Deborah Kerr

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Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 1921Template:Spaced ndash16 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (Template:IPAc-en), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be nominated for any acting Oscar.

During her international film career, Kerr won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Anna Leonowens in the musical film The King and I (1956). Her other major and best known films and performances are The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), Black Narcissus (1947), Quo Vadis (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Tea and Sympathy (1956), An Affair to Remember (1957), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), Bonjour Tristesse (1958), Separate Tables (1958), The Sundowners (1960), The Grass Is Greener (1960), The Innocents (1961), and The Night of the Iguana (1964).

In 1994, having already received honorary awards from the Cannes Film Festival and BAFTA, Kerr received an Academy Honorary Award with a citation recognizing her as "an artist of impeccable grace and beauty, a dedicated actress whose motion picture career has always stood for perfection, discipline and elegance".<ref name="BBC News">Template:Cite news</ref>

Early lifeEdit

Deborah Jane Trimmer<ref name="auto">Template:Cite news</ref> was born on 30 September 1921 in Hillhead, Glasgow,<ref name="herald">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the only daughter of Kathleen Rose (née Smale) and Capt. Arthur Charles Kerr Trimmer, a World War I veteran and pilot who lost a leg at the Battle of the Somme and later became a naval architect and civil engineer. Trimmer and Smale married, both aged 28, on 21 August 1919 in Smale's hometown of Lydney, Gloucestershire.<ref name=OUP>Template:Cite book</ref>

Young Deborah spent the first three years of her life in the Scottish west coast town of Helensburgh, where her parents lived with Deborah's grandparents in a house on West King Street. Kerr had a younger brother, Edmund Charles (born 31 May 1926), who became a journalist. He died, aged 78, in a road rage incident in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kerr was educated at the independent Northumberland House School, Henleaze in Bristol, England, and at Rossholme School, Weston-super-Mare. Kerr originally trained as a ballet dancer, first appearing on stage at Sadler's Wells in 1938. After changing careers, she soon found success as an actress. Her first acting teacher was her aunt, Phyllis Smale, who worked at a drama school in Bristol run by Lally Cuthbert Hicks.<ref name="Telegraph"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She adopted the name Deborah Kerr on becoming a film actress ("Kerr" was a family name going back to the maternal grandmother of her grandfather Arthur Kerr Trimmer).<ref name="Deborah">Braun, Eric. Deborah Kerr. St. Martin's Press, 1978. Template:ISBN.</ref>

Early careerEdit

Early theatre and filmEdit

Kerr's first stage appearance was at Weston-super-Mare in 1937, as "Harlequin" in the mime play Harlequin and Columbine. She then went to the Sadler's Wells ballet school and in 1938 made her début in the corps de ballet in Prometheus. After various walk-on parts in Shakespeare productions at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, London, she joined the Oxford Playhouse repertory company in 1940, playing, inter alia, "Margaret" in Dear Brutus and "Patty Moss" in The Two Bouquets.<ref name="Telegraph" />

Kerr's first film role was in the British production Contraband (US: Blackout, 1940), aged 18 or 19, but her scenes were cut. She had a strong supporting role in Major Barbara (1941) directed by Gabriel Pascal.<ref name="Time Out 2012 Major Barbara">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Film stardomEdit

Kerr became known playing the lead role in the film of Love on the Dole (1941). Critic James Agate wrote that Love on the Dole "is not within a mile of Wendy Hiller's in the theatre, but it is a charming piece of work by a very pretty and promising beginner, so pretty and so promising that there is the usual yapping about a new star".<ref name="Telegraph"/>

