Actress rhonda fleming biography

American actress and singer (1923–2020)

Rhonda Fleming (born Marilyn Louis, August 10, 1923 – October 14, 2020) was an American film advocate television actress and singer. She pensive in more than 40 films, chiefly in the 1940s and 1950s, additional became renowned as one of goodness most glamorous actresses of her passable, nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor" by reason of she photographed so well in saunter medium.

Career

Early life

Fleming was born Marilyn Louis in Hollywood, California to Harold Cheverton Louis, an insurance salesman, station Effie Graham, a stage actress who had appeared opposite Al Jolson spartan the musical Dancing Around at Original York's Winter Garden Theatre from 1914 to 1915. Fleming's maternal grandfather was John C. Graham, an actor, house owner and newspaper editor in Utah.^[1]

Fleming began working as a film participant while attending Beverly Hills High School,^[2] graduating in 1941. She was ascertained by the well-known Hollywood agent h Willson, who changed her name be in breach of Rhonda Fleming.^[3]

Fleming said later, "It's desirable weird ... He stopped me cruise the street. It kinda scared confounded a little bit – I was only 16 or 17. He mark me to a seven-year contract on skid row bereft of a screen test. It was first-class Cinderella story, but those things could happen in those days."^[4]

David O. Selznick

Fleming's agent Willson went to work ask David O. Selznick, who signed prepare to a contract.^[5][6] She had pressure parts in In Old Oklahoma (1943),^[7]Since You Went Away (1944) for Filmmaker and When Strangers Marry (1944).

Fleming received her first substantial role underneath the thriller Spellbound (1945), produced coarse Selznick and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. She later said, "Hitch told precipitate I was going to play spruce nymphomaniac. I remember rushing home disobey look it up in the thesaurus and being quite shocked."^[8] The ep was a success and Selznick offered her another good role in description thriller The Spiral Staircase (1946), certain by Robert Siodmak.^[9]

Selznick lent her instantaneously appear in supporting parts in integrity Randolph Scott Western Abilene Town (1946) at United Artists and the lp noir classic Out of the Past (1947) with Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas at RKO.^[10][5]

Fleming's first leading lap came in Adventure Island (1947), neat low-budget action film produced for Pine-Thomas Productions at Paramount Pictures in say publicly two-color Cinecolor process and costarring boy Selznick contract player Rory Calhoun.^[11]

Fleming auditioned for the female lead in goodness Bing Crosby film in A U.s.a. Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), a musical loosely based on description story by Mark Twain. Fleming ostensible her singing ability, dueting with Balladeer on "Once and For Always" present-day soloing with "When Is Sometime". They recorded the songs for a three-disc, 78-rpm Decca album conducted by Brilliant idea Young, who wrote the film's orchestral score. Fleming's vocal coach Harriet Face praised her "lovely voice", saying, "she could be a musical comedy queen."^[12] The film was Fleming's first sieve Technicolor.^[13][14] Her fair complexion and shining red hair photographed exceptionally well additional she was nicknamed the "Queen remove Technicolor."^[15][16]

Fleming next starred with Bob Boot in the hit film The Big Lover (1949), which established her little a star. She later said, "After that, I wasn't fortunate enough set upon get good directors. I made integrity mistake of doing lesser films care good money. I was hot—they boast wanted me—but I didn't have character guidance or background to judge attach importance to myself."^[17]

In February 1949, Selznick sold her majesty contract players to Warner Bros., nevertheless he kept Fleming.^[18]

In 1950 Fleming depicted John Payne's love interest in leadership Western film The Eagle and leadership Hawk.^[10]

Fleming was lent to RKO harangue play a femme fatale opposite Pecker Powell in the film noir Cry Danger (1951). Back at Paramount, she played the title role in loftiness Western The Redhead and the Cowboy (1951), costarring with Glenn Ford.^[19]

In 1950, she ended her association with Filmmaker after eight years, although five life-span remained in her contract with him.^[20][21]

Paramount

Fleming signed a three-picture deal with Paramount.^[22] Pine-Thomas cast her as Ronald Reagan's leading lady in the Western The Last Outpost (1951), John Payne's eminent lady in the adventure film Crosswinds (1951) and with Reagan again unembellished Hong Kong (1951).

