Kim Stanley

Kim Stanley

Photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1961
Born Patricia Reid
(1925-02-11)February 11, 1925
Tularosa, New Mexico, U.S.
Died August 20, 2001(2001-08-20) (aged 76)
Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.
Alma mater Actors Studio
University of New Mexico
Occupation Actress
Years active 1950–1985
Spouse(s) Bruce Hall (1945–1946; divorced)
Curt Conway (1949–1956; divorced; 1 child)
Alfred Ryder (1958–1964; divorced; 1 child)
Joseph Siegel (1964–1967; divorced)

Kim Stanley (February 11, 1925 – August 20, 2001) was an American actress, primarily in television and theatre, but with occasional film performances.

She began her acting career in theatre, and subsequently attended the Actors Studio in New York City, New York. She received the 1952 Theatre World Award for her role in The Chase (1952), and starred in the Broadway productions of Picnic (1953) and Bus Stop (1955). Stanley was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her roles in A Touch of the Poet (1959) and A Far Country (1962).

In the 1950s, Stanley was a prolific performer in television, and later progressed to film, with a well-received performance in The Goddess (1959). She was the narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and starred in Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), for which she won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was less active during the remainder of her career; two of her later film successes were as the mother of Frances Farmer in Frances (1982), for which she received a second Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, and as Pancho Barnes in The Right Stuff (1983). She received an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie for her performance as Big Mama in a television adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1985. That same year, Kim Stanley was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.[1]

Early life

Stanley was born Patricia Reid in Tularosa, New Mexico, the daughter of Ann (née Miller), an interior decorator, and J. T. Reid, a professor of philosophy and education at the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque.[2] Her father was of Irish or Scottish descent, born and raised in Texas, where he met her mother (who was of German and English ancestry). She had three brothers (Howard Clinton Reid, a psychiatrist; Kenneth Reid, killed in pilot training during World War II; and Justin Truman Reid, a lawyer); and a half-sister, Carol Ann Reid.[2] She was a drama major at the University of New Mexico and later studied at the Pasadena Playhouse and adopted her maternal grandmother's surname as her stage name.[2]

Career

Theatre

Stanley was a successful Broadway actress with only a few film roles. She was singled out by The New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson for her early work. She eventually attended the Actors Studio, studying under Elia Kazan, Lee Strasberg and Vivian Nathan.[3] She received the 1952 Theatre World Award for her performance as Anna Reeves in The Chase,[4] and starred in such Broadway hits as Picnic (1953), playing Millie Owens and Bus Stop (1955), playing Cherie.

She was nominated for the 1959 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for A Touch of the Poet and the 1962 Tony for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Elizabeth von Ritter in Henry Denker's A Far Country. Stanley also portrayed Maggie "The Cat" in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the original London production of the play.

Television

Stanley was a leading lady of live television drama, which flourished in New York City during the 1950s. Among her many starring roles was Wilma, a star-struck 15-year-old girl from the U.S. Gulf Coast of Texas in Horton Foote's A Young Lady of Property, which aired on The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse on April 5, 1953. She was in the London performance of "Masha" in an Actors Studio production of Anton Chekhov's play The Three Sisters

Film

Her first film was The Goddess (1958), playing a tragic movie star. She starred in Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), winning both the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

A filmed version of Strasberg-directed Three Sisters (1966) opened with Stanley reprising the role of Masha, and is the only time one can see her perform in a film alongside Geraldine Page, Sandy Dennis, Shelley Winters and other well-known names of the Actors Studio. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance as Frances Farmer's possessive mother in Frances (1982). She also played Pancho Barnes in The Right Stuff (1983). Stanley was the uncredited narrator in the drama film To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). As the narrator, she represents the character Jean Louise Finch ("Scout") as an adult. Mary Badham portrays Scout as a child in the film.

She received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her appearance in the episode, "A Cardinal Act of Mercy" (1963), of the television series, Ben Casey (1961–1966), and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for her appearance in the 1984 television adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Southern melodrama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, this time as Big Mama.

