Jeanne Crain
Encyclopedia
Jeanne Elizabeth Crain was an American actress.
, 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.
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
.
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 box-office reasons.
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 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).
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
.
As a lifelong devout Roman Catholic, 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
.
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.
Early life
Crain was born in BarstowBarstow, California
Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 22,639 at the 2010 census, up from 21,119 at the 2000 census. Barstow is located north of San Bernardino....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 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
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, 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
Pan-Pacific Auditorium
The Pan-Pacific Auditorium was a landmark structure in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California which once stood at 7600 West Beverly Boulevard near the site of Gilmore Field, an early Los Angeles baseball venue predating Dodger Stadium...
in Los Angeles. Later, while still in high school, she was asked to make a screen test
Screen test
A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable...
opposite Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. She did not get the part, but in 1943, at age 18, she appeared in a bit part
Bit part
A bit part is a supporting acting role with at least one line of dialogue . In British television, bit parts are referred to as under sixes...
in the film The Gang's All Here.
Career
In 1944 Crain starred in Home in IndianaHome in Indiana
Home in Indiana is a 1944 film directed by Henry Hathaway. The film, that stars Walter Brennan, Lon McCallister, Jeanne Crain, June Haver and Charlotte Greenwood, is based on the story The Phantom Filly by George Agnew Chamberlain and was shot in Technicolor...
and In the Meantime, Darling
In the Meantime, Darling
In the Meantime, Darling is a 1944 American drama film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Arthur Kober and Michael Uris focuses on a wealthy war bride who is forced to adjust to living in spartan conditions in military housing during World War II.-Plot:Due to limited wartime...
. Her acting was critically panned, but she gained nationwide attention. It resulted in landing the leading role in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim is a 1947 American musical comedy film written and directed by George Seaton, starring Betty Grable and Dick Haymes...
in October 1944, a musical film which was eventually shelved and made with Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
.
Crain first received critical acclaim when she starred in Winged Victory
Winged Victory (film)
Winged Victory is a 1944 drama film directed by George Cukor, a joint effort of 20th Century Fox and the U.S. Army Air Forces. Based upon the successful play with the same name by Moss Hart, who also wrote the screenplay, the film only opened after the play's theatre run.-Plot:Frankie Davis , Allan...
(1944). She co-starred in 1945 with Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
in the musical film State Fair
State Fair (1945 film)
State Fair is a 1945 film directed by Walter Lang. The film a musical adaptation of the 1933 film of the same name, with original music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The film starred Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Fay Bainter and Charles Winninger...
, in which Louanne Hogan dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
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
Leave Her to Heaven
Leave Her to Heaven is a 1945 American 20th Century Fox Technicolor film noir motion picture starring Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, with Vincent Price, Darryl Hickman, and Chill Wills...
with Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
.
In 1949, Crain appeared in three films — A Letter to Three Wives
A Letter to Three Wives
A Letter to Three Wives is a 1949 film which tells the story of a woman who mails a letter to three women, telling them she has left town with the husband of one of them. It stars Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas in his film debut, Jeffrey Lynn, and Thelma Ritter...
, The Fan
The Fan (1949 film)
The Fan is a 1949 American drama film directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Dorothy Parker, Walter Reisch, and Ross Evans is based on the 1892 play Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde...
and Pinky, the latter earning her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
. Pinky was controversial, since it told the story of a light-skinned African-American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
woman who passes for white in the Northern United States
Northern United States
Northern United States, also sometimes the North, may refer to:* A particular grouping of states or regions of the United States of America. The United States Census Bureau divides some of the northernmost United States into the Midwest Region and the Northeast Region...
. Although Lena Horne
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
and other black actresses were considered, Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
chose to cast a white actress for box-office reasons.
Crain starred opposite Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
and Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for his Oscar-nominated roles in such films as Laura, The Razor's Edge, and Sitting Pretty...
in the 1950 biographical film Cheaper by the Dozen
Cheaper by the Dozen
Cheaper by the Dozen is a biographical book written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey that tells the story of time and motion study and efficiency experts Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, and their twelve children. The book focuses on the many years the...
