Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991)
was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, she became established as a leading lady.
Tierney was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the film ''
Laura
Laura may refer to:
People
* Laura (given name)
* Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert
Places Australia
* Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula
* Laura, South Australia
* Laura Bay, a bay on ...
'' (1944), and was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Actress
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...
for her performance as Ellen Berent Harland in ''
Leave Her to Heaven'' (1945).
Tierney's other roles include Martha Strable Van Cleve in ''
Heaven Can Wait Heaven Can Wait may refer to:
* ''Heaven Can Wait'' (1943 film), a comedy based on the stage play ''Birthday'' by Leslie Bush-Fekete
* ''Heaven Can Wait'' (1978 film), an American football comedy starring Warren Beatty; a remake of the 1941 film ...
'' (1943), Isabel Bradley Maturin in ''
The Razor's Edge
''The Razor's Edge'' is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. The story beg ...
'' (1946), Lucy Muir in ''
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir'' (1947), Ann Sutton in ''
Whirlpool'' (1949), Mary Bristol in ''
Night and the City'' (1950), Maggie Carleton McNulty in ''
The Mating Season'' (1950), and Anne Scott in ''
The Left Hand of God'' (1955).
Early life
Gene Eliza Tierney was born on November 19, 1920, in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, New York, the daughter of Howard Sherwood Tierney and Belle Lavinia Taylor. She was named after a beloved uncle, who died young.
She had an elder brother, Howard Sherwood "Butch" Tierney Jr., and a younger sister, Patricia "Pat" Tierney. Their father was a successful insurance broker of Irish descent on his paternal side; their mother was a former physical education instructor.
Tierney was raised in Westport, Connecticut. She attended
St. Margaret's School in
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in ...
, and the
Unquowa School
The Unquowa School is a private K-8 school that was established in 1917 by a group of parents in Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of T ...
in
Fairfield. She published her first poem, "Night", in the school magazine and wrote
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...
occasionally throughout her life. Tierney played Jo in a student production of ''
Little Women'', based on the novel by
Louisa May Alcott.
Tierney spent two years in Europe, attending
Brillantmont International School in
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...
,
Switzerland, where she learned to speak fluent French. She returned to the US in 1936 and attended
Miss Porter's School in
Farmington, Connecticut
Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 26,712 at the 2020 census. It sits 10 miles west of Hartford at the hub of major I-84 interchanges, 20 miles ...
. On a family trip to the
West Coast, she visited
Warner Bros. studios, where her mother's cousin – Gordon Hollingshead – worked as a producer of historical short films. Director
Anatole Litvak
Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Литвак; 21 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in vari ...
, taken by the 17-year-old's beauty, told Tierney that she should become an actress. Warner Bros. wanted to sign her to a contract, but her parents advised against it because of the relatively low salary; they also wanted her to take her position in society.
Tierney's
society debut occurred on September 24, 1938, when she was 17 years old.
Soon bored with society life, she decided to pursue an acting career. Her father said, "If Gene is to be an actress, it should be in the
legitimate theatre."
Tierney studied acting at a small
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
acting studio in New York with Yiddish and Broadway actor/director Benno Schneider. She became a ''protégée'' of Broadway producer-director
George Abbott.
["Debutante Gene Tierney Makes Her Entrance In A Broadway Success", '' Life Magazine'', February 19, 1940. Vol 8, No. 8, p. 25.]
Career
Broadway
In Tierney's first role on
Broadway, she carried a bucket of water across the stage in ''What a Life!'' (1938). A ''
Variety'' magazine critic declared, "Miss Tierney is certainly the most beautiful water carrier I've ever seen!" She also worked as an understudy in ''The Primrose Path'' (1938).
The following year, she appeared in the role of
Molly O'Day in the Broadway production ''Mrs. O'Brien Entertains'' (1939).
''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' critic
Brooks Atkinson wrote, "As an Irish maiden fresh from the old country, Gene Tierney in her first stage performance is very pretty and refreshingly modest."