Last years

Stanley did not act during her later years, preferring the role of teacher, in New York City, Los Angeles, California, and later Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she died.

She was inducted into the New Mexico Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2012.

Personal life

Stanley was married four times – to Bruce Hall (1945–46), Curt Conway (1949–56), Alfred Ryder (1958–64) and Joseph Siegel (1964–67) – with all four marriages ending in divorce.

She had three children, one by Conway, one by Brooks Clift (brother of Montgomery Clift) while she was married to Conway, and one by Ryder (Laurie). During her marriage to Ryder, Stanley converted to Judaism.[5]

Death

Stanley died of uterine cancer at a Santa Fe, New Mexico, nursing home at the age of 76. She was survived by her brother Justin, her three children, and several nephews and nieces. A biography, Female Brando: the Legend of Kim Stanley (2006), by Jon Krampner, was published by Back Stage Books, a division of Watson-Guptill.

Stage work

Partial listing of stage work:[6]

Opening date Closing date Title Role Playwright Theatre Notes
Oct 29, 1949 Dec 24, 1949 Montserrat[7] Replacement for Julie Harris as Felisa Lillian Hellman adaptation
original Emmanuel Roblès 		Fulton
Jan 7, 1951 Jan 20, 1951 The House of Bernarda Alba[8] Adela Federico García Lorca
Translation James Graham Lujan and Richard L. O'Connell 		ANTA
Apr 15, 1952 May 10, 1952 The Chase[9] Anna Reeves Horton Foote Playhouse 1952 Theatre World Award[10] for Kim Stanley
Feb 19, 1953 Apr 10, 1954 Picnic[11] Millie Owens William Inge Music Box
Oct 27, 1954 Nov 20, 1954 The Traveling Lady[12] Georgette Thomas Horton Foote Playhouse
Mar 2, 1955Apr 21, 1956 Bus Stop[13] Cherie William Inge Music Box
Winter Garden
Jan 10, 1957 Feb 9, 1957 A Clearing in the Woods[14] Virginia Arthur Laurents Belasco
Oct 2, 1958 Jun 13, 1959 A Touch of the Poet[15] Sara Melody Eugene O'Neill Helen Hayes Tony Award nomination, Best Actress
Oct 12, 1959 Nov 28, 1959 Chéri[16] Léa de Lonval Anita Loos
Colette 		Morosco
Apr 4, 1961Nov 25, 1961 A Far Country[17] Elizabeth von Ritter Henry Denker Music Box Tony Award nomination, Best Actress
Jan 31, 1963 Mar 02, 1963 Natural Affection[18] Sue Barker William Inge Booth
Jun 22, 1964 Oct 03, 1964 The Three Sisters[19] Masha Anton Chekhov
Randall Jarrell English version 		Morosco

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1958 The Goddess Emily Ann Faulkner
1962 To Kill a Mockingbird Scout as an Adult - Narrator
1964 Séance on a Wet Afternoon Myra Savage Laurel Award for Top Dramatic Performance, Female (3rd place)
National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nominated-Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated-BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role;[20]
1966 The Three Sisters Masha
1982 Frances Lillian Farmer Nominated-Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated-Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture[21]
1983 The Right Stuff Pancho Barnes

