, appearance by Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
host: Perry Como |
Discography
- "True Love" (from High Society, duet with Bing Crosby, 1956)
- Birds, Beasts & Flowers: A Programme of Poetry, Prose and Music (1980)
References
- ^ POV overview of life and career of Grace Kelly and her family at findadeath.com
- ^ a b c Leigh, Wendy (20 March 2007). True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess. Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 0-312-34236-5.
- ^ Spoto, Donald (2009). High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly. Harmony. p. 22. ISBN 0307395618.
- ^ "The Private Life and Times of Gene Tierney"
- ^ Tierney and Herskowitz (1978) Wyden Books, Self- Portrait p.150-151
- ^ New York Times article on Manhattan House
- ^ a b Hedda Hopper Collection. Maraget Herrick Library, Los Angeles.
- ^ Spoto, Donald (1983). The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 030680932X.
- ^ Eyles, Allen (September 1987). James Stewart. Stein & Day. ISBN 0812882989.
- ^ William Brogdon (1954-07-14). "Rear Window". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117794347.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
- ^ Nelson, Nancy (December 2002). Evenings With Cary Grant. Citadel. ISBN 080652412X.
- ^ a b Grace Kelly (I) - Biography
- ^ Robyns, Gwen (1976). Princess Grace. New York: David McKay. ISBN 0440201071.
- ^ "Larry King Live". CNN. 3 September 2003. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0309/03/lkl.00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
- ^ Top Ten: Notorious cars report on automobile involved in Grace Kelly's fatal accident
- ^ BBC On This Day September 14th 1982
- ^ Death of Princess Grace - history - central - British Council - LearnEnglish
- ^ Princess Grace lingers in memory - USATODAY.com
- ^ Princess Grace Foundation
- ^ Monaco Official Site - Princess Grace Rose Garden
- ^ Healey, Barth (1993-03-21). "U.S. and Monaco Honor Grace Kelly". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE4DA173DF932A15750C0A965958260.
- ^ Philadelphia Museum of Art - Information : Press Room : Press Releases : 2006
External links
