Tandy, Jessica

From New World Encyclopedia
 
(48 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 +
{{Images OK}}{{Submitted}}{{Approved}}{{Copyedited}}
 
{{epname|Tandy, Jessica}}
 
{{epname|Tandy, Jessica}}
 
{{Infobox person
 
{{Infobox person
Line 17: Line 18:
 
}}
 
}}
  
'''Jessie Alice Tandy''' (June 7, 1909 – September 11, 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an [[Academy Award]], four [[Tony Awards]], a [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA]], a [[Golden Globe Award]], and a [[Primetime Emmy Award]]. She acted as [[Blanche DuBois]] in the original Broadway production of ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (play)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' in 1948. Her films included [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'' and ''[[The Gin Game]]''. At 80, she became the oldest actress to receive the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] for her role in ''[[Driving Miss Daisy]]''.
+
'''Jessie Alice Tandy''' (June 7, 1909 – September 11, 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an [[Academy Award]], four [[Tony Awards]], a [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA]], a [[Golden Globe Award]], and a [[Emmy Awards|Primetime Emmy Award]]. She was an acclaimed stage actress, excelling in both classical and popular productions on the London stage, including various [[Shakespearean]] roles, and then became famous for playing [[Blanche DuBois]] in the original Broadway production of ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (play)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' (1948).  
 +
{{toc}}
 +
Although she was not given leading roles in screen productions for many years, she finally achieved well-deserved recognition for her performances in films like [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'' (1963) and ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' (1991), as well as several in which she starred with her husband [[Hume Cronyn]], including ''Cocoon'' (1985) and ''*batteries not included'' (1987). At the age of 80, she became the oldest actress to receive the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] for her role in ''[[Driving Miss Daisy]]'' (1989). Tandy was dedicated to her craft, never expecting starring roles and considering herself fortunate to have the chance to perform each role.  
  
==Early life==
+
==Life==
The youngest of three siblings, Tandy was born in Geldeston Road in [[Metropolitan Borough of Hackney|Hackney]], [[London]] to Harry Tandy and his wife, Jessie Helen Horspool.<ref>[http://www.hackney.gov.uk/servapps/pressrelease/prnov98/pr356.htm Jessica Tandy's family to unveil plaque to commemorate star's Hackney birthplace 19 November 1998]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; accessed 10 May 2007</ref> Her mother was from a large [[Fenland District|fenland]] family in [[Wisbech]], Cambridgeshire, and the head of a school for mentally handicapped children, and her father was a travelling salesman for a rope manufacturer.<ref>[http://blog.oup.com/2007/02/the_academy_awa/ The Academy Awards: A Look At Jessica Tandy], oup.com, February 2007.</ref> She was educated at [[Dame Alice Owen's School]] in [[London Borough of Islington|Islington]].
+
The youngest of three siblings, Jessica Tandy was born in Geldeston Road in [[Metropolitan Borough of Hackney|Hackney]], [[London]] on June 7, 1909, the third child of Harry Tandy and his wife, Jessie Helen Horspool. Her mother was from a large [[Fenland District|Fenland]] family in [[Wisbech]], Cambridgeshire, and the head of a school for mentally handicapped children, and her father was a traveling salesman for a rope manufacturer.<ref name=OUPBlog>David Parkinson, [http://blog.oup.com/2007/02/the_academy_awa/ The Academy Awards: A Look At Jessica Tandy] ''OUP Blog'', February 23, 2007. Retrieved November 9, 2022.</ref> She was educated at [[Dame Alice Owen's School]] in [[London Borough of Islington|Islington]].
  
Her father died when she was 12, and her mother subsequently taught evening courses to earn an income. Her brother Edward was later a [[prisoner of war]] of the Japanese in Asia.<ref>Kelly, Terence ''Living with Japanese'' Kellan Press 1977, p. 136; {{ISBN|0953019306}} with photo</ref>
+
Her father died when she was 12, and her mother subsequently taught evening courses to earn an income. Jessica suffered from [[tuberculosis]] as a child which limited her school attendance. However, she accompanied her mother to night school and enjoyed studying poetry, dance, calisthenics, and drama. In 1924, at age fifteen, she enrolled at Sir Ben Greet‘s Academy of Acting, the most prestigious training ground for actors at that time. Instructor Lillian E. Simpson nurtured her talent there for three years.<ref name=Barranger/> After completing her studies, Tandy made her stage début in ''The Manderson Girls'', at London’s Playhouse Six on November 22, 1927.<ref name=OUPBlog/>
  
==Acting career==
+
[[File:Jessica Tandy & Hume Cronyn.jpg|thumb|300px|Tandy and Hume Cronyn, 1988]]
 +
In 1932 Tandy married English actor [[Jack Hawkins]] and together they had a daughter, [[Susan Hawkins]], born in 1934. However, they marriage failed and they divorced in 1940.
  
