Deborah Kerr Totally Explained

Everything about Deborah Kerr totally explained

Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer, CBE (30 September 1921 – 16 October 2007) was a Scottish stage, television and film actress. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance in Tea and Sympathy, which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture, The King and I, and she was also the recipient of honorary Academy, BAFTA and Cannes Film Festival awards.
She was nominated six times for an Academy Award as Best Actress but never won. In 1994, however, she was cited by the Motion Picture Academy for a film career that always represented "Perfection, Discipline and Elegance". Amongst her most famous films were: The King and I, An Affair to Remember, From Here to Eternity, Heaven Knows, Mr Allison and Separate Tables.
Although the Scottish pronunciation of her surname usually sounds like "care," when she was being promoted as a Hollywood actress it was made clear that her surname should be pronounced the same as "car." In order to avoid confusion over pronunciation, Louis B. Mayer of MGM decided to bill her as "Kerr rhymes with Star!"

Early life

Kerr was born Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer in Helensburgh, Scotland, the eldest child and only daughter of Kathleen Rose (née Smale) and Capt. Arthur Charles Kerr-Trimmer, a World War I veteran pilot who later became a naval architect and civil engineer. She was, however, raised in the nearby town of Helensburgh, where her parents lived at the time of her birth. Kerr had a younger brother, Edward (a.k.a. Teddy), who became a journalist and died in a road-rage incident in 2004.
She originally trained as a ballet dancer, first appearing on stage at Sadler's Wells in 1938. After changing careers, she soon found success as an actress. Her first acting teacher was her aunt, Phyllis Smale, who ran the Hicks-Smale Drama School in Bristol.

Career

Films

Her debut was in the British film Contraband in 1940 but her scenes were left on the cutting room floor. She followed that with a series of other films, including Hatter's Castle (1942), in which she starred opposite Robert Newton and James Mason. The following year, she played the triple role of the hero's loves in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. During the filming, according to Powell's autobiography, she and Powell became lovers.}}
Although Winston Churchill thought it would ruin wartime morale, and the British Army refused to extend co-operation with the producers, the film confounded critics by proving to be an artistic and commercial triumph.. She portrayed a nun (Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison), a mama's girl (Separate Tables), and a governess (The Chalk Garden), but she also portrayed an earthy Australian sheep-herder's wife (The Sundowners) and lustful and beautiful screen enchantresses (Beloved Infidel, Bonjour tristesse). She also starred in comedies (The Grass is Greener).
Among her most famous roles are Anna Leonowens in the film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, and opposite Cary Grant in An Affair to Remember. In 1966, the producers of Carry on Screaming offered her a fee comparable to that paid to the rest of the cast combined, but she turned it down in favour of appearing in an aborted stage version of Flowers for Algernon. In 1967, at the age of 46, she starred in Casino Royale, achieving the distinction of being the oldest Bond Girl in any James Bond film.
In 1969, pressure of competition from younger, upcoming actresses made her agree to appear nude in John Frankenheimer's The Gypsy Moths,

Theatre

As a stage actress, Deborah Kerr made her Broadway debut in 1953 in Robert Anderson's Tea and Sympathy, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. Kerr repeated her role along with her stage partner John Kerr (no relation) in Vincente Minnelli's film adaptation of the drama. In 1955, Kerr won the Sarah Siddons Award for her performance in Chicago during a national tour of the play. In 1975, she returned to Broadway, originating the role of Nancy in Edward Albee's Pulitzer-winning play Seascape.
The theatre, despite her success in films, was always to remain Kerr's first love, even though going on stage filled her with trepidation:

Television

Deborah Kerr experienced a career resurgence in the early 1980s on television, when she played the role of the nurse (played by Elsa Lanchester in the 1957 film version) in Witness for the Prosecution. Later, Kerr re-teamed with screen partner Robert Mitchum in Reunion at Fairborough. This period also saw Kerr take on the role as the older version of the female tycoon, Emma Harte, in the adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman of Substance. For this performance, Kerr was nominated for an Emmy Award.

