According to August 1958 Hollywood Reporter news items, portions of the picture were shot at the Warner Bros. studio, the Methodist Church in Hollywood, CA, and at the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Los Angeles. Later, Lora invents a lie that gets her into the office of Allen Loomis, a well-known theatrical agent, but when he tries to make love to her, arguing that a successful actress must be willing to satisfy such requests, she angrily leaves. More than 40 women were considered for the role of Annie (Delilah in the original), including Pearl Bailey and classical singer Marian Anderson. Not many actors can boast that they've inspired a Bob Dylan song but Anthony Quinn - who passed away June 3rd at the age of 86 - was one of the select few. If some producer with a hand as cold as a toad wants to do a painting of you in the nude, you'll accommodate him for a very small part." Imitation of Life - Trivia - notstarring.com Imitation of Life became Universal's top-grossing film to that time, and Turner's most successful film ever. Natalie Wood was producer Ray Stark's first choice for the starring role, but he changed his mind after reading the script and instead offered the . (1952) provided him a wonderful role which he used to win a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. By using this site, you agree to our updated. Hunter offered a first-class production, with Jean Louis gowns and Laykin et Cie jewels, the leading women's director, Douglas Sirk, and a chance to make a lot of money, if Lana would work for a small salary plus half the net profits. Hunter offered Turner the starring role in a remake of Imitation of Life (1934). Both Kohner and Moore won Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Later, Lemmon claimed that he learned more about comic technique by watching these Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd two-reelers than acting school could have ever taught him. "Fine performances and direction overcome possible soapiness to make this Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Richard H. Riedel wayward daughter. Soon afterward, Steve, who has just been hired to promote a brand of beer, proposes to Lora, but she turns him down, saying that even though she loves him, marriage would prevent her from steadfastly pursuing a life in the theater. Although she has the second largest role in the film, Juanita Moore was billed seventh, behind actors with much smaller roles. Life.com unearthed these gems, which show her relaxing poolside at her first home and entertaining a few guests (including an impossibly young Dennis Hopper) in style.I highly recommend a trip over to Life.com to see their other images of Natalie Wood, along with . Oddly enough, in Viva Zapata! Famous Quotes from IMITATION OF LIFE Eve, Close-Up On Sunset Boulevard, and When Although Imitation of Life put Kohner on the fast track to stardom (she had three other features that year), she retired from acting in 1964 when she wed fashion designer John Weitz. Susanna "Susan" Kohner is an American retired actress who worked in film and television. Despite the film's success with black audiences, there also were African-Americans who resented the sympathetic depiction of Annie's (Moore) subservient nature and the casting of a white actress as her daughter. If a novelist had invented a character like Quinn, she would be accused of unbelievable invention. The rest of his career might be summed up by the year 1991 when he gathered critical acclaim for his appearance in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, was nominated for a Razzie as Worst Actor in Mobsters, co-starred with Bo Derek in Ghosts Can't Do It, worked beside John Candy and Macaulay Culkin in Chris Columbus' Only the Lonely and made a film so obscure it appears to have never appeared on video. As Steve looks on, the three women join hands in a gesture of comfort and love. He continued the same mix of classics and best-forgotten quickies throughout the 1960s and '70s. Imitation of Life. Born in New York on August 2nd, 1924, O'Connor served in the merchant marine during World War II before attending the University of Montana where he worked on the school newspaper. Quinn's acting debut was in 1936 initially in a handful of barely noticable spots as an extra until he landed a speaking role in Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman, supposedly on the recommendation of the film's star, Gary Cooper. Pauline Kael, who died September 3rd at the age of 82, was one of the handful of film critics who made a noticable impact on the way we view movies. Just then, Loomis offers her a role in a new comedy by well-known writer David Edwards, but Steve forbids her to visit Loomis, prompting her to accuse him of settling for less in his own career. Imitation of Life became Universal's biggest moneymaker to date, and a 1995 poll by the New York Daily News still ranked it as one of the top-ten all-time favorite films. Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscars for their searing portrayals of the African-American mother and daughter. She was only five when she entered the 2nd grade. Carroll O'Connor - who died June 21st at the age of 76 - will be best remembered for portraying Archie Bunker on TV's All in the Family but his career actually was much more extensive. Quoting the actress herself, she claimed, "I'm . Imitation of Life is the second film adaptation of Fannie Hurst 's 1933 novel of the same name; the first, directed by John M. Stahl, was released in 1934. Thanks to its provocative themes, the novel was a huge success. Ben Mankiewicz Intro -- Imitation Of Life (1959), Alicia Malone Intro -- Imitation Of Life (1959), Imitation Of Life (1959) -- (Movie Clip) A Maid To Live In, Imitation Of Life (1959) -- (Movie Clip) Ten Seconds Before You Die, Apr with surviving cast members, and superb storytelling The film was a major box office success. The series lasted until 1979 and brought O'Connor four Emmys, even leading to a four-year spinoff Archie Bunker's Place starring O'Connor. We strive to provide reliability in our movie trivia database, and we . C-125m. Natalie Wood - Death, Movies & Husband - Biography This video shows clips from the original 1934 film "Imitation of Life" directed by John Stall . Hollywood Reporter noted that in the novel on which the film is based, and in the 1934 film adaptation, the character played by Lana Turner "combined her business acumen with a recipe for pancakes invented by a Negro woman and reaped a fortune. She had her named changed to Sandra Dee (a stage name combining her shortened first name and using her stepfather's surname initial D to sign It was in Ireland that O'Connor started acting in several local productions. During her audition, Lora suggests that David rewrite portions of his play, and though angry at first, he soon realizes she is right. Produced - inevitably - by Ross Hunter. Natalie Wood - Trivia - notstarring.com By the late `60s, as "youth culture" movies became more confrontational and less frivolous with references to open sexuality and drugs in the American landscape, Dee's career began to peter out. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020) | Official Trailer | HBO HBO 2.7M subscribers Subscribe 2.1K Share 298K views 2 years ago The greatest roles of her life were behind the scenes.. Between theatrical gigs, he played piano accompaniment to silent films shown at the Knickerbocker Music Hall in New York. everything: mother love, musical numbers, backstage intrigue, race relations, Rather than dictating the way a scene should be played, he would take each actor aside, suggest what he wanted and ask how he or she felt about it. Lana Turner was back on top, and a rich woman as well. -- Kohner realizing the error of her ways. Are you black?" Natalie Wood, original name Natalia Nikolaevna Zackharenko, Zackharenko also spelled Zakharenko, (born July 20, 1938, San Francisco, California, U.S.died November 29, 1981, off Santa Catalina Island, California), American film actress who transitioned from child stardom to a successful movie career as an adult. Fannie Hurst's novel, Imitation of Life, was the story of two single mothers, one white and one black, who join forces and become successful businesswomen. quite credible and moving." Whether playing a cross-dressing jazz bassist or a bickering roommate, Lemmon has kept his fans in stitches for fifty years. personality drama that's both an irresistible women's Steve, now a company vice-president, learns that Sarah Jane is working as a chorus girl in Los Angeles, and Annie, convinced she is dying, flies to California for one last look at her daughter. Admission to each screening is $7 . It covers Natalie Wood's life from about age 4 to her death at age 43, and the investigations into her death since then. "My camera could easily have a love affair with you." Executives particularly valued his ability to deliver glamorous productions on relatively small budgets. Universal borrowed costume designer Jean Louis from Columbia for the film. TCM REMEMBERS CARROLL O'CONNOR 1924-2001 . By Cino Niles & Jeff Stafford Join 15 other subscribers Ross Hunter wanted to update the story, making the leading character an actress instead of a businesswoman, but keeping the race issue and the conflicts between mothers and daughters. Natalie Wood | Biography, Movies, Death, & Facts | Britannica At around 8 a.m., Wood's body was found about a mile south of the couple's yacht, off an isolated cove known as Blue Cavern Point. 