[[File:Jessica Tandy with Kim Hunter and Marlon Brando. cph.3b23243.jpg|thumb|left|Tandy (left, with [[Kim Hunter]] and [[Marlon Brando]]) portrayed [[Blanche DuBois|Blanche]] in the original 1947 Broadway production of ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', a role that earned her the 1948 [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play|Tony Award for Best Actress]].]]
+
Tandy married Canadian actor [[Hume Cronyn]] in 1942.<ref name=lat>Charles Champlin, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-18-ca-14212-story.html Life After Jessie : For 52 years, Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy shared the love story of the century. Her death last year devastated him, but his love lives on] ''Los Angeles Times'', June 18, 1995. Retrieved November 9, 2022.</ref> They had two children, daughter Tandy Cronyn, an actress who co-starred with her mother in the TV film ''The Story Lady'',<ref>[https://www.tandycronyn.com/theatre-bio Theatre / Film Bio] ''Tandy Cronyn''. Retrieved November 9, 2022.</ref> and son Christopher Cronyn.
Tandy was 18 years old when she made her professional debut on the London stage in 1927. During the 1930s, she acted in many plays in London's [[West End theatre|West End]], playing [[Ophelia]] (opposite [[John Gielgud]]'s legendary [[Hamlet]]) and [[Catherine of Valois|Katherine]] (opposite [[Laurence Olivier]]'s [[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]).<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news |last=Berger|first=Marilyn|author-link=Marilyn Berger|title=Jessica Tandy, a Patrician Star Of Theater and Film, Dies at 85|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 September 1994|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0607.html|access-date=12 June 2012}}</ref>
 
  
She entered films in Britain, but after her marriage to [[Jack Hawkins]] failed, she moved to the United States hoping to find better roles. During her time as a leading actress on the stage in London, she often had to fight over roles with her two rivals, [[Peggy Ashcroft]] and [[Celia Johnson]].<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/26/garden/at-home-with-hume-cronyn-and-jessica-tandy-the-driven-mr-and-mrs-daisy.html |title= At Home with Cronyn and Tandy | work= The New York Times| date= May 26, 1994| access-date= 12 September 2016}}</ref> In the following years, she played supporting roles in several Hollywood films.
+
Tandy became a [[naturalized]] citizen of the US in 1952, and spent much of the ensuing decade collaborating with Cronyn. In addition to ten stage productions, they also appeared together in seven plays for television’s Omnibus series. They remained happily married until her death: "The reason we can live and work together is that in no way do we threaten each other. We’re safe. I can’t play him and he can’t play me."<ref name=OUPBlog/>
  
Like many stage actors, Tandy also worked in radio. Among other programs, she was a regular on ''Mandrake the Magician''<ref>{{cite book|last=Cronyn|first=Hume|title=Terrible Liar|year=1991|publisher=William Morrow and Company|location=New York|isbn=0688128440|page=[https://archive.org/details/terribleliar00hume/page/159 159]|url=https://archive.org/details/terribleliar00hume/page/159}}</ref> (as Princess Nada), and then with her second husband Hume Cronyn in ''The Marriage''<ref>{{cite book|last=Cronyn|first=Hume|title=Terrible Liar|year=1991|publisher=William Morrow and Company|location=New York|isbn=0688128440|pages=[https://archive.org/details/terribleliar00hume/page/253 253–54]|url=https://archive.org/details/terribleliar00hume/page/253}}</ref> which ran on radio from 1953 to 1954, and then segued onto television.
+
In 1990, Jessica Tandy was diagnosed with [[ovarian cancer]], and she also suffered from [[Angina pectoris|angina]] and [[glaucoma]]. Despite her illnesses and age she continued working. On September 11, 1994, she died at home in [[Easton, Connecticut]], at the age of 85.<ref>David Shipman, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jessica-tandy-1448550.html Obituary: Jessica Tandy] ''The Independent'', September 12, 1994. Retrieved November 9, 2022. </ref>
  