. Next, Crain paired up with Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
for the Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
production of the offbeat drama People Will Talk
People Will Talk
People Will Talk is a romantic comedy/drama directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck from a screenplay by Mankiewicz, based on the German play by Curt Goetz, which had been made into a movie in Germany...
(1951). Despite Jeanne heavily campaigning for the female lead, Anne Baxter
Anne Baxter
Anne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons , The Razor's Edge , All About Eve and The Ten Commandments .-Early life:...
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
Charles Brackett
Charles William Brackett was an American novelist, screenwriter, and film producer.-Biography:Born on November 26, 1892 in Saratoga Springs, New York, Charles William Brackett was the son of New York State Senator, lawyer, and banker Edgar Truman Brackett...
's first film The Model and the Marriage Broker
The Model and the Marriage Broker
The Model and the Marriage Broker is a 1951 comedy film about a model who is so pleased with the work of a marriage broker, she decides to return the favor.-Cast:* Jeanne Crain as Kitty Bennett* Scott Brady as Matt Hornbeck* Thelma Ritter as Mae Swasey...
(1951). Cast in May 1951, Crain was Brackett's first choice for the role. Crain was reunited with Loy for Belles on Their Toes
Belles on Their Toes
Belles on Their Toes is a 1950 book written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. This book was the follow-up to the 1948 book Cheaper by the Dozen which covered the period before Frank Gilbreth Sr died. Belles on Their Toes was written about the family after the death of...
(1952), the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen.
While still at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, Crain played a young wife quickly losing her mind amidst high-seas
International waters
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
intrigue in Dangerous Crossing
Dangerous Crossing
Dangerous Crossing is a 1953 Black & white noirish, mystery film, directed by Joseph M. Newman and starring Jeanne Crain and Michael Rennie, based on a the 1943 play Cabin B-13 by John Dickson Carr.-Plot synopsis:...
(1953), co-starring Michael Rennie
Michael Rennie
Michael Rennie was an English film, television, and stage actor, perhaps best known for his starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the 1951 classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. However, he appeared in over 50 other films since 1936, many with Jean Simmons and other...
. Crain then starred in a string of films for Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, including a notable pairing with Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
in Man Without a Star
Man Without a Star
Man Without a Star is a 1955 western film starring Kirk Douglas as a wanderer who gets dragged into a range war. It was based on the novel of the same name by Dee Linford.-Plot:...
(1955).
Crain showed her dancing skills in 1955's Gentlemen Marry Brunettes
Gentlemen Marry Brunettes
Gentlemen Marry Brunettes is a 1955 musical film produced by Russ-Field productions, starring Jane Russell and Jeanne Crain, and released by United Artists...
co-starring Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
, Alan Young
Alan Young
Alan Young is an English-Canadian actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games...
and Rudy Vallee
Rudy Vallée
Rudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
. The production was filmed on location in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The film was based on the Anita Loos
Anita Loos
Anita Loos was an American screenwriter, playwright and author.-Early life:Born Corinne Anita Loos in Sisson, California , where her father, R. Beers Loos, had opened a tabloid newspaper for which her mother, Minerva "Minnie" Smith did most of the work of a newspaper publisher...
sequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (novel)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady is a comic novel written by Anita Loos first published in 1925. Loos was inspired to write the book after watching a sexy blonde turn intellectual H. L. Mencken into a lovestruck schoolboy. Mencken, a close friend, actually...
