Shelley Winters: Difference between revisions
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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===Theatre=== |
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===Early work; breakthrough=== |
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Winters made her Broadway debut in ''The Night Before Christmas'' (1941) which had a short run. She had a small part in ''[[Rosalinda]]'' (1942-44) which ran for 611 performances. |
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⚫ | Winters originally broke into Hollywood films as a [[Blonde bombshell (stereotype)|Blonde Bombshell]] type, but quickly tired of the role's limitations. She claims to have washed off her make-up to audition for the role of Alice Tripp, the factory girl, in ''[[A Place in the Sun (film)|A Place in the Sun]]'', directed by [[George Stevens]], now a landmark American film. As the [[Associated Press]] reported, the general public was unaware of how serious a craftswoman Winters was. "Although she was in demand as a character actress, Winters continued to study her craft. She attended [[Charles Laughton]]'s [[Shakespeare]] classes and worked at [[the Actors Studio]], both as student and teacher." She studied in the Hollywood Studio Club, and in the late 1940s, she shared an apartment with another newcomer, [[Marilyn Monroe]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1995-04-09/entertainment/ca-52861_1_shelley-winters|title=Movies: OFF-CENTERPIECE: Dishing the Dirt With Shelley: At 72, Shelley Winters shows no sign of slowing down--but she'll stop long enough to talk about Marilyn, Monty, and the men in her life.|last=Grant|first=James|date=April 9, 1995|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035|access-date=November 12, 2016}}</ref> |
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Winters first received a lot of acclaim when she joined the cast of ''[[Oklahoma!]]'' as [[Ado Annie]]. |
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===Columbia=== |
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Winters' first film appearance was an uncredited bit in ''[[There's Something About a Soldier]]'' (1943) at Columbia. She had another small bit in ''[[What a Woman!]]'' (1943) but a bigger part in a "B", ''[[Sailor's Holiday]]'' (1944). |
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Winters was borrowed by [[PRC]] for ''[[Knickerbocker Holiday (film)|Knickerbocker Holiday]]'' (1944). Columbia put her small bits in ''[[She's a Soldier Too]]'' (1944), ''[[Dancing in Manhattan]]'' (1944), ''[[Together Again]]'' (1944), ''[[Tonight and Every Night]]'' (1945), ''[[Escape in the Fog]]'' (1945), ''[[A Thousand and One Nights]]'' (1945), and ''[[The Fighting Guardsman]]'' (1946). |
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Winters had bit parts in MGM's ''[[Two Smart People]]'' (1946), and a series of films for United Artists: ''[[Susie Steps Out]]'' (1946), ''[[Abie's Irish Rose (film)|Abie's Irish Rose]]'' (1946) and ''[[New Orleans (film)|New Orleans]]'' (1947). |
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She had bit parts in ''[[Living in a Big Way]]'' (1947) and ''[[Killer McCoy]]'' at MGM , ''[[The Gangster (film)|The Gangster]]'' (1947) for the [[King Brothers]] and ''[[Red River (film)|Red River]]'' (1948). |
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===Breakthrough - ''A Double Life'' and Universal=== |
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Winters first achieved stardom with her breakout performance as the victim of insane actor [[Ronald Colman]] in [[George Cukor]]'s ''[[A Double Life (1947 film)|A Double Life]]'' (1947). It was distributed by Universal who signed Winters to a long term contract. |
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She had a support role in ''[[Larceny (film)|Larceny]]'' (1948) then 20th Century Fox borrowed her for ''[[Cry of the City]]'' (1948). |
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Winters was second billed in ''[[Johnny Stool Pigeon]]'' (1949) with [[Howard Duff]], and ''[[Take One False Step]]'' (1949) with [[William Powell]]. |
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Paramount borrowed her to play Mabel in ''[[The Great Gatsby (1949 film)|The Great Gatsby]]'' (1949) with [[Alan Ladd]]. Back at Universal she was in ''[[Winchester 73]]'' (1950), opposite [[James Stewart]], a huge hit. |
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Her first film appearance was in ''[[What a Woman! (film)|What a Woman!]]'' (1943). Working in films (in mostly bit roles) through the 1940s, Winters first achieved stardom with her breakout performance as the victim of insane actor [[Ronald Colman]] in [[George Cukor]]'s ''[[A Double Life (1947 film)|A Double Life]]'', in 1947. She quickly ascended in [[Hollywood]] with leading roles in ''[[The Great Gatsby (1949 film)|The Great Gatsby]]'' (1949) with [[Alan Ladd]], and in ''[[Winchester 73]]'' (1950), opposite [[James Stewart]]. Her performance in ''[[A Place in the Sun (film)|A Place in the Sun]]'' (1951), a departure from the sexpot image that her studio, [[Universal Pictures]], was grooming her for at the time, brought Winters her first acclaim, earning her a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]]. |
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[[File:Winchester73 trailer Stewart Winters.png|right|thumb|With [[James Stewart]] in ''[[Winchester 73]]'' (1950)]] |
[[File:Winchester73 trailer Stewart Winters.png|right|thumb|With [[James Stewart]] in ''[[Winchester 73]]'' (1950)]] |
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Universal gave Winters top billing in ''[[South Sea Sinner]]'' (1950). She co starred with [[Joel McCrea]] in ''[[Frenchie]]'' (1950). |
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⚫ | |||
===''A Place in the Sun''=== |