She made her American film debut in ''[[The Seventh Cross (film)|The Seventh Cross]]'' (1944). She had supporting appearances in ''[[The Valley of Decision]]'' (1945), ''[[The Green Years (film)|The Green Years]]'' (1946, as Cronyn's daughter), ''[[Dragonwyck (film)|Dragonwyck]]'' (1946) starring [[Gene Tierney]] and [[Vincent Price]] and ''[[Forever Amber (film)|Forever Amber]]'' (1947).
+
==Acting career==
She appeared as the insomniac murderess in ''[[A Woman's Vengeance]]'' (1948), a [[film noir]] adapted by [[Aldous Huxley]] from his short story "[[Mortal Coils|The Gioconda Smile]]".
+
[[File:Jessica Tandy with Kim Hunter and Marlon Brando. cph.3b23243.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Tandy (left, with [[Kim Hunter]] and [[Marlon Brando]]) portrayed [[Blanche DuBois|Blanche]] in the original 1947 Broadway production of ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', a role that earned her the 1948 [[Tony Award]] for Best Actress]]
 +
[[File:Jessica Tandy Hume Cronyn The Fourposter 1952.jpg|thumb|300px|Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn in the Broadway play, "The Fourposter," 1952]]
 +
Tandy was 18 years old when she made her professional debut in ''The Manderson Girls'' on the London stage in 1927. During the 1930s, she acted in many plays  in London's [[West End theatre|West End]], both popular and classical. She excelled in a number of [[Shakespeare]]an roles, including [[Ophelia]] opposite [[John Gielgud]]'s legendary [[Hamlet]], as Cordelia to Gielgud's [[King Lear]], and as both Sebastian and Viola opposite [[Laurence Olivier]]'s Sir Toby Belch in ''Twelfth Night''.<ref name=Barranger/> During her time as a leading actress on the stage in London, she often had to fight over roles with her two rivals, [[Peggy Ashcroft]] and [[Celia Johnson]].<ref>Mel Gussow, [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/26/garden/at-home-with-hume-cronyn-and-jessica-tandy-the-driven-mr-and-mrs-daisy.html AT HOME WITH: Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy; The Driven Mr. and Mrs. Daisy] ''The New York Times'', May 26, 1994. Retrieved November 9, 2022.</ref>
  
Over the next three decades, her film career continued sporadically while she found better roles on the stage. Her roles during this time included ''[[The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel]]'' (1951) opposite [[James Mason]], ''[[The Light in the Forest (film)|The Light in the Forest]]'' (1958), and a role as a domineering mother in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s film, ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'' (1963).
+
She was cast in her first British film role in ''The Indiscretions of Eve'' (1932). Several years later she appeared in ''Murder in the Family'' with [[Roddy McDowall]] (1938). However, after her marriage to [[Jack Hawkins]] began to fail, she moved to the United States hoping to find better roles on both stage and screen. On Broadway, she won a [[Tony Award]] for her performance as [[Blanche Dubois]] in the original [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production of ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (play)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' in 1948. Hoping for success in movies, she signed a five-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but was not considered for leading actress roles. She was even overlooked for the role of Blanche DuBois in the screen version of ''A Streetcar Named Desire''; it was given to [[Vivien Leigh]] who won an Oscar for her performance.<ref name=Barranger/>
  
