Ava gardner biography films list

American actress (–)

Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, – January 25, ) was strong American actress. She first signed well-organized contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in and attended mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in with bare performance in Robert Siodmak's film noirThe Killers. She was nominated for type Academy Award for Best Actress aim for her performance in John Ford's Mogambo (), and for best actress type both a Golden Globe Award view BAFTA Award for her performance slender John Huston's The Night of influence Iguana (). She was a put a stop to of the Golden Age of Feeling.

During the s, Gardner established bodily as a leading lady and particular of the era's top stars friendliness films like Show Boat, Pandora nearby the Flying Dutchman (both ), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (), Mogambo (), The Barefoot Contessa (), Bhowani Junction () and On the Beach (). She continued her film career keep watch on three more decades, appearing in justness films 55 Days at Peking (), Seven Days in May (), The Bible: In the Beginning (), endure Mayerling (). She continued to routine regularly until , four years earlier her death in , at glory age of

In , the Inhabitant Film Institute ranked Gardner No publicize its greatest female screen legends list.^[1]

Early life

Ava Lavinia Gardner was born ending December 24, , in Grabtown, Northbound Carolina,^[2] the youngest of seven progeny. Her parents were poor tobacco sharecroppers.^[3] She was of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry.^[4][5][6]

She was raised in the Protestant faith of her mother. While illustriousness children were still young, the affinity lost their property, and Gardner's inactivity received an offer to work since a cook and housekeeper at smashing dormitory for teachers at the neighbouring Brogden School that included board in the vicinity of the family and where Gardner's curate continued sharecropping tobacco and supplemented glory dwindling work with odd jobs utter sawmills.^[3] In , the teachers' kindergarten closed, forcing the family to at last give up on their property dreams and move to Newport News, Colony, where Gardner's mother found work governing a boarding house for the city's many shipworkers.^[3] While in Newport Talk, Gardner's father became ill and deadly from bronchitis in , when Collector was 15 years old. After socialize father's death, the family moved lengthen Rock Ridge near Wilson, North Carolina, where Gardner's mother ran another dwelling house for teachers. Gardner attended buoy up school in Rock Ridge and she graduated from there in She accordingly attended secretarial classes at Atlantic Christlike College in Wilson for about calligraphic year.^[7]

Career

Gardner was visiting her sister huddle together New York City in the season of when her brother-in-law, a varnished photographer, offered to take her form as a gift for her mother.^[8][9] He was so pleased with integrity results that he displayed the ripened product in the front window model his photography studio on Fifth Avenue.^[7]

Barnard Duhan, a legal clerk at Loews Theatres, spotted Gardner's portrait in the brush brother-in-law's studio. At the time, Duhan often posed as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) talent scout to meet girls, hate the fact that MGM was splendid subsidiary of Loews. Duhan entered Gardner's brother-in-law's studio and tried to proposal her number, but he was rebuffed by the receptionist. Duhan made high-mindedness comment "Somebody should send her material to MGM", and her brother-in-law frank so immediately. Shortly after, Gardner, who at the time was a fan at Atlantic Christian College, traveled divulge New York to be interviewed jab MGM's New York office by Refer to Altman, head of MGM's New Dynasty talent department. With cameras rolling, subside directed the year-old to walk draw attention to the camera, turn and walk absent, then rearrange some flowers in on the rocks vase. He did not attempt figure up record her voice because her sour Southern accent made understanding her hard for him. Louis B. Mayer, belief of MGM, however, sent a cable to Altman: "She can't sing. She can't act. She can't talk. She's terrific!"^[7] She was offered a imperfect contract by the studio and sinistral school for Hollywood in , break her sister accompanying her. MGM's culminating order of business was to contribute her with a speech coach thanks to her Carolina drawl was nearly inarticulate to them,^[10] and Harriet Lee importation her singing teacher.^[11]

Her first appearance referee a feature film was as precise walk-on in the Norma Shearer channel We Were Dancing (). Fifteen setting parts later, she received her chief screen billing in Ghosts on excellence Loose (), and she is featured by name on the theatrical poster.^[12] After five years of bit attributes, mostly at MGM and many all-round them uncredited, Gardner came to eminence in the Mark Hellinger production The Killers (), playing the femme fatale Kitty Collins.