She was the female lead in Penn of Pennsylvania (1941) which was little seen; however Hatter's Castle (1942), in which she starred with Robert Newton and James Mason, was very successful. She played a Norwegian resistance fighter in The Day Will Dawn (1942). She was an immediate hit with the public: an American film trade paper reported in 1942 that she was the most popular British actress with Americans.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kerr played three women in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943). During the filming, according to Powell's autobiography, Powell and she became lovers:<ref name="Powell">Template:Cite book</ref> "I realised that Deborah was both the ideal and the flesh-and-blood woman whom I had been searching for".<ref name="Powell"/> Kerr made clear that her surname should be pronounced the same as "car". To avoid confusion over pronunciation, Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer billed her as "Kerr rhymes with Star!"<ref name="car">Template:Cite news</ref> Although the British Army refused to co-operate with the producers—and Winston Churchill thought the film would ruin wartime morale—Colonel Blimp confounded critics when it proved to be an artistic and commercial success.<ref name="Powell"/> Template:Multiple image Powell hoped to reunite Kerr and lead actor Roger Livesey in his next film, A Canterbury Tale (1944), but her agent had sold her contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. According to Powell, his affair with Kerr ended when she made it clear to him that she would accept an offer to go to Hollywood if one were made.<ref name="Powell"/>

In 1943, aged 21, Kerr made her West End début as Ellie Dunn in a revival of Heartbreak House at the Cambridge Theatre, stealing attention from stalwarts such as Edith Evans and Isabel Jeans. "She has the rare gift", wrote critic Beverley Baxter, "of thinking her lines, not merely remembering them. The process of development from a romantic, silly girl to a hard, disillusioned woman in three hours was moving and convincing".<ref name="Telegraph"/>

Near the end of the Second World War, she also toured Holland, France, and Belgium for ENSA as Mrs Manningham in Gaslight (retitled Angel Street), and Britain (with Stewart Granger).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Alexander Korda cast her opposite Robert Donat in Perfect Strangers (1945). The film was a big hit in Britain. So too was the spy comedy drama I See a Dark Stranger (1946), in which she gave a breezy, amusing performance that dominated the action and overshadowed her co-star Trevor Howard. This film was a production of the team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat.

Her role as a troubled nun in the Powell and Pressburger production of Black Narcissus (1947) brought her to the attention of Hollywood producers. The film was a hit in the US, as well as the UK, and Kerr won the New York Film Critics Award as Actress of the Year. British exhibitors voted her the eighth-most popular local star at the box-office in 1947.<ref>'Bing's Lucky Number: Pa Crosby Dons 4th B.O. Crown', The Washington Post 3 January 1948: p. 12.</ref> She relocated to Hollywood and was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

HollywoodEdit

Metro-Goldwyn-MayerEdit

Kerr's first film for MGM in Hollywood was a mature satire of the burgeoning advertising industry, The Hucksters (1947) with Clark Gable and Ava Gardner. She and Walter Pidgeon were cast in If Winter Comes (1947). She received the first of her Oscar nominations for Edward, My Son (1949), a drama set and filmed in England co-starring Spencer Tracy.<ref name="McLellan 2007 Deborah Kerr">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In Hollywood, Kerr's British accent and manner led to a succession of roles portraying refined, reserved, and "proper" English ladies. Kerr, nevertheless, used any opportunity to discard her cool exterior. She had the lead in a comedy Please Believe Me (1950).<ref name="WarnerBros 1950 Please Believe Me">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Kerr appeared in two huge hits for MGM in a row. King Solomon's Mines (1950) was shot on location in Africa with Stewart Granger and Richard Carlson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was immediately followed by her appearance in the religious epic Quo Vadis (1951), shot at Cinecittà in Rome, in which she played the indomitable Lygia, a first-century Christian.

She then played Princess Flavia in a remake of The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) with Granger and Mason. In between Paramount borrowed her to appear in Thunder in the East (1951) with Alan Ladd.Template:Citation needed

In 1953, Kerr "showed her theatrical mettle" as Portia in Joseph Mankiewicz's Julius Caesar.<ref name="Telegraph"/> She made Young Bess (1953) with Granger and Jean Simmons, then appeared alongside Cary Grant in Dream Wife (1953), a flop comedy.

