Jeanne Crain

 Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress whose career spanned three decades from 1943 to 1975. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in the 1949 film Pinky in which she played the leading role. She was also noted for her ability in ice skating.

Early life

Crain was born in Barstow, California, to George A. Crain, a school teacher, and Loretta Carr; she was of Irish heritage on her mother's side, and of English and distant French descent on her father's.She moved to Los Angeles, California, as a young child.
An excellent ice skater, Crain first attracted attention when she was crowned Miss Pan Pacific at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles. Later, while still in high school, she was asked to make a screen test opposite Orson Welles. She did not get the part, but in 1943, at age 18, she appeared in a bit part in the film The Gang's All Here.

Career

Crain in State Fair (1945)

In 1944 Crain starred in Home in Indiana and In the Meantime, Darling. Her acting was critically panned, but she gained nationwide attention. It resulted in landing the leading role in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim in October 1944, a musical film which was eventually shelved and made with Betty Grable.
Crain first received critical acclaim when she starred in Winged Victory (1944). She co-starred in 1945 with Dana Andrews in the musical film State Fair, in which Louanne Hogan dubbed Crain's singing numbers. After that, Crain often had singing parts in films, and they were invariably dubbed, in most cases by Hogan. Also in 1945, Crain starred in Leave Her to Heaven with Gene Tierney. Her ice skating ability was on display in the 1946 film, Margie, in which she and Conrad Janis danced around the ice rink as her boyfriend, Alan Young, slipped and stumbled his way along the ice.
In 1949, Crain appeared in three films — A Letter to Three Wives, The Fan and Pinky, the latter earning her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Pinky was controversial, since it told the story of a light-skinned African-American woman who passes for white in the Northern United States. Although Lena Horne and other black actresses were considered, Darryl F. Zanuck chose to cast a white actress for fear of racial backlash.
Crain starred opposite Myrna Loy and Clifton Webb in the 1950 biographical film Cheaper by the Dozen. Next, Crain paired up with Cary Grant for the Joseph L. Mankiewicz production of the offbeat drama People Will Talk (1951). Despite Jeanne heavily campaigning for the female lead, Anne Baxter was initially cast in the part, but when she had to forfeit due to pregnancy, Crain was given the role after all. Shortly after, she starred in Charles Brackett's first film The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951). Cast in May 1951, Crain was Brackett's first choice for the role. Crain was reunited with Loy for Belles on Their Toes (1952), the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen.
While still at 20th Century Fox, Crain played a young wife quickly losing her mind amidst high-seas intrigue in Dangerous Crossing (1953), co-starring Michael Rennie. Crain then starred in a string of films for Universal Pictures, including a notable pairing with Kirk Douglas in Man Without a Star (1955).
Crain showed her dancing skills in 1955's Gentlemen Marry Brunettes co-starring Jane Russell, Alan Young and Rudy Vallee. The production was filmed on location in Paris, France. The film was based on the Anita Loos sequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Gentlemen Marry Brunettes was popular^{[citation needed]} throughout Europe at the time and was released in France as A Paris Pour les Quatre (To Paris for the Four), and in Belgium as Cevieren Te Parijs. Later in the 1950s, Crain, Russell and another actress formed a short-lived singing and dancing lounge act on the Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 1956, Crain starred opposite Glenn Ford, Russ Tamblyn and Broderick Crawford in the Western film The Fastest Gun Alive directed by Russell Rouse. In 1957, she played a socialite who helps a floundering singer and comedian (Frank Sinatra) redeem himself in The Joker Is Wild.
In 1959, Crain appeared in a CBS special television production of Meet Me in St. Louis. Also starring in the broadcast were Loy, Walter Pidgeon, Jane Powell and Ed Wynn, with top billing going to Tab Hunter. Film roles became fewer in the 1960s as Crain went into semi-retirement. She appeared as Nefertiti in the Italian production of Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile (1961) with Edmund Purdom and Vincent Price. During this period Crain appeared - for the second time - as one of the mystery guests on the game show What's My Line? and made several guest appearances on Burke's Law, a detective television series. She starred again with Dana Andrews in Hot Rods To Hell (1967). Her last films were Skyjacked (1972) and The Night God Screamed (1975).