[[File:Jessica Tandy The Glass Eye Hitchcock 1957.JPG|thumb|upright|Tandy in ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' "The Glass Eye" (1957)]]
+
Tandy made her American film debut in ''[[The Seventh Cross (film)|The Seventh Cross]]'' (1944). She had supporting appearances in ''[[The Valley of Decision]]'' (1945), ''[[The Green Years (film)|The Green Years]]'' (1946, as Cronyn's daughter), ''[[Dragonwyck (film)|Dragonwyck]]'' (1946) starring [[Gene Tierney]] and [[Vincent Price]] and ''[[Forever Amber (film)|Forever Amber]]'' (1947). She appeared as the insomniac murderess in ''[[A Woman's Vengeance]]'' (1948), a [[film noir]] adapted by [[Aldous Huxley]] from his short story "[[Mortal Coils|The Gioconda Smile]]."
On Broadway, she won a [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play|Tony Award]] for her performance as [[Blanche Dubois]] in the original [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production of ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (play)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' in 1948. After this (she lost the film role to actress [[Vivien Leigh]]), she concentrated on the stage. In 1976, she and Cronyn joined the acting company of the [[Stratford Festival]], and returned in 1980 to debut Cronyn's play [[Foxfire (play)|Foxfire]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://archives.stratfordfestival.ca/AIS/Details/people/9878 | title = Jessica Tandy acting credits | website = Stratford Festival Archives | access-date = 30 May 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190531030726/https://archives.stratfordfestival.ca/AIS/Details/people/9878 | archive-date = 31 May 2019 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last = Blackadar| first = Bruce| date = 10 May 1980| title = Hume Cronyn turns playwright with Foxfire| newspaper = Toronto Star| page = F1}}</ref> In 1977, she earned her second Tony Award, for her performance (with Cronyn) in ''[[The Gin Game]]'' and her third Tony in 1982 for her performance, again with Cronyn, in [[Foxfire (play)|Foxfire]].
 
  
The beginning of the 1980s saw a resurgence in her film career, with character roles in ''[[The World According to Garp (film)|The World According to Garp]]'', ''[[Best Friends (1982 film)|Best Friends]]'', ''[[Still of the Night (film)|Still of the Night]]'' (all 1982) and ''[[The Bostonians (film)|The Bostonians]]'' (1984). She and Cronyn were now working together more regularly on stage and television, including the films ''[[Cocoon (film)|Cocoon]]'' (1985), ''[[*batteries not included]]'' (1987) and ''[[Cocoon: The Return]]'' (1988) and the [[Emmy Award]] winning television film ''[[Foxfire (1987 film)|Foxfire]]'' (1987, recreating her Tony winning Broadway role).
+
Broadway restrictions on immigrants limited her possibilities for roles and so she resorted to working in [[radio]]. Among other programs, she was a regular on ''Mandrake the Magician'' as Princess Nada.<ref name=Liar>Hume Cronyn, ''A Terrible Liar: A Memoir'' (Quill, 1991, ISBN 0688128440).</ref> During this time she met [[Hume Cronyn]] and the two married on September 27, 1942. They performed on radio together in ''The Marriage'' from 1953 to 1954.  
  
However, it was her colourful performance in ''[[Driving Miss Daisy]]'' (1989), as an aging, stubborn [[U.S. Southern States|Southern]] Jewish matron, that earned her an [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Oscar]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Miss Daisy, Jessica Tandy Win Top Oscars|work=Chicago Tribune|date=27 March 1990|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-03-27/news/9001250287_1_oldest-best-actress-winner-screenplay-daisy|access-date=7 November 2010}}</ref>
+
In addition to their radio work Cronyn and Tandy carried forward a tradition that is now a casualty of changing times: the theatrical tour. Cronyn recalled: "We played ‘The Gin Game’ about 800 times [starting in 1978]. We did ‘The Fourposter’ 600 times [1951]. We did Albee’s ‘A Delicate Balance’ I think 400 times [1966] and ‘Noel Coward in Two Keys’ 400 times [1974]."<ref name=lat/>
  
She received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in the grassroots hit ''[[Fried Green Tomatoes (film)|Fried Green Tomatoes]]'' (1991) and co-starred in ''The Story Lady'' (1991 TV film, with her daughter Tandy Cronyn), ''Used People'' (1992, as [[Shirley MacLaine]]'s mother), television film ''[[To Dance with the White Dog]]'' (1993, with Cronyn), [[Camilla (1994 film)|''Camilla'']] (1994, with Cronyn). ''[[Nobody's Fool (1994 film)|Nobody's Fool]]'' (1994) proved to be her last performance, at the age of 84.
+
Over the next three decades, Tandy's film career continued sporadically while she found better roles on the stage. Her roles during this time included ''[[The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel]]'' (1951) opposite [[James Mason]], ''[[The Light in the Forest (film)|The Light in the Forest]]'' (1958), and a role as a domineering mother in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s film, ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'' (1963).
  