From Here to Eternity and BroadwayEdit

Kerr departed from typecasting with a performance that brought out her sensuality, as Karen Holmes, the embittered American military wife in Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953), for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. The American Film Institute acknowledged the iconic status of the scene from that film in which she and Burt Lancaster romped illicitly and passionately amidst crashing waves on a Hawaiian beach. The organisation ranked it 20th in its list of the 100 most romantic films of all time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Having established herself as a film actress in the meantime, she made her Broadway debut in 1953, appearing in Robert Anderson's Tea and Sympathy, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. Kerr performed the same role in Vincente Minnelli's film adaptation released in 1956; her stage partner John Kerr (no relation) also appeared. In 1955, Kerr won the Sarah Siddons Award for her performance in Chicago during a national tour of the play. After her Broadway début in 1953, she toured the United States with Tea and Sympathy.<ref name="McLellan 2007 Deborah Kerr"/>

Peak years of stardomEdit

Thereafter, Kerr's career choices would make her known in Hollywood for her versatility as an actress.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="car"/> She played the repressed wife in The End of the Affair (1955), shot in England with Van Johnson. She was a widow in love with William Holden in The Proud and Profane (1956), directed by George Seaton. Neither film was much of a hit. However Kerr then played Anna Leonowens in the film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I (1956); with Yul Brynner in the lead; it was a huge hit. Marni Nixon dubbed Kerr's singing voice.

She played a nun in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) opposite her long-time friend Robert Mitchum, directed by John Huston. It was very popular as was An Affair to Remember (1957) opposite Cary Grant.<ref name="McLellan 2007 Deborah Kerr"/>

Kerr starred in three films with David Niven: Bonjour Tristesse (1958), directed by Otto Preminger, Separate Tables (1958), directed by Delbert Mann, which was particularly well received,<ref name="Variety 1958 Separate Tables">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Eye of the Devil (1966), directed by J. Lee Thompson.

She made two films at MGM: The Journey (1959) reunited her with Brynner; Count Your Blessings (1959), was a comedy. Both flopped, as did Beloved Infidel (1959) with Gregory Peck.<ref name="NYT 1959 Beloved Infidel">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Later filmsEdit

Kerr was reunited with Mitchum in The Sundowners (1960) shot in Australia, then The Grass Is Greener (1960), co-starring Cary Grant. She appeared in Gary Cooper's last film The Naked Edge (1961) and starred in The Innocents (1961) where she plays a governess tormented by apparitions.<ref name="Pulver 2010 Innocents">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Kerr made her British TV debut in "Three Roads to Rome" (1963). She was another governess in The Chalk Garden (1964) and worked with John Huston again in The Night of the Iguana (1964).<ref name="Variety 1964 Iguana">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She joined Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra in a love triangle for a romantic comedy, Marriage on the Rocks (1965).

In 1965, the producers of Carry On Screaming! offered her a fee comparable to that paid to the rest of the cast combined, but she turned it down in favour of appearing in an aborted stage version of Flowers for Algernon. She replaced Kim Novak in Eye of the Devil (1966) with Niven, and was reteamed with Niven in the comedy Casino Royale (1967), achieving the distinction of being, at 45, the oldest "Bond girl" in any James Bond film, until Monica Bellucci, at the age of 50, in Spectre (2015). Casino Royale was a hit as was another movie she made with Niven, Prudence and the Pill (1968).<ref name="Ebert 1968 Prudence">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She made The Arrangement (1969) with Elia Kazan, her director from the stage production of Tea and Sympathy. She returned to the cinema one more time in 1985's The Assam Garden.<ref name="NYT 1986 ASSAM GARDEN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

TheatreEdit

Concern about parts offered her made her abandon film at the end of the 1960s, with one exception in 1985, in favour of television and theatre work.<ref name="Deborah"/>

Kerr returned to the London stage in many productions, including the old-fashioned, The Day After the Fair (Lyric, 1972), a Peter Ustinov comedy, Overheard (Haymarket, 1981) and a revival of Emlyn Williams's The Corn is Green.<ref name="Telegraph"/> After her first London success in 1943, she toured England and Scotland in Heartbreak House.<ref name="Baxter 2007 Deborah Kerr obituary"/>

In 1975, she returned to Broadway, creating the role of Nancy in Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Seascape.