Personal life

At the top of her stardom, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Crain was nicknamed 'Hollywood's Number One party girl', and she was quoted saying that she was invited to at least 200 parties a year.
Against her mother's wishes, on December 31, 1946, Crain married Paul Brinkman, a former RKO Pictures contract player credited as Paul Brooks. The first of their seven children was born the following April.
During the early 1950s, Crain was earning approximately $3,500 per week. Crain and her husband bought a large home for their growing family on Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, California. The home can be seen and is described by Bette Davis in candid footage of a driving sequence in the film The Star (1952).
The marriage was rocky for some years. In the mid-1950s, Crain obtained an interlocutory divorce decree, each spouse claiming the other had been unfaithful (she also claimed Brinkman had been abusive), but the couple reconciled on the eve of their 11th wedding anniversary.
In the early 1960s she was one of many conservative actors who spent their time fervently fighting for the Republican cause. Others included James Stewart, Walter Pidgeon, Donna Reed, Jerry Lewis, Wendell Corey, and Troy Donahue.
Crain and her husband remained married, although they lived separately in Santa Barbara, California, until Brinkman's death in October 2003.
Crain died a few months later and it was later confirmed that the cause was a heart attack.Crain's funeral Mass was held at the Old Santa Barbara Mission. Crain is buried in the Brinkman family plot at Santa Barbara Cemetery. The Brinkmans were survived by five adult children, including Paul Brinkman Jr., a television executive, most known for his work on the television series JAG.

Legacy

Crain's career is fully documented by a collection of memorabilia about her assembled by Charles J. Finlay, a longtime publicist at 20th Century Fox. The Jeanne Crain Collection resides at the Cinema Archives at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. These archives also hold the papers of Ingrid Bergman, Frank Capra, Clint Eastwood and others.

Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 1943 The Gang's All Here Chorus Girl/Pool Party Guest uncredited 1944 Home in Indiana 'Char' Bruce In the Meantime, Darling Margaret 'Maggie' Preston Winged Victory Helen 1945 State Fair Margy Frake a.k.a. Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair also Soundtrack Leave Her to Heaven Ruth Berent 1946 Centennial Summer Julia Rogers also Soundtrack Margie Marjorie 'Margie' MacDuff also Soundtrack 1948 You Were Meant for Me Peggy Mayhew Apartment for Peggy Peggy Taylor also Soundtrack 1949 A Letter to Three Wives Deborah Bishop The Fan Lady Margaret 'Meg' Windermere a.k.a. Lady Windermere's Fan Pinky Patricia 'Pinky' Johnson Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress 1950 Cheaper by the Dozen Ann Gilbreth I'll Get By Jeanne Crain uncredited Cameo appearance 1951 Take Care of My Little Girl Elizabeth 'Liz' Erickson People Will Talk Deborah Higgins The Model and the Marriage Broker Kitty Bennett 1952 Belles on Their Toes Ann Gilbreth a.k.a. Belles on Their Toes: The Further Adventures of the Gilbreth Family O. Henry's Full House Della Young Segment The Gift of the Magi 1953 Dangerous Crossing Ruth Stanton Bowman Vicki Jill Lynn City of Bad Men Linda Culligan 1954 Duel in the Jungle Marian Taylor 1955 Man Without a Star Reed Bowman Gentlemen Marry Brunettes Connie Jones/Mitzi Jones also Soundtrack The Second Greatest Sex Liza McClure also Soundtrack 1956 The Fastest Gun Alive Dora Temple 1957 The Tattered Dress Diane Blane The Joker Is Wild Letty Page a.k.a. All the Way 1960 Guns of the Timberland Laura Riley 1961 Twenty Plus Two Linda Foster a.k.a. It Started in Tokyo Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile Tenet/Nefertiti Original title: Nefertiti, regina del Nilo 1962 Madison Avenue Peggy Shannon Pontius Pilate Claudia Procula Original title: Ponzio Pilato 1963 Invasion 1700 Helen Original title: Col ferro e col fuoco a.k.a. Daggers of Blood a.k.a. With Fire and Sword 1967 Hot Rods to Hell Peg Phillips a.k.a. 52 Miles to Terror 1971 The Night God Screamed Fanny Pierce a.k.a. Scream 1972 Skyjacked Mrs. Clara Shaw a.k.a. Sky Terror Television Year Title Role Notes 1955 Star Stage Nancy 1 episode 1956 The Ford Television Theatre Joyce Randall 1 episode 1958 Playhouse 90 Daisy Buchanan 1 episode Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Ruth Elliot 1 episode 1959 Meet Me in St. Louis Rose Smith TV movie Goodyear Theatre Lila Babrek Barnes 1 episode Riverboat Laura Sutton 1 episode 1960-62 G.E. True Theater Hope/Marion Miller 3 episodes 1963 The Dick Powell Theatre Elsie 1 episode 1964-65 Burke's Law Amy Booth / Lorraine Turner / Polly Martin 3 episodes 1968 The Danny Thomas Hour Frances Merrill 1 episode The Name of the Game Mrs. McKendricks 1 episode 1972 Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Lily MacMurdy 1 episode

Jennifer Holliday - And I am telling you I'm not going (1982)

"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (also known in short as just "And I Am Telling You") is a torch song from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is sung by the character Effie White, a singer with the girl group The Dreams, to her manager, Curtis Taylor Jr., whose romantic and professional relationship with Effie is quickly ending. The lyrics to "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", often considered the show's signature tune, describe Effie's love for Curtis, both strongly devoted and defiant. She refuses to let Curtis leave her behind, and boldly proclaims to him, "I'm staying and you ... you're gonna love me."

