Hope Lange

Hope Elise Ross Lange (November 28, 1933 – December 19, 2003) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Selena Cross in the 1957 film '' Peyton Place''. In 1969 and 1970, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Carolyn Muir in the sitcom '' The Ghost & Mrs. Muir''.

Early life

Lange was born into a theatrical family in Redding, Connecticut. Her father, John George Lange, was a cellist and the music arranger for Florenz Ziegfeld and conductor for Henry Cohen; her mother, Minette ( née Buddecke), was an actress. "Mrs. Minette Buddecke Lange, who ran Minette's restaurant in Macdougal Street from 1944 to 1956, died Oct. 23 in a nursing home in Hanover, N. H. Her age was 71. She was the widow of John George Lange, composer and conductor." They had two other daughters, Minelda and Joy, and a son, David. Minelda Lange, daughter of Mrs. John G. Lange married Robert Jiras. Minelda attended American Academy of Dramatic Arts. "During this time 949–1954 he met and married Joy Lange, for whose family he had worked as a waiter at their Macdougal Street restaurant—Minette’s of Washington Square—and whose sister, Hope, was beginning to make a name as a Hollywood star in movies such as Bus Stop and Peyton Place." John worked in New York City and the family moved to Greenwich Village when Hope was a young child.

Lange sang with other children in the play ''Life, Laughter and Tears'', which opened at the Booth Theatre in March 1942. Her father died in September 1942. The family stayed in New York City after his death. John George Lange, September 13, 1942. At age 9, she had a speaking part in the award-winning Broadway play ''The Patriots'', which opened in January 1943. ''The Patriots'' opened January 29, 1943. Hope Lange played Anne Randolph. From 1944 to 1956 Minette ran a restaurant on Macdougal Street, near Washington Square Park, called Minette's of Washington Square. (Some sources confuse it with Minetta Tavern, an Italian restaurant on Macdougal Street, founded in 1937.) The entire family worked there; Minelda ran the cash register, and Joy and Hope waited on tables.

In high school, Lange studied dance, modeled, and worked in the family restaurant. She sometimes walked the dog of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who had a nearby apartment. Eleanor Roosevelt lived at 29 Washington Square West from 1945 to 1949 When her photo appeared in the newspaper, she received an offer to work as a New York City advertising model. She appeared on the June 1949 cover of '' Radio-Electronics'' magazine wearing the "Man from Mars" Radio Hat. This portable radio built into a pith helmet was a sensation in 1949. Cover description: The Radio Hat, posed by Hope Lange
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Lange attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon for one year, studying dance and theater before subsequently transferring to Barmore Junior College in New York, where she met her first husband, Don Murray.

Career

Lange began working in television in the 1950s with appearances on ''Kraft Television Theatre.'' She was seen by a Hollywood producer and contracted to 20th Century Fox. She came to prominence in her first film role in '' Bus Stop'' with Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray, whom she married on April 14, 1956. Murray later said that Monroe grew jealous of another blonde being hired for the movie and asked the producers to dye Lange's blonde hair light brown.

After favorable reviews, Lange landed a major role in the then-risqué 1957 film '' Peyton Place''. Her strong performance earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award and another for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She subsequently became well-known for such supporting ingénue roles, and said that the resulting typecasting shortened her movie career.

She went on to appear in Nicholas Ray's film '' The True Story of Jesse James'' (1957) as James' wife, opposite Robert Wagner; and in '' The Young Lions'' with Montgomery Clift. She starred as the wife of Jeffrey Hunter's character in Anton Myrer's wartime drama '' In Love and War'' (1958). These roles led to her earning top billing in '' The Best of Everything'' (1959), with Suzy Parker and Joan Crawford.

Lange appeared as Elvis Presley's older psychologist love interest in '' Wild in the Country'' (1961), despite being only 13 months Elvis' senior. She then appeared in Frank Capra's final movie, '' Pocketful of Miracles'', with Glenn Ford. The next year, she appeared with Ford again in the romantic comedy ''Love Is a Ball''.

Lange returned to television for a 1966 role on the series '' The Fugitive'' (1963). She starred from 1968 to 1970 on the television series, '' The Ghost & Mrs. Muir'' for which she earned two Emmy Awards. and a Golden Globe Award nomination. This success was followed by three seasons on '' The New Dick Van Dyke Show'' as Dick Van Dyke's wife, Jenny Preston, from 1971 to 1974, after which she declined to return for a fourth season of the show. She also appeared in twelve television movies, one being ''Crowhaven Farm'' where she played the role of a witch. In 1977, she returned to the Broadway stage where her acting career had originally begun. She also played the murdered wife of Charles Bronson's vigilante character in '' Death Wish'' (1974). In 1985, she appeared in ''