In 1977, she came back to the West End, playing the title role in a production of George Bernard Shaw's Candida.

The theatre, despite her success in films, was always to remain Kerr's first love, even though going on stage filled her with trepidation:

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TelevisionEdit

Kerr experienced a career resurgence on television in the early 1980s when she played the role of the nurse (played by Elsa Lanchester in the 1957 film of the same name) in Witness for the Prosecution, with Sir Ralph Richardson. She also did A Song at Twilight (1982).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She took on the role of the older Emma Harte, a tycoon, in the adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman of Substance (1985). For this performance, Kerr was nominated for an Emmy Award.<ref name="Television Academy Woman of Substance">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Kerr rejoined old screen partner Mitchum in Reunion at Fairborough (1985). Other TV roles included Ann and Debbie (1986) and Hold the Dream (1986), the latter a sequel to A Woman of Substance.<ref name="NYT 1986 Substance sequel">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal lifeEdit

Kerr's first marriage was to Squadron Leader Anthony Bartley RAF on 29 November 1945. They had two daughters, Melanie Jane (born 27 December 1947) and Francesca Ann (born 18 December 1951, who married the actor John Shrapnel). Through Francesca they had three grandsons, actors Lex Shrapnel and Tom Shrapnel as well as the writer Joe Shrapnel. Melanie is a medical sociologist and retired academic. The marriage was troubled, owing to Bartley's envy of his wife's fame and financial success,<ref name="Deborah"/> and because her career often took her away from home. They divorced in 1959.

Her second marriage was to author Peter Viertel on 23 July 1960. In marrying Viertel, she became stepmother to Viertel's daughter, Christine Viertel. Although she long resided in Klosters, Switzerland, and Marbella, Spain, Kerr moved back to Britain to be closer to her own children as her health began to deteriorate. Her husband, however, continued to live in Marbella.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Stewart Granger said in his autobiography that in 1945 she had approached him romantically in the back of his chauffeur-driven car at the time he was making Caesar and Cleopatra.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Although he was married to Elspeth March, he states that he and Kerr went on to have an affair.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> When asked about this revelation, Kerr's response was, "What a gallant man he is!"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

DeathEdit

Kerr died aged 86 on 16 October 2007 at Botesdale, a village in the county of Suffolk, England, from the effects of Parkinson's disease.<ref name="ClarkM-USAT-obit">Clark, Mike (18 October 2007). "Actress Deborah Kerr dies at age 86". USA Today.</ref><ref name="CNN-obit">"From Here to Eternity actress Kerr dies." Template:Webarchive CNN. 18 October 2007</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Within three weeks of her death, her husband Peter Viertel died of cancer on 4 November.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time of Viertel's death, director Michael Scheingraber was filming the documentary Peter Viertel: Between the Lines, which includes reminiscences concerning Kerr and the Academy Awards.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

