Historical Figures Codexery

Barbara Stanwyck

The versatile star who conquered stage, film, and television.

On July 16, 1907, in New York City, the person who would become Barbara Stanwyck entered the world as Ruby Catherine Stevens.[1] Having lost her parents by age four and spending time in foster homes, she was perpetually employed from a young age.[2] The American Film Institute's 1999 list of classic American cinema's greatest female stars placed her at number 11.[3]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Ruby Catherine Stevens
Born
16 July 1907
Birthplace
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died
20 January 1990
Place of death
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation
Actress, dancer
Years active
1923–1986
Children
1

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Stanwyck made her stage debut as a Ziegfeld girl in 1923 at age 16.[2] She changed her name to Barbara Stanwyck at the suggestion of David Belasco, combining names from a 1906 theater program.[4] Stanwyck died in 1990.[5] The 1927 play Burlesque marked her initial starring role, and it achieved both critical acclaim and financial success.[6]

Frank Capra selected Stanwyck to appear in his 1930 film Ladies of Leisure, which began a lasting friendship between them.[7] Her first nomination for the Best Actress Academy Award came from playing the title character in the 1937 film Stella Dallas.[8] An Honorary Oscar was presented to her in 1982, and she received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award four years later, in 1986.[3]

What the cited sources add

Kael also observed that early talkies sentimentality "only emphasizes Stanwyck's remarkable modernism"[5][9] A Guardian review described Stanwyck's performance in The Lady Eve as a "bravura double performance, a showcase for her brilliant versatility"[10] The same review stated that "Stanwyck completely upstages Fonda" in their dialogue scenes.[10] According to Pauline Kael, Stanwyck possessed an instinctive grasp of the natural, flowing body language that is most effective for the camera.[5][9]

Robert Wagner's autobiography details a romantic relationship with Stanwyck that lasted four years, starting when they met while making the 1953 film Titanic; at that time, he was 22 years old and she was 45.[5][11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Barbara Stanwyck" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wilson 2013, p. 13; Wayne 1985, p. 7 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Barbara Stanwyck" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Basinger, Jeanine, The Star Machine, Knopf, 2007, p. 371 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Barbara Stanwyck" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Barbara Stanwyck" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Madsen 1994, p. 21.; Madsen 1994, p. 22.; Madsen 1994, p. 26.; Madsen 1994, p. 25.; Prono 2008, p. 241.; Madsen 1994, p. 26.; Wilson, "A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907–1940", Simon and Schuster, November 24, 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Kael, Pauline. "Quotation of review of the film Ladies of Leisure". 5001 Nights At The Movies, 1991, p. 403.. facts only, no text reused. cinemagraphe.com
  6. Wikipedia, "Barbara Stanwyck" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smith 1985, p. 8. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Barbara Stanwyck" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Prono 2008, p. 241. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Barbara Stanwyck" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thomson, "The New Biographical Dictionary of Film", Alfred A. Knopf, 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Barbara Stanwyck" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kael, Pauline. "Quotation of review of the film Ladies of Leisure". 5001 Nights At The Movies, 1991, p. 403.; Kael, Pauline. "Quotation of review of the film Ladies of Leisure". 5001 Nights At The Movies, 1991, p. 403. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Bradshaw, "The Lady Eve review – card sharp Barbara Stanwyck steals the show", The Guardian, February 14, 2019. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  11. Wikipedia, "Barbara Stanwyck" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wagner, "I Loved Her in the Movies", Viking, 2016, p. 124; King, Susan. "Wagner Memoir Tells of Wood Death, Stanwyck Affair". San Jose Mercury News (California) October 5, 2008, p. 6D. Retrieved: via Access World News: ; Wagner and Eyman 2008, p. 64. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Barbara Stanwyck (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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