Saturday, December 4, 2010
Sharon Tate
Married to the film director Roman Polanski in 1968, Tate was eight and a half months pregnant when she was murdered in her home, along with four others, by followers of Charles Manson.
A decade after the murders, Tate's mother, Doris, in response to the growing cult status of the killers and the possibility that any of them might be granted parole, organized a public campaign against what she considered shortcomings in the state's corrections system which led to amendments to the California criminal law in 1982, which allowed crime victims and their families to make victim impact statements during sentencing and at parole hearings. Doris Tate was the first person to make such an impact statement under the new law, when she spoke at the parole hearing of one of her daughter's killers, Charles "Tex" Watson. She later said that she believed the changes in the law had afforded her daughter dignity that had been denied her before, and that she had been able to "help transform Sharon's legacy from murder victim to a symbol of victims' rights".
Childhood and early acting career
Sharon Tate was born in Dallas, Texas, the first of three daughters, to Paul Tate, a United States Army officer, and his wife, Doris. At six months of age, Sharon Tate won the "Miss Tiny Tot of Dallas Pageant", but the Tates held no show business ambitions for their daughter. Paul Tate was promoted and transferred several times. By age 16, Sharon Tate had lived in six different American cities, and she found it difficult to maintain friendships. Her family described her as shy and lacking in self-confidence, and as an adult Sharon Tate commented that people often misinterpreted her shyness for aloofness until they knew her better.As she matured, people commented on her beauty; she began entering beauty pageants, winning the title of "Miss Richland" in 1959. She spoke of her ambition to study psychiatry, and also stated her intention to compete in the "Miss Washington" pageant in 1960, but before she could follow either course of action, Paul Tate was transferred to Italy, taking his family with him.On arriving in Verona, Sharon Tate learned that she had become a local celebrity owing to the publication of a photograph of her in a bathing suit on the cover of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. She discovered a kinship with other students at the American school she attended in nearby Vicenza, recognizing that their backgrounds and feelings of separation were similar to her own, and for the first time in her life began to form lasting friendships. Tate and her friends became interested in the filming of Adventures of a Young Man, which was being made nearby with Paul Newman, Susan Strasberg and Richard Beymer, and obtained parts as film extras. Beymer noticed Tate in the crowd and introduced himself, and the two dated during the production of the film, with Beymer encouraging Tate to pursue a film career. In 1961, Tate was employed by the singer Pat Boone, and appeared with him in a television special he made in Venice.
Tate (at right wearing a dark wig) as Janet Trego in the 1964 "Giant Jackrabbitt" episode of The Beverly Hillbillies with Max Baer, Jr. and Nancy Kulp
In 1964, she met Jay Sebring, a former sailor who had established himself as a leading hair stylist in Hollywood. Tate later said that Sebring's nature was especially gentle, but when he proposed marriage she would not accept. She said that she would retire from acting as soon as she married, and at that time she intended to focus on her career.
Film career
In 1964, Tate made a screen test for Sam Peckinpah opposite Steve McQueen for the film The Cincinnati Kid. Ransohoff and Peckinpah agreed that Tate's timidity and lack of experience would cause her to flounder in such a large part, and she was rejected in favor of Tuesday Weld.She continued to gain experience with minor television appearances, and after she auditioned unsuccessfully for the role of Liesl in the film version of The Sound of Music, Ransohoff gave Tate walk-on roles in two motion pictures in which he was producer: The Americanization of Emily and The Sandpiper. In late 1965, Ransohoff finally gave Tate her first major role in a motion picture in the film, Eye of the Devil, co-starring David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Donald Pleasence, and David Hemmings. Tate and Sebring traveled to London to prepare for filming, where she met the Alexandrian Wiccan High Priest and High Priestess Alex and Maxine Sanders, the former of whom duly initiated her into Wicca. Meanwhile, as part of Ransohoff's promotion of Tate, he arranged the production of a short documentary called All Eyes on Sharon Tate, to be released at the same time as Eye of the Devil. It included an interview with Eye of the Devil director J. Lee Thompson, who expressed his initial doubts about Tate's potential with the comment "We even agreed that if after the first two weeks Sharon was not quite making it, that we would put her back in cold storage", but added that he soon realized Tate was "tremendously exciting".Tate played Odile, a witch who exerts a mysterious power over a landowner, played by Niven, and his wife, played by Kerr. Although she did not have as many lines as the other actors, Tate's performance was considered crucial to the film, and she was required, more than the other cast members, to set an ethereal tone. Niven described her as a "great discovery", and Kerr said that with "a reasonable amount of luck", Tate would be a great success. In interviews, Tate commented on her good fortune in working with such professionals in her first film, and said that she had learned a lot about acting simply by watching Kerr at work. Much of the filming took place in France, and Sebring returned to Los Angeles to fulfill his business obligations. After filming Tate remained in London where she immersed herself in the fashion world and nightclubs. Around this time she met Roman Polanski.