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⚫ | Winters originally broke into Hollywood films as a [[Blonde bombshell (stereotype)|Blonde Bombshell]] type, but quickly tired of the role's limitations. She claims to have washed off her make-up to audition for the role of Alice Tripp, the factory girl, in ''[[A Place in the Sun (film)|A Place in the Sun]]'', directed by [[George Stevens]], now a landmark American film. As the [[Associated Press]] reported, the general public was unaware of how serious a craftswoman Winters was. "Although she was in demand as a character actress, Winters continued to study her craft. She attended [[Charles Laughton]]'s [[Shakespeare]] classes and worked at [[the Actors Studio]], both as student and teacher." She studied in the Hollywood Studio Club, and in the late 1940s, she shared an apartment with another newcomer, [[Marilyn Monroe]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1995-04-09/entertainment/ca-52861_1_shelley-winters|title=Movies: OFF-CENTERPIECE: Dishing the Dirt With Shelley: At 72, Shelley Winters shows no sign of slowing down--but she'll stop long enough to talk about Marilyn, Monty, and the men in her life.|last=Grant|first=James|date=April 9, 1995|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035|access-date=November 12, 2016}}</ref> |
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Her performance in ''[[A Place in the Sun (film)|A Place in the Sun]]'' (1951), a departure from the sexpot image that her studio, [[Universal Pictures]], was grooming her for at the time, brought Winters her first acclaim, earning her a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]]. |
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Notable later roles included her lauded performance as the man-hungry Charlotte Haze in [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s ''[[Lolita (1962 film)|Lolita]]''; starring opposite [[Michael Caine]] in ''[[Alfie (1966 film)|Alfie]]''; and as the fading, alcoholic former starlet Fay Estabrook in ''[[Harper (film)|Harper]]'' (both 1966). In ''[[The Poseidon Adventure (1972 film)|The Poseidon Adventure]]'' (1972), she was the ill-fated Belle Rosen (for which she received her final Oscar nomination), and also appeared in ''[[Next Stop, Greenwich Village]]'' (1976). She returned to the stage during the 1960s and 1970s, most notably in [[Tennessee Williams]]' ''[[Night of the Iguana]]''. She appeared in such [[cult film]]s as 1968's ''[[Wild in the Streets]]'' and 1971's ''[[Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?]]''. She also starred in the 1970 Broadway musical ''[[Minnie's Boys]]'' as Minnie Marx, the mother of Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo, and Gummo Marx. |
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Winters went to United Artists for ''[[He Ran All the Way]]'' (1951) with John Garfield and RKO for ''[[Behave Yourself!]]'' (1951) with [[Farley Granger]]. |
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===Later career=== |
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⚫ | As the Associated Press reported, "During her 50 years as a widely known personality, Winters was rarely out of the news. Her stormy marriages, her romances with famous stars, her forays into politics and feminist causes kept her name before the public. She delighted in giving provocative interviews and seemed to have an opinion on everything." That led to a second career as a writer. Though not a conventional beauty, she claimed that her acting, wit, and "chutzpah" gave her a love life to rival Monroe's. Her alleged "conquests" included [[William Holden]], [[Sean Connery]], [[Burt Lancaster]], [[Errol Flynn]], and [[Marlon Brando]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Shelley: Also known as Shirley|author=Winters, Shelley|publisher=Morrow | year=1980|isbn=0-688-03638-4}}</ref> |
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Winters was top billed in ''[[The Raging Tide]]'' (1951) at Universal. She was loaned to 20th Century Fox for ''[[Phone Call from a Stranger]]'' (1952), with [[Bette Davis]]. |
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At Universal she did ''[[Meet Danny Wilson (film)|Meet Danny Wilson]]'' (1952) with [[Frank Sinatra]] and ''[[Untamed Frontier]]'' (1952) with [[Joseph Cotten]]. She went to MGM for ''[[My Man and I]]'' (1952) with [[Ricardo Montalban]]. |
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Winers made her TV debut in "Mantrap" for ''[[The Ford Television Theatre]]'' in 1954. At MGM she did ''[[Executive Suite]]'' (1954) and ''[[Tennessee Champ]]'' (1954), top billed in the latter. |
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Winters returned to Universal to appear in ''[[Saskatchewan (film)|Saskatchewan]]'' (1954) with [[Alan Ladd]] and ''[[Playgirl (film)|Playgirl]]'' (1954) with Barry Sullivan]]. She also appeared in a TV version of ''[[Sorry, Wrong Number]]''. |
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===Europe=== |
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Winters travelled to Europe to make ''[[Mambo (film)|Mambo]]'' (1954) with [[ Vittorio Gassman]] who became her husband. She then shot ''[[Cash on Delivery]]'' (1954) in England. |
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Winters performed in a version of ''[[The Women]]'' for ''[[Producers' Showcase]]'' then had a key role in ''[[I Am a Camera (film)|I Am a Camera]]'' (1955) starring opposite [[Julie Harris (American actress)|Julie Harris]] and [[Laurence Harvey]]. Even more highly acclaimed was [[Charles Laughton]]'s 1955 ''[[The Night of the Hunter (film)|Night of the Hunter]]'' with [[Robert Mitchum]] and [[Lillian Gish]]. |
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At Warner Bros, Winters was [[Jack Palance]]'s leading lady in ''[[I Died a Thousand Times]]'' (1955), then for RKO she co starred with [[Rory Calhoun]] in ''[[The Treasure of Pancho Villa]]'' (1955). |