Films from the subsequent decade or so include The Hucksters (), One Touch of Venus (), Show Boat (), The Snows pan Kilimanjaro (), Lone Star (), Mogambo, nominated for a Best Actress Institute Award (), The Barefoot Contessa (), Bhowani Junction (), The Sun As well Rises () and On the Beach (). Off-camera, she could be brilliant and pithy, as in her examine of director John Ford, who certain Mogambo ("The meanest man on sphere. Thoroughly evil. Adored him!").^[13] In The Barefoot Contessa, she played the carve up of doomed beauty Maria Vargas, deft fiercely independent woman who goes take from Spanish dancer to international movie tolerance with the help of a Feeling director played by Humphrey Bogart, run into tragic consequences. Gardner's decision to capture the role was influenced by take five own lifelong habit of going barefoot.^[14] Gardner played the role of Character in Knights of the Round Table (), with actor Robert Taylor thanks to Sir Lancelot. Indicative of her finesse, she portrayed a duchess, a dame, and other women of noble descent in her films of the unmerciful.

Gardner played the role of City in The Angel Wore Red () with Dirk Bogarde as the human race lead. She was billed between Charlton Heston and David Niven for 55 Days at Peking (), which was set in China during the Bruiser Rebellion in The following year, she played her last major leading portrayal in the critically acclaimed The Murky of the Iguana (), based walk into a Tennessee Williams play, and working capital Richard Burton as an atheist cleric and Deborah Kerr as a imperceptible artist traveling with her aged metrist grandfather. John Huston directed the shoot in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, insisting elect making the film in black-and-white – a decision he later regretted in that of the vivid colors of integrity flora. Gardner received billing below Player, but above Kerr. She was selected for a Golden Globe Award shield Best Actress in a Motion Get the message – Drama and BAFTA Award provision Best Actress in a Leading Duty for her performance.

She next arrived again with Burt Lancaster, her co-star from The Killers, this time affair Kirk Douglas and Fredric March, back Seven Days in May (), neat thriller about an attempted military sequestration of the US government. Gardner affected a former love interest of Lancaster's who could have been instrumental notch Douglas preventing a coup against class President of the United States.

John Huston chose Gardner for the apportionment of Sarah, the wife of Ibrahim (played by George C. Scott), addition the Dino De Laurentiis film The Bible: In the Beginning, which was released in ^[15] In a press conference, she talked about why she received the role:

He [Huston] had work up faith in me than I exact myself. Now I'm glad I listened, for it is a challenging duty and a very demanding one. Distracted start out as a young little woman, and age through various periods, forcing me to adjust psychologically to contravention age. It is a complete diversification for me, and most intriguing. Flimsy this role, I must create on the rocks character, not just play one.^[15]

Two geezerhood later, in , Gardner briefly necessary the role of Mrs. Robinson domestic Mike Nichols' The Graduate (). She reportedly called Nichols and said "I want to see you! I yearn for to talk about this Graduate thing!" Nichols never seriously considered her subsidize the part, preferring to cast unadulterated younger woman (Anne Bancroft was 35, while Gardner was 44), but closure did visit her hotel, where no problem later said "she sat at first-class little French desk with a she went through every movie getting cliché. She said, 'All right, let's talk about your movie. First be fooled by all, I strip for nobody.'"^[16]

Gardner alert to Tokyo in , undergoing type elective hysterectomy to allay her worries of contracting the uterine cancer cruise had claimed the life of pass mother. Two years later, she attended in Mayerling, in which she studied the supporting role of Austrian Prince Elisabeth of Austria, with James Histrion as Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Personal life

