Gloria Grahame, American actress (b. 1923)
Gloria Grahame Hallward (November 28, 1923 – October 5, 1981) was an American actress and singer. She began her acting career in theatre, and in 1944 made her first film for MGM.
Despite a featured role in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), MGM did not believe she had the potential for major success, and sold her contract to RKO Studios. Often cast in film noir projects, Grahame was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Crossfire (1947), and later won the award for her work in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952). After starring opposite Humphrey Bogart in In A Lonely Place (1950), she achieved her highest profile with Sudden Fear (1952), The Big Heat (1953), Human Desire (1954), and Oklahoma! (1955), but her film career began to wane soon afterwards.
Grahame returned to work on the stage, but continued to appear in films and television productions, usually in supporting roles.
In 1974, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It went into remission less than a year later and Grahame returned to work. In 1980, the cancer returned, but Grahame refused to accept the diagnosis or seek treatment. Choosing instead to continue working, she traveled to the United Kingdom to appear in a play. Her health, however, declined rapidly, and she developed peritonitis after undergoing a procedure to remove fluid from her abdomen in September 1981. She returned to New York City, where she died in October 1981, aged 57.
1981Oct, 5
Gloria Grahame
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Events on 1981
- 20Jan
Iran hostage crisis
Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, Iran releases 52 American hostages. - 27Apr
Computer mouse
Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse. - 27Jun
Mao Zedong
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issues its "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China", laying the blame for the Cultural Revolution on Mao Zedong. - 7Jul
Sandra Day O'Connor
U.S. President Ronald Reagan appoints Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. - 15Sep
Sandra Day O'Connor
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States