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===Return to Broadway=== |
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Winters returned to Broadway in ''[[A Hatful of Rain]]'', in 1955–1956, opposite [[Ben Gazzara]] and future husband [[Anthony Franciosa]]. It ran for 398 performances. |
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''Girls of Summer'' (1956-57) was directed by [[Jack Garfein]] and co-starred [[George Peppard]] but only ran for 56 performances. |
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On TV she reprised her ''Double Life'' performance in ''[[The Alcoa Hour]]'' in 1957. She appeared in episodes of ''[[The United States Steel Hour]]'', ''Climax!'', ''[[Wagon Train]]'', ''[[Schlitz Playhouse]]'', ''[[The DuPont Show of the Month]]'', and ''[[Kraft Theatre]]''. |
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===''Diary of Ann Frank'' and ''Lolita''=== |
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⚫ | She won an [[Academy Award|Oscar]] as [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for ''[[The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film)|The Diary of Anne Frank]]'' (1960). She donated her Oscar for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' to the [[Anne Frank House]] in [[Amsterdam]].<ref>[http://www.annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Timeline/Postwar-period-1945--present-day/Saved-from-Demolition/1960/Shelley-Winters-wins-the-Oscar-for-Best-Supporting-Actress-for-her-role-as-Mrs-van-Pels-in-The-Diary-of-Anne-Frank-/#!/en/Subsites/Timeline/Postwar-period-1945--present-day/Saved-from-Demolition/1960/Shelley-Winters-wins-the-Oscar-for-Best-Supporting-Actress-for-her-role-as-Mrs-van-Pels-in-The-Diary-of-Anne-Frank-/ Annefrank,org]</ref> |
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Winters was in much demand as a character actor now, getting good roles in ''[[Odds Against Tomorrow]]'' (1959), ''[[Let No Man Write My Epitaph]]'' (1960) and ''[[The Young Savages]]'' (1961). She received excellent reviews for her performance as the man-hungry Charlotte Haze in [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s ''[[Lolita (1962 film)|Lolita]]'' (1962). |
|||
Winters returned to Broadway on ''[[The Night of the Iguana]]'' (1962), playing [[Bette Davis]]'s role. She performed Off Broadway in ''Cages'' by [[Lewis John Carlino]] in 1963. |
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Many of her roles now had a sexual component, such as ''[[The Chapman Report]]'' (1962); she played madams in ''[[The Balcony]]'' (1963) and ''[[A House Is Not a Home]]'' (1964). She also appeared in ''[[Wives and Lovers]]'' (1963) and episodes of shows such as ''[[Alcoa Theatre]]'', ''[[Ben Casey]]'', and ''[[Thirty-Minute Theatre]]''. |
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Winters was in ''[[Time of Indifference]]'' (1965) and ''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]'' (1965). |
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===''A Patch of Blue''=== |
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Winters won another Best Supporting Actress Oscar in ''[[A Patch of Blue]]'' (1965). She had good support parts starring opposite [[Michael Caine]] in ''[[Alfie (1966 film)|Alfie]]'' (1966); and as the fading, alcoholic former starlet Fay Estabrook in ''[[Harper (film)|Harper]]'' (1966). |
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She returned to Broadway in ''Under the Weather'' (1966) by [[Saul Bellow]] which ran for 12 performances. |
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Winters played "Ma Parker" the villain in ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]''. She was in a TV version of ''[[The Three Sisters (1966 film)|The Three Sisters]]'' (1966) and had roles in ''[[Enter Laughing]]'' (1967), ''[[Armchair Theatre]]'', ''[[Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre]]'' (several episodes), ''[[The Scalphunters]]'' (1968), ''[[Wild in the Streets]]'' (1968), ''[[Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell]]'' (1968), ''[[Arthur? Arthur!]]'' (1969), and ''[[The Mad Room]]'' (1969). |
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===1970s=== |
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Winters played [[Ma Barker]] in ''[[Bloody Mama]]'' (1970) a big hit for [[Roger Corman]]. She had roles in ''[[How Do I Love Thee?]]'' (1970) and ''[[Flap]]'' (1970). |
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She returned to the stage to play Minnie Marx, mother of the [[Marx Brothers]] in the Broadway musical ''[[Minnie's Boys]]'' (1970), which ran for 80 performances. Winters wrote a play, ''One Night Stands of a Noisy Passenger'' (1970-71) which ran for seven performances; the cast included [[Robert De Niro]] and [[Diane Ladd]]. |
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Winters had the lead in ''[[Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?]]'' (1971), ''[[What's the Matter with Helen?]]'', ''[[Revenge!]]'' (1971), and ''[[A Death of Innocence]]'' (1971). |
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She was in support in ''[[Adventures of Nick Carter]]'' (1972) and had a co lead in ''[[Something to Hide]]'' (1972) with [[Peter Finch]]. She starred in ''The Vamp'' for ''[[ITV Sunday Night Theatre]]''. |
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In ''[[The Poseidon Adventure (1972 film)|The Poseidon Adventure]]'' (1972), she was the ill-fated Belle Rosen (for which she received her final Oscar nomination). |
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Winters was top billed in ''[[The Devil's Daughter]]'' (1973) for TV. She had a support role in ''[[Blume in Love]]'' (1973) and ''[[Cleopatra Jones]]'' (1973) and lead parts in ''[[Big Rose: Double Trouble]]'' (1974) and ''[[The Sex Symbol]]'' (1974). |