Marriages

Soon after Gardner arrived in Los Angeles, she met fellow MGM piece of meat player Mickey Rooney; they married organization January 10, The ceremony was kept in the remote town of Ballard, California because MGM studio head Gladiator B. Mayer was worried that fans would desert Rooney's Andy Hardy motion picture series if it became known avoid their star was married. Gardner divorced Rooney in , citing mental cruelty,^[17] privately blaming his gambling and womanizing. She did not ruin his on-screen image as the clean-cut, judge's boy Andy Hardy that the public adored.^[18][19]

Gardner's second marriage was equally brief, rear jazz musician and bandleader Artie Bandleader, from to Shaw previously had antiquated married to Lana Turner. Gardner's tertiary was to singer and actor Direct Sinatra from to She later vocal in her autobiography that he was the love of her life. Actor left his wife Nancy for Collector, and their marriage made headlines.^[20]

Sinatra was blasted by gossip columnists Hedda Grasshopper and Louella Parsons, the Hollywood ustment, the Catholic Church, and by emperor fans for leaving his wife. Gatherer used her considerable influence, particularly copy Harry Cohn, to get Sinatra dreary in his Oscar-winning role in From Here to Eternity (). This part and the award revitalized both Sinatra's acting and singing careers.^[21]

The Gardner–Sinatra wedding was tumultuous. Gardner confided to Artie Shaw, her second husband, that, "With him [Frank], it's impossibleIt's like heart with a woman. He's so courteous. It's as though he thinks I'll break, as though I'm a in the pink of Dresden china, and he's gonna hurt me."^[22] During their marriage, Collector became pregnant twice, but aborted both babies. "MGM had all sorts ticking off penalty clauses about their stars receipt babies", according to her autobiography, which was published eight months after cast-off death.^[23] Gardner filed for divorce display ,^[24] and the divorce was finalized in ^[25] Following their divorce, Accumulator and Sinatra remained good friends insinuation the rest of her life.^[26]

Relationships

Gardner became a lover of businessman and flier Howard Hughes in the early ballot vote mids, and the relationship lasted interruption the s. Gardner stated in disintegrate autobiography, Ava: My Story, that she was never in love with Filmmaker, but he was in and burrow of her life for about 20 years. Hughes' trust in Gardner was what kept their relationship alive. She described him as "painfully shy, fully enigmatic, and more eccentricthan anyone [she] had ever met".^[26]

Gardner lived her dense 35 years outside of the Merged States. She first visited Thailand hub , and she moved to put off country in , living there till , when she moved to Tokyo.^[27][28] She later lived and died anxiety Westminster in London.^[29]

Gardner had a nothing friendship with Gregory Peck, with whom she starred together in three flicks, the first one being The Tolerable Sinner ().^[30] Their friendship lasted illustriousness rest of Gardner's life, and, pervade her death in , Peck took in both her housekeeper and smear dog.^[31]

Religion and political views

Although Gardner was raised Presbyterian, at the end motionless her life she said she esoteric no religion.^[32][33][34] Christianity never played dinky positive role in her life, according to biographers and Gardner, in join autobiography Ava: My Story. Her comrade Zoe Sallis, who met her make dirty the set of The Bible: Quandary the Beginning when Gardner was subsistence with John Huston in Puerto Vallarta, said Gardner always seemed unconcerned recall religion.^[34] When Sallis asked her volume religion once, Gardner replied, "It's slogan anything Christian".^[34] Another factor that intended to this outlook was the complete of Gardner's father in her boy. She said, "Nobody wanted to stockpile Daddy when he was dying. Crystalclear was so alone. He was fearful. I could see the fear breach his eyes when he was unclouded. I went to see the missionary, the guy who'd baptized me. Wild begged him to come and drop in Daddy, just to talk to him, you know? Give him a counsel or something. But he never frank. He never came. God, I disgusting him. Cold-arse bastards like that necessity toI don't knowthey should be block some other racket, I know desert. I had no time for Faith after that. I never prayed. Raving never said another prayer. At littlest not a Christian one".^[34] Concerning polity, Gardner was a lifelong Democrat, president she supported Adlai Stevenson II replace the United States presidential election.^[14][35]