. Gentlemen Marry Brunettes was popular throughout Europe at the time and was released in France as A Paris Pour les Quatre (To Paris for the Four), and in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
as Cevieren Te Parijs. Later in the 1950s, Crain, Russell and another actress formed a short-lived singing and dancing lounge act
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
on the Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
In 1956, Crain starred opposite Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
, Russ Tamblyn
Russ Tamblyn
Russell Irving "Russ" Tamblyn is an American film and television actor, who is arguably best known for his performance in the 1961 movie musical West Side Story as Riff, the leader of the Jets gang....
and Broderick Crawford
Broderick Crawford
Broderick Crawford was an Academy Award-winning American stage, film, radio and TV actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his starring role in the television series "Highway Patrol."-Early life:...
in the Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film The Fastest Gun Alive
The Fastest Gun Alive
The Fastest Gun Alive is a 1956 western film starring Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain and Broderick Crawford.-Plot:Notorious gunslinger George Kelby Jr. and his wife Dora settle down in a peaceful little town of Cross Creek under assumed identities to avoid having to continually face men out to become...
directed by Russell Rouse
Russell Rouse
Russell Rouse was an American screenwriter, director, and producer who is noted for the "offbeat creativity and originality"of his screenplays and for film noir movies and television episodes produced in the 1950s....
. In 1957, she played a socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
who helps a floundering singer and comedian (Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
) redeem himself in The Joker Is Wild
The Joker Is Wild
The Joker Is Wild is a film starring Frank Sinatra, Jeanne Crain, and Mitzi Gaynor, and Eddie Albert which tells the story of Joe E. Lewis, the popular singer and comedian who was a major attraction in nightclubs during 1920s to early 1950s....
.
In 1959, Crain appeared in a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
special television production of Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
. Also starring in the broadcast were Loy, Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
, Jane Powell
Jane Powell
Jane Powell is an American singer, dancer and actress.After rising to fame as a singer in her home state of Oregon, Powell was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while still in her teens...
and Ed Wynn
Ed Wynn
Ed Wynn was a popular American comedian and actor noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor....
, with top billing going to Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter is an American actor, singer, former teen idol and author who has starred in over forty major films.-Background:...
. Film roles became fewer in the 1960s as Crain went into semi-retirement. She appeared as Nefertiti
Nefertiti
Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...
in the Italian production of Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile
Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile
Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile is a 1961 Italian Sword-and-sandal historical drama written and directed by Fernando Cherchio and produced for MAX Film by Ottavio Poggi. The film stars Jeanne Crain, Edmund Purdom, and Vincent Price...
(1961) with Edmund Purdom
Edmund Purdom
Edmund Anthony Cutlar Purdom was a British actor.-Early life:Purdom was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England and educated at St. Augustine's Abbey School, Ramsgate, then by the Jesuits at St. Ignatius Grammar School and Welwyn Garden City Grammar School...
and Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
. During this period Crain appeared - for the second time - as one of the mystery guests on the game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
and made several guest appearances on Burke's Law
Burke's Law
Burke's Law is a detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud...
, a detective television series. She starred again with Dana Andrews in Hot Rods To Hell
Hot Rods to Hell
Hot Rods to Hell is a 1967 suspense film, originally intended for television, but released in theaters instead after its producers considered it too intense for TV viewers. It is one of many exploitation-type films from noted producer Sam Katzman, whose work is generally regarded as of higher...
(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
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
contract player
Studio system
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1960s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under...
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
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, California. The home can be seen and is described by Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
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
Interlocutory
Interlocutory is a legal term which can refer to an order, sentence, decree, or judgment, given in an intermediate stage between the commencement and termination of a cause of action, used to provide a temporary or provisional decision on an issue...
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
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
cause. Others included James Stewart
James Stewart
James Stewart was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart may also refer to:-Noblemen:*James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland*James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn James Stewart (1908–1997) was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart...
, Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
, Donna Reed
Donna Reed
Donna Reed was an American film and television actress.With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the tramp Lorene in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also noted for her role in the perennial Christmas...
, Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
, Wendell Corey
Wendell Corey
Wendell Reid Corey was an American actor and politician.He was born in Dracut, Massachusetts, the son of Milton Rothwell Corey and Julia Etta McKenney . His father was a Congregationalist clergyman...
, and Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue was an American actor, who was active between the late 1950s and late 1990s.-Life and career:...
.
As a lifelong devout Roman Catholic, Crain and her husband remained married, although they lived separately in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, 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
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. Crain's funeral Mass was held at the Old Santa Barbara Mission
Mission Santa Barbara
In 1840, Alta California and Baja California were removed from the Diocese of Sonora to form the Diocese of Both Californias. Bishop Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, OFM, established his cathedra at Mission Santa Barbara, making the chapel the pro-cathedral of the diocese until 1849...