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Winters guest starred on shows like ''[[McCloud]]'' and ''[[Chico and the Man ]]'' and could be seen in ''[[Poor Pretty Eddie]]'' (1975), ''[[That Lucky Touch]]'' (1975), ''[[Journey Into Fear]]'' (1975), ''[[Diamonds (film)|Diamonds]]'' (1975), ''[[Next Stop, Greenwich Village]]'' (1976) for [[Paul Mazursky]], ''[[The Tenant]]'' (1976) for [[Roman Polanski]], ''[[Mimì Bluette... fiore del mio giardino]]'' (1977) with [[Monica Vitti]], ''[[Tentacles]]'' (1977) with [[John Huston]], ''[[An Average Little Man]]'' (1977) with [[Alberto Sordi]], ''[[Pete's Dragon]]'' (1977), ''[[The Initiation of Sarah]]'' (1978), and ''[[King of the Gypsies]]'' (1978). |
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She starred in a production of ''[[The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds]]'' (1978) which only had a short run. |
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Winters could still command top billing on occasion, as in ''[[Gran bollito]]'' (1979). She played [[Gladys Presley]] in ''[[Elvis (film)|Elvis]]'' (1979) for TV. She was in ''[[The Visitor]]'' (1979), ''[[City on Fire]]'' (1979), ''[[The Magician of Lublin]]'' (1979), ''[[The French Atlantic Affair]]'' (1979) and an episode of ''[[Vega$]]''. |
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===1980s=== |
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Winters' 1980s performances included ''[[Looping]]'' (1981), ''[[S.O.B.]]'', episodes of ''[[The love Boat]]'', ''[[Sex, Lies and Renaissance]]'' (1983), ''[[Over the Brooklyn Bridge]]'' (1984) for [[Menahem Golan]], ''[[Ellie]]'' (1984), ''[[Déjà Vu]]'' (1985), ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1985 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1985), and ''[[The Delta Force (film)|The Delta Force]]'' (1986) again for Golan. |
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She had a starring role in ''[[Witchfire]]'' (1986) and was also credited as executive producer. |
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She was in ''[[Very Close Quarters]]'' (1986), ''[[Purple People Eater]]'' (1988), and ''[[An Unremarkable Life]]'' (1989). |
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===1990s=== |
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Her final performances included ''[[Touch of a Stranger]]'' (1990), ''[[Stepping Out]]'' (1991), ''[[Weep No More, My Lady]]'' (1992), ''[[The Pickle]]'' (1993) for Mazursky, and ''[[The Silence of the Hams]]'' (1994). |
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Later audiences knew her primarily for her autobiographies and for her television work, in which she usually played a humorous parody of her public persona. In a recurring role in the 1990s, Winters played the title character's grandmother on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[situation comedy|sitcom]] ''[[Roseanne]]''. |
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⚫ | Her final film roles were supporting ones: she played a restaurant owner and mother of an overweight cook in ''[[Heavy (film)|Heavy]]'' (1995) with [[Liv Tyler]] and [[Debbie Harry]] for [[James Mangold]], an aristocrat in ''[[The Portrait of a Lady (film)|The Portrait of a Lady]]'' (1996), starring [[Nicole Kidman]] and [[John Malkovich]], and an embittered nursing home administrator in 1999's ''[[Gideon (film)|Gideon]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/208074%7C139852/Shelley-Winters/|work=Turner Classic Movies|title=Overview for Shelley Winters|accessdate=May 9, 2017}}</ref> She was also in comedies such as ''[[Backfire!]]'' (1995), ''[[Jury Duty (film)|Jury Duty]]'' (1995), and ''[[Mrs. Munck]]'' (1995), as well as ''[[Raging Angels]]'' (1995). |
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Winters made an appearance at the 1998 Academy Awards telecast, which featured a tribute to Oscar winners past and present including [[Gregory Peck]], [[Claire Trevor]], [[Jennifer Jones]], and [[Luise Rainer]]. |
Winters made an appearance at the 1998 Academy Awards telecast, which featured a tribute to Oscar winners past and present including [[Gregory Peck]], [[Claire Trevor]], [[Jennifer Jones]], and [[Luise Rainer]]. |
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⚫ | As the Associated Press reported, "During her 50 years as a widely known personality, Winters was rarely out of the news. Her stormy marriages, her romances with famous stars, her forays into politics and feminist causes kept her name before the public. She delighted in giving provocative interviews and seemed to have an opinion on everything." That led to a second career as a writer. Though not a conventional beauty, she claimed that her acting, wit, and "chutzpah" gave her a love life to rival Monroe's. Her alleged "conquests" included [[William Holden]], [[Sean Connery]], [[Burt Lancaster]], [[Errol Flynn]], and [[Marlon Brando]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Shelley: Also known as Shirley|author=Winters, Shelley|publisher=Morrow | year=1980|isbn=0-688-03638-4}}</ref> |
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⚫ | |||
==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
Revision as of 07:21, 22 January 2019
Shelley Winters | |
---|---|
Born | Shirley Schrift August 18, 1920 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | January 14, 2006 | (aged 85)
Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, Culver City, California, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | The New School |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1943–2006 |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouses | Mack Paul Mayer
(m. 1942; div. 1948)Gerry DeFord (m. 2006) |
Children | 1 |
Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned almost six decades.