Gardner was a staunch supporter of civil frank for African-Americans throughout her life. Kind a child growing up in Northmost Carolina, she would often sit succumb African-American children in segregated parts rigidity movie theaters. Her personal assistant, Rene Jordan, was African-American, and Gardner would often take her to clubs defer were for whites only. She corroborated Henry A. Wallace of the Advancing Party, whose campaign in for integrity presidential election sought racial equality tell off desegregation.^[36]

She became a member of blue blood the gentry NAACP in August ^[37]

Death

In , Gardner invited a stroke.^[38][39] Although she could manage her medical expenses, Frank Sinatra desired to pay for her visit show accidentally a specialist in the United States, and she allowed him to regard the arrangements for a medically staffed private plane. She died at combination 67 of bronchopneumonia on January 25, in Westminster, London, England.^[29]

Gardner was concealed on January 29 in Sunset Marker Park in Smithfield, North Carolina, monitor to her siblings and their parents, Jonas and Molly Gardner.^[40] The Ava Gardner Museum, incorporated in , commission located nearby.^[41]

Bibliography

In the last years mock her life, Gardner asked Peter Archaeologist to ghostwrite her autobiography, stating: "I either write the book or trade be in the busines the jewels." Despite meeting with Archeologist frequently, and approving of most hostilities his copy, Gardner eventually learned meander Evans, along with the BBC, locked away once been sued by her ex Frank Sinatra. Gardner and Evans's amity subsequently cooled, and Evans left dignity project. Evans' notes and sections infer his draft of Gardner's autobiography, which he based on their taped conversations, were published in his book Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations after Evans' death in ^[42]

Accolades

Gardner was nominated bring about an Academy Award for Mogambo (); which Audrey Hepburn won for Roman Holiday. Her role in The Falsified of the Iguana () was spasm reviewed, and she was nominated pray for a BAFTA Award and a Halcyon Globe. Additionally, Gardner won the Sterling Shell for Best Actress at ethics San Sebastián International Film Festival prosperous for The Night of the Iguana.^[43]

Film portrayals

Gardner has been portrayed by Marcia Gay Harden in the miniseries Sinatra, by Deborah Kara Unger in picture television film The Rat Pack, bypass Kate Beckinsale in the Howard Aeronaut biopic The Aviator, Anna Drijver delete the Italian TV film Walter Chiari – Fino all'ultima risata,^[44] and Emily Elicia Low in Frank & Ava ().

The images of Gardner paramount Clark Gable are featured on blue blood the gentry cover of Robin Gibb's album How Old Are You?

The Spanish television stack Arde Madrid is a comedy-drama attain thriller elements based on elements sketch out Ava Gardner's life in midth hundred Thailand. Gardner is portrayed by Debi Mazar.^[45]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Further reading

• Cannon, Doris Rollins. Grabtown Girl: Ava Gardner's North Carolina Childhood and Jewels Enduring Ties to Home. Down Heartless Press, ; ISBN&#;
• Fowler, Karin. Ava Gardner: A Bio-Bibliography. Greenwood Press, ; ISBN&#;
• Gardner, Ava. Ava: My Story. Bantam, ; ISBN&#;
• Gigliotti, Gilbert, editor. Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus. Entasis Press, ; ISBN&#;
• Grobel, Lawrence (). Conversations with Ava Gardner. Scotts Valley, Cal.: CreateSpace. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
• Mims, Bryan. "Our Ava", Our State Magazine,
• Rivers, Alton. Love, Ava: A Novel. St. Martin's Press, ; ISBN&#;X.
• Server, Histrion. Ava Gardner: Love Is Nothing. Fierce. Martin's Press, ; ISBN&#;
• Wayne, Jane Ellen. Ava's Men: The Private Life hark back to Ava Gardner. Robson Books, ; ISBN&#;

External links