==Other awards==
+
[[File:Jessica Tandy The Glass Eye Hitchcock 1957.JPG|thumb|300px|Tandy in ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' "The Glass Eye" (1957)]]
Tandy was chosen by [[People (magazine)|People magazine]] as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1990.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/beautiful-through-the-years-vol-47-no-18/|title=Beautiful Through the Years|website=PEOPLE.com|language=en|access-date=1 February 2019}}</ref>
+
After this, she concentrated on the stage. In 1976, she and Cronyn joined the acting company of the [[Stratford Festival]], and returned in 1980 to debut Cronyn's play [[Foxfire (play)|Foxfire]].<ref>[https://archives.stratfordfestival.ca/AIS/Details/people/9878 Jessica Tandy acting credits] ''Stratford Festival Archives''. Retrieved November 11, 2022.</ref> In 1977, she earned her second Tony Award, for her performance (with Cronyn) in ''[[The Gin Game]]'' and her third Tony in 1982 for her performance, again with Cronyn, in [[Foxfire (play)|Foxfire]].
  
*1979 – Induction into the [[American Theatre Hall of Fame]]<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/188816%7C82278/Jessica-Tandy/notes.html Notes for Jessica Tandy], tcm.com; accessed 11 July 2016.</ref>
+
The beginning of the 1980s saw a resurgence in her film career, with character roles in ''[[The World According to Garp (film)|The World According to Garp]]'', ''[[Best Friends (1982 film)|Best Friends]]'', ''[[Still of the Night (film)|Still of the Night]]'' (all 1982) and ''[[The Bostonians (film)|The Bostonians]]'' (1984). She and Cronyn were now working together more regularly on stage and television, including the films ''[[Cocoon (film)|Cocoon]]'' (1985), ''[[*batteries not included]]'' (1987), ''[[Cocoon: The Return]]'' (1988), and the [[Emmy Award]] winning television film ''[[Foxfire (1987 film)|Foxfire]]'' (1987), recreating her Tony winning Broadway role. Although she was finally receiving recognition for her work in film, Tandy commented "My parts are never big in films, but that's all right ... Films aren't as satisfying to me as the theater."<ref name=OUPBlog/>
*1979 – [[Sarah Siddons Award]] [[Chicago theatre]]
 
*1986 – [[Drama Desk Special Award]]
 
*1986 – [[Kennedy Center Honors]] Recipient
 
*1990 – [[National Medal of Arts]]
 
*1991 – [[Women in Film Los Angeles|Women in Film]] [[Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards#THE CRYSTAL AWARD|Crystal Award]]<ref name=WIF>{{cite web |title=Past Recipients: Crystal Award |url=http://wif.org/past-recipients |work=Women In Film |access-date=10 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724120329/http://www.wif.org/past-recipients |archive-date=24 July 2011}}</ref>
 
*1994 – Special [[Tony Award]] for Lifetime Achievement shared with her husband, [[Hume Cronyn]]
 
  
==Personal life and death==
+
However, it was her colorful performance in ''[[Driving Miss Daisy]]'' (1989), as an aging, stubborn [[U.S. Southern States|Southern]] Jewish matron, that earned her an [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Oscar]] at the age of 80.<ref> Dave Kehr, [https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-03-27-9001250287-story.html Miss Daisy, Jessica Tandy Win Top Oscars] ''Chicago Tribune'', March 27, 1990. Retrieved November 11, 2022.</ref>
[[File:Jessica Tandy & Hume Cronyn.jpg|thumb|upright|Tandy and Hume Cronyn, 1988]]
 
In 1932 Tandy married English actor [[Jack Hawkins]] and together they had a daughter, [[Susan Hawkins]].<ref name=lat>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-18-ca-14212-story.html|title=Life After Jessie : For 52 years, Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy shared the love story of the century. Her death last year devastated him, but his love lives on.|last=Champlin|first=Charles|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=June 18, 1995|access-date=November 10, 2020}}</ref> Susan became an actress and was the daughter-in-law of [[John Moynihan Tettemer]], a former Passionist monk who authored ''I Was a Monk: The Autobiography of John Tettemer'', and was cast in small roles in ''[[Lost Horizon (1937 film)|Lost Horizon]]'' and ''[[Meet John Doe]]''.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/persondetails/87016?sid=124efb53-ac38-4d71-9a20-ecdd093756fd&sr=0.8908708&cp=1&pos=0 |title= John Tettemer| website= catalog.AFI.com| place= Los Angeles, California| publisher= [[American Film Institute]]| date= |accessdate= 5 May 2018}}</ref>  
 