Personal life

Kerr's first marriage was to Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Anthony Bartley on November 29 1945. They had two daughters, Melanie Jane, born on December 27, 1947, and Francesca Ann, the wife of the actor John Shrapnel.
   The marriage was troubled, due to Bartley's jealousy of his wife's fame and financial success., she moved back to Britain to be closer to her own children, due to her deteriorating health.
   Some of Deborah Kerr's leading men have stated in their autobiographies to have had an affair or romantic fling with the actress. Actor Stewart Granger claimed that Kerr seduced him in the back of a London cab in 1950. Likewise Burt Lancaster claimed that he was romantically involved with her during the filming of From Here to Eternity in 1953. However, to date there's been no credible, corroborating evidence to substantiate these two actors' claims.
   Kerr was the patron of the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection (NSCA) from 1992 until her death from the effects of Parkinson's disease on October 16 2007 at the age of 86 in the village of Botesdale, Suffolk.

Honours

Deborah Kerr was appointed a Commander of the Order the British Empire in 1998, but was unable to accept the honour in person due to ill health. She was also honoured in Hollywood where, for her contributions to the motion picture industry, she was granted a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1709 Vine Street.
Although she never won a BAFTA, Oscar or Cannes Film Festival award in a competitive category, all three academies gave her honorary awards:
In 1984, she was awarded a Cannes Film Festival Tribute. In 1991, she received a BAFTA Special Award

Award nominations

Deborah Kerr was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress: Edward, My Son (1949), From Here to Eternity (1953), The King and I (1956), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), Separate Tables (1958) and The Sundowners (1960). She equalled Thelma Ritter for the distinction of the most nominations for an actress for an acting Academy Award without ever winning, her nominations were all for Best Actress, while Ritter's were all for Best Supporting Actress.
She was also nominated four times for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress: The End of the Affair (1955), Tea and Sympathy (1956), The Sundowners (1961) and The Chalk Garden (1964)
She received one Emmy Awards nomination in 1985 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for A Woman of Substance. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for The King and I in 1957, and a Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite - Female. She was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama for Edward, My Son (1949), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) and Separate Tables (1958)

