Libby Holman

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Libby Holman
Birth name	Elizabeth Lloyd Holzman
Born	May 23 1904(1904-05-23) Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Image:Flag of Ohio.svg Image:Flag of the United States.svg
Died	June 18 1971 (aged 67)
Occupation	Singer & Actress
Spouse(s)	Zachary Smith Reynolds (1931-1932) Ralph Holmes (1939-1945) Louis Schanker (1960-1971) (her death)

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Libby Holman (May 23, 1906, Cincinnati, Ohio – June 18, 1971,Stamford, Connecticut) was an American torch singer and stage actress who was, in her time, considered both a scandalous tarnished lady and a tragedy-prone millionairess.

1 Biography
2 Relationships
3 Musical Theater Credits
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Libby Holman was born Elizabeth Lloyd Holzman on May 23, 1904, to a Jewish lawyer and stockbroker, Alfred Holzman, and his wife, Rachel Workum Holzman, in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1904, the wealthy family grew destitute after Libby's uncle Ross Holzman embezzled nearly $1 million of their stock brokerage business. At some point, Alfred changed the family name from Holzman to Holman. Libby graduated from Hughes High School on June 11, 1920, at the age of 16, then entered the University of Cincinnati, graduating on June 16, 1923, with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

In the summer of 1924 Libby left for New York City, where she initially took up residence at the Studio Club. Her first theater job in New York was in the road company of "The Fool." Channing Pollock, the writer of "The Fool," recognized Libby's talents immediately and advised her to pursue a theatrical career. She followed Pollock's advice and soon became a star. An early stage colleague who became a longtime close friend was future film star Clifton Webb, then a dancer. He bestowed upon her the nickname, "The Statue of Libby."

[edit] Relationships

Libby enjoyed a variety of intimate relationships with both men and women throughout her lifetime. Her famous lesbian lovers included the DuPont heiress Louisa d'Andelot Carpenter and Jane Bowles. Louisa was to play a significant part throughout Libby's lifetime. They raised their children together and were openly accepted by their theater companions. With men, she had no qualms about dating anyone much younger than she, such as fellow American actor Montgomery Clift, whom she mentored.

Libby took an interest in one particular fan. Zachary Smith Reynolds, the heir to R. J. Reynolds's tobacco company, was smitten from the start, despite their seven-year age difference. From his first meeting with her in Hong Kong, Smith pursued Libby all around the world in his plane. With the persuasion of her former lover, Louisa, Libby and Zachary Smith Reynolds, who went by his middle name, married on November 16th, 1931. Unfortunately their marital bliss did not last long. Libby's and Smith's natures conflicted greatly. He wanted her to abandon her acting career. She consented by taking a one-year leave of absence. During this time, however, his conservative family was unable to bear Libby and her group of theater friends, who at her invitation often visited Reynolda, the family estate near Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Accusations and arguments among them were common. In 1932, during the Reynolds family's annual July 4th party, Libby revealed to her husband that she was pregnant. A tense argument ensued. Moments later, a shot was heard; family and friends soon discovered Zachary Smith Reynolds dead of a gunshot wound to the head. Libby and Ab Walker, a friend of Reynolds's and a supposed lover of Libby's, were indicted for murder. The Reynolds family contacted the local authorities and had the charges dropped for fear of scandal. Though Reynolds's death was ruled a suicide by the authorities, it is still a scandalous affair.

The MGM film Reckless, starring Jean Harlow as a Broadway star similar to Holman, is a fictionalised version of this scandal. Reportedly, Harlow was a friend of Holman and she resented being contractually required to make a film that would exploit Holman.

Libby's only child, Christopher Reynolds, died tragically as a teenager. Libby had given her son permission to go mountain climbing with a friend, not knowing that the boys were ill-prepared for the adventure. Both perished. Those close to Holman claim she never forgave herself.

Libby's second husband was film and stage actor Ralph (prounounced "Rafe") Holmes. Far younger than Libby, and troubled by both his homosexuality and by the post-traumatic stress of his military service during World War Two, Holmes drank himself to death in 1945, at the age of thirty.

Her third and last husband was artist/sculptor Louis Shanker. The marriage turned out to be an unhappy one. Libby was found nearly dead by her household staff, in her Rolls Royce, the motor running in the closed garage. She was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. According to the Holman biography "Dreams That Money Can Buy" by Jon Bradshaw, few of Libby's friends believed the coroner's report that she had committed suicide. Some of the circumstances didn't add up, in particular the question of how the slight, elderly Holman could even open and close the heavy, manually-operated garage door.

Although Libby didn't have to work after her marriage to Reynolds, she never completely gave up her career, making records and giving recitals. One of her last performances was at the United Nations in New York in 1966. As always, she sang her trademark song, "Moanin' Low."