  
Tandy and Hawkins divorced in 1940. She married Canadian actor [[Hume Cronyn]] in 1942.<ref name=lat/> Prior to moving to [[Connecticut]], she and Cronyn lived for many years in nearby [[Pound Ridge, New York]], and they remained together until her death in 1994. They had two children, daughter Tandy Cronyn, an actress who would co-star with her mother in the TV film ''The Story Lady'', and son Christopher Cronyn. Tandy became a [[naturalized]] citizen of the US in 1952.  
+
Despite illnesses and age she continued working, her performances reflecting her ability and her dedication to her craft: "She was the consummate professional - a steel magnolia who provided the most genteel illusion."<ref name=Vincent/> She received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in the grassroots hit ''[[Fried Green Tomatoes (film)|Fried Green Tomatoes]]'' (1991) and co-starred in ''The Story Lady'' (1991 TV film, with her daughter Tandy Cronyn), ''Used People'' (1992, as [[Shirley MacLaine]]'s mother), television film ''[[To Dance with the White Dog]]'' (1993, with Cronyn), [[Camilla (1994 film)|''Camilla'']] (1994, with Cronyn). ''[[Nobody's Fool (1994 film)|Nobody's Fool]]'' (1994) proved to be her last performance, at the age of 84.
  
In 1990, Jessica Tandy was diagnosed with [[ovarian cancer]], and she also suffered from [[Angina pectoris|angina]] and [[glaucoma]]. Despite her illnesses and age she continued working.  On September 11, 1994, she died at home in [[Easton, Connecticut]], at the age of 85.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Marilyn |title=Jessica Tandy, a Patrician Star Of Theater and Film, Dies at 85 |url= http://movies2.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0607.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Shipman |first1=David |title=Obituary: Jessica Tandy |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jessica-tandy-1448550.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220608/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jessica-tandy-1448550.html |archive-date=8 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Independent |date=12 September 1994 |access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Times Staff Writer |title=From the Archives: Jessica Tandy, Star of Stage, Screen and TV, Dies at 85 |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-jessica-tandy-19940912-snap-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=12 September 1994 |access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref>
+
==Legacy==
 +
Jessica Tandy's stage career spanned six decades, during which she gave legendary performances in plays by [[Tennessee Williams]], [[Edward Albee]], and [[Samuel Beckett]]. Her power on stage was "couched in gentility," appearing to be a thin and frail actress but even her whispers could be heard in every seat in the theater.<ref name=Vincent/> Her most famous role was that of the heroine, Blanche Dubois, in ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. For this she was regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation, acclaimed by critics, including Brooks Atkinson of ''[[The New York Times]]'' who called her performance the "perfect marriage of acting and playwriting."<ref name=Barranger> Milly S. Barranger, ''Jessica Tandy: A Bio-Bibliography'' (Greenwood, 1991, ISBN 978-0313277160).</ref>  
  
==Work==
+
However, she waited decades for similar recognition on the screen, through no fault of her own: "Not that there were ever any failures on her part, it was simply put that, for many years, producers couldn't imagine Tandy as the star of a major Hollywood movie."<ref>Monica Sullivan, [[https://www.shoestring.org/mmi_revs/jessica-tandy.html Jessica Tandy "Movie Magazine International" Tribute], 1996. Retrieved November 11, 2022.</ref> This did not cause Tandy to despair, partly because her first love was the stage, and partly because she did not consider it her right to have any role, but rather a privilege: "fortunate experiences that a kind fate had allowed her to possess.<ref name=Vincent/>  
===U.S. stage credits===
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
|-
 
! Year
 
! Title
 
! Role
 
! Notes
 
|-
 
|1930
 
|''{{sortname|The|Matriarch|Gladys Bronwyn Stern}}''
 
|Toni Rakonitz
 
|
 
|-
 
|1930
 
|''{{sortname|The|Last Enemy|The Last Enemy (play)}}''
 
|Cynthia Perry
 
|
 
|-
 
|1938
 
|''[[Time and the Conways]]''
 
|Kay
 
|
 
|-
 
|1939
 
|''{{sortname|The|White Steed|The White Steed}}''
 
|Nora Fintry
 
|
 
|-
 
|1940
 
|''[[Geneva (play)|Geneva]]''
 
