Claudette Colbert

Claudette Colbert (September 13, 1903 - July 30, 1996) was an Academy Award-winning French-American actress for It Happened One Night.

Personal life

Born Lily Claudette Chauchoin in Paris, France, around 1905 her family emigrated to the United States and settled in New York City. She began acting in high school and a few years later in 1923 appeared on the Broadway stage in a bit part. Hooked, she gave up on her plans to be a fashion designer to instead pursue a career in acting. She made her first motion picture appearance in 1927, in For the Love of Mike, a silent film shot on location in Paramount Studios in New York, New York facilities. However, talking films were taking over and two years later, Colbert appeared in her first talking film, The Hole in the Wall, co-starring another newcomer, Edward G. Robinson .

Colbert was bisexual and her romantic partners included actresses Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. She married twice, first to Norman Foster (from 1928-1935 divorced) and then to Dr. Joel Pressman (1935 - his death 1968). She did not have children.

Career

With her heart-shaped face, lively wide eyes, and aristocratic manner, Colbert transcended type, making her equally convincing in diverse roles. Her versatility led to major parts in top motion pictures and made her one of the biggest box-office stars of her time.

Colbert was a stickler for perfection regarding the way she appeared on screen. She believed that her face was difficult to light and photograph, andwas obsessed with not showing her "bad" side, the right, to the camera. Scenes showing Colbert's face from the right show she was equally lovely fromthat side, but such shots are hard to find.

In 1934 she won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role opposite Clark Gable in the Frank Capra film, It Happened One Night. Colbert epitomized witty sophistication when she starred in Preston Sturges' classic screwball comedy, The Palm Beach Story, opposite Joel McCrea.

From 1936 to 1944, she starred in numerous programs of Cecil B. DeMille's Lux Radio Theater, which was one of the most popular dramatic radio shows at the time. In 1952, she returned to work in her native France where she stayed until 1955.

After making two more Hollywood films, she went back to Broadway in 1958 doing "The Marriage Go-Round" with Charles Boyer, earning a 1959 Tony Award nomination for her work. Also for her Chicago theatre work, in 1980 she won the Sarah Siddons Award. In 1984 she appeared with Rex Harrison in Frederick Lonsdale's "Aren't We All" at the Haymarket Theatre, London, and also the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway, presented by Douglas Urbanski. Ms. Colbert's last film was Parrish in 1961. She acted in numerous Broadway plays for the next twenty years. In 1987, she did a television mini-series titled The Two Mrs. Grenvilles and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Mini-series or a Special. In 1988, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for TV.

During her long and successful career, Claudette Colbert played in sixty-five films. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6812 Hollywood Blvd.

When she retired from motion pictures, she moved to Palm Springs where she operated a store for a time before moving to Barbados. The idea of Barbados came to her following a visit to Noel Coward's house in Jamaica, where she fell in love with the Carribean. After doing plenty of research, she settled on Barbados and moved there inthe early 60's where she named her magical home "Bellrive." It was here that she became hostess to the worlds powerful and famous until her death and an invitation to her home was a sought after commodity. Ronald Reagan stayed with her there while president, and other famous guests included Lillian Helman, Kirk Douglas, Jack Benny, Rex Harrison, Slim Keith, and many more. She had a small guest house built (where the Reagans stayed) for the honeymoon of Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow.

Colbert died at her home in Barbados, following series of small strokes during the last two years of her life at the age of 92, and she was interred there in the Parish of St. Peter Cemetery along with her mother and husband. A requiem mass was held at St. Vincent Ferrer church in New York later.

Filmography

For the Love of Mike (1927)
*The Hole in the Wall (1929)
*The Lady Lies (1929)
*Young Man of Manhattan (1930)
*The Big Pond (1930) (a French version was also filmed with the same cast)
*Manslaughter (1930)
*Mysterious Mr. Parkes (1930) (French version of the 1930 film Slightly Scarlet)
*Honor Among Lovers (1931)
*The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)
*Secrets of a Secretary (1931)
*His Woman (1931)
*Hollywood on Parade (1932) (short subject)
*The Wiser Sex (1932)
*Misleading Lady (1932)
*The Man from Yesterday (1932)
*Make Me a Star (1932) (Cameo)
*The Phantom President (1932)
*The Sign of the Cross (1932)
*Tonight Is Ours (1933)
*Hollywood on Parade No. 9 (1933) (short subject)
*I Cover the Waterfront (1933)
*Three-Cornered Moon (1933)
*Torch Singer (1933)
*The Hollywood You Never See (1934) (short subject)
*Four Frightened People (1934)
*It Happened One Night (1934)
*Cleopatra (1934)
*Imitation of Life (1934)
*The Fashion Side of Hollywood (1935) (short subject)
*The Gilded Lily (1935)
*Private Worlds (1935)
*She Married Her Boss (1935)
*The Bride Comes Home (1935)
*Under Two Flags (1936)
*Maid of Salem (1937)
*I Met Him in Paris (1937)
*Tovarich (1937)
*Breakdowns of 1938 (1938) (short subject)
*Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
*Hollywood Goes to Town (1938) (short subject)
*Zaza (1939)
*Midnight (1939)
*It's a Wonderful World (1939)
*Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
*Boom Town (1940)
*Arise, My Love (1940)
*Skylark (1941)
*Remember the Day (1941)
*Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 6 (1942) (short subject)
*The Palm Beach Story (1942)
*No Time for Love (1943)
*So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
*Since You Went Away (1944)
*Practically Yours (1944)
*Guest Wife (1945)
*Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)
*Without Reservations (1946)
*The Secret Heart (1946)
*The Egg and I (1947)
*Sleep, My Love (1948)
*Family Honeymoon (1949)
*Bride for Sale (1949)
*Three Came Home (1950)
*The Secret Fury (1950)
*Thunder on the Hill (1951)
*Let's Make It Legal (1951)
*The Planter's Wife (1952)
*Daughters of Destiny (1954)
*Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954)
*Texas Lady (1955)
*Parrish'' (1961)

Television Work

Blithe Spirit (1956)
The Bells of St. Mary's (1959)
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987)

External links