She appeared in numerous films, and won Academy Awards for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), and received nominations for A Place in the Sun (1951) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Other roles Winters appeared in include A Double Life (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Lolita (1962), Alfie (1966), and Pete's Dragon (1977).
In addition to film, Winters also appeared in television, including a years-long tenure on the sitcom Roseanne, and also authored three autobiographical books.
Early life
Shelley Winters was born Shirley Schrift in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Rose (née Winter), a singer with the Muny, and Jonas Schrift, a designer of men's clothing.[1] Her parents were Jewish; her father emigrated from Austria, and her mother was born in St. Louis to Austrian immigrants.[2] Her parents were third cousins.[2]
Her family moved to Brooklyn, New York, when she was 9 years old,[3] and she grew up partly in Queens, New York, as well.[4] As a young woman, she worked as a model.[5] Her sister Blanche Schrift later married George Boroff, who ran the Circle Theatre (now named El Centro Theatre) in Los Angeles. At age 16, Winters relocated to Los Angeles, California,[3] and later returned to New York to study acting at the New School.[6]
Career
Theatre
Winters made her Broadway debut in The Night Before Christmas (1941) which had a short run. She had a small part in Rosalinda (1942-44) which ran for 611 performances.
Winters first received a lot of acclaim when she joined the cast of Oklahoma! as Ado Annie.
Columbia
Winters' first film appearance was an uncredited bit in There's Something About a Soldier (1943) at Columbia. She had another small bit in What a Woman! (1943) but a bigger part in a "B", Sailor's Holiday (1944).
Winters was borrowed by PRC for Knickerbocker Holiday (1944). Columbia put her small bits in She's a Soldier Too (1944), Dancing in Manhattan (1944), Together Again (1944), Tonight and Every Night (1945), Escape in the Fog (1945), A Thousand and One Nights (1945), and The Fighting Guardsman (1946).
Winters had bit parts in MGM's Two Smart People (1946), and a series of films for United Artists: Susie Steps Out (1946), Abie's Irish Rose (1946) and New Orleans (1947).
She had bit parts in Living in a Big Way (1947) and Killer McCoy at MGM , The Gangster (1947) for the King Brothers and Red River (1948).
Breakthrough - A Double Life and Universal
Winters first achieved stardom with her breakout performance as the victim of insane actor Ronald Colman in George Cukor's A Double Life (1947). It was distributed by Universal who signed Winters to a long term contract.
She had a support role in Larceny (1948) then 20th Century Fox borrowed her for Cry of the City (1948).
Winters was second billed in Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949) with Howard Duff, and Take One False Step (1949) with William Powell.
Paramount borrowed her to play Mabel in The Great Gatsby (1949) with Alan Ladd. Back at Universal she was in Winchester 73 (1950), opposite James Stewart, a huge hit.
Universal gave Winters top billing in South Sea Sinner (1950). She co starred with Joel McCrea in Frenchie (1950).
A Place in the Sun
Winters originally broke into Hollywood films as a Blonde Bombshell type, but quickly tired of the role's limitations. She claims to have washed off her make-up to audition for the role of Alice Tripp, the factory girl, in A Place in the Sun, directed by George Stevens, now a landmark American film. As the Associated Press reported, the general public was unaware of how serious a craftswoman Winters was. "Although she was in demand as a character actress, Winters continued to study her craft. She attended Charles Laughton's Shakespeare classes and worked at the Actors Studio, both as student and teacher." She studied in the Hollywood Studio Club, and in the late 1940s, she shared an apartment with another newcomer, Marilyn Monroe.[7]
Her performance in A Place in the Sun (1951), a departure from the sexpot image that her studio, Universal Pictures, was grooming her for at the time, brought Winters her first acclaim, earning her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Winters went to United Artists for He Ran All the Way (1951) with John Garfield and RKO for Behave Yourself! (1951) with Farley Granger.
Winters was top billed in The Raging Tide (1951) at Universal. She was loaned to 20th Century Fox for Phone Call from a Stranger (1952), with Bette Davis.
At Universal she did Meet Danny Wilson (1952) with Frank Sinatra and Untamed Frontier (1952) with Joseph Cotten. She went to MGM for My Man and I (1952) with Ricardo Montalban.
Winers made her TV debut in "Mantrap" for The Ford Television Theatre in 1954. At MGM she did Executive Suite (1954) and Tennessee Champ (1954), top billed in the latter.