In addition to its presence in the musical, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is also notable as the debut single of two women who portrayed Effie. Jennifer Holliday originated the role on Broadway in 1981 and won a Tony Award for her performance. In 1982, Holliday recorded a number-one R&B hit version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". Jennifer Hudson portrayed Effie in the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls, winning an Oscar for the role. Hudson's version became a Top 20 R&B single, and a number-one dance hit.

Jennifer Holliday version

In 1982, Jennifer Holliday, the actress who portrayed Effie in the original Broadway production, released the song as a single. It was her first single release and it met with great success, topping the Billboard R&B charts and attaining top forty positions on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. In 1983, Holliday won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for the single.

"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was designed as the closing number of Dreamgirls' first act. Holliday's performance of the song, in a style owing much to gospel music singing traditions, was regularly staged to thunderous applause; it was hailed as the highlight of the show in several printed reviews of the musical.[1] In his review of Dreamgirls' opening night performance, New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich referred to Holliday's "And I Am Telling You" as "one of the most powerful theatrical coups to be found in a Broadway musical since Ethel Merman sang "Everything's Coming Up Roses" at the end of Act I of Gypsy"[2] "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" remains Holliday's signature song.

Liza Minnelli Interview 1980

Full Film,My Week with Marilyn 2011

My Week with Marilyn is a 2011 British drama film directed by Simon Curtis and written by Adrian Hodges. It stars Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Dominic Cooper, Dougray Scott, Judi Dench and Emma Watson. Based on two books by Colin Clark, it depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, which starred Marilyn Monroe (Williams) and Laurence Olivier (Branagh). The film focuses on the week in which Monroe spent time being escorted around London by Clark (Redmayne), after her husband, Arthur Miller (Scott), had left the country.
Principal photography began on 4 October 2010 at Pinewood Studios. Filming took place at Saltwood Castle, White Waltham Airfield and on locations in and around London. Curtis also used the same studio in which Monroe shot The Prince and the Showgirl in 1956. My Week with Marilyn had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on 9 October 2011 and was shown at the Mill Valley Film Festival two days later. The film was released on 23 November 2011 in the United States and 25 November in the United Kingdom. For her portrayal of Monroe, Williams was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture. She also earned Best Actress nominations from the Academy Awards and British Academy Film Awards.

Plot

Following his graduation from university, aspiring filmmaker Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) travels to London to get a job on Laurence Olivier's (Kenneth Branagh) next production. Hugh Perceval (Michael Kitchen) tells Colin there are no jobs available, but he decides to wait for Olivier, whom he once met at a party. Olivier and his wife, Vivien Leigh (Julia Ormond), eventually show up and Vivien encourages Olivier to give Colin a job on his upcoming film The Prince and the Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams). Colin's first task is to find a suitable place for Marilyn and her husband, Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), to stay at while they are in England. The press find out about the house, but Colin reveals he hired another just in case, impressing Olivier and Marilyn's publicist, Arthur Jacobs (Toby Jones).
The paparazzi find out about Marilyn's arrival at Heathrow and they gather around the plane when it lands. Marilyn brings her husband, her business partner, Milton H. Greene (Dominic Cooper), and her acting coach Paula Strasberg (Zoë Wanamaker) with her. She initially appears to be uncomfortable around the many photographers, but relaxes at the press conference. Olivier becomes frustrated when Marilyn is late to the read-through. She insists Paula sits with her and when she has trouble with her lines, Paula reads them for her. The crew and the others actors, including Sybil Thorndike (Judi Dench), are in awe of Marilyn. Colin meets Lucy (Emma Watson), a wardrobe assistant whom he is attracted to, and they go on a date. Marilyn starts arriving later to the set and often forgets her lines, angering Olivier. However, Sybil praises Marilyn and defends her when Olivier tries to get her to apologise for holding the shoot up.
Marilyn struggles to understand her character and leaves the set when Olivier insults her. Colin asks the director to be more sympathetic towards Marilyn, before he goes to Parkside House to check on her. He hears an argument and finds a tearful Marilyn sitting on the stairs with Arthur's notebook, which contains the plot of a new play that appears to poke fun at her. Arthur later returns to the United States. Vivien comes to the set and watches some of Marilyn's scenes. She breaks down, saying Marilyn lights up the screen and if only Olivier could see himself when he watches her. Oliver tries unsuccessfully to reassure his wife. Marilyn does not show up to the set following Arthur's departure and she asks Colin to come to Parkside and they talk. The crew becomes captivated by Marilyn when she dances for a scene and Milton pulls Colin aside to tell him Marilyn breaks hearts and that she will break his too. Lucy also notices Colin's growing infatuation with Marilyn.
Colin and Marilyn spend the day together and are given a tour of Windsor Castle by Owen Morshead (Derek Jacobi). Colin also shows Marilyn around Eton College, and they go skinny dipping in the River Thames. Marilyn kisses Colin and they are found by Roger Smith (Philip Jackson), Marilyn's bodyguard. Colin is called to Parkside one night as Marilyn has locked herself in her room. Colin enters her room and Marilyn invites him to lie next to her on the bed. The following night, Marilyn wakes up in pain and claims she is having a miscarriage. A doctor tends to her and Marilyn tells Colin that she wants to forget everything. She later returns to the set to complete the film. Olivier praises Marilyn, but reveals she has killed his desire to direct again. Lucy asks Colin if Marilyn broke his heart and he replies that she did, a little. Marilyn comes to Colin's B&B and thanks him for helping her. She kisses him goodbye and Roger drives her to the airport.