Tate with Roman Polanski in The Fearless Vampire Killers
A March 1967 article about Tate in Playboy magazine began, "This is the year that Sharon Tate happens..." and included six nude or partially nude photographs taken by Roman Polanski during filming of The Fearless Vampire Killers. Tate was optimistic: Eye of the Devil and The Fearless Vampire Killers were each due for release, and she had been signed to play a major role in the film version of Valley of the Dolls. One of the all-time bestsellers, the film version was highly publicized and anticipated, and while Tate acknowledged that such a prominent role should further her career, she confided to Polanski that she did not like either the book or the script.Patty Duke, Barbara Parkins and Judy Garland were cast as the other leads. Susan Hayward replaced Garland a few weeks later when Garland was dismissed. Director Mark Robson was highly critical of the three principal actresses but, according to Duke, directed most of his criticism at Tate. Duke later said Robson "continually treated [Tate] like an imbecile, which she definitely was not, and she was very attuned and sensitive to this treatment." Polanski later quoted Robson as saying to him, "That's a great girl you're living with. Few actresses have her kind of vulnerability. She's got a great future."In interviews during production, Tate expressed an affinity for her character, Jennifer North, an aspiring actress admired only for her body. Some magazines commented that Tate was viewed similarly and Look magazine published an unfavorable article about the three lead actresses, describing Tate as "a hopelessly stupid and vain starlet". Tate, Duke and Parkins developed a close friendship which continued after the completion of the film. During the shooting of Valley of the Dolls, Tate confided to Parkins that she was "madly in love" with Polanski. "Yes, there's no doubt that Roman is the man in my life," Tate was quoted as saying in the New York Sunday News. Tate promoted the film enthusiastically. She frequently commented on her admiration for Lee Grant, with whom she had played several dramatic scenes. Tate was quoted as saying, "I learned a great deal about acting in [Valley of the Dolls], particularly in my scenes with Lee Grant...She knows what acting is all about and everything she does, from little mannerisms to delivering her lines, is pure professionalism."A journalist asked Tate to comment on her nude scene, and she replied,
| “ | I have no qualms about it at all. I don't see any difference between being stark naked or fully dressed—if it's part of the job and it's done with meaning and intention. I honestly don't understand the big fuss made over nudity and sex in films. It's silly. On TV, the children can watch people murdering each other, which is a very unnatural thing, but they can't watch two people in the very natural process of making love. Now, really, that doesn't make any sense, does it? | ” |
An edited version of The Fearless Vampire Killers was released, and Polanski expressed disgust at Ransohoff for "butchering" his film. Newsweek called it "a witless travesty", and it was not profitable. Tate's performance was largely ignored in reviews, and when she was mentioned, it was usually in relation to her nude scenes. Eye of the Devil was released shortly after, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer attempted to build interest in Tate with its press release describing her as "one of the screen's most exciting new personalities". The film failed to find an audience, and most reviews were indifferent, neither praising nor condemning it. The New York Times wrote that one of the few highlights was Tate's "chillingly beautiful but expressionless performance".The All Eyes on Sharon Tate documentary was used to publicize the film. Its fourteen minutes consisted of a number of scenes depicting Tate filming Eye of the Devil, dancing in nightclubs and sightseeing around London, and also contained a brief interview with her. Asked about her acting ambitions she replied, "I don't fool myself. I can't see myself doing Shakespeare." She spoke of her hopes of finding a niche in comedy, and in other interviews she expressed her desire to become "a light comedienne in the Carole Lombard style". She discussed the type of contemporary actress she wanted to emulate and explained that there were two in particular that she was influenced by: Faye Dunaway and Catherine Deneuve. Of the latter, she said, "I'd like to be an American Catherine Deneuve. She plays beautiful, sensitive, deep parts with a little bit of intelligence behind them."Later in the year, Valley of the Dolls opened to almost uniformly negative reviews. Bosley Crowther wrote in The New York Times, "all a fairly respectful admirer of movies can do is laugh at it and turn away". Newsweek said that the film "has no more sense of its own ludicrousness than a village idiot stumbling in manure", but a later article read: "Astoundingly photogenic, infinitely curvaceous, Sharon Tate is one of the most smashing young things to hit Hollywood in a long time." The three lead actresses were castigated in numerous publications, including The Saturday Review, which wrote, "Ten years ago... Parkins, Duke and Tate would more likely have been playing the hat check girls than movie-queens; they are totally lacking in style, authority or charm." The Hollywood Reporter provided some positive comments, such as, "Sharon Tate emerges as the film's most sympathetic character... William H. Daniels' photographic caress of her faultless face and enormous absorbent eyes is stunning." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised Tate as "a wonder to behold", but after describing the dialogue in one scene as "the most offensive and appalling vulgarity ever thrown up by any civilization", concluded that, "I will be unable to take her any more seriously as a sex symbol than Raquel Welch."