|Deaconess
 
|
 
|-
 
|1940
 
|''[[Jupiter Laughs]]''
 
|Dr. Mary Murray
 
|
 
|-
 
|1941
 
|''Anne of England''
 
|Abigail Hill
 
|
 
|-
 
|1942
 
|''Yesterday's Magic''
 
|daughter Cattrin
 
|
 
|-
 
|1947
 
|''{{sortname|A|Streetcar Named Desire|dab=play}}''
 
|Blanche DuBois
 
|[[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play]]
 
|-
 
|1950
 
|''Hilda Crane''
 
|Hilda Crane
 
|
 
|-
 
|1951
 
|''Madam, Will You Walk''
 
|Mary Doyle
 
|
 
|-
 
|1951
 
|''{{sortname|The|Fourposter}}''
 
|Agnes
 
|
 
|-
 
|1955
 
|''{{sortname|The|Man in the Dog Suit}}''
 
|Martha Walling
 
|
 
|-
 
|1955
 
|''{{sortname|The|Honeys|The Honeys (play)}}''
 
|Mary
 
|
 
|-
 
|1959
 
|''Triple Play''
 
|In ''Bedtime Story'': Angela Nightingale
 
In ''[[Portrait of a Madonna]]'': Miss Lucretia Collins
 
In ''[[A Pound on Demand]]'': The Public
 
|-
 
|1959
 
|''[[Five Finger Exercise]]''
 
|Louise Harrington
 
|
 
|-
 
|1964
 
|''{{sortname|The|Physicists}}''
 
|Fraulein Doktor Mathilde von Zahnd
 
|
 
|-
 
|1966
 
|''{{sortname|A|Delicate Balance|dab=play}}''
 
|Agnes
 
|
 
|-
 
|1970
 
|''[[Camino Real (play)|Camino Real]]''
 
|Marguerite Gautier
 
|
 
|-
 
|1970
 
|''[[Home (play)|Home]]''
 
|Marjorie
 
|
 
|-
 
|1971
 
|''All Over''
 
|The Wife
 
|
 
|-
 
|1972
 
|''[[Not I]]''<ref>Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Mar. 1973), pp. 102–104</ref>
 
|Mouth
 
|[[Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress#1970s|Obie Award for Best Actress]]
 
|-
 
|1974
 
|''Noël Coward in Two Keys''
 
|In ''[[A Song at Twilight]]'': Hilde Latymer
 
In ''[[Come Into the Garden, Maud (play)|Come Into the Garden, Maud]]'': Anna Mary Conklin
 
|
 
|-
 
|1977
 
|''{{sortname|The|Gin Game}}''
 
|Fonsia Dorsey
 
|[[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play]]<br />[[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play]]
 
|-
 
|1981
 
|''Rose''
 
|Mother
 
|Nominated—[[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play]]<br />Nominated—[[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play]]
 
|-
 
|1982
 
|''[[Foxfire (play)|Foxfire]]''
 
|Annie Nations
 
|[[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play]]<br />[[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play]]
 
|-
 
|1983
 
|''{{sortname|The|Glass Menagerie}}''
 
|Amanda Wingfield
 
|
 
|-
 
|1986
 
|''{{sortname|The|Petition|nolink=yes}}''
 
|Lady Elizabeth Milne
 
| Nominated—[[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play]]
 
|}
 
  
===Filmography===
+
When she finally was rewarded for her outstanding performance in ''Driving Miss Daily'' (1989), winning numerous awards including the [[BAFTA Awards|BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role]], [[|Berlinale|Silver Bear for the Best Joint Performance]] (with [[Morgan Freeman]]), and the [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]], she rejected the idea that that she would win the [[Oscar]] too: "Oh, no I don't think so. I'm primarily a stage actress, you know."<ref name=Vincent>Mal Vincent, [https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp940913/09130062.htm Remembering Jessica Tandy Award-winning Actress was Consummate Professional] ''The Virginian-Pilot'', September 13, 1994. Retrieved November 11, 2022.</ref> In fact, she did win the Oscar, becoming the oldest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actress at the age of 80 years.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
|-
 