. 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
JAG (TV series)
JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...
.
Legacy
Crain's career is fully documented by a collection of memorabilia about her assembled by Charles J. Finlay, a longtime publicistPublicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
at 20th Century Fox. The Jeanne Crain Collection resides at the Cinema Archives at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in Middletown
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. These archives also hold the papers of Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
, Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
, Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
and others.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1943 | The Gang's All Here | Chorus Girl/Pool Party Guest | uncredited |
| 1944 | Home in Indiana Home in Indiana Home in Indiana is a 1944 film directed by Henry Hathaway. The film, that stars Walter Brennan, Lon McCallister, Jeanne Crain, June Haver and Charlotte Greenwood, is based on the story The Phantom Filly by George Agnew Chamberlain and was shot in Technicolor... |
'Char' Bruce | |
| In the Meantime, Darling In the Meantime, Darling In the Meantime, Darling is a 1944 American drama film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Arthur Kober and Michael Uris focuses on a wealthy war bride who is forced to adjust to living in spartan conditions in military housing during World War II.-Plot:Due to limited wartime... |
Margaret 'Maggie' Preston | ||
| Winged Victory Winged Victory (film) Winged Victory is a 1944 drama film directed by George Cukor, a joint effort of 20th Century Fox and the U.S. Army Air Forces. Based upon the successful play with the same name by Moss Hart, who also wrote the screenplay, the film only opened after the play's theatre run.-Plot:Frankie Davis , Allan... |
Helen | ||
| 1945 | State Fair State Fair (1945 film) State Fair is a 1945 film directed by Walter Lang. The film a musical adaptation of the 1933 film of the same name, with original music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The film starred Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Fay Bainter and Charles Winninger... |
Margy Frake | a.k.a. Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair also Soundtrack |
| Leave Her to Heaven Leave Her to Heaven Leave Her to Heaven is a 1945 American 20th Century Fox Technicolor film noir motion picture starring Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, with Vincent Price, Darryl Hickman, and Chill Wills... |
Ruth Berent | ||
| 1946 | Centennial Summer Centennial Summer Centennial Summer is a 1946 film directed by Otto Preminger. The musical, that stars Jeanne Crain and Cornel Wilde, is based on a novel by Albert E. Idell.It was produced in response to the hugely successful MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis... |
Julia Rogers | also Soundtrack |
| Margie Margie (film) Margie is a 1946 American film directed by Henry King.-Plot:Starting in 1946, Margie is a housewife who looks back to her teenage life in the 1920s. Back then, she was a joyful, high-spirited girl living with her dominant but good-hearted grandmother McSweeney... |
Marjorie 'Margie' MacDuff | also Soundtrack | |
| 1948 | You Were Meant for Me You Were Meant for Me (film) You Were Meant for Me is a 1948 20th Century Fox musical film directed by Lloyd Bacon starring Dan Dailey and Jeanne Crain as a bandleader and his wife. Marilyn Monroe worked on the film as an uncredited extra.-See also:... |
Peggy Mayhew | |
| Apartment for Peggy Apartment for Peggy Apartment for Peggy is a 1948 film about a depressed professor whose spirits are lifted when he rents part of his home to a young couple. It was based on the novelette An Apartment for Jenny by Faith Baldwin. Campus exteriors were filmed at the University of Nevada, Reno.-Plot:Jason Taylor is a... |
Peggy Taylor | also Soundtrack | |
| 1949 | A Letter to Three Wives A Letter to Three Wives A Letter to Three Wives is a 1949 film which tells the story of a woman who mails a letter to three women, telling them she has left town with the husband of one of them. It stars Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas in his film debut, Jeffrey Lynn, and Thelma Ritter... |
Deborah Bishop | |