Marriage to Roman Polanski
In late 1967, Tate and Polanski returned to London, and were frequent subjects of newspaper and magazine articles. Tate was depicted as being untraditional and modern, and was quoted as saying that couples should live together before marrying. They were married in Chelsea, London on January 20, 1968 with considerable publicity. Polanski was dressed in what the press described as "Edwardian finery," while Tate was attired in a white minidress. The couple moved into Polanski's mews house off Eaton Square in Belgravia. Photographer Peter Evans later described them as "the imperfect couple. They were the Douglas Fairbanks/Mary Pickford of our time... Cool, nomadic, talented and nicely shocking."While Tate reportedly wanted a traditional marriage, Polanski remained somewhat promiscuous and described Tate's attitude to his infidelity as "Sharon's big hang-up". He reminded Tate that she had promised that she would not try to change him. Tate accepted Polanski's conditions, though she confided to friends that she hoped he would change. Peter Evans quoted Tate as saying, "We have a good arrangement. Roman lies to me and I pretend to believe him."Polanski urged Tate to end her association with Martin Ransohoff, and Tate began to place less importance on her career, until Polanski told her that he wanted to be married to "a hippie, not a housewife". The couple returned to Los Angeles and quickly became part of a social group that included some of the most successful young people in the film industry, including Steve McQueen, Warren Beatty, Mia Farrow, Peter Sellers, Jacqueline Bisset, Leslie Caron, Joan Collins, Joanna Pettet, Laurence Harvey, Peter Fonda and Jane Fonda, older film stars like Henry Fonda, Kirk Douglas, Yul Brynner and Danny Kaye, musicians such as Jim Morrison and the Mamas & the Papas, and record producer Terry Melcher and his girlfriend Candice Bergen. Jay Sebring remained one of the couple's most frequent companions. Polanski's circle of friends included people he had known since his youth in Poland such as Wojciech Frykowski and Frykowski's girlfriend, coffee heiress Abigail Folger. The couple moved into the Chateau Marmont Hotel in West Hollywood for a few months until they arranged to lease Patty Duke's home on Summit Ridge Drive in Beverly Hills during the latter part of 1968. The Polanski house was often full of strangers, and Tate regarded the casual atmosphere as part of the "free spirit" of the times, saying that she did not mind who came into her home as her motto was "live and let live". Her close friend Leslie Caron later commented that the Polanskis were too trusting — "to the point of recklessness" — and that she had been alarmed by it.In the summer of 1968, Tate began her next film, The Wrecking Crew (1969), a comedy in which she played Freya Carlson, an accident-prone spy, who was also a romantic interest for star Dean Martin, playing Matt Helm. She performed her own stunts and was taught martial arts by Bruce Lee. The film was successful and brought Tate strong reviews, with many reviewers praising her comedic performance. The New York Times critic Vincent Canby criticized the film but wrote, "The only nice thing is Sharon Tate, a tall, really great-looking girl". Martin commented that he intended to make another "Matt Helm" film, and that he wanted Tate to reprise her role.