That same year, Tierney appeared as Peggy Carr in ''Ring Two'' (1939) to favorable reviews. Theater critic
Richard Watts Jr.
Richard Watts Jr. (1898–1981) was an American theatre critic.
Born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, Watts was educated at Columbia University. He began his writing career as the film critic for the ''New York Herald Tribune'' before assuming the ...
of the ''
New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'' wrote, "I see no reason why Miss Tierney should not have an interesting theatrical career – that is, if cinema does not kidnap her away."
Tierney's father set up a corporation, Belle-Tier, to fund and promote her acting career.
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...
signed her to a six-month contract in 1939. She met
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in t ...
, who tried unsuccessfully to seduce her. From a well-to-do family herself, she was not impressed by his wealth.
Hughes eventually became a lifelong friend.
After a cameraman advised Tierney to lose a little weight, she wrote to ''
Harper's Bazaar'' magazine for a diet, which she followed for the next 25 years. Tierney was initially offered the lead role in ''
National Velvet,'' but production was delayed.
When Columbia Pictures failed to find Tierney a project, she returned to Broadway and starred as Patricia Stanley to critical and commercial success in ''
The Male Animal'' (1940). In ''The New York Times'', Brooks Atkinson wrote, "Tierney blazes with animation in the best performance she has yet given".
She was the toast of Broadway before her 20th birthday. ''The Male Animal'' was a hit, and Tierney was featured in ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
''. She was also photographed by ''
Harper's Bazaar'', ''
Vogue'', and ''
Collier's Weekly
''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Coll ...
''.
Two weeks after ''The Male Animal'' opened,
Darryl F. Zanuck, the head of
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...
, was rumored to have been in the audience. During the performance, he told an assistant to note Tierney's name. Later that night, Zanuck dropped by the
Stork Club, where he saw a young lady on the dance floor. He told his assistant, "Forget the girl from the play. See if you can sign that one." She was Tierney. At first, Zanuck did not think she was the actress he had seen. Tierney was quoted (after the fact), saying: "I always had several different 'looks', a quality that proved useful in my career."
[''Gene Tierney: A Shattered Portrait'', The Biography Channel, March 26, 1999, interview with Gene Tierney's sister Patricia.]
Film career
Tierney signed with
20th Century-Fox and her motion picture debut was in a supporting role as Eleanor Stone in
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...
's
Western ''
The Return of Frank James'' (1940), opposite
Henry Fonda.
A small role as Barbara Hall followed in ''
Hudson's Bay'' (1941) with
Paul Muni and she co-starred as Ellie Mae Lester in
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
's comedy ''
Tobacco Road'' (also 1941), and played the title role in ''
Belle Starr'' alongside co-star
Randolph Scott
George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...
, Zia in ''
Sundown'', and Victoria Charteris (Poppy Smith) in ''
The Shanghai Gesture''. She played Eve in ''
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake'' (1942), as well as the dual role of Susan Miller (Linda Worthington) in
Rouben Mamoulian
Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director.
Early life
Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. ...
's
screwball comedy ''
Rings on Her Fingers'', and roles as Kay Saunders in ''
Thunder Birds,'' and Miss Young in ''
China Girl'' (all 1942).
Receiving top billing in
Ernst Lubitsch's comedy ''
Heaven Can Wait Heaven Can Wait may refer to:
* ''Heaven Can Wait'' (1943 film), a comedy based on the stage play ''Birthday'' by Leslie Bush-Fekete
* ''Heaven Can Wait'' (1978 film), an American football comedy starring Warren Beatty; a remake of the 1941 film ...
'' (1943), as Martha Strable Van Cleve, signaled an upward turn in Tierney's career. Tierney recalled during the production of ''Heaven Can Wait'':
Lubitsch was a tyrant on the set, the most demanding of directors. After one scene, which took from noon until five to get, I was almost in tears from listening to Lubitsch shout at me. The next day I sought him out, looked him in the eye, and said, 'Mr. Lubitsch, I'm willing to do my best but I just can't go on working on this picture if you're going to keep shouting at me.' 'I'm paid to shout at you', he bellowed. 'Yes', I said, 'and I'm paid to take it – but not enough.' After a tense pause, Lubitsch broke out laughing. From then on we got along famously.
