Editing Greer Garson (section)

==Career==
Garson's early professional appearances were on stage, starting at [[Birmingham Repertory Theatre]] in January 1932, when she was age 27. She appeared on television during its earliest years (the late 1930s), most notably starring in a 30-minute production of an excerpt of ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' in May 1937, with [[Dorothy Black (actress)|Dorothy Black]]. These live transmissions were part of the BBC's pioneering television service from [[Alexandra Palace]], and this is the first known instance of a [[Shakespeare]] play performed on television.<ref>Troyan, Michael (1999), pp. 57–58, 380.</ref> In 1936, she appeared in the [[West End theatre|West End]] in [[Charles Bennett (screenwriter)|Charles Bennett]]'s play ''[[Page From a Diary]]'', and [[Noël Coward]]'s play ''Mademoiselle''.

[[File:Greer Garson in Pride and Prejudice.JPG|thumb|Garson in ''[[Pride and Prejudice (1940 film)|Pride and Prejudice]]'' (1940)]]
[[Louis B. Mayer]] discovered Garson while he was in London looking for new talent. Garson was signed to a contract with [[MGM]] in late 1937. The actress suffered a back injury during her first 18 months at MGM while waiting for a role Mayer deemed worthy of her, and she nearly was cut from her contract.

She began work on ''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)|Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]'', her first film, in late 1938, and she received her first Oscar nomination for the role. She received critical acclaim the next year for her role as [[Elizabeth Bennet]] in the 1940 film ''[[Pride and Prejudice (1940 film)|Pride and Prejudice]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|date=9 August 1940|title=The Screen in Review; 'Pride and Prejudice,' a Delightful Comedy of Manners, Seen at the Music Hall-- 'South to Karanga' Given at the Rialto and 'Pier 13' at the Palace At the Rialto|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/08/09/archives/the-screen-in-review-pride-and-prejudice-a-delightful-comedy-of.html|access-date=7 May 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Garson starred with [[Joan Crawford]] in ''[[When Ladies Meet (1941 film)|When Ladies Meet]]'', a 1941 poorly received and sanitized re-make of a [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] [[When Ladies Meet (1933 film)|1933 film of the same name]], which had starred [[Ann Harding]] and [[Myrna Loy]]. The same year, she became a major box-office star with the sentimental [[Technicolor]] drama ''[[Blossoms in the Dust]]'', which brought her the first of five consecutive Best Actress Oscar nominations, tying [[Bette Davis]]'s record from 1938 to 1942, which still stands.<ref>{{cite book|last=Leslie|first=Roger|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7UsDwAAQBAJ&q=greer+garson+oscar+nomination&pg=PA93|title=Oscar's Favorite Actors: The Winningest Stars (and More Who Should Be)|date=30 June 2017|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-6956-4}}</ref>

Garson starred in two Oscar-nominated films in 1942: ''[[Mrs. Miniver]]'' and ''[[Random Harvest (film)|Random Harvest]]''. She won Best Actress for her performance as a strong British wife and mother protecting the homefront during the Second World War in ''Mrs. Miniver'', which co-starred [[Walter Pidgeon]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Tapert|first=Stephen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zeDBDwAAQBAJ&q=Garson|title=Best Actress: The History of Oscar®-Winning Women|date=10 December 2019|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-1-9788-0806-5}}</ref> The ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' credited her with the longest [[Academy Award|Oscar]] acceptance speech,<ref>{{cite book|last=Robertson|first=Patrick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jYQqAAAAYAAJ&q=greer+garson+longest+acceptance+speech|title=Guinness Movie Facts & Feats|date=1988|publisher=Guinness Books|isbn=978-0-85112-899-3}}</ref> at five minutes and 30 seconds,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/longest-oscar-acceptance-speech.html|title=The Longest Acceptance Speech|work=Infoplease|access-date=29 April 2007}}</ref> after which the Academy Awards instituted a time limit. Garson held this record until it was surpassed by [[Adrien Brody]]'s speech at the [[97th Academy Awards]], eighty-two years later.

