Claudette Colbert

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  • CLAUDETTE COLBERT


    Information From IMDb


    Date of Birth
    13 September 1903, Saint-Mandé, Seine [now Val-de-Marne], France


    Date of Death
    30 July 1996, Speightstown, Barbados (after a series of strokes)


    Birth Name
    Emilie Claudette Chauchoin


    Nickname
    Lily


    Height
    5' 4½" (1.64 m)


    Spouse
    Dr. Joel Pressman (24 December 1935 - 26 February 1968) (his death)
    Norman Foster (13 March 1928 - August 1935) (divorced)


    Mini Biography
    One of the brightest film stars to grace the screen was born Emilie Claudette Chauchoin on September 13, 1903, in Saint-Mandé, France. Her banker father moved the family to the United States when she was three. As Claudette grew up, she wanted nothing more than to play to Broadway audiences (in those days, any actress or actor worth their salt went for Broadway, not Hollywood). After her formal education ended, she enrolled in the Art Students League, where she paid for her dramatic training by working in a dress shop. She made her Broadway debut in 1923 in the stage production of "The Wild Wescotts". It was during this event that she adopted the name Claudette Colbert.


    When the Great Depression shut down most of the theaters, Claudette decided to make a go of it in films. Her first film was called For the Love of Mike (1927). Unfortunately, it was a box-office disaster. She wasn't real keen on the film industry, but with an extreme scarcity in theatrical roles, she had no choice but to remain. In 1929 she starred as Joyce Roamer in The Lady Lies (1929). The film was a success and later that year she had another hit entitled The Hole in the Wall (1929). In 1930 she starred opposite Fredric March in Manslaughter (1930), which was a remake of the silent version of eight years earlier. A year after that Claudette was again paired in a film with March, Honor Among Lovers (1931). It fared well at the box-office, probably only because it was the kind of film that catered to women who enjoyed magazine fiction romantic stories. In 1932 Claudette played the evil Poppeia in Cecil B. DeMille's last great work, The Sign of the Cross (1932), and once again was cast with March. Later the same year she was paired with Jimmy Durante in The Phantom President (1932). By now Claudette's name symbolized good movies and she, along with March, pulled crowds into the theaters with the acclaimed Tonight Is Ours (1933).


    The next year started a little on the slow side with the release of Four Frightened People (1934), where Claudette and her co-stars were at odds with the dreaded bubonic plague onboard a ship. However, the next two films were real gems for this young actress. First up, Claudette was charming and radiant in Cecil B. DeMille's spectacular Cleopatra (1934). It wasn't one of DeMille's finest by any means, but it was a financial success and showcased Claudette as never before. However, it was as Ellie Andrews, in the now famous It Happened One Night (1934), that ensured she would be forever immortalized. Paired with Clark Gable, the madcap comedy was a mega-hit all across the country. It also resulted in Claudette being nominated for and winning the Oscar that year for Best Actress. IN 1935 she was nominated again for Private Worlds (1935), where she played Dr. Jane Everest, on the staff at a mental institution. The performance was exquisite. Films such as The Gilded Lily (1935), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) and No Time for Love (1943) kept fans coming to the theaters and the movie moguls happy. Claudette was a sure drawing card for virtually any film she was in. In 1944 she starred as Anne Hilton in Since You Went Away (1944). Again, although she didn't win, Claudette picked up her third nomination for Best Actress.


    By the late 1940s and early 1950s she was not only seen on the screen but the infant medium of television, where she appeared in a number of programs. However, her drawing power was fading somewhat as new stars replaced the older ones. In 1955 she filmed the western Texas Lady (1955) and wasn't seen on the screen again until Parrish (1961). It was her final silver screen performance. Her final appearance before the cameras was in a TV movie, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987) (TV). She did, however, remain on the stage where she had returned in 1956, her first love. After a series of strokes, Claudette divided her time between New York and Barbados. She married surgeon Dr. Joel Pressman soon after and remained married until his death in 1968. In recent years she divided her time between an apartment in New York and a 200-year-old plantation house in Speightstown, Barbados, where she entertained such guests as Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan. She remained on Barbados after her stroke three years ago.On July 30, 1996, Claudette died in Speightstown, Barbados. She was 92.
    IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson


    Trivia
    Most shots of her in her films were of her left profile. She considered her left side to be her best and only rarely allowed full face or right profile shots; an injury to her nose had created a bump on the right. Once an entire set had to be rebuilt so she wouldn't have to show her right side, resulting in some cameramen calling the right side of her face "the dark side of the moon".


    Measurements: 32 1/2B-25-34 (according to her costumer) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)


    Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 111-112. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387


    Was nominated for Broadway's 1959 Tony Award as Best Actress (Dramatic) for "The Marriage-Go-Round."


    Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 115-117. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.


    Was named #12 Actress on The American Film Institute's 50 Greatest Screen Legends


    Urged good friend Charles Boyer to learn English, in order to further his American movie career.


    She was so convinced that she would lose the Oscar competition in 1935 to write-in nominee Bette Davis, that she decided not to attend the awards ceremony. When she, contrary to her belief, won that year for her performance in It Happened One Night (1934) she was summoned from a train station to pick up her Oscar.


    In Italy, in her early films, most notably the multi-Oscar winner It Happened One Night (1934), she was dubbed by Nella Maria Bonora. Unlike other prominent Hollywood actresses, Colbert didn't have an 'official Italian voice': She was often dubbed by Giovanna Scotto and Lidia Simoneschi but Marcella Rovena, Andreina Pagnani, Tina Lattanzi and Lia Orlandini lent their voice to her at some point as well.


    After filming The Secret Heart (1946) together, she and co-star June Allyson became great friends. Colbert became godmother to Allyson's daughter Pamela.


    Was offered the part of Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday (1940), but she turned it down. As a result Rosalind Russell was cast instead.


    A 1945 trade publication announced she was being considered for a role as a French aristocrat in The New Adventures of Don Juan (1948), but by the time this film came out in 1948, the role no longer existed.


    Twice appeared with fellow Academy Award winner Rex Harrison late in their careers in Broadway productions; "The Kingfisher" by William Douglas-Home opening at the Biltmore Theatre on December 16, 1978 running for 181 performances and "Aren't We All" by Frederick Lonsdale opening at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on April 2, 1985 running for 93 performances.


    Profiled in book "Funny Ladies" by Stephen Silverman. [1999]


    Personal Quotes
    Most of us don't know about happiness until it's over.


    I've always believed that acting is instinct to start with; you either have it or you don't.


    Audiences always sound like they're glad to see me, and I'm damned glad to see them. If they want you, you want to do it.


    I know what's best for me, after all I have been in the Claudette Colbert business longer than anybody.


    [after having been asked to write her autobiography] Books written by actresses are for the birds. Besides, what would I write? That somebody was looking for an Italian type to play the ingénue in a film and I might do?


    Why do grandparents and grandchildren get along so well? They have the same enemy - the mother.


    [to Bette Davis] You're the luckiest of us all. You started playing older women when you were young. So you never had to bridge the gap.


    [on Clark Gable] I was so happy to be within two feet of him.


    Salary
    Since You Went Away (1944) $265,000
    Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) $150,000
    The Bride Comes Home (1935) $150,000
    She Married Her Boss (1935) $50,000
    It Happened One Night (1934) $50,000