Tierney starred in what became her best-remembered role: the title role in
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor.
He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...
's
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
''
Laura
Laura may refer to:
People
* Laura (given name)
* Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert
Places Australia
* Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula
* Laura, South Australia
* Laura Bay, a bay on ...
'' (1944), opposite
Dana Andrews (who she'd work with again in ''
The Iron Curtain'' and Preminger's ''
Where The Sidewalk Ends''). After playing Tina Tomasino in ''
A Bell for Adano'' (1945), she played the jealous, narcissistic ''
femme fatale'' Ellen Berent Harland in ''
Leave Her to Heaven'' (1945), adapted from a best-selling novel by
Ben Ames Williams. Appearing with
Cornel Wilde, Tierney won an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...
nomination for
Best Actress. This was 20th Century-Fox's most successful film of the 1940s. It was cited by director
Martin Scorsese as one of his favorite films of all time, and he assessed Tierney as one of the most underrated actresses of the Golden Era.
Tierney then starred as Miranda Wells in ''
Dragonwyck'' (1946), along with
Walter Huston and
Vincent Price. It was
Joseph L. Mankiewicz' debut film as a director. In the same period, she starred as Isabel Bradley, opposite
Tyrone Power, in ''
The Razor's Edge
''The Razor's Edge'' is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. The story beg ...
'' (also 1946), an adaptation of
W. Somerset Maugham's
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
of the same name. Her performance was critically praised.
Tierney played Lucy Muir in Mankiewicz's ''
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir'' (1947), opposite
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French Without Tears'', in what ...
. The following year, she co-starred again with Power, this time as Sara Farley in the successful screwball comedy ''
That Wonderful Urge'' (1948). As the decade came to a close, Tierney reunited with ''Laura'' director Preminger to star as Ann Sutton in the classic film noir ''
Whirlpool'' (1950), co-starring
Richard Conte and
José Ferrer. She appeared in two other films noir:
Jules Dassin
Julius "Jules" Dassin (December 18, 1911 – March 31, 2008) was an American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece, wher ...
's ''
Night and the City'', shot in London, and Otto Preminger's ''
Where the Sidewalk Ends'' (both 1950), reunited with both Preminger and leading man
Dana Andrews, with whom she appeared in five movies total including The Iron Curtain and, before Laura, Belle Starr and Tobacco Road.
Tierney was lent to
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, giving a comic turn as Maggie Carleton in
Mitchell Leisen's
ensemble farce
Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or ...
, ''
The Mating Season'' (1951), with
John Lund,
Thelma Ritter, and
Miriam Hopkins.
She gave a tender performance as Midge Sheridan in the
Warner Bros. film, ''
Close to My Heart'' (1951), with
Ray Milland
Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...
. The film is about a couple trying to adopt a child.
Later in her career, she was reunited with Milland in ''
Daughter of the Mind
''Daughter of the Mind'' is a 1969 American made-for-television horror-thriller film starring Don Murray, Ray Milland and Gene Tierney. It was first broadcast on ABC on December 9, 1969 as the ABC Movie of the Week.TV Guide, December 6–12, 19 ...
'' (1969).
After Tierney appeared opposite
Rory Calhoun as Teresa in ''
Way of a Gaucho
''Way of a Gaucho'' is a 1952 American Western drama film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Gene Tierney and Rory Calhoun. It was written by Philip Dunne and based on a novel by Herbert Childs.
The film was made by 20th Century Fox an ...
'' (1952), her contract at 20th Century-Fox expired. That same year, she starred as Dorothy Bradford in ''
Plymouth Adventure'', opposite
Spencer Tracy at
MGM. Tracy and she had a brief affair during this time.