Winters returned to Universal to appear in Saskatchewan (1954) with Alan Ladd and Playgirl (1954) with Barry Sullivan]]. She also appeared in a TV version of Sorry, Wrong Number.
Europe
Winters travelled to Europe to make Mambo (1954) with Vittorio Gassman who became her husband. She then shot Cash on Delivery (1954) in England.
Winters performed in a version of The Women for Producers' Showcase then had a key role in I Am a Camera (1955) starring opposite Julie Harris and Laurence Harvey. Even more highly acclaimed was Charles Laughton's 1955 Night of the Hunter with Robert Mitchum and Lillian Gish.
At Warner Bros, Winters was Jack Palance's leading lady in I Died a Thousand Times (1955), then for RKO she co starred with Rory Calhoun in The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955).
Return to Broadway
Winters returned to Broadway in A Hatful of Rain, in 1955–1956, opposite Ben Gazzara and future husband Anthony Franciosa. It ran for 398 performances.
Girls of Summer (1956-57) was directed by Jack Garfein and co-starred George Peppard but only ran for 56 performances.
On TV she reprised her Double Life performance in The Alcoa Hour in 1957. She appeared in episodes of The United States Steel Hour, Climax!, Wagon Train, Schlitz Playhouse, The DuPont Show of the Month, and Kraft Theatre.
Diary of Ann Frank and Lolita
She won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for The Diary of Anne Frank (1960). She donated her Oscar for The Diary of Anne Frank to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.[8]
Winters was in much demand as a character actor now, getting good roles in Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960) and The Young Savages (1961). She received excellent reviews for her performance as the man-hungry Charlotte Haze in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita (1962).
Winters returned to Broadway on The Night of the Iguana (1962), playing Bette Davis's role. She performed Off Broadway in Cages by Lewis John Carlino in 1963.
Many of her roles now had a sexual component, such as The Chapman Report (1962); she played madams in The Balcony (1963) and A House Is Not a Home (1964). She also appeared in Wives and Lovers (1963) and episodes of shows such as Alcoa Theatre, Ben Casey, and Thirty-Minute Theatre.
Winters was in Time of Indifference (1965) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).
A Patch of Blue
Winters won another Best Supporting Actress Oscar in A Patch of Blue (1965). She had good support parts starring opposite Michael Caine in Alfie (1966); and as the fading, alcoholic former starlet Fay Estabrook in Harper (1966).
She returned to Broadway in Under the Weather (1966) by Saul Bellow which ran for 12 performances.
Winters played "Ma Parker" the villain in Batman. She was in a TV version of The Three Sisters (1966) and had roles in Enter Laughing (1967), Armchair Theatre, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (several episodes), The Scalphunters (1968), Wild in the Streets (1968), Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968), Arthur? Arthur! (1969), and The Mad Room (1969).
1970s
Winters played Ma Barker in Bloody Mama (1970) a big hit for Roger Corman. She had roles in How Do I Love Thee? (1970) and Flap (1970).
She returned to the stage to play Minnie Marx, mother of the Marx Brothers in the Broadway musical Minnie's Boys (1970), which ran for 80 performances. Winters wrote a play, One Night Stands of a Noisy Passenger (1970-71) which ran for seven performances; the cast included Robert De Niro and Diane Ladd.
Winters had the lead in Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971), What's the Matter with Helen?, Revenge! (1971), and A Death of Innocence (1971).
She was in support in Adventures of Nick Carter (1972) and had a co lead in Something to Hide (1972) with Peter Finch. She starred in The Vamp for ITV Sunday Night Theatre.
In The Poseidon Adventure (1972), she was the ill-fated Belle Rosen (for which she received her final Oscar nomination).
Winters was top billed in The Devil's Daughter (1973) for TV. She had a support role in Blume in Love (1973) and Cleopatra Jones (1973) and lead parts in Big Rose: Double Trouble (1974) and The Sex Symbol (1974).
Winters guest starred on shows like McCloud and Chico and the Man and could be seen in Poor Pretty Eddie (1975), That Lucky Touch (1975), Journey Into Fear (1975), Diamonds (1975), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976) for Paul Mazursky, The Tenant (1976) for Roman Polanski, Mimì Bluette... fiore del mio giardino (1977) with Monica Vitti, Tentacles (1977) with John Huston, An Average Little Man (1977) with Alberto Sordi, Pete's Dragon (1977), The Initiation of Sarah (1978), and King of the Gypsies (1978).
She starred in a production of The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1978) which only had a short run.
Winters could still command top billing on occasion, as in Gran bollito (1979). She played Gladys Presley in Elvis (1979) for TV. She was in The Visitor (1979), City on Fire (1979), The Magician of Lublin (1979), The French Atlantic Affair (1979) and an episode of Vega$.
1980s
Winters' 1980s performances included Looping (1981), S.O.B., episodes of The love Boat, Sex, Lies and Renaissance (1983), Over the Brooklyn Bridge (1984) for Menahem Golan, Ellie (1984), Déjà Vu (1985), Alice in Wonderland (1985), and The Delta Force (1986) again for Golan.
She had a starring role in Witchfire (1986) and was also credited as executive producer.
She was in Very Close Quarters (1986), Purple People Eater (1988), and An Unremarkable Life (1989).