Around this time Tate was feted as a promising newcomer. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as "New Star of the Year – Actress" for her Valley of the Dolls performance.She placed fourth behind Mia Farrow, Judy Geeson and Katharine Houghton for a "Golden Laurel" award as the year's "Most Promising Newcomer" with the results published in the Motion Picture Exhibitor magazine. She was also runner-up to Lynn Redgrave in the Motion Picture Herald's poll for "The Star of Tomorrow", in which box-office drawing power was the main criterion for inclusion on the list.These results indicated that her career was beginning to accelerate and for her next film, Tate negotiated a fee of $150,000.Tate became pregnant near the end of 1968, and on February 15, 1969 she and Polanski moved to 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon. The house had previously been occupied by their friends, Terry Melcher and Candice Bergen. Tate and Polanski had visited it several times, and Tate was thrilled to learn it was available, referring to it as her "love house". At their new home, the Polanskis continued to be popular hosts for their large group of friends, although some of their friends still worried about the strange types who continued to show up at their parties. Encouraged by positive reviews of her comedic performances, Tate chose the comedy The Thirteen Chairs as her next project, as she later explained, largely for the opportunity to co-star with Orson Welles. In March 1969, she traveled to Italy to begin filming, while Polanski went to London to work on The Day of the Dolphin. Frykowski and Folger moved into the Cielo Drive house.
After completing The Thirteen Chairs, Tate joined Polanski in London. She posed in their apartment for photographer Terry O'Neill in casual domestic scenes such as opening baby gifts, and also completed a series of glamour photographs for the British magazine Queen. A journalist asked Tate in a late July interview if she believed in fate, to which she replied, "Certainly. My whole life has been decided by fate. I think something more powerful than we are decides our fates for us. I know one thing — I've never planned anything that ever happened to me."She returned from London to Los Angeles, on July 20, 1969, traveling alone on the RMS Queen Elizabeth. Polanski was due to return on August 12 in time for the birth, and he asked Frykowski and Folger to stay in the house with Tate until then.
Death and aftermath
Murder
Tate at her home on August 8, 1969
Polanski was informed of the murders and returned to Los Angeles where police, unable to determine a motive, questioned him about his wife and friends. On Wednesday, August 13, Tate was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, with her son, Paul Richard Polanski (named posthumously for Polanski's and Tate's fathers), in her arms. Sebring's funeral took place later the same day; the funerals were scheduled several hours apart to allow mutual friends to attend both.
Life magazine devoted a lengthy article to the murders and featured photographs of the crime scenes. Polanski was interviewed for the article and allowed himself to be photographed in the living room where Tate and Sebring had died, Tate's dried blood clearly visible on the floor in front of him. Widely criticized for his actions, he argued that he wanted to know who was responsible and was willing to shock the magazine's readers in the hope that someone would come forward with information.Curiosity about the victims led to the re-release of Tate's films, achieving greater popularity than they had in their initial runs. Some newspapers began to speculate on the motives for the murders. Some of the published photographs of Tate were allegedly taken at a Satanic ritual, but were later proven to have been production photographs from Eye of the Devil. Friends spoke out against the portrayal of Tate by some elements of the media. Mia Farrow said she was as "sweet and pure a human being as I have ever known", while Patty Duke remembered her as "a gentle, gentle creature. I was crazy about her, and I don't know anyone who wasn't". Polanski berated a crowd of journalists at a press conference, saying that many times they had written that Tate "was beautiful. Maybe the most beautiful woman in the world. But did you ever write how good she was?" Peter Evans later quoted the actor Laurence Harvey, who commented on Polanski immediately after the murders, "This could destroy Roman. Marriage vows mean nothing to him but few men have adored a woman as much as he adored Sharon."Polanski later admitted that in the months following the murders he suspected various friends and associates, and his paranoia subsided only when the killers were arrested. Newspapers claimed that many Hollywood stars were moving out of the city, while others were reported to have installed security systems in their homes. Writer Dominick Dunne later recalled the tension:
| “ | The shock waves that went through the town were beyond anything I had ever seen before. People were convinced that the rich and famous of the community were in peril. Children were sent out of town. Guards were hired. Steve McQueen packed a gun when he went to Jay Sebring's funeral. | ” |
Arrest and trial of the Manson Family
