She sang with Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls and co-starred with
Gregory Peck , Paul Newman and Kirk Douglas. Jean Simmons died Friday
of lung cancer at her home in Santa Monica, her agent Judy Page told
the Los Angeles Times. Playing Ophelia in Laurence Olivier's
Hamlet made her a star, though she was already well-known for her work
in other British films, including her first starring role in the film
adaptation of Uncle Silas and Black Narcissus (both 1947).
In
1950, she married the English actor Stewart Granger, with whom she
appeared in several films, successfully making the transition to an
American career. She made four films for Hughes, including Angel Face,
directed by Otto Preminger. In 1953, she starred alongside Spencer
Tracy in The Actress, a film that was one of her personal favorites.
Among the many films she appeared in during this period were The Robe
(1953), The Egyptian (1954), Guys and Dolls (1955), The Big Country
(1958), Elmer Gantry (1960), (directed by her second husband, Richard
Brooks), Spartacus (1960), and The Happy Ending (1969), again directed
by Brooks and for which she received her second Oscar nomination.
By the 1970s, Simmons turned her focus to stage and television acting.
In 1988, she starred in The Dawning with Anthony Hopkins and Hugh
Grant, and in 1989, she again starred in a miniseries, this time a
version of Great Expectations, in which she played the role of Miss
Havisham, Estella's adoptive mother. Simmons made a late career
appearance in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Drumhead"
as a witch-hunt-inspiring investigator named Admiral Norah Satie. Trivia accordinbg to IMDB.com: - Naturalized U.S. citizen.
- Becoming
depressed at the lack of quality parts being offered her, Jean became
addicted to alcohol. In 1986, she sought professional treatment.
- Jean was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for services to acting in the 2003 New Year Honours List.
- In
1958, she accepted the Oscar for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" on
behalf of Alec Guinness, who wasn't present at the awards ceremony
- Was
William Wyler's first choice for the role of Princess Ann in Roman
Holiday (1953), but Howard Hughes, who owned her contract, wouldn't
loan her out to Paramount to do the film.
- Along with
Christopher Lee and Patrick Macnee, she is one of only three surviving
cast members of Sir Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948).
(Photo: Courtesy PD Images)
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