1990s
Her final performances included Touch of a Stranger (1990), Stepping Out (1991), Weep No More, My Lady (1992), The Pickle (1993) for Mazursky, and The Silence of the Hams (1994).
Later audiences knew her primarily for her autobiographies and for her television work, in which she usually played a humorous parody of her public persona. In a recurring role in the 1990s, Winters played the title character's grandmother on the ABC sitcom Roseanne.
Her final film roles were supporting ones: she played a restaurant owner and mother of an overweight cook in Heavy (1995) with Liv Tyler and Debbie Harry for James Mangold, an aristocrat in The Portrait of a Lady (1996), starring Nicole Kidman and John Malkovich, and an embittered nursing home administrator in 1999's Gideon.[9] She was also in comedies such as Backfire! (1995), Jury Duty (1995), and Mrs. Munck (1995), as well as Raging Angels (1995).
Winters made an appearance at the 1998 Academy Awards telecast, which featured a tribute to Oscar winners past and present including Gregory Peck, Claire Trevor, Jennifer Jones, and Luise Rainer.
As the Associated Press reported, "During her 50 years as a widely known personality, Winters was rarely out of the news. Her stormy marriages, her romances with famous stars, her forays into politics and feminist causes kept her name before the public. She delighted in giving provocative interviews and seemed to have an opinion on everything." That led to a second career as a writer. Though not a conventional beauty, she claimed that her acting, wit, and "chutzpah" gave her a love life to rival Monroe's. Her alleged "conquests" included William Holden, Sean Connery, Burt Lancaster, Errol Flynn, and Marlon Brando.[10]
Personal life
Winters was married four times. Her husbands were:
- Captain Mack Paul Mayer, whom she married on December 29, 1942 in Brooklyn;[11] they divorced in October 1948. Mayer was unable to deal with Shelley's "Hollywood lifestyle" and wanted a "traditional homemaker" for a wife. Winters wore his wedding ring up until her death, and kept their relationship very private.
- Vittorio Gassman, whom she married on April 28, 1952 in Juarez, Mexico;[12] they divorced on June 2, 1954. They had one child: Vittoria, born February 14, 1953, a physician who practices internal medicine at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut. She was Winters' only child.
- Anthony Franciosa, whom she married on May 4, 1957; they divorced on November 18, 1960.
- Gerry DeFord, whom she married on January 14, 2006.
Hours before her death, Winters married long-time companion Gerry DeFord, with whom she had lived for 19 years. Though Winters' daughter objected to the marriage, the actress Sally Kirkland performed the wedding ceremony for the two at Winters' deathbed. Kirkland, a minister of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, also performed non-denominational last rites for Winters.
Winters also claims to have had a romance with Farley Granger that became a long-term friendship (according to her autobiography Shelley Also Known As Shirley). She starred with him in the 1951 film Behave Yourself!, as well as in a 1957 television production of A. J. Cronin's novel Beyond This Place.
Winters was a Democrat and attended the 1960 Democratic National Convention.[13][14] In 1965, she addressed the Selma marchers briefly outside Montgomery on the night before they marched into the state capitol.[15]
She became friendly with rock singer Janis Joplin shortly before Joplin died in 1970. Winters invited Joplin to sit in on a class session at the Actors' Studio at its Los Angeles location. Joplin never did.[16]
Death
Winters died at the age of 85 on January 14, 2006, of heart failure at the Rehabilitation Center of Beverly Hills; she had suffered a heart attack on October 14, 2005.[1] Her body was interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City. Her third former husband, Anthony Franciosa, had a stroke on the day she died and died five days later.
Filmography
Film
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1954 | The Ford Television Theatre | Sally Marland | Episode: "Mantrap" |
1955 | Producers' Showcase | Crystal Allen | Episode: "The Women" |
1957 | The Alcoa Hour | Pat Kroll | Episode: "A Double Life" |
The United States Steel Hour | Evvie | Episode: "Inspired Alibi" | |
Wagon Train | Ruth Owens | Episode: "The Ruth Owens Story" | |
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Mildred Corrigan | Episode: "Smarty" | |
DuPont Show of the Month | Louisa Burt | Episode: "Beyond This Place" | |
1960 | Play of the Week | Rose | Episode: A Piece of Blue Sky |
1962 | Alcoa Premiere | Meg Fletcher Millie Norman |
Episode: "The Way From Darkness" Episode: "The Cake Baker" |
1964 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Jenny Dworak | Episode: "Two is the Number" Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role |
1965 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Mrs. Bixby | Episode: "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat" |
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Edith | Episode: "Back to Back" Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama | |
1966 | Batman | Ma Parker | Episode: "The Greatest Mother of Them All" Episode: "Ma Parker" |
1967 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Clarry Golden | Episode: "Wipeout" |
1968 | Here's Lucy | Shelley Summers | Episode: "Lucy and Miss Shelley Winters" |