[Osborne (2006). Chronicle Books. ''Leading Ladies''. p. 195.] Tierney played Marya Lamarkina opposite
Clark Gable in ''
Never Let Me Go'' (1953), filmed in England.
In the course of the 1940s, she reached a pinnacle of fame as a beautiful leading lady, on a par with "fellow sirens Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner and Ava Gardner".
She was "called the most beautiful woman in movie history" and many of her movies in the 1940s became classic films.
Tierney remained in Europe to play Kay Barlow in
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...
' ''
Personal Affair'' (1953). While in Europe, she began a romance with
Prince Aly Khan, but their marriage plans met with fierce opposition from his father
Aga Khan III.
Early in 1953, Tierney returned to the U.S. to co-star in the film noir ''
Black Widow
Black widow may refer to:
Spiders
* Black widow spider, a common name for some species of spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus''
American species
* ''Latrodectus apicalis'', the Galapagos black widow
* ''Latrodectus curacaviensis'', the South Amer ...
'' (1954) as Iris Denver, with
Ginger Rogers and
Van Heflin.
Health
Tierney had reportedly started smoking after a screening of her first movie to lower her voice, because she felt that she sounded "like an angry
Minnie Mouse
Minnie Mouse is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a bow, polka-dotted dress, white bloomers, and low-heeled shoes occasionally ...
."
She subsequently became a heavy smoker.
Tierney struggled for years with episodes of
manic depression. In 1943, she gave birth to a daughter, Daria, who was deaf and mentally disabled (possibly the result of a rubella infection she may have contracted from a fan). In 1953, she suffered problems with concentration, which affected her film appearances. She dropped out of ''
Mogambo'' and was replaced by
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Kell ...
.
While playing Anne Scott in ''
The Left Hand of God'' (1955), opposite
Humphrey Bogart, Tierney became ill. Bogart's sister Frances (known as Pat) had suffered from mental illness, so he showed Tierney great sympathy, feeding her lines during the production and encouraging her to seek help.
Tierney consulted a psychiatrist and was admitted to Harkness Pavilion in New York. Later, she went to
the Institute of Living
The Institute of Living is a comprehensive psychiatric facility in Hartford, Connecticut, that offers care across the spectrum of psychiatric services, including:
* A 24/7 crisis evaluation telephone assessment and triage: Experienced psychiatri ...
in
Hartford, Connecticut. After some 27
shock treatments, intended to alleviate severe depression, Tierney fled the facility, but was caught and returned. She later became an outspoken opponent of shock treatment therapy, claiming it had destroyed significant portions of her memory.
In late December 1957, Tierney, from her mother's apartment in Manhattan, stepped onto a ledge 14 stories above ground and remained for about 20 minutes in what was considered a suicide attempt.
Police were called, and afterwards, Tierney's family arranged for her to be admitted to the
Menninger Clinic in
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat ...
. The following year, after treatment for
depression, she was discharged. Afterwards, she worked as a sales girl in a local dress shop with hopes of integrating back into society,
but she was recognized by a customer, resulting in sensational newspaper headlines.
Later in 1958, 20th Century Fox offered Tierney a lead role in ''
Holiday for Lovers
''Holiday for Lovers'' is a 1959 DeLuxe in CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin. Based on a 1957 play of the same title by Ronald Alexander, the film stars Clifton Webb, Jane Wyman, Jill St. John and Carol Lynley.
Plot
Robert Dean ...
'' (1959), but the stress upon her proved too great, so only days into production, she dropped out of the film and returned to Menninger for a time.
Comeback
Tierney made a screen comeback in ''
Advise and Consent'' (1962), co-starring with
Franchot Tone and reuniting with director Otto Preminger.
Soon afterwards, she played Albertine Prine in ''
Toys in the Attic'' (1963), based on the play by
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted aft ...