FilmographyEdit

FilmEdit

Year Title Role Director Notes
1940 Contraband Cigarette Girl Michael Powell Scenes deleted
1941 Major Barbara Jenny Hill Gabriel Pascal
Love on the Dole Sally Hardcastle John Baxter Nomination — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
1942 Penn of Pennsylvania Gulielma Maria Springett Lance Comfort
Hatter's Castle Mary Brodie
The Day Will Dawn Kari Alstad Harold French
A Battle for a Bottle Linda (voice) Animated short
1943 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp Edith Hunter
Barbara Wynne
Johnny Cannon
Powell and Pressburger Nomination — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
1945 Perfect Strangers Catherine Wilson Alexander Korda
1946 I See a Dark Stranger Bridie Quilty Frank Launder New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
1947 Black Narcissus Sister Clodagh Powell and Pressburger New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
The Hucksters Kay Dorrance Jack Conway
If Winter Comes Nona Tybar Victor Saville
1949 Edward, My Son Evelyn Boult George Cukor Nomination — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nomination — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
1950 Please Believe Me Alison Kirbe Norman Taurog
King Solomon's Mines Elizabeth Curtis Compton Bennett
Andrew Marton
1951 Quo Vadis Lygia Mervyn LeRoy
1952 Thunder in the East Joan Willoughby Charles Vidor
The Prisoner of Zenda Princess Flavia Richard Thorpe
1953 Julius Caesar Portia Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Young Bess Catherine Parr George Sidney
Dream Wife Effie Sidney Sheldon
From Here to Eternity Karen Holmes Fred Zinnemann Nomination — Academy Award for Best Actress
1955 The End of the Affair Sarah Miles Edward Dmytryk Nomination — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1956 The Proud and Profane Lee Ashley George Seaton
The King and I Anna Leonowens Walter Lang Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
Nomination — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nomination — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Singing dubbed by Marni Nixon
Tea and Sympathy Laura Reynolds Vincent Minnelli Nomination — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nomination — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1957 Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison Sister Angela John Huston New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nomination — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nomination — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
An Affair to Remember Terry McKay Leo McCarey Singing dubbed by Marni Nixon
1958 Bonjour Tristesse Anne Larson Otto Preminger
Separate Tables Sibyl Railton-Bell Delbert Mann Nomination — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nomination — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
1959 The Journey Diana Ashmore Anatole Litvak
Count Your Blessings Grace Allingham Jean Negulesco
Beloved Infidel Sheilah Graham Henry King
1960 The Sundowners Ida Carmody Fred Zinnemann New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nomination — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nomination — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
The Grass Is Greener Lady Hilary Rhyall Stanley Donen
1961 The Naked Edge Martha Radcliffe Michael Anderson
The Innocents Miss Giddens Jack Clayton
1964 The Chalk Garden Miss Madrigal Ronald Neame Nomination — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
The Night of the Iguana Hannah Jelkes John Huston
1965 Marriage on the Rocks Valerie Edwards John Donohue
1966 Eye of the Devil Catherine de Montfaucon J. Lee Thompson
1967 Casino Royale Agent Mimi/Lady Fiona McTarry John Huston
Val Guest<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1968 Prudence and the Pill Prudence Hardcastle Fielder Cook
1969 The Gypsy Moths Elizabeth Brandon John Frankenheimer
The Arrangement Florence Anderson Elia Kazan
1985 The Assam Garden Helen Graham Mary McMurray

TelevisionEdit

Year Title Role Notes
1963 ITV Play of the Week Moira Episode: Three Roads to Rome
1982 BBC2 Playhouse Carlotta Gray Episode: A Song at Twilight
1982 Witness for the Prosecution Nurse Plimsoll Television movie
1985 A Woman of Substance Emma Harte Miniseries
1985 Reunion at Fairborough Sally Wells Grant Television movie
1986 Annie and Debbie Ann Television movie
1986 Hold the Dream Emma Harte Miniseries

TheatreEdit

Year Title Role Venue
1943 Heartbreak House Ellie Dunn Cambridge Theatre, London
1953 Tea and Sympathy Laura Reynolds Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City
1972 The Day After the Fair Edith Lyric Theatre, London
1973-1974 citation CitationClass=web

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1975 Seascape Nancy Shubert Theatre, New York City
1977 Long Day's Journey into Night Mary Tyrone Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles
1977 Candida Candida Albery Theatre, London
1978 The Last of Mrs. Cheyney Mrs. Cheyney Eisenhower Theatre, Kennedy Center, Washington DC
1981 Overheard Theatre Royal Haymarket, London
1985 The Corn is Green Miss Moffat The Old Vic, London

