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.
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-'50s
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).
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
(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.
Barbara Stanwyck was born Ruby Catherine Stevens in New York City to Catherine
Ann McPhee, a Canadian immigrant from Nova Scotia, and Byron
E. Stevens, an American.[1] She was raised in
Brooklyn, New York. When she was two, her mother, who was pregnant at the time, died after
being pushed off a moving trolley by a drunk. By age four, her father had abandoned the family. She was raised in
foster homes and by an elder sister, but began working at age 13, and was a fashion model
and Ziegfeld Girl by the age of 15.
In 1926, Stanwyck began performing at the Hudson Theatre in the drama The Noose, which became one of the biggest hit plays of the season. She co-starred with actors
Rex Cherryman and Wilfred Lucas. Cherryman and
Stanwyck began a romantic relationship. The relationship was cut short however, when in 1928, Cherryman died at the age of 30 of
septic poisoning while vacationing in Le Havre, France. 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 1927silent filmBroadway 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.[2] This marked Stanwyck's first film appearance.
Personal life
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[3]. The couple divorced on
December 30, 1935.
Stanwyck and actor Robert Taylor began living together. Their 1939 marriage was arranged with the help of the studio, 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, Los Angeles, California is
still 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 1926, a friend introduced Stanwyck (then known under her original name) to Willard Mack, who was casting his play The Noose. Asked to
audition, she was hired on the spot. Willard thought a great deal of the actress and believed that to change her image, she
needed a first class name, one that would stand out. He happened to notice a playbill for a play then running called
Barbara Frietchie in which an actress named Jane Stanwyck appeared. He used
this to come up with "Barbara Stanwyck" as Ruby's new stage name. She was an instant hit and he even re-wrote the script to give
her a bigger part.
William Holden always credited her with saving his career when they costarred together
in Golden Boy. They remained lifelong friends and he paid tribute to her at the 1977 Academy
Awards. In 1977, Stanwyck and Holden were presenting the Best Sound Oscar. Holden paused to pay a
special tribute to Stanwyck.
The Waltons producer, Earl Hamner Jr.,
wanted Stanwyck for the lead role of Angela Channing on the successful 1980s melodrama,
Falcon Crest, which was a spin-off of The Vintage Years, but she turned it
down.
Her retirement years were somewhat active, with charity work done completely out of the
limelight. She became somewhat reclusive following a robbery in her home while she was present; she was pushed into a closet, but
suffered no serious physical injury.
She died of congestive heart disease at St.John's Hospital, in Santa Monica,
California.
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