Watch the movie on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOskw1nnvRA

Full Film,Some Like it Hot 1959 Marilyn Monroe

Some Like It Hot is an American romantic screwball comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft.
The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien, Joan Shawlee and Nehemiah Persoff.
The film is a remake by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond of a 1935 French movie, Fanfare d'Amour, from the story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan, which was also remade in 1951 by German director Kurt Hoffmann as Fanfaren der Liebe. However, both the French and German films were without the gangsters that are an integral part of the plot of Some Like It Hot. Wilder's working title for his film was Fanfares of Love, then Not Tonight, Josephine before he decided on Some Like It Hot as its release title.
During 1981, after the worldwide success of the French comedy La Cage aux Folles, United Artists re-released Some Like It Hot to theatres. In 2000, the American Film Institute listed Some Like It Hot as the greatest American comedy film of all time.

Plot

Two struggling musicians, Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon), witness the Saint Valentine's Day massacre of 1929. When the Chicago gangsters, led by "Spats" Colombo (George Raft), see them, the two flee for their lives. They escape and decide to leave town, taking a job that requires them to disguise themselves as women, playing in an all-girl musical band headed to Florida. Calling themselves Josephine and Daphne, they join the band and board a train. Joe and Jerry both become enamored of "Sugar Kane" (Marilyn Monroe), the band's vocalist and ukulele player, and struggle for her affection while maintaining their disguises. In Florida, Joe woos Sugar by assuming a second disguise as a millionaire named "Junior", the heir to Shell Oil, while mimicking Cary Grant's voice. An actual millionaire, Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown), becomes enamored of Jerry in his Daphne guise. One night Osgood asks Daphne out to his yacht. Joe convinces Daphne to keep Osgood ashore while he goes on the yacht with Sugar. That night Osgood proposes to Daphne who, in a state of excitement, accepts, believing he can receive a large settlement from Osgood immediately following their wedding ceremony.
When the mobsters arrive at the same hotel for a conference honoring "Friends of Italian Opera", Spats and his gang see Joe and Jerry. After several humorous chases (and witnessing yet another mob murder, this time of Spats himself and his crew), Jerry, Joe, Sugar, and Osgood escape to the millionaire's yacht. En route, Joe reveals to Sugar his true identity and Sugar tells Joe that she's in love with him regardless. Joe tells her that he is not good enough for her, that she would be getting the "fuzzy end of the lollipop" yet again, but Sugar loves him anyway. Jerry, for his part, tries to explain to Osgood that he cannot marry him, launching into a range of objections from insisting that he can't get married in his mother's dress ("We are not built the same way") to the tearful confession that he can "never have children." Osgood dismisses them all and remains determined to go through with the marriage. Finally, exasperated, Jerry removes his wig and shouts, "I'm a man!", only for Osgood to override this final revelation by uttering the film's memorable last line: "Well, nobody's perfect."

Full Film,Ladies of the Chorus 1948 Marilyn Monroe

Ladies of the Chorus is a 1948 Columbia Pictures film starring Marilyn Monroe in her first major role as Peggy Martin, a dancer who falls in love with a wealthy man, Rand Brooks. Adele Jergens played her mother, despite the fact that Jergens was only nine years older than Monroe, who worries about the class difference between the two, and wonders if her daughter will be happy. The film was directed by Phil Karlson.
Monroe sings Every Baby Needs a Da Da Daddy and Anyone Can See I Love You, but the film was not a success, and Monroe's contract with Columbia Pictures was not renewed.

Photoshoot 1950 Marilyn Monroe

Portrait of American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962) at a photo shoot in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, August 1950. Dressed in shorts and a bikini top, she lies back on a wooden bench and reads a script.