Deborah Kerr

Blessed with a natural beauty, Scotland-born actress Deborah Kerr (1921–2007) provided the cinema with memorable studies of English gentility. A star in British pictures before she was 21 and a Hollywood fixture from 1946 on, she projected a cool reserve and stoic nobility, often hinting at passion and insecurity beneath the surface. Frequently portraying selfless, sympathetic women, she was brilliant in such roles as Anna Leonowens in The King and I (1956). And in a fascinating departure from her normal range, her portrayal of the sexually frustrated Army wife in From Here to Eternity (1953) resulted in the screen’s most famous “clinch”—the beach scene with Burt Lancaster. Though she never won an Academy Award despite six nominations, Deborah Kerr received an honorary Oscar in 1994.

This illuminating study provides a comprehensive reassessment of Deborah Kerr's career, highlighting lesser-known aspects of her star persona. Sarah Street traces the specific qualities of Kerr's screen performances, paying close attention to facial expression, gesture, voice and costume. Covering many iconic films, including The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, From Here to Eternity, An Affair to Remember, The Innocents and Bonjour Tristesse, this book follows Kerr's journey from her foundational image as an 'English rose' to her performances of challenging roles in which she was cast against type. Illustrated with images from Kerr's films, this unique case study contributes to the critical understanding of film stars and screen performance.

The most celebrated "voice" in Hollywood speaks for herself! Everyone knows Marni Nixon...even if they think they don’t. One of the best-known and best-loved singing voices in the world, Nixon dubbed songs for Natalie Wood inWest Side Story, Audrey Hepburn inMy Fair Lady, and Deborah Kerr inThe King and I. She was the voice of Hollywood’s leading ladies, arriving in filmland after a debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at 17 and continuing her career with Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Stephen Sondheim, Rogers and Hammerstein, and many others. Her inspiring autobiography reveals Nixon as a singer, an actress, and a woman fighting for artistic recognition. Today, a survivor of breast cancer, she works on Broadway and television’sLaw & Order SVU, tours with her own stage show, and teaches master classes in voice.I Could Have Sung All Nightreveals the woman behind the screen in a frank, funny biography that is as remarkable as the woman whose story it tells. • Beloved show-biz icon Nixon dubbed the singing of Natalie Wood inWest Side Story, Deborah Karr inThe King and I, and Audrey Hepburn inMy Fair Lady—she now tells her story for the first time • Entertaining behind-the-scenes celebrity stories from six decades of performing • Nostalgia appeal, plus insider's account of the music and film worlds of the 20th century • Breast cancer survivor Nixon is an inspiration to millions of women

In classic Hollywood tradition, Farley Granger, a high school senior, was discovered by Sam Goldwyn's casting director in an off-Hollywood Boulevard play. Granger describes how he learned his craft as he went on to star in a number of films, giving an insider's view of working with Hitchcock on Strangers on a Train and Rope, Luchino Visconti on Senso, and Nick Ray on They Live by Night. He is eloquent about his bisexuality and tells of affairs with Patricia Neal, Arthur Laurents, Shelley Winters, Leonard Bernstein and Ava Gardner and his involvement with Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, and Tyrone Power. Granger recreates his legendary struggle to break his contract with Goldwyn. He had to buy his way out to work on Broadway. He describes the early days of live television and working with Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer, Helen Hayes, and Claire Bloom. He captures the thrill of acting on the stage with Janice Rule, June Havoc, Larry Hagman, Barbara Cook, and the National Repertory Theatre, where his determination paid off with an OBIE for his work in Tally & Son. Granger's delightful and elegant memoir Include Me Out captures the extravangance of Hollywood's Golden Age-and provides colorful portraits of many of its major players.

Adapting a novel for cinema or television is first and foremost a business enterprise, where the screenwriter has to take into account the wishes of conflicting interest groups, including producers, stars, directors, and spectators."

Hidden in a theaters orchestra-level wall is the pass door. Step through it, and you will enter the backstage area, but beware, once you enter, you will encounter the realities dwelling in the kingdom of make-believe. In this seriocomical look at life, with a whos who in the theater during the 1960s and 70s, attend the final days of the Golden Age of Theater and the beginnings of its new sounds Hair and Company. You will read about Carol Channing prior to her acclaim in Hello, Dolly! Liza Minnellis stage debut and Judy Garlands final stage appearance. Be a spectator during Hairs first year. Reach for something other than a glass of Remy Martin as you watch cognac shatter a relationship with Maggie Smith. Observe a coterie of distinguished Broadwayites destroy a gift from the United States Government. Be a witness to Deborah Kerrs strength knowing that shes in a failed play, and Billy Dee Williams, the then hot-hunk with the chiseled body, take on the role of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Also appearing (in order of appearance) are Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Barbra Streisand, Barbara Cook, Stan Getz, Ethel Merman, Fred Astaire, Elaine Stritch, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, James Baldwin, Kim Stanley, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, Fidel Castro, Doris Day, and Mae West. Fly to 1960s Havana; drive through France; experience the London of 1974, and visit Venice Beach, CA before it became an in-place. Youll see reality warp into illusion, then comprehend how a young boy, whose own family turned to illusion during World War II, spiraled to drugs and alcohol at adulthood. Youll also view that young gay man, who ignored reality in favor of illusion, immerse himself into a dark hole whose force of gravity was so intense that escape seemed improbable.