Early in her film career Neal had a notorious affair with Gary Cooper, who was married. (They costarred in 1949's THE FOUNTAINHEAD, her second film; it's pictured above.) Neal was later married for decades to writer Roald Dahl (CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY). She endured a series of strokes, lost a daughter to measles, and had a son who was brain damaged when his stroller was hit by a car.

Neal's films also included THE BREAKING POINT (1950), THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951), and BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961). She won the Oscar for HUD (1963).
DIPLOMATIC COURIER (1952), costarring Tyrone Power, was reviewed here last month.

Tom has posted a tribute at Motion Picture Gems, and Millie has posted a lovely photo at ClassicForever. Edward Copeland on Film has also written about Miss Neal tonight.
Another obituary has been posted by the New York Times.
Update: Tributes from Out of the Past, the Self-Styled Siren, and Gordon at Laszlo's on Lex.
Update: Ivan shares his thoughts on Miss Neal in general and her role as Mama Walton in particular.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Click to see the code!
To insert emoticon you must added at least one space before the code.