Jay Sebring, pictured here with Tate in 1966, was killed when he attempted to defend her against the attackers.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney offered Susan Atkins a deal that guaranteed they would not seek the death penalty against her for any of the current charges in exchange for her grand jury and trial testimony. Atkins testified before the grand jury that she had been unable to stab Sharon Tate and that she was killed by Watson, a contradiction of statements she had made prior to her arrest. Atkins refused to cooperate further, forcing the District Attorney's office to withdraw its offer. An offer of immunity against prosecution was made to Kasabian in exchange for her agreement to provide complete testimony at any trial, against any of the defendants. Assistant District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi wrote later that he believed Kasabian would be more acceptable to the jurors because she had not killed anyone. In his book Will You Die For Me, Charles Watson later confessed to the murder saying Atkins didn't even touch her.On June 15, 1970, Manson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Van Houten were tried while Watson remained in Texas fighting extradition. The details of the trial were reported throughout the world. Kasabian was a reliable and consistent witness. She testified about a hippie group and its leader Charles Manson, a thwarted musician who believed that a race war was imminent. He believed that the music of The Beatles warned of the coming holocaust, which he referred to as Helter Skelter, after the Beatles song, and also believed that only the "chosen", his "family", would survive. Briefly associated with Terry Melcher, Manson had believed that Melcher would foster his musical aspirations; when this did not occur, Manson felt infuriated and betrayed. Manson believed that he would bring about the race war by having his followers slaughter wealthy people in their homes and cast suspicion on militant groups such as the Black Panthers. Manson expected these groups to win the race war, and predicted that they would make him their leader when they realized they were too inept to govern the new society. He had been to 10050 Cielo Drive, and although he knew that Melcher had moved, the house represented his rejection by the show business establishment. He instructed Watson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Kasabian to go to the house "and kill everyone there", while he remained in their camp at Spahn's Movie Ranch.Kasabian's and Atkins' testimony provided details that had not previously been reported to the public. When the group scaled a fence surrounding the property, they were seen by Steven Parent, who was leaving in his car. Watson approached the vehicle and ordered it to stop. Parent asked Watson not to hurt him, and promised that he would not say anything, but Watson's response was to slash Parent with a knife and shoot him four times. Watson then instructed Kasabian to remain outside and keep watch while the others entered the house. The four occupants were rounded up into the living room and tied together at gunpoint. When Watson ordered the occupants to lie on their stomachs, Jay Sebring urged the intruders to consider Tate's pregnancy and not harm her. Watson immediately shot Sebring. Wojciech Frykowski and Abigail Folger escaped, running in different directions onto the front lawn, where they were each overtaken and killed. Tate remained in the house and begged for her child's life, pleading that the group abduct Tate and allow her to give birth before murdering her. Atkins testified that she had told Tate she would receive no mercy. Tate was stabbed sixteen times, and Atkins dipped a towel in Tate's blood to write "PIG" on the front door. They left Tate's house after midnight and returned to Spahn Ranch.During the penalty phase of the trial, Atkins was again questioned about her attitude to Tate and her role in Tate's death. She said, "They didn't even look like people... I didn't relate to Sharon Tate as being anything but a store mannequin... [Tate] sounded just like an IBM machine... She kept begging and pleading and pleading and begging, and I got sick of listening to her, so I stabbed her." The defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death on March 29, 1971. Watson was tried separately after extradition from Texas. Psychiatrists testified that he appeared to be feigning insanity, and while he admitted his role in all of the killings, he refused to acknowledge his responsibility, and was widely quoted by the press when he stated that he had not noticed that Sharon Tate was pregnant. He was found guilty and sentenced to death on October 21, 1971. The death sentences were later automatically commuted to life in prison after the California Supreme Court's People v. Anderson decision resulted in the invalidation of all death sentences imposed in California before 1972. As of 2010,Manson, Watson, Krenwinkel, and Van Houten remain incarcerated.Atkins died in prison on September 24, 2009.
Legacy
In 1992, the work of Doris Tate (seated) in support of victims' rights was acknowledged by President George H. W. Bush. Also pictured are Sharon Tate's sisters, Debra and Patti.