. This was followed by the international production of ''
Las cuatro noches de la luna llena
''Four Nights of the Full Moon'' ( es, Las cuatro noches de la luna llena) directed by Sobey Martin is a 1963 Documento film, starring an international ensemble cast with Gene Tierney, Dan Dailey, and Analia Gade.
This film is considered a los ...
'', (''Four Nights of the Full Moon'' – 1963), in which she starred with
Dan Dailey. She received critical praise overall for her performances.
Tierney's career as a solid character actress seemed to be back on track as she played Jane Barton in ''
The Pleasure Seekers'' (1964), but then she suddenly retired. She returned to star in the television movie ''
Daughter of the Mind
''Daughter of the Mind'' is a 1969 American made-for-television horror-thriller film starring Don Murray, Ray Milland and Gene Tierney. It was first broadcast on ABC on December 9, 1969 as the ABC Movie of the Week.TV Guide, December 6–12, 19 ...
'' (1969) with
Don Murray Don Murray may refer to:
* Don Murray (actor) (1929–2024), American actor
* Don Murray (clarinetist) (1904–1929), American jazz musician
* Don Murray (drummer) (1945–1996), American drummer and aminator
* Don Murray (footballer)
Donald Ja ...
and
Ray Milland
Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...
. Her final performance was in the TV
miniseries ''Scruples'' (1980).
Personal life
Tierney was married twice. Her first husband was
Oleg Cassini, a costume and fashion designer, on June 1, 1941, with whom she eloped. She was 20 years old. Her parents opposed the marriage because he was from a Russian-Italian family and born in France.
She had two daughters, Antoinette Daria Cassini (October 15, 1943 – September 11, 2010) and Christina "Tina" Cassini (November 19, 1948 – March 31, 2015).
In June 1943, while pregnant with Daria, Tierney contracted
rubella
Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...
(German measles), likely from a fan ill with the disease.
Antoinette Daria Cassini was born prematurely in Washington, DC, weighing and requiring a total blood transfusion. The rubella caused congenital damage: Daria was deaf, partially blind with cataracts, and severely mentally disabled. She was institutionalized for much of her life.
This entire incident was inspiration for a plot point in the 1962
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
novel ''
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'' (Christie's official website says about that novel, "The plot was inspired by Agatha Christie's reflections on a mother's feelings for a child born with disabilities and there can be little doubt that Christie was influenced by the real-life tragedy of American actress Gene Tierney."). Tierney's friend
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in t ...
paid for Daria's medical expenses, ensuring the girl received the best care. Tierney never forgot his acts of kindness.
[''Self-Portrait''. Tierney and Herskowitz (1979). Wyden Books. pp. 1, 9–10, 14, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25–26, 27, 33, 36, 38, 65–66, 91, 97, 101, 119, 131, 133, 141–42, 144, 150–51, 164–65, 192–192, 207. ] Daria Cassini died in 2010, at the age of 66.
Tierney and Cassini separated October 20, 1946, and entered into a property settlement agreement on November 10.
Periodicals during this period record Tierney with
Charles K. Feldman, including articles related to her "twosoming" with Feldman, her "current best beau". Her divorce from Cassini was to be finalized in March 1948, but they reconciled before then. They later divorced in 1952.
During their separation, Tierney met
John F. Kennedy, a young World War II veteran, who was visiting the set of ''
Dragonwyck'' in 1946. They began a romance that she ended the following year after Kennedy told her he could never marry her because of his political ambitions.
In 1960, Tierney sent Kennedy a note of congratulations on his victory in the presidential election. During this time, newspapers documented Tierney's other romantic relationships, including
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Dou ...
.
While filming for ''
Personal Affair'' in Europe, she began a romance with
Prince Aly Khan.
[''Self-Portrait''. Tierney and Herskowitz (1979). Wyden Books. pp. 179–193.] They became engaged in 1952, while Khan was going through a divorce from
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...
. Their marriage plans, however, met with fierce opposition from his father,
Aga Khan III.
Cassini later bequeathed $500,000 in trust to Daria and $1,000,000 to Christina.
