Ida Lupino

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)
Ida Lupino
Image:Ida Lupino in The Hard Way trailer cropped.jpg
from the trailer for
The Hard Way (1943)
Born February 4 1918(1918-02-04)
Camberwell, London, England
Died August 3 1995 (aged 77)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery {cremated)
Spouse(s) 1938-45 Louis Hayward
1948-51 Collier Young
1951-84 Howard Duff
Children Bridget Duff (1952)
Parents Connie O'Shea and Stanley Lupino

Ida Lupino (February 4, 1918[1] – August 3, 1995) was an English film actress, director, and a pioneer in the field of women filmmakers.

Contents

[edit] Early life

She was born in Camberwell, London, England, (allegedly under a table during a World War I zeppelin raid), the daughter of actress Connie O'Shea (aka: Connie Emerald) and music hall entertainer, Stanley Lupino, one of the Lupino family.

[edit] Career rise

Encouraged to enter show business by both her parents and a first cousin once-removed, Lupino Lane, Ida Lupino made her first film appearance in 1931, in The Love Race and worked for several years playing minor roles.

It was after her appearance in The Light That Failed in 1939 that she was taken seriously as a dramatic actress.

Her parts improved during the 1940s and she began to describe herself as "the poor man's Bette Davis". While working for Warner Brothers, she would also refuse parts that Davis had rejected, and earned herself suspensions.

During this period she became known for her hard boiled roles and appeared in such films as They Drive by Night (1940) and High Sierra (1941). She acted regularly and was in demand throughout the '40s without becoming a major star.

In 1947, Lupino left Warner Brothers to become a freelance actress. Notable films around that time include Road House and On Dangerous Ground.

[edit] Directing

It was during a suspension in the late 1940s that she began studying the processes behind the camera. Her first directing job came when Elmer Clifton became ill during Not Wanted, a 1949 movie which she co-wrote.

Lupino often joked that if she had been the "poor man's Bette Davis" as an actress, then she had become the "poor man's Don Siegel" as a director. From the early '50s she began directing films, mostly melodramas, and was one of the few women of her era to achieve success in this field. In 1952, Lupino was invited to become the "fourth star" in Four Star Productions by Dick Powell, David Niven, and Charles Boyer after Joel McCrea and Rosalind Russell dropped out.

She directed Outrage in 1950, and tackled the extremely controversial subject (at that time) of rape. In addition to acting in many films noir, she also directed The Hitch-Hiker (1953). The film was the first film noir directed by a woman.

She continued acting throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and her directing efforts during these years were almost exclusively television productions such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, The Donna Reed Show, Gilligan's Island, 77 Sunset Strip, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, The Rifleman, Bonanza, The Untouchables, The Fugitive, and Bewitched.

From January 1957 through September 1958, Lupino starred with her husband, Howard Duff, in the CBS comedy Mr. Adams and Eve. They played husband and wife film stars named Howard Adams and Eve Drake in this series.

After guest starring in popular TV shows, she retired after making her final film appearance in 1978.


[edit] Awards

The second woman to be admitted to the Directors Guild of America (following Dorothy Arzner), Ida Lupino has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to the fields of television and motion pictures. They are located at 1724 Vine Street and 6821 Hollywood Boulevard.

Awards
Preceded by
Agnes Moorehead
for The Magnificent Ambersons 		NYFCC Award for Best Actress
1943
forThe Hard Way 		Succeeded by
Tallulah Bankhead
for Lifeboat

[edit] Personal life

Image:Ida Lupino (1979).jpg
Lupino pictured in 1979.
Photo by Alan Light.

Ida Lupino was born in 1918 (and not 1914 as other biographies have it) as per her birth reference (see below).

She married and divorced three times:

Lupino was never a public figure, and kept her private affairs separate from her work.

Ida Lupino died from a stroke while undergoing treatment for colon cancer in Los Angeles, California. She is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California[2].

[edit] References

  • General Register Office, Register of Births - Lupino, Ida: JAN-MAR Qtr 1918 1d 1019 CAMBERWELL, mother's maiden name = O'Shea
  • 1Wollen, Peter. "The Auteur Theory." In Movies and Methods, ed. Bill Nichols, Berkeley; University of California Press 1976
  1. ^ Recorded in Births Mar 1918 Camberwell Vol.1d page 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index
  2. ^ Ida Lupino (1914-1995) memorial at Find A Grave

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Lupino, Ida
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION
DATE OF BIRTH February 4 1918(1918-02-04)
PLACE OF BIRTH Camberwell, London, England
DATE OF DEATH August 3 1995 (aged 77)
PLACE OF DEATH Los Angeles, California, U.S.
de:Ida Lupino

fr:Ida Lupino ja:アイダ・ルピノ pt:Ida Lupino fi:Ida Lupino sv:Ida Lupino

Retrieved from "http://india.smashits.com/wikipedia/Ida_Lupino"
Views
Personal tools

Toolbox