Colonel Paul Tate preferred not to make public comments; however, he was a constant presence during the murder trial, and in the following years attended parole hearings with his wife, and wrote letters to authorities in which he strongly opposed any suggestion of parole. He died in May 2005.Roman Polanski gave away all of his possessions after the murders, unable to bear any reminders of the period that he called "the happiest I ever was in my life". He remained in Los Angeles until the killers were arrested and then traveled to Europe. His 1979 film Tess was dedicated "For Sharon", as Tate had read Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles during her final stay with Polanski in London, and had left it for him to read with the comment that it would be a good story for them to film together. He tried to explain his anguish after the murder of his wife and unborn son in his 1984 autobiography Roman by Polanski, saying "Since Sharon's death, and despite appearances to the contrary, my enjoyment of life has been incomplete. In moments of unbearable personal tragedy some people find solace in religion. In my case the opposite happened. Any religious faith I had was shattered by Sharon's murder. It reinforced my faith in the absurd."In July 2005 Polanski successfully sued Vanity Fair magazine for libel after it stated that he had tried to seduce a woman on his way to Tate's funeral. Among the witnesses who testified on his behalf were Debra Tate and Mia Farrow. Describing Polanski immediately after Tate's death, Farrow testified, "Of this I can be sure — of his frame of mind when we were there, of what we talked about, of his utter sense of loss, of despair and bewilderment and shock and love — a love that he had lost." At the conclusion of the case, Polanski read a statement, saying in part, "The memory of my late wife Sharon Tate was at the forefront of my mind in bringing this action."The murders committed by the Manson "Family" have been described by social commentators as one of the defining moments of the 1960s. Joan Didion wrote, "Many people I know in Los Angeles believe that the Sixties ended abruptly on August 9, 1969, ended at the exact moment when word of the murders on Cielo Drive traveled like brushfire through the community, and in a sense this is true. The tension broke that day. The paranoia was fulfilled."Sharon Tate's work as an actress has been reassessed after her death, with contemporary film writers and critics such as Leonard Maltin describing her potential as a comedienne. A restored version of The Fearless Vampire Killers more closely resembles Polanski's intention. Maltin lauded the film as "near-brilliant" and Tate's work in Don't Make Waves and The Wrecking Crew as her two best performances, as well as the best indicators of the career she might have established. Eye of the Devil with its supernatural themes, and Valley of the Dolls, with its overstated melodrama, have each achieved a degree of cult status.
Tate's biographer, Greg King, holds a view often expressed by members of the Tate family, writing in Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders (2000): "Sharon's real legacy lies not in her movies or in her television work. The very fact that, today, victims or their families in California are able to sit before those convicted of a crime and have a voice in the sentencing at trials or at parole hearings, is largely due to the work of Doris [and Patti] Tate. Their years of devotion to Sharon's memory and dedication to victims' rights... have helped transform Sharon from mere victim, [and] restore a human face to one of the twentieth century's most infamous crimes.
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Barabbas | Patrician in Arena | uncredited |
| 1962 | Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man | undetermined role | uncredited |
| 1963– 1965 | The Beverly Hillbillies | Janet Trego | 15 episodes |
| 1963 | Mister Ed | Telephone Operator Sailor's Girl | Episode "Love Thy New Neighbor" Episode "Ed Discovers America" |
| 1964 | The Americanization of Emily | Beautiful Girl | uncredited |
| 1965 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Therapist | Episode "The Girls of Nazarone Affair" |
| 1966 | Eye of the Devil | Odile de Caray | |
| 1967 | The Fearless Vampire Killers | Sarah Shagal | |
| 1967 | Don't Make Waves | Malibu | |
| 1967 | Valley of the Dolls | Jennifer North | |
| 1968 | Rosemary's Baby | Girl at Party | uncredited |
| 1968 | The Wrecking Crew | Freya Carlson | |
| 1969 | The Thirteen Chairs (also known as 12+1) | Pat | released posthumously |
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sophia Loren
In 1999, Sophia Loren was listed by the American Film Institute on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars as one of 25 American female screen legends of all time. In 2002, she was honored by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) at its annual Anniversary Gala and was inducted into its Italian American Hall of Fame.