    Filmography
    Actor
    1987 The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (TV movie)...Alice Grenville
    1961 Parrish...Ellen McLean
    1957-1960 Zane Grey Theater (TV series)
    Beth Brayden / Lucy Horncuff
    – So Young the Savage Land (1960) … Beth Brayden
    – Blood in the Dust (1957) … Lucy Horncuff
    1959 The Bells of St. Mary's (TV movie)...Sister Benedict
    1958 Colgate Theatre (TV series)– Welcome to Washington (1958) … Elizabeth Harper
    1954-1958 General Electric Theater (TV series)
    Edith Miller
    – The Last Town Car, Part 2 (1958) … Edith Miller
    – The Last Town Car, Part 1 (1958) … Edith Miller
    – The Dark, Dark Hours (1954)
    1958 Suspicion (TV series)– The Last Town Car (1958) … Mrs. Edith Miller
    1957 Telephone Time (TV series)– Novel Appeal (1957) … Mary Roberts Rinehart
    1957 Playhouse 90 (TV series)– One Coat of White (1957) … Betsy Gregg
    1956 Robert Montgomery Presents (TV series)– After All These Years (1956)
    1956 Ford Star Jubilee (TV series)– Blithe Spirit (1956) … Ruth Condomine
    1956 Blithe Spirit (TV movie)..Ruth Condomine
    1955 Letter to Loretta (TV series)– A Pattern of Deceit (1955) … Guest Hostess
    1955 Texas Lady...Prudence Webb
    1954-1955 Climax! (TV series)
    Dr. Jane Everest / Sister Cecilia
    – The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia (1955) … Sister Cecilia
    – Private Worlds (1955) … Dr. Jane Everest
    – The White Carnation (1954)
    1955 The Ford Television Theatre (TV series)
    Elizabeth Hopkins / Lorna Gilbert
    – While We're Young (1955) … Elizabeth Hopkins
    – Magic Formula (1955) … Lorna Gilbert
    1954-1955 The Best of Broadway (TV series)
    Actress / Julie Cavendish
    – The Guardsman (1955) … Actress
    – The Royal Family (1954) … Julie Cavendish
    1954 Si Versailles m'était conté...Madame de Montespan
    1954 Love, Soldiers and Women...Elizabeth Whitefield (segment "Elisabeth")
    1952 The Planter's Wife...Liz Frazer
    1951 Let's Make It Legal...Miriam Halsworth
    1951 Bonaventure...Sister Mary Bonaventure
    1950 The Secret Fury...Ellen R. Ewing
    1950 Three Came Home...Agnes Newton Keith
    1949 Bride for Sale...Nora Shelley
    1948 Family Honeymoon...Katie Armstrong Jordan
    1948 Sleep, My Love...Alison Courtland
    1947 The Egg and I...Betty MacDonald
    1946 The Secret Heart...Lee Addams
    1946 Without Reservations..Christopher 'Kit' Madden
    1946 Tomorrow Is Forever...Elizabeth Hamilton
    1945 Guest Wife...Mary Price
    1944 Practically Yours...Peggy Martin
    1944 Since You Went Away...Mrs. Anne Hilton
    1943 So Proudly We Hail!...Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson
    1943 No Time for Love...Katherine Grant
    1942 The Palm Beach Story...Gerry Jeffers
    1941 Remember the Day...Nora Trinell
    1941 Skylark...Lydia Kenyon
    1940 Arise, My Love...Augusta (Gusto) Nash
    1940 Boom Town...Betsy Bartlett
    1939 Drums Along the Mohawk...Lana (Magdelana)
    1939 It's a Wonderful World...Edwina Corday
    1939 Midnight...Eve Peabody aka Baroness Czerny
    1938 Zaza...Zaza
    1938 Bluebeard's Eighth Wife...Nicole De Loiselle
    1937 Tovarich...Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna Romanov
    1937 I Met Him in Paris...Kay Denham
    1937 Maid of Salem...Barbara Clarke
    1936 Under Two Flags...Cigarette
    1935 The Bride Comes Home...Jeannette Desmereau
    1935 She Married Her Boss...Julia Scott
    1935 Private Worlds...Dr. Jane Everest
    1935 The Gilded Lily...Marilyn David
    1934 Imitation of Life...Beatrice 'Bea' Pullman
    1934 Cleopatra...Cleopatra
    1934 It Happened One Night...Ellie
    1934 Four Frightened People...Judy Jones
    1933 Torch Singer...Sally Trent, aka Mimi Benton
    1933 Three-Cornered Moon...Elizabeth Rimplegar
    1933 I Cover the Waterfront...Julie Kirk
    1933 Tonight Is Ours...Princess Nadya
    1932 The Sign of the Cross...Empress Poppaea
    1932 The Phantom President...Felicia Hammond
    1932 The Man from Yesterday...Sylvia Suffolk
    1932 Misleading Lady...Helen Steele
    1932 The Wiser Sex...Margaret Hughes
    1931 His Woman...Sally Clark
    1931 Secrets of a Secretary...Helen Blake
    1931 The Smiling Lieutenant...Franzi
    1931 Honor Among Lovers...Julia Traynor
    1930 L'énigmatique Monsieur Parkes...Lucy Stavrin
    1930 La grande mare...Barbara Billings
    1930 Manslaughter..Lydia Thorne
    1930 The Big Pond...Barbara Billings
    1930 Young Man of Manhattan...Ann Vaughn
    1929 The Lady Lies...Joyce Roamer
    1929 The Hole in the Wall...Jean Oliver
    1927 For the Love of Mike...Mary

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 4 times, last by ethanedwards ().

  • Claudette Colbert made only 1 movie with Duke.


    Wthout Reservations 1946....Christopher 'Kit' Madden



    It was a mediocre film, in which there
    was little or no chemistry, between the two leads.
    Neither one of them wanted to make the movie,
    but were swayed by the choice of
    Mervyn Le Roy, as director.


    She was highy rated actress, and very popular.
    Her greatest triumph playing a runaway heiress, with enormous charm,
    opposite Clark Gable in Capra's comedy It Happened One Night (1934),
    for which she won the Academy Award as Best Actress.

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 11 times, last by ethanedwards ().

  • Without Reservations (1946), starring Claudette Colbert and John Wayne, will air on TCM on Friday, August 12, at 4:15 p.m. EST. August 12 is Claudette Colbert day on TCM. August is "Summer Under the Stars" month where each day is dedicated to the films of one actor.


    TCM description: "A woman writer falls for a war hero who's a perfect match for the hero of her latest novel."