1971 | A Death of Innocence | Elizabeth Cameron | Television film |
1972 | Adventures of Nick Carter | Bess Tucker | |
1973 | The Devil's Daughter | Lilith Malone | |
1974 | Big Rose: Double Trouble | Rose Winters | |
The Sex Symbol | Agathy Murphy | ||
McCloud | Thelma | Episode: "The Barefoot Girls of Bleecker Street" Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy or Drama Series | |
1975 | Chico and the Man | Shirley Schrift | Episode: "Ed Steps Out" |
1976 | Frosty's Winter Wonderland | Crystal (voice) | Television film |
1978 | Kojak | Evelyn McNeil | Episode: "The Captain's Brother's Wife" |
The Initiation of Sarah | Mrs. Erica Hunter | Television film | |
1979 | Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July | Crystal (voice) | Television film |
Elvis | Gladys Presley | ||
Vega$ | J.D. Fenton | Episode: "Macho Murders" | |
1982 | The Love Boat | Teresa Rosselli | Episode: "Venetian Love Song/Down for the Count/Arrividerci, Gopher/The Arrangement" |
1983 | Parade of Stars | Sophie Tucker | Television film |
1984 | Hotel | Adele Ellsworth | Episode: "Trials" |
Hawaiian Heat | Florence Senkowski | Episode: "Andy's Mom" | |
1985 | Alice in Wonderland | The Dodo Bird | Television film |
1987 | The Sleeping Beauty | Fairy | |
1991–1996 | Roseanne | Nana Mary | 10 episodes |
Theater
- Of V We Sing (between 1939 and 1941) (Off-Broadway)
- The Time of Your Life (between 1939 and 1941) (understudy for Judy Haydon) (Broadway)
- Meet The People (1939?) (U.S. Touring Company)
- The Night Before Christmas (1941) (Broadway)
- Rosalinda (1942) (Broadway)
- Conquered in April (between 1942 and 1946) (Broadway)
- Oklahoma! (replacement for Celeste Holm 1947) (Broadway)
- A Hatful of Rain (1955) (Broadway)
- Girls of Summer (1956) (Broadway and Summer stock)
- Invitation to March (1960) (Boston)
- The Night of the Iguana (1962) (replacement for Bette Davis) (Broadway)
- Under the Weather (1966) (Broadway)
- LUV (1967) (Broadway)
- One Night Stands of a Noisy Passenger (1970) (writer) (Off-Broadway)
- Minnie's Boys (1970) (Broadway)
- The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1973–74) (Broadway)
- Cages(1974) (Philadelphia, PA)
- Kennedy's Children (1976) (Chicago)
- The Gingerbread Lady (1981) (Chicago)
- Natural Affection (unknown)
Summer Stock plays
- The Taming of the Shrew (1947)
- Born Yesterday (1950)
- Wedding Breakfast (1955)
- A Piece of Blue Sky (1959)
- Two for the Seasaw (1960)
- The Country Girl (1961)
- A View from the Bridge (1961)
- Days of the Dancing (1964)
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1965)
- 84 Charing Cross Road (1983)
Radio appearances
Year | Program | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1953 | Lux Radio Theatre | Phone Call from a Stranger[17] |
Books
- Winters, Shelley (1980). Shelley: Also known as Shirley. Morrow. ISBN 978-0-688-03638-6.
- Winters, Shelley (1989). Shelley II: The Middle of My Century. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-44210-4.
- Shelley: The Middle of My Century (audiobook; audio cassette)
References
- ^ a b Harmetz, Aljean (January 15, 2006). "Shelley Winters, Tough-Talking Oscar Winner in 'Anne Frank' and 'Patch of Blue', Dies". New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "Shelley Winters". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ a b Winters, Shelley (1988). "Shelley Winters". Skip E. Lowe Looks at Hollywood (Interview). Interviewed by Skip E. Lowe.
- ^ 1930 United States Federal Census
- ^ 1940 United States Federal Census
- ^ Collins, Glenn (April 7, 1994). "Actors Studio to Teach Program at New School". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ Grant, James (April 9, 1995). "Movies: OFF-CENTERPIECE: Dishing the Dirt With Shelley: At 72, Shelley Winters shows no sign of slowing down--but she'll stop long enough to talk about Marilyn, Monty, and the men in her life". The Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- ^ Annefrank,org
- ^ "Overview for Shelley Winters". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ Winters, Shelley (1980). Shelley: Also known as Shirley. Morrow. ISBN 0-688-03638-4.
- ^ New York City, Marriage Indexes, 1907-1995
- ^ Washington Post Marriages, 1952
- ^ Alabama.gov
- ^ 1960 Democratic Convention Los Angeles Committee for the Arts. YouTube. 1960.
- ^ Adler, Renata (April 10, 1965). "Letter from Selma". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ Amburn, Ellis (October 1992). Pearl: The Obsessions and Passions of Janis Joplin: A Biography. Time Warner. ISBN 0-446-51640-6.
- ^ Kirby, Walter (January 4, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 38. Retrieved June 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
Further reading
- Shelley Winters at TVGuide.com
- Bernstein, Adam (January 14, 2006). "Actress Shelley Winters Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- Harmetz, Aljean (January 15, 2006). "Shelley Winters, Winner of Two Oscars, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- Bernstein, Adam (January 15, 2006). "Actress Shelley Winters, 85; Blond Bombshell to Oscar Winner". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- "Oscar winner Shelley Winters dies at 85". The Boston Globe. January 15, 2006.[permanent dead link]
- Winters' Entry on the St. Louis Walk of Fame
- Shelley Winters in an exclusive interview about acting
External links
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