Miriam Hopkins
Miriam Hopkins | |
---|---|
Born | Ellen Miriam Hopkins October 18, 1902 Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
Died | October 9, 1972 New York City, U.S. | (aged 69)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1921–1970 |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouses |
|
Children | 1 |
Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an American actress known for her versatility.[1] She signed with Paramount Pictures in 1930.
She portrayed a pickpocket in
Her long-running feud with actress Bette Davis was publicized for effect. Hopkins later became a pioneer of TV drama. She was considered a distinguished hostess in Hollywood and moved in intellectual and creative circles.
Early life
Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, to Homer Hopkins and Ellen Cutler.[2] Her early childhood home was located at 321 Whitaker St (since demolished).[3] She was raised in Bainbridge, near the Alabama border. She had an older sister, Ruby (1900–1990).[4] Her maternal great-grandfather, the fourth mayor of Bainbridge, had helped establish St. John's Episcopal Church in the city.[5] Hopkins sang in the choir as a girl.[6]
In 1909, she briefly lived in Mexico with her family. After her parents separated, Hopkins moved as a teen with her mother to Syracuse, New York, to be near her paternal uncle, Thomas Cramer Hopkins, head of the geology department at Syracuse University.[7]
Hopkins attended Goddard Seminary in
Career
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At age 20, Hopkins became a
In 1930, Hopkins signed with Paramount Pictures and made her official film debut in Fast and Loose. Her first great success was in the 1931 horror drama film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where she portrayed Ivy Pearson, a prostitute who becomes entangled with Jekyll and Hyde. She received rave reviews, including one from Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times, saying she portrayed Ivy "splendidly".[8]
Her career ascended swiftly. In 1932, she made her breakthrough in Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise, where she proved her charm and wit as a beautiful and jealous pickpocket.[9] During the pre-code Hollywood of the early 1930s, she appeared in The Smiling Lieutenant, The Story of Temple Drake, and Design for Living, all of which were box-office successes and critically acclaimed.[10] Design for Living ranked as one of the top ten highest-grossing films of 1933.
Hopkins' early films were considered sexually risqué; produced in the years before the
Hopkins was one of the early actresses approached to play the role of Ellie Andrews in It Happened One Night (1934). She rejected the part, and Claudette Colbert was cast.[11] Hopkins auditioned for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind; she was the only candidate to be a native Georgian, but the part went to British actress Vivien Leigh.
Hopkins had well-publicized fights with Bette Davis. Hopkins and Davis co-starred in The Old Maid (1939) and Old Acquaintance (1943). In this period, she believed that Davis was having an affair with her husband Anatole Litvak.[12] Davis resented her jealousy and said that she had enjoyed shaking Hopkins in a scene in Old Acquaintance after Hopkins's character makes unfounded allegations against Davis's. Press photos featured the two divas in a boxing ring, gloves up, with the director Vincent Sherman between them like a referee. In later interviews, Davis described Hopkins as a "terribly good actress", but also "terribly jealous".[citation needed]
After Old Acquaintance, Hopkins did not work in films again until
Hopkins was a television pioneer. She performed in teleplays from the late 1940s through the late 1960s, in such programs as The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1949), Pulitzer Prize Playhouse (1951), Lux Video Theatre (1951–1955), and in episodes of The Investigators (1961) and The Outer Limits (1964), and even in an episode of The Flying Nun ("Bertrille and the Silent Flicks") in 1969.
