Kim Stanley

Kim Stanley (born Patricia Kimberley Reid; February 11, 1925 – August 20, 2001) was an American actress who was primarily active in television and theatre but also had occasional film performances.

She began her acting career in theatre and subsequently attended the Actors Studio in New York. She received the 1952 Theatre World Award for her role in The Chase (1952), and starred in the Broadway productions of Picnic (1953) and Bus Stop (1955). Stanley was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her roles in A Touch of the Poet (1959) and A Far Country (1962).

In the 1950s, Stanley was a prolific performer in television; she later progressed to film, with a well-received performance in The Goddess (1958). She was the narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), and starred in Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), for which she won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was less active during the remainder of her career; two of her later film successes were as the mother of Frances Farmer in Frances (1982), for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and as Pancho Barnes in The Right Stuff (1983). Stanley received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie for her performance as Big Mama in a television adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1985. That same year, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early life

Stanley was born in Tularosa, New Mexico, the daughter of Ann (née Miller), an interior decorator, and J. T. Reid, a professor of philosophy and education at the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque.<ref name=ref1/> Her father was of Irish or Scottish descent, born and raised in Texas, where he met her mother (who was of German and English ancestry). She had three older brothers (Howard Clinton Reid, a psychiatrist; Kenneth Reid, killed in pilot training during World War II; and Justin Truman Reid, a lawyer); and a half-sister (Carol Ann Reid).<ref name=ref1>Template:Cite book</ref> She was a drama major at the University of New Mexico, and later studied at the Pasadena Playhouse and adopted her maternal grandmother's surname as her stage name.<ref name=ref1/>

Career

Theatre

Stanley was a successful Broadway actress with only a few film roles. She was singled out by The New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson for her early work. She eventually attended the Actors Studio, studying under Elia Kazan, Lee Strasberg, and Vivian Nathan.<ref name=thr>Template:Cite news</ref> She received the 1952 Theatre World Award for her performance as Anna Reeves in The Chase,<ref>Internet Broadway Database: The Chase Production Credits</ref> and starred in such Broadway hits as Picnic (1953), playing Millie Owens and Bus Stop (1955), playing Cherie.

She was nominated for the 1959 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for A Touch of the Poet and the 1962 Tony for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Elizabeth von Ritter in Henry Denker's A Far Country. Stanley also portrayed Maggie "The Cat" in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the original London production of the play. In 1965, she played Masha in the London run of an Actors Studio production of Anton Chekhov's play The Three Sisters. After a savaging of the production by local critics, she made good on her promise to never act on stage again.

Television

Stanley was a leading lady of live television drama, which flourished in New York City during the 1950s. On October 17, 1950, she starred in "The Vanishing Lady" on The Trap.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her other starring roles included Wilma, a star-struck 15-year-old girl from the U.S. Gulf Coast of Texas in Horton Foote's A Young Lady of Property, which aired on The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse on April 5, 1953.

Film

Her first film was The Goddess (1958), playing a tragic movie star. She starred in Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), winning both the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

A filmed version of Strasberg-directed Three Sisters (1966) opened with Stanley reprising the role of Masha, and is the only time one can see her perform in a film alongside Geraldine Page, Sandy Dennis, Shelley Winters and other well-known names of the Actors Studio. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance as Frances Farmer's possessive mother in Frances (1982). She also played Pancho Barnes in The Right Stuff (1983). Stanley was the uncredited narrator in the drama film To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). As the narrator, she represents the character Jean Louise Finch ("Scout") as an adult. Mary Badham portrays Scout as a child in the film.

She received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her appearance in the episode, "A Cardinal Act of Mercy" (1963), of the television series, Ben Casey (1961–1966), and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for her appearance in the 1984 television adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Southern melodrama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, this time as Big Mama.

Personal life

Stanley was married four times: to Bruce Hall (1945–1946), Curt Conway (1949–1956), Alfred Ryder (1958–1964), and Joseph Siegel (1964–1967). All four marriages ended in divorce.