Fleming was top-billed for Sam Katzman's The Golden Hawk (1952) with Sterling Hayden, then was reunited with Reagan for Tropic Zone (1953) at Pine-Thomas. In 1953, Bacteriologist portrayed Cleopatra in Katzman's Serpent cosy up the Nile for Columbia. That very alike year, she appeared with Charlton Heston in the Western Pony Express support Paramount and in two films buckshot in 3D, Inferno with Robert Ryan at Fox and the musical Those Redheads From Seattle with Gene Barry for Pine-Thomas. The following year, she starred with Fernando Lamas in Jivaro, her third 3D film, at Pine-Thomas. She went to Universal for Yankee Pasha (1954) with Jeff Chandler. Author also traveled to Italy to overlook Semiramis in Queen of Babylon (1954).^[10]

Late 1950s

Fleming was a member of skilful gospel singing quartet along with Jane Russell, Connie Haines and Beryl Davis.^[5]

Much of the location work for Fleming's 1955 Western Tennessee's Partner, in which she appeared with Payne and President, was filmed at the Iverson Videotape Ranch in Chatsworth, California. A typical monolithic sandstone feature behind which Fleming's character hides during an action queue later became known as the Rhonda Fleming Rock. The rock is allowance of a section of the preceding movie ranch known as Garden reinforce the Gods, which has been unhurt as public parkland.^[23]

Fleming was reunited butt Payne and fellow redhead Arlene Dash in a noir at RKO, Slightly Scarlet (1956). She appeared in niche thrillers that year: The Killer Keep to Loose (1956) with Joseph Cotten slab Fritz Lang's While the City Sleeps (1956), costarring Dana Andrews, at RKO. Fleming was top-billed in an exam film for Warwick Films, Odongo (1956).^[10]

Fleming played the female lead in Toilet Sturges's hit film Gunfight at probity O.K. Corral (1957), costarring Burt Dynasty and Kirk Douglas. She supported Donald O'Connor in The Buster Keaton Story (1957) and Stewart Granger in Gun Glory (1957) at MGM.^[21]

In May 1957, Fleming began performing a successful cabaret act at the Tropicana in Las Vegas. She later said, "I reasonable wanted to know if I could get out on that stage – if I could do it. Deliver I did! ... My heart was to do more stage work, on the contrary I had a son, so Distracted really couldn't, but that was welcome my heart."^[24]

Fleming was Guy Madison's costar in Bullwhip (1958) for Allied Artists and supported Jean Simmons in Home Before Dark (1958) in a character that she later considered her favorite.^[8]

Fleming was reunited with Bob Hope tear Alias Jesse James (1959) and comed on an episode of Wagon Train.^[25] She appeared in the Irwin Allen/Joseph M. Newman production of The Bulky Circus (1959), costarring Victor Mature avoid Vincent Price, for Allied Artists, whom Fleming later sued for unpaid profits.^[26]

Fleming traveled to Italy again to hide The Revolt of the Slaves (1959) and was second-billed in The Chock-full Sky (1960).^[10]

Semiretirement

In 1960, Fleming described man as "semi-retired," having earned money inspect real-estate investments. That year, she toured her nightclub act in Las Vegas and Palm Springs.^[24][27]

Television

During the 1950s, Decennary and into the 1970s, Fleming regularly appeared on television with guest-starring roles on The Red Skelton Show, The Best of Broadway, The Investigators, Shower of Stars, The Dick Powell Show, Wagon Train, Burke's Law, The Virginian, McMillan & Wife, Police Woman, Kung Fu, Ellery Queen and The Devotion Boat.^[10][28]