Filmography

Country & year	Title	Role	Director	Co-stars
1940	Contraband	Bit (scenes deleted)	Michael Powell	Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson
1941	Major Barbara	Jenny Hill	Gabriel Pascal	Valerie Hobson, Rex Harrison, Robert Morley, Robert Newton
1941	Love on the Dole	Sally	Clifford Evans	John Baxter
1942	Penn of Pennsylvania (U.S. title: Couragous Mr. Penn)	Gulielma Maria Springett	Lance Comfort	Clifford Evans, Dennis Arundell
1942	Hatter's Castle	Mary Brodie	Lance Comfort	Robert Newton, James Mason
1942	The Day Will Dawn (U.S. title: The Avengers)	Kari Alstad	Harold French	Hugh Williams
1942	A Battle for a Bottle (animated short)	Linda (voice)	Frank Tashlin	Robert Newton (voice)
1943	The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp	Edith Hunter/Barbara Wynne/Johnny Cannon	Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger	Anton Walbrook, Roger Livesey
1945	Perfect Strangers (U.S. title: Vacation From Marriage)	Catherine Wilson	Alexander Korda	Robert Donat, Glynis Johns
1946	I See a Dark Stranger (U.S. Title: The Adventuress)	Bridie Quilty	Frank Launder	Trevor Howard, Raymond Huntley
1947	Black Narcissus	Sister Clodagh	Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger	David Farrar, Sabu, Jean Simmons, Kathleen Byron, Flora Robson
1947	The Hucksters	Kay Dorrance	Jack Conway	Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Sydney Greenstreet
1947	If Winter Comes	Nona Tybar	Victor Saville	Walter Pidgeon, Angela Lansbury, Binnie Barnes, Janet Leigh, Dame May Whitty
1949	Edward, My Son	Evelyn Boult	George Cukor	Spencer Tracy, Ian Hunter, James Donald
1950	Please Believe Me	Alison Kirbe	Norman Taurog	Robert Walker, James Whitmore, Peter Lawford
1950	King Solomon's Mines	Elizabeth Curtis	Compton Bennett Andrew Marton	Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson
1951	Quo Vadis	Lygia	Mervyn Leroy	Robert Taylor, Finlay Currie, Peter Ustinov
1952	The Prisoner of Zenda	Princess Flavia	Richard Thorpe	Stewart Granger, James Mason, Louis Calhern, Jane Greer, Robert Douglas
1952	Thunder in the East	Joan Willoughby	Charles Vidor	Alan Ladd, Charles Boyer, Corinne Calvet, Cecil Kellaway
1953	Young Bess	Catherine Parr	George Sidney	Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton
1953	Julius Caesar	Portia	Joseph L. Mankiewicz	Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud, Greer Garson, Louis Calhern, Edmund O'Brien
1953	Dream Wife	Effie	Sidney Sheldon	Cary Grant, Walter Pidgeon, Betta St. John
1953	From Here to Eternity	Karen Holmes	Fred Zinnemann	Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine, George Reeves
1955	The End of the Affair	Sarah Miles	Edward Dmytryk	Van Johnson, John Mills, Peter Cushing
1956	The Proud and Profane	Lee Ashley	George Seaton	William Holden, Thelma Ritter, Dewey Martin
1956	The King and I	Anna Leonowens (singing voice dubbed by Marni Nixon)	Walter Lang	Yul Brynner, Rita Moreno
1956	Tea and Sympathy	Laura Reynolds	Vincente Minnelli	John Kerr, Leif Erickson, Edward Andrews
1957	Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison	Sister Angela	John Huston	Robert Mitchum
1957	An Affair to Remember	Terry McKay	Leo McCarey	Cary Grant, Richard Denning
1957	Kiss Them for Me	Gwinneth Livingston (Unbilled — dubbed voice of Suzy Parker in a few scenes)	Stanley Donen	Cary Grant, Jayne Mansfield, Leif Erickson, Suzy Parker
1958	Bonjour Tristesse	Anne Larson	Otto Preminger	David Niven, Jean Seberg
1958	Separate Tables	Sibyl Railton-Bell	Delbert Mann	Burt Lancaster, Rita Hayworth, David Niven
1959	The Journey	Diana Ashmore	Anatole Litvak	Yul Brynner, Jason Robards, Jr., Robert Morley
1959	Count Your Blessings	Grace Allingham	Jean Negulesco	Rossano Brazzi, Maurice Chevalier
1959	Beloved Infidel	Sheilah Graham	Henry King	Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert
1960	The Sundowners	Ida Carmody	Fred Zinnemann	Robert Mitchum, Peter Ustinov
1960	The Grass Is Greener	Lady Hilary Rhyall	Stanley Donen	Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons
1961	The Naked Edge	Martha Radcliffe	Michael Anderson	Gary Cooper
1961	The Innocents	Miss Giddens	Jack Clayton	Michael Redgrave, Pamela Franklin
1964	On the Trail of the Iguana (promotional short subject)	Herself	Ross Lowell
1964	The Chalk Garden	Miss Madrigal	Ronald Neame	Hayley Mills, John Mills
1964	The Night of the Iguana	Hannah Jelkes	John Huston	Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Sue Lyon
1965	Marriage on the Rocks	Valerie Edwards	Jack Donahue	Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Cesar Romero
1967	Casino Royale	Agent Mimi / Lady Fiona McTarry	John Huston Ken Hughes Robert Parrish Joe McGrath Val Guest	Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, William Holden, Orson Welles, Woody Allen
1967	Eye of the Devil	Catherine de Montfaucon	J. Lee Thompson	David Niven, Donald Pleasance, Edward Mulhare, Flora Robson
1968	Prudence and the Pill	Prudence Hardcastle	Fielder Cook Ronald Neame	David Niven, Robert Coote
1969	The Gypsy Moths	Elizabeth Brandon	John Frankenheimer	Burt Lancaster, Gene Hackman
1969	The Arrangement	Florence Anderson	Elia Kazan	Kirk Douglas, Faye Dunaway, Richard Boone, Hume Cronyn
1982	BBC2 Playhouse (TV episode: "A Song at Twilight")	Carlotta Gray	Cedric Messina	Bruce Lidington, Paul Scofield
1982	Witness for the Prosecution	Nurse Plimsoll	Alan Gibson	Ralph Richardson, Beau Bridges, Donald Pleasance, Wendy Hiller, David Langton, Diana Rigg
1984	A Woman of Substance (TV mini-series)	Emma Harte	Don Sharp	Jenny Seagrove, Barry Bostwick
1985	The Assam Garden	Helen	Mary McMurray	Madhur Jaffrey, Alec McCowen
1985	Reunion at Fairborough (TV movie)	Sally Wells Grant	Herbert Wise	Robert Mitchum, Red Buttons
1986	Hold the Dream (TV mini-series)	Emma Harte	Don Sharp	Jenny Seagrove, Stephen Collins

Television credits

A Song at Twilight (1973)
Witness for the Prosecution (1982)
A Woman of Substance (1983)
Reunion at Fairborough (1985)
Hold the Dream (1986)

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