She had three children: one by Curt Conway; one by Brooks Clift (brother of Montgomery Clift), while she was married to Conway; and one by Alfred Ryder (Laurie).<ref name="nyt obit" /> During her marriage to Ryder, Stanley converted to Judaism.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Stanley did not act during her later years, preferring the role of teacher in New York City, Los Angeles, and later Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Death

Stanley died of cancer at a hospital in Santa Fe at the age of 76.<ref name="guardian obit">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt obit">Template:Cite news</ref> She was survived by her brother Justin, her children, and three grandchildren.<ref name="nyt obit" /> A biography, Female Brando: the Legend of Kim Stanley (2006), by Jon Krampner, was published by Back Stage Books, a division of Watson-Guptill.<ref name="amazon.female.brando">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="google.female.brando">Template:Cite book</ref>

She was inducted into the New Mexico Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2012.

Stage work

Partial listing of stage work:

Opening date	Closing date	Title	Role	Playwright	Theatre	Notes
1949	1949	Yes Is For A Very Young Man<ref name="guardian obit" />		Gertrude Stein	Cherry Lane Theatre
Oct 29, 1949	Dec 24, 1949	Montserrat<ref name="guardian obit" />	Replacement for Julie Harris as Felisa	Lillian Hellman adaptation original Emmanuel Roblès	Fulton
Jan 7, 1951	Jan 20, 1951	The House of Bernarda Alba<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || Adela || Federico García Lorca Translation James Graham Lujan and Richard L. O'Connell || ANTA ||
Apr 15, 1952	May 10, 1952	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || Anna Reeves || Horton Foote || Playhouse || 1952 Theatre World Award<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> for Kim Stanley
Feb 19, 1953	Apr 10, 1954	Picnic<ref name="nyt obit" />	Millie Owens	William Inge	Music Box	New York Drama Critics Award
Oct 27, 1954	Nov 20, 1954	The Traveling Lady<ref name="nyt obit" />	Georgette Thomas	Horton Foote	Playhouse
Mar 2, 1955	Apr 21, 1956	Bus Stop<ref name="guardian obit" /><ref name="nyt obit" />	Cherie	William Inge	Music Box Winter Garden
Jan 10, 1957	Feb 9, 1957	A Clearing in the Woods<ref name="nyt obit" />	Virginia	Arthur Laurents	Belasco
Jan 30, 1958	1958	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof<ref name="guardian obit" />	Maggie	Tennessee Williams	Comedy Theatre
Oct 2, 1958	Jun 13, 1959	A Touch of the Poet<ref name="guardian obit" />	Sara Melody	Eugene O'Neill	Helen Hayes	Tony Award nomination, Best Actress
Oct 12, 1959	Nov 28, 1959	Chéri<ref name="nyt obit" />	Léa de Lonval	Anita Loos Colette	Morosco
Apr 4, 1961	Nov 25, 1961	A Far Country<ref name="nyt obit" />	Elizabeth von Ritter	Henry Denker	Music Box	Tony Award nomination, Best Actress
Jan 31, 1963	Mar 02, 1963	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || Sue Barker || William Inge || Booth ||
Jun 22, 1964	Oct 03, 1964	The Three Sisters<ref name="nyt obit" />	Masha	Anton Chekhov Randall Jarrell English version	Morosco

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	Template:Sort<ref name="nyt obit" /><ref name="guardian obit" />	Emily Ann Faulkner
1962	To Kill a Mockingbird	Scout as an Adult – Narrator	Voice, Uncredited
1964	Séance on a Wet Afternoon<ref name="nyt obit" />	Myra Savage	Laurel Award for Top Dramatic Performance, Female (3rd place) National Board of Review Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Nominated-Academy Award for Best Actress<ref name="nyt obit" /> Nominated-BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1966	The Three Sisters<ref name="nyt obit" />	Masha
1982	Frances<ref name="nyt obit" />	Lillian Farmer	Nominated-Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated-Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture<ref name="nyt obit" />
1983	Template:Sort<ref name="nyt obit" />	Pancho Barnes

