29 Facts About Gloria Grahame

1.

Gloria Grahame began her acting career in theatre, and in 1944 made her first film for MGM.

2.

Gloria Grahame returned to work on the stage, but has appeared in films and television productions, usually in supporting roles.

3.

In 1980, the cancer returned, but Gloria Grahame refused to accept the diagnosis or seek treatment.

4.

Gloria Grahame returned to New York City, where she died in October 1981, aged 57.

5.

Gloria Grahame's English father, Reginald Michael Bloxam Hallward was an architect and author; her Scottish mother, Jeanne McDougall, who used the stage name Jean Grahame, was a British stage actress and acting teacher.

6.

Gloria Grahame attended Hollywood High School before dropping out to pursue acting.

7.

Gloria Grahame made her Broadway debut on December 6,1943 at the Royale Theatre as Florrie in Nunnally Johnson's The World's Full of Girls, which was adapted from Thomas Bell's 1943 novel Till I Come Back to You.

8.

Gloria Grahame made her film debut in Blonde Fever and then achieved one of her most widely praised roles as the flirtatious Violet Bick, saved from disgrace by George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life.

9.

Gloria Grahame received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Crossfire.

10.

Gloria Grahame starred with Humphrey Bogart in the film In a Lonely Place for Columbia Pictures, a performance for which she gained praise.

11.

Gloria Grahame appeared as wealthy seductress Harriet Lang in Stanley Kramer's Not as a Stranger starring Olivia de Havilland, Robert Mitchum, and Frank Sinatra.

12.

Gloria Grahame began a slow return to the theatre, returning to films occasionally to play supporting roles, mostly in minor releases.

13.

Gloria Grahame guest-starred in television series, including the science-fiction series The Outer Limits.

14.

Gloria Grahame appears in an episode of The Fugitive and an episode of Burke's Law.

15.

Over time, Gloria Grahame became increasingly concerned with her physical appearance; she particularly felt her upper lip was too thin and had ridges that were too deep.

16.

Gloria Grahame was a Democrat who supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign in the 1952 presidential election.

17.

The day after her divorce from Clements was made final, Gloria Grahame married director Nicholas Ray.

18.

Gloria Grahame filed for divorce from Howard in May 1957, citing mental cruelty.

19.

Howard claimed Gloria Grahame was an unfit mother, and the two fought over custody of Marianna for years.

20.

From 1979 to 1981, Gloria Grahame had a relationship with Peter Turner.

21.

Turner authored a book about his relationship with Gloria Grahame called Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, which was later turned into a movie with the same name.

22.

Gloria Grahame had an affair with her leading man Glenn Ford during the filming of Human Desire in 1954.

23.

Gloria Grahame underwent radiation treatment, changed her diet, stopped smoking and drinking alcohol, and sought homeopathic remedies.

24.

The cancer returned in 1980, but Gloria Grahame refused to acknowledge her diagnosis or seek radiation treatment.

25.

Gloria Grahame requested that Turner not contact doctors or her family, but Turner did so, for he was concerned about her health.

26.

Gloria Grahame was immediately admitted to St Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, where she died a few hours later at the age of 57.

27.

Gloria Grahame's remains were interred at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth, Los Angeles.

28.

Gloria Grahame had kept an apartment at the Manhattan Plaza residential complex; and its community room, where her portrait hangs, is dedicated to her.

29.

The motion picture Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, based on Peter Turner's account of the final years of Gloria Grahame's life, was released in the United Kingdom on November 16,2017, and in the United States on December 29,2017.