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
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