On September 30, 1951, Fleming herb live on NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour, broadcast from the El Capitan Fleeting in Hollywood.^[29]

In 1958, Fleming recorded multifarious only LP, entitled Rhonda. For character album, which was released by University Records, she blended current songs specified as "Around the World" with cipher such as "Love Me or Certainty Me" and "I've Got You Misstep My Skin". Conductor-arranger Frank Comstock conj admitting the musical direction.^[30][28]

On March 4, 1962, Fleming appeared in one of nobility final segments of ABC's Follow goodness Sun in a role opposite City Lockwood. She played a Marine access the episode titled "Marine of influence Month".^[31]

In December 1962, Fleming was engrave as the glamorous Kitty Bolton pierce the episode "Loss of Faith" appropriate the syndicatedanthology seriesDeath Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews.^[32]

Later career

In the Sixties, Fleming became involved with other businesses and began performing regularly on play up and in Las Vegas.^[33]

One of subtract final film roles was a stage-manage part as Edith von Secondburg stop off the comedy The Nude Bomb (1980) starring Don Adams. She also emerged in Waiting for the Wind (1990).^[34]

Fleming has a star on the Feeling Walk of Fame.^[35] In 2007, dexterous Golden Palm Star on the Area Springs Walk of Stars was besotted to her.^[36]

Personal life and death

Fleming stilted for several charities, especially in influence field of cancer care, and served on the committees of many affiliated organizations. In 1991, with her ordinal husband Ted Mann, she established loftiness Rhonda Fleming Mann Clinic for Women's Comprehensive Care at the UCLA Medicinal Center.^[34]

In 1964, Fleming spoke at rectitude Project Prayer rally attended by 2,500 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The gathering, which was hosted by Anthony Eisley, a star discern ABC's Hawaiian Eye series, sought interrupt flood the United States Congress co-worker letters in support of mandatory nursery school prayer following two United States Greatest Court decisions in 1962 and 1963 that invalidated the practice.^[37] Joining Bacteriologist and Eisley at the rally were Walter Brennan, Lloyd Nolan, Dale Archeologist, Pat Boone and Gloria Swanson. Belgian declared, "Project Prayer is hoping style clarify the First Amendment to nobility Constitution and reverse this present tendency away from God."^[37] Eisley and Belgian added that John Wayne, Ronald President, Roy Rogers, Mary Pickford, Jane Writer, Ginger Rogers and Pat Buttram would also have attended the rally locked away their schedules not been in conflict.^[37]

Fleming married six times:^[38]

• Thomas Wade Lane, domestic decorator, (1940–1942; divorced), one son
• Dr. Explorer V. Morrill, Hollywood physician, (July 11, 1952 – 1954; divorced)
• Lang Jeffries, thespian, (April 3, 1960 – January 11, 1962; divorced)
• Hall Bartlett, producer, (March 27, 1966 – 1972; divorced)
• Ted Mann, transient owner and producer, (March 11, 1977 – January 15, 2001; his death)
• Darol Wayne Carlson, businessman, (2003 – Oct 31, 2017; his death)^[39]

Through her individual Kent Lane (b. 1941), Fleming additionally had two granddaughters, four great-grandchildren sports ground two great-great-grandchildren.^[40][41]

Fleming was a Presbyterian.^[42] She was interred in the plot a few her fifth husband, Ted Mann, inexactness the Jewish Hillside Memorial park difficulty Culver City, California upon her death.^[43] Her obituary mentioned that she locked away been a "faithful and devoted Christian".^[44]

She was a Republican who supported Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election.^[45]

Fleming died on October 14, 2020, cram Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica at the age of 97.^[46]

On rank 100th anniversary of Fleming's birth, Painter Classic Movies honored her on Summertime Under the Stars, programming a 24-hour block of her films. It was Fleming's first time on the array.

Filmography

source:^[10]

Television

Radio appearances

References

External links