| The Fan The Fan (1949 film) The Fan is a 1949 American drama film directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Dorothy Parker, Walter Reisch, and Ross Evans is based on the 1892 play Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde... |
Lady Margaret 'Meg' Windermere | a.k.a. Lady Windermere's Fan | |
| Pinky | Patricia 'Pinky' Johnson | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... |
|
| 1950 | Cheaper by the Dozen Cheaper by the Dozen (1950 film) Cheaper by the Dozen is a 1950 film based upon the 1948 book Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. The film and book describe growing up in a family with twelve children in Montclair, New Jersey. It was made in Technicolor with Leon Shamroy as cinematographer... |
Ann Gilbreth | |
| I'll Get By I'll Get By (film) I'll Get By is a 1950 Technicolor musical directed by Richard Sale, and starring June Haver and William Lundigan.-Plot synopsis:This work follows themes explored in 1940's Tin Pan Alley, with updated characters and music... |
Jeanne Crain | uncredited Cameo appearance Cameo appearance A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television... |
|
| 1951 | Take Care of My Little Girl Take Care of My Little Girl Take Care of My Little Girl is a 1951 drama film directed by Jean Negulesco. The film, shot in Technicolor, is based on the 1950 novel of the same name written by Peggy Goodin.-Plot:... |
Elizabeth 'Liz' Erickson | |
| People Will Talk People Will Talk People Will Talk is a romantic comedy/drama directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck from a screenplay by Mankiewicz, based on the German play by Curt Goetz, which had been made into a movie in Germany... |
Deborah Higgins | ||
| The Model and the Marriage Broker The Model and the Marriage Broker The Model and the Marriage Broker is a 1951 comedy film about a model who is so pleased with the work of a marriage broker, she decides to return the favor.-Cast:* Jeanne Crain as Kitty Bennett* Scott Brady as Matt Hornbeck* Thelma Ritter as Mae Swasey... |
Kitty Bennett | ||
| 1952 | Belles on Their Toes Belles on their Toes (film) Belles on Their Toes is a film based on the eponymous novel, Belles on Their Toes by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. The film had its debut in New York City on May 2, 1952. It was directed by Henry Levin. Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron wrote the screenplay... |
Ann Gilbreth | a.k.a. Belles on Their Toes: The Further Adventures of the Gilbreth Family |
| O. Henry's Full House O. Henry's Full House O. Henry's Full House is an anthology film made by 20th Century Fox, consisting of five separate stories by O. Henry. The film was produced by André Hakim and directed by five separate directors from five separate screenplays. The music score was composed by Alfred Newman... |
Della Young | Segment The Gift of the Magi | |
| 1953 | Dangerous Crossing Dangerous Crossing Dangerous Crossing is a 1953 Black & white noirish, mystery film, directed by Joseph M. Newman and starring Jeanne Crain and Michael Rennie, based on a the 1943 play Cabin B-13 by John Dickson Carr.-Plot synopsis:... |
Ruth Stanton Bowman | |
| Vicki Vicki (film) Vicki is a film noir directed by Harry Horner and based on the novel I Wake Up Screaming, written by Steve Fisher. The picture is a remake of the 1941 film I Wake Up Screaming also released by 20th Century Fox.-Plot:... |
Jill Lynn | ||
| City of Bad Men | Linda Culligan | ||
| 1954 | Duel in the Jungle | Marian Taylor | |
| 1955 | Man Without a Star Man Without a Star Man Without a Star is a 1955 western film starring Kirk Douglas as a wanderer who gets dragged into a range war. It was based on the novel of the same name by Dee Linford.-Plot:... |
Reed Bowman | |
| Gentlemen Marry Brunettes Gentlemen Marry Brunettes Gentlemen Marry Brunettes is a 1955 musical film produced by Russ-Field productions, starring Jane Russell and Jeanne Crain, and released by United Artists... |
Connie Jones/Mitzi Jones | also Soundtrack | |
| The Second Greatest Sex | Liza McClure | also Soundtrack | |
| 1956 | The Fastest Gun Alive The Fastest Gun Alive The Fastest Gun Alive is a 1956 western film starring Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain and Broderick Crawford.-Plot:Notorious gunslinger George Kelby Jr. and his wife Dora settle down in a peaceful little town of Cross Creek under assumed identities to avoid having to continually face men out to become... |