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1950 The Magnavox Theatre Unknown Father, Dear Father
1950 Cavalcade of Stars Self Episode #1.53
1950 Sure As Fate Unknown The Vanishing Lady
1950 The Trap Unknown Sentence of Death
1950 Escape Unknown The Covenant
1951 Danger Unknown The Anniversary
1951 Out There Unknown The Bus to Nowhere
1952 Danger Helen The System
1954 Danger Unknown The Bet
1953 You Are There Cleopatra The Death of Cleopatra (30 B.C.)
1953 You Are There Joan of Arc The Final Hours of Joan of Arc (May 30, 1431)
1953 The Gulf Playhouse Unknown The Tears of My Sister
1953 The Ed Sullivan Show Self Episode #6.36
1952 Goodyear Television Playhouse Unknown The Witness
1954 Goodyear Television Playhouse Unknown The Brownstone
1956 Goodyear Television Playhouse Kay Joey
1956 Goodyear Television Playhouse Unknown In the Days of Our Youth
1956 Goodyear Television Playhouse Unknown Conspiracy of Hearts
1953 The Philco Television Playhouse Unknown A Young Lady of Property
1953 The Philco Television Playhouse Unknown The Strong Women
1953 The Philco Television Playhouse Unknown The Sixth Sense
1954 The Philco Television Playhouse Unknown Somebody Special
1954 Armstrong Circle Theatre Unknown H Is for Hurricane
1954 Inner Sanctum Mystery Maggie The Hands
1954 Kraft Television Theatre Unknown The Scarlet Letter
1956 Kraft Television Theatre Unknown Death Is a Spanish Dancer
1957 Kraft Television Theatre Unknown The Glass Wall
1955 A.N.T.A. Album of 1955 Herself Production of American National Theater and Academy
1955 Playwrights 56 Abby The Waiting Place
1955 Playwrights 56 Martha Anderson Flight
1955 The Elgin Hour Lili The Bridge
1957 Westinghouse Studio One Georgette Thomas The Traveling Lady
1957 Playhouse 90 Mae D'Amato Clash by Night
1960 Playhouse 90 Sarah Eubanks Tomorrow
1958 Armchair Theatre Georgette Thomas The Travelling Lady
1960 Armchair Theatre Unknown The Cake Baker
1960 DuPont Show of the Month Sarah Anne Howe Ethan Frome
1962 Westinghouse Presents: That's Where the Town Is Going Wilma Sills
1963 Ben Casey Faith Parsons A Cardinal Act of Mercy:, Parts 1 and 2
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role[22]
1964 The Eleventh Hour Unknown Does My Mother Have to Know?:, Parts 1 and 2
1968 Flesh and Blood Della TV movie
1969 Medical Center Joanna Hanson U.M.C.
1971 Medical Center Nurse Hull Secret Heritage
1970 Dragon Country Unknown
1971 Night Gallery Elizabeth Croft A Fear of Spiders/Junior/Marmalade Wine/The Academy
1971 The Name of the Game Veta Marie Goss The Man Who Killed a Ghost
1982 It Takes Two Mrs. Tandy Death Penalty
1983 55th Academy Awards Self
1983 Quincy, M.E. Mrs. Edith Jordan Beyond the Open Door
1984 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Big Mama Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special[23]
2005 The Needs of Kim Stanley SelfDocumentary

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Broadway's Best". New York Times.
  2. 1 2 3 Biodata
  3. ↑ Barnes, Mike (2015-04-10). "Vivian Nathan, Original Member of The Actors Studio, Dies at 98". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  4. ↑ Internet Broadway Database: The Chase Production Credits
  5. ↑ Bloom, Nate. "Interfaith Celebrities". InterfaithFamily.com. Retrieved 2013-01-10.
  6. ↑ "Kim Stanley". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Montserrat". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "The House of Bernarda Alba". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "The Chase". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  10. ↑ Hodges, Ben (2009). Theatre World, Volume 65: 2008-2009. Applause. p. 364. ISBN 978-1-4234-7369-5.
  11. ↑ "Picnic". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "The Traveling Lady". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "Bus Stop". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "A Clearing in the Woods". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "A Touch of the Poet". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  16. ↑ "'Chéri". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "A Far Country". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "Natural Affection". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "The Three Sisters". IBDB. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  20. ↑ August 2013
  21. ↑ "Kim Stanley nomination". Golden Globes. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  22. ↑ "1963 Award". Primetime Emmy Awards. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "1985 Emmy Award". Primetime Emmys. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
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