She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for film at 1709 Vine Street and one for television at 1716 Vine Street.[13]
Personal life
Hopkins married four times. Her first marriage was to actor Brandon Peters, second to aviator and screenwriter Austin Parker, third to the director Anatole Litvak, and fourth to war correspondent Raymond B. Brock. In 1932, she adopted a son, Michael T. Hopkins (March 29, 1932 – October 5, 2010), who had a career in the U.S. Air Force.[citation needed]
She was known for hosting elegant parties. John O'Hara, a frequent guest, noted that
most of her guests were chosen from the world of the intellect ... Miriam knew them all, had read their work, had listened to their music, had bought their paintings. They were not there because a secretary had given her a list of highbrows.[14]
She was a staunch Democrat who strongly supported the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.[9]
Death
Hopkins died in New York City from a heart attack on October 9, 1972. She is buried in Oak City Cemetery in Bainbridge, Georgia.[citation needed]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1928 | The Home Girl | short Paramount film | |
1930 | Fast and Loose | Marion Lenox | Hopkins's feature film debut |
1931 | The Smiling Lieutenant | Princess Anna | The first of three films Hopkins made with Lubitsch |
24 Hours | Rosie Duggan | ||
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Ivy Pearson | ||
1932 | Two Kinds of Women | Emma Krull | |
Dancers in the Dark | Gloria Bishop | ||
The World and the Flesh | Maria Yaskaya | ||
Trouble in Paradise | Lily | Second film directed by Lubitsch and starring Hopkins | |
1933 | The Story of Temple Drake | Temple Drake | Based on Faulkner's scandalous novel Sanctuary |
The Stranger's Return | Louise Starr | ||
Design for Living | Gilda Farrell | Third and final film Hopkins and Lubitsch made together | |
1934 | All of Me | Lydia Darrow | |
She Loves Me Not | Curly Flagg | ||
The Richest Girl in the World | Dorothy Hunter | First of five films Hopkins and Joel McCrea made together | |
1935 | Becky Sharp | Becky Sharp | Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress The first feature film made in three-strip Technicolor |
Barbary Coast | Mary 'Swan' Rutledge | Second film starring Hopkins and McCrea | |
Splendor | Phyllis Manning Lorrimore | Third film starring Hopkins and McCrea | |
1936 | These Three | Martha Dobie | The film was adapted from the 1934 play The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman. Fourth film starring Hopkins and McCrea |
Men Are Not Gods | Ann Williams | ||
1937 | The Woman I Love | Madame Helene Maury | Hopkins married director Anatole Litvak shortly after this film was made. |
Woman Chases Man | Virginia Travis | Final film Hopkins and Joel McCrea made together | |
Wise Girl | Susan 'Susie' Fletcher | ||
1939 | The Old Maid | Delia Lovell Ralston | The first of two films Hopkins made with Bette Davis |
1940 | Virginia City | Julia Hayne | Hopkins co-starred with Errol Flynn |
Lady with Red Hair | Mrs. Leslie Carter | ||
1942 | A Gentleman After Dark | Flo Melton | |
1943 | Old Acquaintance | Millie Drake | Second of two films Hopkins made with Bette Davis. |
1949 | The Heiress | Lavinia Penniman | Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
1951 | The Mating Season | Fran Carleton | |
1952 | The Outcasts of Poker Flat | Mrs. Shipton / 'The Duchess' | |
Carrie | Julie Hurstwood | ||
1961 | The Children's Hour | Lily Mortar | Hopkins had starred in the original film adaptation of the play The Children's Hour titled These Three in the role of Martha Dobie. In this film, Shirley MacLaine played Martha, and Miriam Hopkins played her Aunt Lily. |
1964 | Fanny Hill | Mrs. Maude Brown | |
1966 | The Chase | Mrs. Reeves | Hopkins played the mother of Robert Redford's character |
1970 | Savage Intruder | Katharine Parker |
Short Subjects:
- "The Home Girl" (1928)
- "Hollywood on Parade No. B-1" (1933)
See also
References
- ^ Obituary Variety, October 11, 1972, p. 71.
- ^ Virginia, Marriage Records 1936–2014
- ^ "GHS 1360 Cordray-Foltz Photography Studio photographs, Georgia Historical Society". georgiahistory.com. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
- ^ 1910 United States Federal Census
- ^ "St. John's Episcopal Church, Bainbridge, GA". Episcopal Church. June 13, 2011.
- ^ "Miriam Hopkins (1902–1972)". Georgiaencyclopedia.org. August 28, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
- ^ a b T.C. Hopkins Faculty Profile Archived 2014-11-13 at the Wayback Machine, archives.syr.edu; accessed June 27, 2015.
- ^ The New York Times Book of Movies: The Essential 1,000 Films to See, Universe Publishing, 2019, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", p. 310, first published January 2, 1932
- ^ ISBN 9780231505772. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
- ^ Douglas W. Churchill (December 30, 1934). "The Year in Hollywood: 1984 May Be Remembered as the Beginning of the Sweetness-and-Light Era". New York Times. p. X5.
- ISBN 0-345-34453-7.
- ^ Soares, Andre (December 3, 2006). "Miriam Hopkins Biography in the Works". Alternative Film Guide.
- ^ "Miriam Hopkins". Hollywood Walk of Fame. 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ "TimesMachine". Timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved October 17, 2015.