Dora Temple | |
| 1957 | The Tattered Dress The Tattered Dress -Plot:In a California resort community, the wealthy Michael Reston is charged with the murder of a man he claimed attacked his wife, Charleen.Reston hires a high-priced lawyer, James Gordon Blane, a man known to do anything it takes to win a case. Blane makes few friends in the community because... |
Diane Blane | |
| The Joker Is Wild The Joker Is Wild The Joker Is Wild is a film starring Frank Sinatra, Jeanne Crain, and Mitzi Gaynor, and Eddie Albert which tells the story of Joe E. Lewis, the popular singer and comedian who was a major attraction in nightclubs during 1920s to early 1950s.... |
Letty Page | a.k.a. All the Way | |
| 1960 | Guns of the Timberland Guns of the Timberland Guns of the Timberland is a 1960 feature film starring Alan Ladd and Jeanne Crain. It was made by Ladd's Jaguar Productions and released through Warner Bros..-Plot:... |
Laura Riley | |
| 1961 | Twenty Plus Two | Linda Foster | a.k.a. It Started in Tokyo |
| Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile is a 1961 Italian Sword-and-sandal historical drama written and directed by Fernando Cherchio and produced for MAX Film by Ottavio Poggi. The film stars Jeanne Crain, Edmund Purdom, and Vincent Price... |
Tenet/Nefertiti Nefertiti Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only... |
Original title: Nefertiti, regina del Nilo | |
| 1962 | Madison Avenue | Peggy Shannon | |
| Pontius Pilate | Claudia Procula Pontius Pilate's wife Pontius Pilate's wife is unnamed in the New Testament, where she appears a single time in the Gospel of Matthew. Alternate Christian traditions have referred to her as Saint Procula or Saint Claudia, and the combinations Claudia Procles and Claudia Procula have been used... |
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 Hot Rods to Hell Hot Rods to Hell is a 1967 suspense film, originally intended for television, but released in theaters instead after its producers considered it too intense for TV viewers. It is one of many exploitation-type films from noted producer Sam Katzman, whose work is generally regarded as of higher... |
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 Playhouse 90 Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California... |
Daisy Buchanan | 1 episode |
| Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, is a weekly CBS anthology television series, was telecast on Friday nights from 1951 until 1959. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by Schlitz beer... |
Ruth Elliot | 1 episode | |
| 1959 | Meet Me in St. Louis | Rose Smith | TV movie |
| Goodyear Theatre Goodyear Theatre Goodyear Theatre is a 30-minute dramatic television anthology series telecast on NBC from 1957 to 1960 for a total of 55 episodes. The live show was derected by Don Taylor, Arthur Hiller and James Sheldon... |
Lila Babrek Barnes | 1 episode | |
| Riverboat Riverboat (TV series) Riverboat is a western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds that was broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961.... |
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 Burke's Law Burke's Law is a detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud... |
Amy Booth / Lorraine Turner / Polly Martin | 3 episodes |
| 1968 | The Danny Thomas Hour The Danny Thomas Hour The Danny Thomas Hour is an American anthology television series that was broadcast on NBC during the 1967-68 television season.-Synopsis:... |
Frances Merrill | 1 episode |
| The Name of the Game The Name of the Game (TV series) The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for the likes of The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s... |
Mrs. McKendricks | 1 episode | |
| 1972 | Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and former law professor Jerry McNeely, that starred actor Arthur Hill. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1971 to 1974... |
Lily MacMurdy | 1 episode |
External links
- Grace, Francie (December 15, 2003). "Actress Jeanne Crain Dead At 78 — Appeared In 64 Films, Co-Starred With Holden, Sinatra, Kirk Douglas". The Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
(via CBS NewsCBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
). Accessed January 8, 2010. - jeannecrain.org, a Jeanne Crain tribute website by Crain's granddaughter Bret Crain Csupo
- Photographs and literature