1. Her deal for half the profits kept her financially comfortable for the rest of her life, particularly after fifth husband Fred May invested much of the money in real estate. -- John Gavin, as Steve Archer, coming on to Turner, as Lora Meredith. You name it, it's got it!" For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org. They eventually married and she gave birth to a son, Dodd Mitchell Darin in 1961. - Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide Quinn married his third wife in 1997; they had one son. "Imitation Of Life" was released 53 years ago today, on April 17th, 1959 and below, you'll find five pieces of information that even the biggest Sirk fans might not be aware of. "I'm going up and up and up, and nobody's going to pull me down!" Back home, she sobs in frustration while Annie attempts to comfort and encourage her. Quinn directed his only film in 1958, The Buccaneer, a commercial failure he later attributed to producer Cecil DeMille's interference. But both women suffer heartbreak caused by their daughters. Among the directors citing Sirk as an influence on their own work are John Waters and the late Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Quinn divorced DeMille's daughter and married the costumer. He eventually returned to his native Germany, where he taught film and made a few experimental pictures. Turner agreed, and the film succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams. and Susan Kohner their respective daughters, caught up Imitation of Life Brief Synopsis Two mothers, one white, one black, face problems with their rebellious daughters. During the publicity tour for the film, one reporter asked Susan Kohner if she had "minded" playing a black character. Lora and David argue when she decides to appear in another writer's drama, but her performance is brilliant, and this play, too, becomes an instant hit. Instead of accepting her offer, they made Imitation of Life their major offering for spring 1933. Susie, who has suffered from her busy mother's lack of attention despite the material advantages Lora has provided her, looks forward to taking a trip with Steve and Lora, but the plans are canceled when Lora excitedly accepts a coveted role in an Italian film. Actress. TCM REMEMBERS JACK LEMMON 1925-2001 Natalie Wood, Thelma Ritter. Two other popular releases in 1959, Gidget and A Summer Place, would make her a star and contribute to Imitation of Life's box office success. Natalie Wood | Imitation of Life His parents were involved in Pancho Villa's revolutionary struggle and must have made a striking couple since the father was half Irish and mother Mexican Indian. She still kept up with movies though, loving such smaller films as Vanya on 42nd Street and actors like Jim Carrey (who "has practically kept movies alive the past few years" she said in 1998). Susie (Sandra Dee) and Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner) are now teens, Lora (Lana Turner) now a Broadway star and Annie (Juanita Moore) still her . Imitation of Life (1959) - YouTube The film is. She wrote for several small publications and did a radio show on the groundbreaking network KPFA before finally landing a job at the high-profile McCall's only to be fired shortly after she panned The Sound of Music (1965) (which she called The Sound of Money). Onscreen, Lemmon's characters often found that they were the wrong men for their jobs. . Magazine "Why do we always have to sleep in the back?" Only producer Ross Hunter was consistently delivering solid box office returns. Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water 43:00 [This story previously aired on July 4, 2020.] Quinn continued in film parts that gathered acclaim: Crazy Horse in They Died With Their Boots On (1941), a gambler in The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), a soldier in Guadalcanal Diary (1943). Imitation of Life movie images: Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library. Archie became such an icon that his chair is now preserved in the Smithsonian. Director Douglas Sirk worked gently with his actors. In this part, take pleasure in our galleria of Natalie Wood near-nude photos as nicely. When Sarah Jane runs from Annie, her distressed mother turns to Lora and asks, "How do you explain to your child that she was born to be hurt?" Imitation of Life (1959) - User Reviews - IMDb But she was deeply in debt, and she needed to work. Closed captioning. In the background of her public rise to fame, Wood survived some of the worst situations life could throw at someone, just to mysteriously drown in a still-unsolved incident at only 43 years old. Although the Sarah Jane role had been played by black actress Washington in the original film version, for the re-make Universal cast white actress Susan Kohner, the daughter of Turner's agent Paul Kohner and Mexican actress Lupita Tovar. Imitation Of Life (1959) - (Movie Clip) A Maid To Live In daughter in the 1950s. Quinn was a pope in The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), an Islamic leader in The Message (1976), a thinly disguised Aristotle Onassis in The Greek Tycoon (1978) and an assortment of gangsters, con men, military leaders and what have you. His parents were involved in Pancho Villa's revolutionary struggle and must have made a striking couple since the father was half Irish and mother Mexican Indian. Quinn again won Best Supporting Actor playing painter Paul Gauguin Lust for Life (1956) which at the time was the shortest on-screen time to win an acting Oscar.