Hope Lange and Jeanne Crain, R.I.P.

[BERIGAN]

Just read that Hope Lange has died...either aged 70, or 72. And in a post on that board, they mentioned that Jeanne Crain had died on the 14th! I didn't hear one word about that, did anyone else? It is listed at allmovie.com.

Hope Lange of 'Peyton Place' Dies at 70

Hope Lange, Film Star Who Earned Oscar Nomination for 'Peyton Place' in 1957, Dies at 70

The Associated Press

SANTA MONICA, Calif. Dec. 21 — Hope Lange, who starred opposite Hollywood's top actors over a decades-long career and earned an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in the 1957 film "Peyton Place," has died, her husband said Sunday. She was 70.

Lange died Friday at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica after suffering an infection caused by an intestinal inflammation known as ischemic colitis, said her husband, Charles Hollerith.

Lange split her time between homes in Los Angeles' Westwood section and New York City, said Hollerith, a former theatrical producer and vice president of the Actors' Fund of America.

Lange starred in dozens of films and television shows and captured two Emmy awards for her role in the series "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" in the late 1960s, her husband said.

Her big-screen credits included "The Best of Everything" in 1959 with Joan Crawford, "The Young Lions" in 1958 with Marlon Brando and "Peyton Place" with Lana Turner. More recently, she was in 1986's "Blue Velvet" and 1994's "Clear and Present Danger."

Actor Don Murray, who was married to Lange for several years in the 1950s, said Lange combined good looks and acting prowess.

"She was considered a great beauty who was also a serious and dedicated actor who didn't pay attention to being glamorous," Murray said.

Murray said her looks even intimidated Marilyn Monroe, who wanted Lange's naturally blonde hair dyed light brown in their 1956 film "Bus Stop."

"Marilyn complained about sharing the screen with another blonde," said Murray, who also starred in the movie. "I guess she felt competition because Hope was a young beauty."

Lange is survived by her husband, a son, actor Christopher Murray, a daughter, Patricia Murray, and two grandchildren.

[brownie]

Just read that Hope Lange has died...either aged 70, or 72. And in a post on that board, they mentioned that Jeanne Crain had died on the 14th! I didn't hear one word about that, did anyone else? It is listed at allmovie.com.

Berigan, you spent too much time on the political pages to read about Jeanne Crain's death. She passed away December 14.

Here is a Jeanne Crain obit:

Jeanne Crain dies

By Bob Thomas, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Jeanne Crain credited her mother for bringing her up in a household free of prejudice. As a Hollywood star, she won an Oscar nomination for a role that broke racial taboos of the day — a black girl passing for white.

The winsome beauty who specialized in frothy comedies in the 1940s and whose career was capped by her starring role in the controversial Elia Kazan classic "Pinky," died Sunday. She was 78.

Crain died of a heart attack at her Santa Barbara home, according to her son, Paul

Brinkman Jr. She appeared in 64 films and many television shows during her long career, playing opposite such stars as Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas and William

Holden.

"Pinky" brought Crain's only Academy Award recognition, a nomination for best actress in 1949. It was a daring film at a time when Hollywood avoided racial controversy, about a girl who passes for white in the North but faces the bitter hatred of whites after returning to her grandmother's home in the Deep South.

"I grew up without knowing anything about prejudice; my mother saw to that," Crain said in 1995. "If parents would keep prejudice and intolerance to themselves for one generation, we would have a different world."

Lena Horne and other black actresses sought the role, but Fox boss Darryl F. Zanuck decided on a white star with box-office appeal.

"Pinky" was widely praised by critics but encountered opposition in the South, especially because a white man in the film wants to marry Pinky despite knowing her heritage. Marshall, Texas, banned the film, but the town's film censoring ordinance was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The movie's controversy enhanced Crain's popularity. She recalled that her fan letters rose to 6,000 a week, and only 1 percent were critical.

With her lovely features, slender figure and demure manner, Crain became a leading star in the wartime and postwar years. For faraway GI's she seemed the ideal girl back home. At 20th Century-Fox studio, her fan mail was second only to that of pin-up queen Betty Grable.

Crain's 1943 movie debut followed the Hollywood cliche: She appeared in a swimming suit beside a pool in the all-star "The Gang's All Here." She was elevated to leading roles in her next films — "Home in Indiana," "In the Meantime, Darling," "Winged Victory" and "State Fair," which featured Rodgers and Hammerstein's only original score for a movie.

"Margie" (1946), an entertaining, nostalgic tale of a small-town girl in the 1920s who gets a crush on her French teacher, established Crain as an important Fox star. She followed with a musical, "You Were Meant for Me," opposite Dan Dailey, and "An Apartment for Peggie," a romance with William Holden.

Crain was born in Barstow, Calif., and raised in Los Angeles, where her father became head of the English department at Inglewood High School.

She began winning leads in school plays at 14 and beauty contests at 15.

As Camera Girl of 1942 in Long Beach, she attracted the attention of 20th Century-Fox and was given a routine studio contract. That was soon discarded for better terms as her career rapidly ascended.

In 1945, Crain married Paul Brinkman, an actor who later became a successful businessman. The couple had seven children.

By the 1960s, her Hollywood career had dimmed. She made three films in Europe and then retired. She and Brinkman spent their time at two working ranches.

In her 70s she still received regular bundles of mail from fans who had seen her films on TV or video.

"They write as if the films were just being released," she said wpnderingly. "The films must have aged well."

Crain's husband died in October. She is survived by her sons, Paul Jr. and Timothy Brinkman, and three daughters,  Jeanine Brinkman, Lisa Binstock and Maria Brinkman.

[BERIGAN]

Just read that Hope Lange has died...either aged 70, or 72. And in a post on that board, they mentioned that Jeanne Crain had died on the 14th! I didn't hear one word about that, did anyone else? It is listed at allmovie.com.

Berigan, you spent too much time on the political pages to read about Jeanne Crain's death. She passed away December 14.

Here is a Jeanne Crain obit:

Thanks for the post Brownie, and I'll have you know that I am down to 49% of my posts in the political section of this board! Of course, I might still be checking out political stories too much on the WWW

But I do look at other headlines, and never read anything about this....of course, Michael Jackson gets the lion's share of the entertainment news these days, who cares about some old actress dying!

[brownie]

But I do look at other headlines, and never read anything about this....of course, Michael Jackson gets the lion's share of the entertainment news these days, who cares about some old actress dying!

Berigan, Michael Jackson makes much more fun reading than whatever action is occuring now on the political scene nowadays

But I have to admit that the Politics forums would not be the same without your contributions

[jacman]

when i was a kid i used to watch "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir". i had a mad crush on Ms. Lange.

RIP.