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Sandy Dennis

 
American Theater Guide: [Sandra Dale] Sandy Dennis
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Dennis, [Sandra Dale] Sandy (1937–92), actress. Born in Hastings, Nebraska, she first called attention to herself as Sandra, the compassionate social worker, in A Thousand Clowns (1962), then played Ellen Gordon, the kooky mistress in Any Wednesday (1964). Dennis excelled at playing slightly odd characters who were either pathetic, as in Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), or bizarrely comic, as in Absurd Person Singular (1974). Between Broadway assignments she assumed many leading roles at major regional theatres, in touring productions, and in films.

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Actor: Sandy Dennis
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  • Born: Apr 27, 1937 in Hastings, Nebraska
  • Died: Mar 02, 1992 in Westport, Connecticut
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '60s-'80s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Horror
  • Career Highlights: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Out-of-Towners, The Fox
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Three Sisters (1965)

Biography

With her distinctive, some say irritating, high-pitched voice, her nervous mannerisms, and her tendency to stammer and mutter her way through lines, Sandy Dennis was one of the most easily recognizable serious actresses of stage and screen during the '60s and '70s. Dennis started out appearing in community theater and then moved to New York where she studied at the Actors Studio where she became a staunch proponent of Method acting. In 1961, Dennis made her film debut with a supporting role in Elia Kazan's romantic melodrama Splendor in the Grass. Dennis spent the next few years on Broadway winning two successive Tony Awards two years in a row for her performances in A Thousand Clowns and Any Wednesday. In 1966, she made an auspicious sophomore film appearance playing the chirpy, naïve sexpot wife of young college professor George Segal in Mike Nichol's gut-wrenching marital drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (1966), which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The role won Dennis an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and was to influence most of her subsequent roles by getting her somewhat typecast as bewildered young women who manage to be both tough and vulnerable. In 1967, she played another memorable role as a new school teacher trying to help students in one of NYC's worst schools in Up the Down Staircase. Though her career as a movie star held great promise, Dennis primarily remained a stage actress and by the mid-'70s, she worked less frequently in films. Dennis did, however, briefly return to prominence in the early '80s after appearing in such films as Alan Alda's The Four Seasons (1981) and Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982). Afterwards, she basically disappeared from films until 1988 when she made a memorable cameo as a cynical alcoholic actress in Woody Allen's Another Woman. Dennis made her final appearance playing a cameo role in actor Sean Penn's directorial debut Indian Runner in 1991. At the time, the 54-year-old Dennis was battling ovarian cancer; it was a battle she lost the following year. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Sandy Dennis
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Sandy Dennis
Born Sandra Dale Dennis
April 27, 1937(1937-04-27)
Hastings, Nebraska, USA
Died March 2, 1992 (aged 54)
Westport, Connecticut, USA
Years active 1952-1991

Sandra Dale “Sandy” Dennis (April 27, 1937 – March 2, 1992) was an American theater and film actress.

Contents

Early life

Dennis was born in Hastings, Nebraska, the daughter of Yvonne, a secretary, and Jack Dennis, a postal clerk.[1] She had a brother, Frank.[2] A high school classmate of Dick Cavett, she attended the Nebraska Wesleyan University and University of Nebraska. Dennis grew up in Kenesaw and Lincoln, Nebraska, appearing in the Lincoln Community Theater Group and moving to New York City at the age of 19.[3]

Career

Dennis made her television debut in 1956 in The Guiding Light and her film debut in Splendor in the Grass (1961). However, she was more committed to following a career in the theater. She won consecutive Tony Awards for her performances in A Thousand Clowns and Any Wednesday. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Honey, the fragile, neurotic young wife of George Segal, in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). She followed this with well-received performances in Up the Down Staircase (1967), The Fox (1967), Sweet November (1968) and The Out-of-Towners (1970). In 1964, she appeared in the television episode "Don't Mention My Name in Sheboygan" of Craig Stevens's CBS drama, Mr. Broadway.

An advocate of method acting, Dennis was often described as neurotic and mannered in her performances; her signature style included running words together and oddly stopping and starting sentences, suddenly going up and down octaves as she spoke, and fluttering her hands. Walter Kerr famously remarked that she treated sentences as "weak, injured things" that needed to be slowly helped "across the street." Nonetheless, William Goldman, in his book The Season, referred to her as a quintessential "critics' darling" who got rave reviews no matter how unusual her acting and questionable her choice of material. During her stint in Any Wednesday, Kerr said the following: "Let me tell you about Sandy Dennis. There should be one in every home."

Her last significant film role was in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982). In 1991, she played a leading role in the film The Indian Runner, which marked Sean Penn's debut as a film director, and he also wrote the screenplay.

Personal life

Dennis lived with prominent jazz musician Gerry Mulligan from 1965 until they split up in 1976. Although Mulligan often referred to Dennis as his second wife, Dennis later revealed that they had never married. She also lived with actor Eric Roberts from 1980 to 1985.

Sandy Dennis died from ovarian cancer in Westport, Connecticut, aged 54.

In the documentary film Confessions of a Superhero, Superman impersonator Christopher Lloyd Dennis claims to be her son; however, no evidence was provided by Christopher proving this claim, and the film also includes Sandy's relatives' denial of this claim.[4]

Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1961 Splendor in the Grass Kay
1966 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Honey Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated - Golden Globe
1967 Up the Down Staircase Sylvia Barrett
The Fox Jill Banford
1968 Teach Me!
Sweet November Sara Deever Nominated - Golden Globe
1969 That Cold Day in the Park Frances Austen
A Touch of Love Rosamund Stacey
1970 The Out-of-Towners Gwen Kellerman
1974 Mr. Sycamore Jane Gwilt
1976 God Told Me To Martha Nicholas
1977 Nasty Habits Sister Winifred
1981 The Animals Film Herself
The Four Seasons Anne Callan
1982 Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean Mona
1988 Another Woman Claire
1989 Parents Millie Dew
976-EVIL Aunt Lucy
1991 The Indian Runner Mrs. Roberts

References

  1. ^ Sandy Dennis Biography (1937-1992)
  2. ^ Sandy Dennis Foundation
  3. ^ Sandy Dennis. Yahoo Movies.
  4. ^ Confessions of a Superhero, documentary by Matt Ogdens, 2007

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sandy Dennis".  Read more