RadioEdit

Year Program Episode/Source
1944 A Date with Nurse Dugdale BBC Home Service, 19 May 1944.
Guest star role in the penultimate episode.
1949 NBC University Theatre Jane Eyre, 3 April 1949.
1952 Lux Radio Theatre King Solomon's Mines<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
1952 Hallmark Playhouse The Pleasant Lea<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
1952 Hollywood Sound Stage Michael and Mary<ref name="Better Radio Programs for the Week">Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
1952 Suspense The Colonel's Lady<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
1952 Hollywood Star Playhouse Companion Wanted<ref name="Better Radio Programs for the Week"/>

Awards and nominationsEdit

Academy Awards

File:Deborah Kerr and Tony Bartley.jpg
Kerr at the 1957 Academy Awards, where she received the third of her six "best actress" Oscar nominations
Year Category Work Result
1950 Best Actress Edward, My Son Template:Nominated
1954 From Here to Eternity Template:Nominated
1957 The King and I Template:Nominated
1958 Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison Template:Nominated
1959 Separate Tables Template:Nominated
1961 The Sundowners Template:Nominated
1994 Honorary Oscar -- Template:Won

She is tied with Thelma Ritter and Amy Adams as the actresses with the second most nominations without winning, surpassed only by Glenn Close, who has been nominated eight times without winning.Template:Citation needed

British Academy Film Awards

Year Category Work Result
1956 Best British Actress The End of the Affair Template:Nominated
1958 Tea and Sympathy Template:Nominated
1962 The Sundowners Template:Nominated
1965 The Chalk Garden Template:Nominated
1991 Special Award -- Template:Won

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year Category Work Result
1985 Outstanding Supporting Actress - Limited Series A Woman of Substance Template:Nominated

Golden Globe Awards

File:Kirk Douglas and Deborah Kerr, 1957 Golden Globe Awards.jpg
Best actress winner Kerr, alongside the best actor winner Kirk Douglas at the 14th Golden Globe Awards in 1957
Year Category Work Result
1950 Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Edward, My Son Template:Nominated
1957 Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy The King and I Template:Won
1958 Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison Template:Nominated
1959 Separate Tables Template:Nominated
Henrietta Award (World Film Favorite) -- Template:Won

NYFCC Awards

Year Category Work Result
1946 Best Actress The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Love on the Dole Template:Nominated
1947 Black Narcissus, I See a Dark Stranger Template:Won
1956 The King and I, Tea and Sympathy Template:Nominated
1957 Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison Template:Won
1960 The Sundowners Template:Won

HonoursEdit

File:Deborah Kerr Star HWF.JPG
Kerr's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1709 Vine Street

Kerr was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1998, but was unable to accept the honour in person because of ill health.<ref name="Baxter 2007 Deborah Kerr obituary">Template:Cite news</ref> She was also honoured in Hollywood, where she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1709 Vine Street for her contributions to the motion picture industry.<ref name="walkoffame">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Although nominated six times as Best Actress, Kerr never won a competitive Oscar. In 1994, Glenn Close presented Kerr with the Honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement with a citation recognising her as "an artist of impeccable grace and beauty, a dedicated actress whose motion picture career has always stood for perfection, discipline and elegance".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kerr won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy" for The King and I in 1957 and a Henrietta Award for "World Film Favorite – Female". She was the first performer to win the New York Film Critics Circle Award for "Best Actress" three times (1947, 1957 and 1960).Template:Citation needed

Although she never won a BAFTA or Cannes Film Festival award in a competitive category, both organisations gave Kerr honorary awards: a Cannes Film Festival Tribute in 1984<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a BAFTA Special Award in 1991.<ref name="Telegraph" />

In September and October 2010, Josephine Botting of the British Film Institute curated the "Deborah Kerr Season", which included around twenty of her feature films and an exhibition of posters, memorabilia and personal items loaned by her family.<ref name="bl2011">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In September 2021, Kerr's grandsons, Joe and Lex Shrapnel, unveiled a memorial plaque at the former family home in Weston-super-Mare.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 30 September 2021, on what would have been Kerr's one hundredth birthday, the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Philip Braat, unveiled a memorial plaque in Ruskin Terrace, on the site of the nursing home where Kerr was born.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

BibliographyEdit

External linksEdit

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