Early life
Loren was born in the Clinica Regina Margherita in Rome, daughter of Romilda Villani (1914–1991) and Riccardo Scicolone, a construction engineer. Scicolone refused to marry Villani, leaving her, a piano teacher and aspiring actress, without support. Loren's parents had another child together, her sister Maria, in 1938. Loren also has two younger half-brothers, Giuliano and Giuseppe, on her father's side. Romilda, Loren, and Maria lived with Loren's grandmother in Pozzuoli, near Naples, to survive.During World War II, the harbor and munitions plant in Pozzuoli was a frequent bombing target of the Allies. During one raid, as Loren ran to the shelter, she was struck by shrapnel and wounded in the chin. After that, the family moved to Naples, where they were taken in by distant relatives.After the war, Loren and her family returned to Pozzuoli. Grandmother Luisa opened a pub in their living room, selling homemade cherry liquor. Villani played the piano, Maria sang and Loren waited tables and washed dishes. The place was very popular with the American GIs stationed nearby.
When she was 14 years old, Loren entered a beauty contest in Naples and, while not winning, was selected as one of the finalists. Later she enrolled in acting class and was selected as an extra in Mervyn LeRoy's 1951 film, Quo Vadis, launching her career as a motion picture actress. She eventually changed her name to Sophia Loren.
Career
Beginnings
After being credited professionally as Sofia Lazzaro, she began using her current stage name in 1952's La Favorita. Her first starring role was in Aida (1953), for which she received critical acclaim. After playing the lead role in Two Nights with Cleopatra (1953), her breakthrough role was in The Gold of Naples (1954), directed by Vittorio De Sica. Too Bad She's Bad, also released in 1954, became the first of many films in which Loren co-starred with Marcello Mastroianni. Over the next three years she acted in many films such as Scandal in Sorrento (1955) and Lucky to Be a Woman (1956). In 1957, Loren's star had begun to rise in Hollywood, with the films Boy on a Dolphin (her U.S. film debut), Legend of the Lost with John Wayne, and The Pride and the Passion in which she starred opposite Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra.International fame
Loren became an international film star with a five-picture contract with Paramount Pictures in 1958. Among her films at this time were Desire Under the Elms with Anthony Perkins, based upon the Eugene O'Neill play; Houseboat, a romantic comedy co-starring Cary Grant; and George Cukor's Heller in Pink Tights, in which she appeared as a blonde for the first time.
In 1961, she starred in Vittorio De Sica's Two Women, a stark, gritty story of a mother who is raped while trying to protect her daughter in war-torn Italy. Originally cast as the daughter, Loren fought against type and was re-cast as the mother (actress Eleonora Brown would portray the daughter). Loren's performance earned her many awards, including the Cannes Film Festival's best performance prize, and an Academy Award for Best Actress, the first major Academy Award for a non-English-language performance and to an Italian actress.She won 22 international awards for "two women"
Loren is known for her sharp wit and insight. One of her most frequently-quoted sayings is her quip about her famously-voluptuous figure: "Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti." However, on the December 20, 2009, episode of CBS News Sunday Morning, Loren denied ever saying the line.
During the 1960s, Loren was one of the most popular actresses in the world, and she continued to make films in both the U.S. and Europe, acting with leading male stars. In 1964, her career reached its zenith when she received $1 million to act in The Fall of the Roman Empire. In 1965, she received a second Academy Award nomination for her performance in Marriage Italian-Style.
Among Loren's best-known films of this period are Samuel Bronston's epic production of El Cid (1961) with Charlton Heston, The Millionairess (1960) with Peter Sellers, It Started in Naples (1960) with Clark Gable, Vittorio De Sica's triptych Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1963) with Marcello Mastroianni, Peter Ustinov's Lady L (1965) with Paul Newman, the 1966 classic Arabesque with Gregory Peck, and Charlie Chaplin's final film, A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) with Marlon Brando.