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	Template:Sort	Unknown	Father, Dear Father
1950	Cavalcade of Stars	Self	Episode #1.53
1950	Sure As Fate	Unknown	The Vanishing Lady
1950	The Trap	Unknown	Sentence of Death
1950	Escape	Unknown	The Covenant
1951	Danger	Unknown	The Anniversary
1951	Out There	Unknown	The Bus to Nowhere
1952	Danger	Helen	The System
1954	Danger	Unknown	The Bet
1953	You Are There	Cleopatra	The Death of Cleopatra (30 B.C.)
1953	You Are There	Joan of Arc	The Final Hours of Joan of Arc (May 30, 1431)
1953	The Gulf Playhouse	Unknown	The Tears of My Sister
1953	Template:Sort	Self	Episode #6.36
1952	Goodyear Television Playhouse	Unknown	The Witness
1954	Goodyear Television Playhouse	Unknown	The Brownstone
1956	Goodyear Television Playhouse	Kay	Joey
1956	Goodyear Television Playhouse	Unknown	In the Days of Our Youth
1956	Goodyear Television Playhouse	Unknown	Conspiracy of Hearts
1953	Template:Sort	Unknown	A Young Lady of Property
1953	Template:Sort	Unknown	The Strong Women
1953	Template:Sort	Unknown	The Sixth Sense
1954	Template:Sort	Unknown	Somebody Special
1954	Armstrong Circle Theatre	Unknown	H Is for Hurricane
1954	Inner Sanctum Mystery	Maggie	The Hands
1954	Kraft Television Theatre	Unknown	The Scarlet Letter
1956	Kraft Television Theatre	Unknown	Death Is a Spanish Dancer
1957	Kraft Television Theatre	Unknown	The Glass Wall
1955	A.N.T.A. Album of 1955	Herself	Production of American National Theater and Academy
1955	Playwrights 56	Abby	The Waiting Place
1955	Playwrights 56	Martha Anderson	Flight
1955	The Elgin Hour	Lili	The Bridge
1957	Westinghouse Studio One	Georgette Thomas	The Traveling Lady
1957	Playhouse 90	Mae D'Amato	Clash by Night
1960	Playhouse 90	Sarah Eubanks	Tomorrow
1958	Armchair Theatre	Georgette Thomas	The Travelling Lady
1960	Armchair Theatre	Unknown	The Cake Baker
1960	DuPont Show of the Month	Sarah Anne Howe	Ethan Frome
1962	Westinghouse Presents: That's Where the Town Is Going	Wilma Sills	TV movie
1963	Ben Casey<ref name="nyt obit" />	Faith Parsons	A Cardinal Act of Mercy:, Parts 1 and 2 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1964	Template:Sort	Unknown	Does My Mother Have to Know?:, Parts 1 and 2
1968	Flesh and Blood	Della	TV movie
1969	U.M.C.	Joanna Hanson	TV movie, Pilot for Medical Center
1970	NET Playhouse: Dragon Country	Unknown	TV movie
1971	Night Gallery	Elizabeth Croft	A Fear of Spiders/Junior/Marmalade Wine/The Academy
1971	Template:Sort	Veta Marie Goss	The Man Who Killed a Ghost
1982	It Takes Two	Mrs. Tandy	Death Penalty
1983	55th Academy Awards	Self
1983	Quincy, M.E.	Mrs. Edith Jordan	Beyond the Open Door
1984	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof<ref name="nyt obit" />	Big Mama	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> (final performance)
2005	Template:Sort	Self	Documentary

See also

• List of American film actresses
• List of American television actresses
• List of people from New Mexico

External links

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• Telegraph obituary