[[File:Greer Garson in That Forsyte Woman 2.JPG|thumb|Garson in ''That Forsyte Woman''&nbsp;(1949)]]
In ''Random Harvest'' she co-starred with [[Ronald Colman]]. The drama received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Colman and Best Picture. The American Film Institute ranked it #36 on its list of 100 Greatest Love Stories of All Time, and it was one of Garson's favorite films.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|last=Crouse|first=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qIj5TpxXffoC&q=greer+garson+nomination+random+harvest&pg=PA111|title=Reel Winners: Movie Award Trivia|date=22 October 2005|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-55002-574-3}}</ref>

Garson also received Oscar nominations for her performances in the films ''[[Madame Curie (film)|Madame Curie]]'' (1943), ''[[Mrs. Parkington]]'' (1944), and ''[[The Valley of Decision]]'' (1945). She frequently co-starred with Walter Pidgeon, ultimately making eight pictures with him: ''Blossoms in the Dust'' (1941), ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''Madame Curie'', ''Mrs. Parkington'', ''[[Julia Misbehaves]]'' (1948), ''[[That Forsyte Woman]]'' (1949), ''[[The Miniver Story]]'' (1950), and ''[[Scandal at Scourie]]'' (1953).<ref>{{cite news|last=Berger|first=Joseph|date=26 September 1984|title=Walter Pidgeon, Actor, Dies at 87 (Published 1984)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/26/obituaries/walter-pidgeon-actor-dies-at-87.html|access-date=30 October 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

[[File:The Miniver Story 2.JPG|left|thumb|Garson and co-star [[Walter Pidgeon]] in ''The Miniver Story'' (1950), a sequel to the successful award-winning ''Mrs. Miniver'']]
Garson starred with [[Clark Gable]] after his return from war service in ''[[Adventure (1945 film)|Adventure]]'' (1945). The film was advertised with the catch-phrase "Gable's back, and Garson's got him!"<ref>Garnett, Tay, ''Light Your Torches, and Pull up your Tights'', New Rochelle, New York, Arlington House, 1973; {{ISBN|0-87000-204-X}}</ref> Gable argued for "He Put the Arson in Garson"; she countered with "She Put the Able in Gable!"; thereafter, the safer catchphrase was selected.

She injured her back again while filming ''[[Desire Me]]'' in Monterey on 26 April 1946 when a wave knocked her and co-star [[Richard Hart (actor)|Richard Hart]] from the rocks where they were rehearsing. A local fisherman and a film extra rescued Garson from the surf and potential undertow. She was bruised and in shock, and she required by doctors to rest for several days. The injury to her back required several surgeries over the coming years.<ref>Michael Troyan, A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson, The University Press of Kentucky: Lexington, Kentucky (1999), pp.198–200.{{ISBN|978-0813120942}}</ref>

Garson's popularity declined somewhat in the late 1940s, but she remained a prominent film star until the mid-1950s. In 1951, she became a naturalised citizen of the United States.<ref>Troyan, Michael (1999), pp. 240–241.</ref> She made only a few films after her MGM contract expired in 1954. In 1958, she received a warm reception on Broadway in ''[[Auntie Mame]]'', replacing [[Rosalind Russell]], who had gone back to Hollywood to make the film version. In 1960, Garson received her seventh and final Oscar nomination for ''[[Sunrise at Campobello]]'', playing [[Eleanor Roosevelt]].

Greer was a special guest on an episode of the TV series ''[[Father Knows Best]]'', playing herself.<ref>{{Citation|title="Father Knows Best" Kathy's Big Chance (TV Episode 1957)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0578441/fullcredits|access-date=27 January 2019}}</ref> On 4 October 1956, Garson appeared with [[Reginald Gardiner]] as the first two guest stars of the series in the premiere of ''[[The Ford Show|The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford]]''. She appeared as a mystery guest on ''[[What's My Line]]'' on 25 October 1953 and again on 6 April 1958 to promote her appearance on stage in ''Auntie Mame''. She also served as a panelist rather than a guest on the ''[[What's My Line]]'' episode that aired on 12 May 1957.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/kDku13RPflI Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190715221656/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDku13RPflI&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDku13RPflI|title=What's My Line? – Ziegfeld Girls; Walter Brennan; Adolph Menjou, Greer Garson [panel] (12 May 1957)|last=What's My Line?|date=11 January 2014|access-date=19 August 2017|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

She returned to MGM for a role in ''[[The Singing Nun (film)|The Singing Nun]]'' (1966), starring [[Debbie Reynolds]]. Her last film appearance was in the 1967 [[Walt Disney]] feature ''[[The Happiest Millionaire]]'', and she made infrequent television appearances afterward. In 1968, she narrated the children's television special ''[[The Little Drummer Boy (TV special)|The Little Drummer Boy]]''. Her final role for television was in a 1982 episode of ''[[The Love Boat]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Troyan |first=Michael |title=A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_IW__K6uOroC&q=greer+garson+love+boat&pg=PA383 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |date=12 September 2010 |isbn=978-0-8131-2842-9}}</ref>