Loren received four Golden Globe Awards between 1964 and 1977 as "World Film Favorite - Female." Mid-career and musical recordings
Once she became a mother, Loren worked less. Most of her acting during the next two decades was in Italian features. During the 1970s, she appeared in such films as Lady Liberty (1971) with Susan Sarandon and the musical Man of La Mancha (1972) with Peter O'Toole. She was paired with Richard Burton in the last De Sica-directed movie, The Voyage (1974), and a remake of the film Brief Encounter (1974). In 1976 she starred in The Cassandra Crossing, a disaster film featuring such veteran stars as Richard Harris, Martin Sheen, and Ava Gardner. She also co-starred with Marcello Mastroianni in Ettore Scola's A Special Day (1977), an Italian film for which she was nominated for several awards. Loren then starred in the Hollywood thrillers Brass Target (1978), set during World War II, and Firepower (1979), that had a moderate success. In 1980, Loren portrayed herself, as well as her mother, in a made-for-television biopic adaptation of her autobiography titled Sophia Loren: Her Own Story. Actresses Ritza Brown and Chiara Ferrari played Loren at younger ages. In 1981, she became the first female celebrity to launch her own perfume, Sophia, and a brand of eyewear followed soon thereafter. She made headlines in 1982 when she served an 18-day prison sentence in Italy on tax evasion charges, a fact that didn't damage her career or popularity. She acted infrequently during the 1980s and turned down starring roles on the TV series Dynasty and Falcon Crest, preferring to devote more time to raising her sons. In 1988 she starred in the miniseries The Fortunate Pilgrim.
Loren has also recorded well over two dozen songs throughout her career, including a best-selling album of comedic songs with Peter Sellers; reportedly, she had to fend off his romantic advances. It was partly owing to Sellers' infatuation with Loren that he split with his first wife, Anne Howe. Loren has made it clear to numerous biographers that Sellers' affections were reciprocated only platonically. This collaboration was covered in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers where actress Sonia Aquino portrayed Loren. It is said that the song "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" by Peter Sarstedt was inspired by Loren.
Loren in Kenya while serving as Goodwill Ambassador in 1992
She received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Robert Altman's film Ready to Wear (1994), co-starring Julia Roberts.
In the comedy Grumpier Old Men (1995), Loren played a femme fatale opposite Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, and Ann-Margret. The film was a box-office success and became Loren's biggest U.S hit in years.In 2001, Loren received a Special Grand Prix of the Americas Award at the Montreal World Film Festival for her body of work. She filmed two projects in Canada during this time: the independent film Between Strangers (2002), directed by her son Edoardo and co-starring Mira Sorvino, and the television miniseries Lives of the Saints (2004).
In 2009, after five years off the set and fourteen years since she starred in a prominent US theatrical film, Loren starred in Rob Marshall's film version of Nine, based on the Broadway musical that tells the story of a director whose midlife crisis causes him to struggle to complete his latest film; he is forced to balance the influences of numerous formative women in his life, including his deceased mother. Loren was Marshall's first and only choice to portray the mother. The film also stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, and Nicole Kidman. As a part of the cast she received her first nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award.
As of 2010 Loren is working in Italy on a two-part television biopic of her early life titled La Mia Casa È Piena di Specchi (translated My House Is Full of Mirrors), based on of the memoir written by her sister Maria.Loren's primary residence has been in Geneva, Switzerland since late 2006. She also owns homes in Los Angeles and New York.
In September 1999, Loren filed a lawsuit against 76 adult websites for posting altered nude photos of her on the internet.Loren is a huge fan of the football club S.S.C. Napoli. In May 2007, when the team was third in Serie B, she told the Gazzetta dello Sport that she would do a striptease if the team won.Loren posed scantily-clad at 72 for the 2007 Pirelli Calendar along with such actresses as Penelope Cruz and Hilary Swank Marriage and family
Loren first met Carlo Ponti in 1950 when she was 15 and he was 37. They married on September 17, 1957. However, Ponti was still officially married to his first wife Giuliana under Italian law because Italy did not recognize divorce at that time. The couple had their marriage annulled in 1962 to escape bigamy charges. In 1965, Ponti obtained a divorce from Giuliana in France, allowing him to marry Loren on April 9, 1966. They later became French citizens after their application was approved by then French President Georges Pompidou.The couple had two sons: Carlo Ponti Jr. (born December 29, 1968) and Edoardo Ponti (born January 6, 1973).
Loren remained married to Carlo Ponti until his death on January 10, 2007 of pulmonary complications.When asked in a November 2009 interview if she is ever likely to marry again, Loren replied "No, never again. It would be impossible to love anyone else."Her daughters-in-law are Sasha Alexander and Andrea Meszaros. Loren has two grandchildren: Lucia Ponti (born May 12, 2006) and Vittorio Ponti (born April 3, 2007). Filmography
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