Cassini and Tierney remained friends until her death in November 1991.
In 1958, Tierney met Texas oil baron W. Howard Lee, who had been married to actress
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...
since 1953. Lee and Lamarr divorced in 1960 after a long battle over
alimony
Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial su ...
.
Lee and Tierney married in
Aspen, Colorado
Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Mo ...
, on July 11, 1960. They lived quietly in
Houston, Texas, and
Delray Beach, Florida until his death in 1981.
Despite her self-imposed exile in Texas, Tierney received work offers from Hollywood, prompting her to a comeback. She appeared in a November 1960 broadcast of ''
General Electric Theater'', during which time she discovered that she was pregnant. Shortly after, 20th Century Fox announced Tierney would play the lead role in ''
Return to Peyton Place'', but she withdrew from the production after suffering a miscarriage.
As a lifelong
Republican, she supported
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...
and
Ronald Reagan in their elections.
Later years
Tierney's autobiography, ''Self-Portrait'', in which she candidly discusses her life, career, and mental illness, was published in 1979.
In 1986, Tierney was honored alongside actor
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
with the first
Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award at the
San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain.
Tierney has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...
at 6125
Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywo ...
.
Death
Tierney died of
emphysema
Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the a ...
on November 6, 1991, in Houston, 13 days before her 71st birthday.
She is interred in
Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.
Certain documents of Tierney's film-related material, personal papers, letters, etc., are held in the
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the c ...
Cinema Archives, though her papers are closed to the public.
Broadway credits
Filmography
Television credits
Radio appearances
Quotes
By Tierney
* "I don't think
Howard ">ughescould love anything that did not have a motor in it."
* "
Joe Schenck, a top 20th Century-Fox executive, once said to me that he really believed I had a future, and that was because I was the only girl who could survive so many bad pictures." —quoted in ''The RKO Girls''
Cultural references
* Tierney was ranked number 71 in ''
Premiere Magazine''s list of "The 100 Sexiest Movie Stars of All Time".
* A comedy routine between
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
and
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in pop culture, Lewis was nickn ...
involved Lewis (in boxing shorts and gear) stating that he's fighting Gene Tierney. This plays on the similarly named
Gene Tunney, who held the world heavyweight boxing title from 1926 to 1928.
* In a third-season episode of ''
M*A*S*H*
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
The ...
'' ("
House Arrest
In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if ...
"), the characters watch Tierney in ''
Leave Her to Heaven''. After
Cornel Wilde kisses Tierney passionately,
Hawkeye Pierce says, "If he straightens out that overbite, I'll kill him."
* Tierney was featured as the heroine of a novel, ''Gene Tierney and the Invisible Wedding Gift'' (1947), written by Kathryn Heisenfelt.
*
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
is widely assumed to have drawn the basic idea for her 1962 novel ''
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'' from the real-life German measles tragedy of Tierney and her baby.
*The
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
Musical ''
Violet'' references Gene Tierney several times. The main character Violet states that she wants a pair of "Gene Tierney eyes" due to the fact that her face was disfigured after an accident involving her father.
* Tierney is routinely discussed in the 2005 Irish novel ''
An Evening of Long Goodbyes
''An Evening of Long Goodbyes'' is a 2003 in literature, 2003 comic novel by Irish people, Irish author Paul Murray (author), Paul Murray. It was shortlisted for the 2003 Whitbread Awards#First Novel, 2003 Whitbread First Novel Award and for the ...
'' by
Paul Murray
See also
References
Bibliography
*
*
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External links
*
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Gene Tierney at The Biography ChannelGene Tierneya
aenigmaby
Ned Scott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tierney, Gene
1920 births
1991 deaths
20th Century Studios contract players
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American memoirists
Actresses from New York City
American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni
American film actresses
American people of Irish descent
American radio actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
American women memoirists
Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas)
Deaths from emphysema
Miss Porter's School alumni
New York (state) Republicans
People from Brooklyn
People with bipolar disorder
Texas Republicans