! Year
 
! Title
 
! Role
 
! Notes
 
|-
 
|1932
 
| ''[[The Indiscretions of Eve]]''
 
|Maid
 
|
 
|-
 
|1938
 
|''[[Murder in the Family]]''
 
|Ann Osborne
 
|
 
|-
 
|1944
 
|''{{sortname|The|Seventh Cross|dab=film}}''
 
|Liesel Roeder
 
|
 
|-
 
|1944
 
|''[[Blonde Fever]]''
 
|Diner at Inn
 
|Uncredited
 
|-
 
|1945
 
|''{{sortname|The|Valley of Decision}}''
 
|Louise Kane
 
|
 
|-
 
|1946
 
|''{{sortname|The|Green Years|dab=film}}''
 
|Kate Leckie
 
|
 
|-
 
|1946
 
|''[[Dragonwyck (film)|Dragonwyck]]''
 
|Peggy O'Malley
 
|
 
|-
 
|1947
 
|''[[Forever Amber (film)|Forever Amber]]''
 
|Nan Britton
 
|
 
|-
 
|1948
 
|''{{sortname|A|Woman's Vengeance}}''
 
|Janet Spence
 
|
 
|-
 
|1950
 
|''[[September Affair]]''
 
|Catherine Lawrence
 
|
 
|-
 
|1951
 
|''{{sortname|The|Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel}}''
 
|Frau Lucie Maria Rommel
 
|
 
|-
 
|1956
 
|''{{sort|Producers' Showcase}}''
 
|
 
|Nominated—[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie]]
 
|-
 
|1957
 
|''{{sortname|The|Glass Eye|nolink=yes}}''
 
|Julia Lester
 
|Short film presented in "[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]"
 
|-
 
|1958
 
|''{{sortname|The|Light in the Forest|dab=film}}''
 
|Myra Butler
 
|
 
|-
 
|1962
 
|''[[Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man]]''
 
|Helen Adams
 
|Nominated—[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]
 
|-
 
|1963
 
|''{{sortname|The|Birds|dab=film}}''
 
|Lydia Brenner
 
|
 
|-
 
|1975
 
|''Bicentennial Minute for 31 August 1775, Destruction of Boston's Liberty Tree''
 
|Herself
 
|CBS Television Network, 31 August 1975 - Sponsor: Royal Dutch Shell
 
|-
 
|1976
 
|''[[Butley (film)|Butley]]''
 
|Edna Shaft
 
|
 
|-
 
|1981
 
|''[[Honky Tonk Freeway]]''
 
|Carol
 
|
 
|-
 
|1982
 
|''{{sortname|The|World According to Garp|dab=film}}''
 
|Mrs. Fields
 
|
 
|-
 
|1982
 
|''[[Still of the Night (film)|Still of the Night]]''
 
|Grace Rice
 
|
 
|-
 
|1982
 
|''[[Best Friends (1982 film)|Best Friends]]''
 
|Eleanor McCullen
 
|
 
|-
 
|1984
 
|''{{sortname|The|Bostonians|dab=film}}''
 
|Miss Birdseye
 
|
 
|-
 
|1984
 
|''[[Terror in the Aisles]]''
 
|Herself
 
|Archival footage
 
|-
 
|1985
 
|''[[Cocoon (film)|Cocoon]]''
 
|Alma Finley
 
|Nominated—[[Saturn Award for Best Actress]]
 
|-
 
|1987
 
|''[[Foxfire (1987 film)|Foxfire]]''
 
|Annie Nations
 
|TV movie<br>[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie]]
 
|-
 
|1987
 
|''[[*batteries not included]]''
 
|Faye Riley
 
|[[Saturn Award for Best Actress]]
 
|-
 
|1988
 
|''{{sortname|The|House on Carroll Street}}''
 
|Miss Venable
 
|
 
|-
 
|1988
 
|''[[Cocoon: The Return]]''
 
|Alma Finley
 
|Nominated—[[Saturn Award for Best Actress]]
 
|-
 
|1989
 
|''[[Driving Miss Daisy]]''
 
|Daisy Werthan
 
|[[Academy Award for Best Actress]]<br/>[[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role]]<br/>[[Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress]]<br/>[[David di Donatello|David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress]]<br/>[[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]]<br/>Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress<br/>[[Silver Bear|Silver Bear for the Best Joint Performance]] {{small|(with [[Morgan Freeman]])}}<ref name="Berlinale">{{cite web|url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1990/03_preistr_ger_1990/03_Preistraeger_1990.html|title=Berlinale: 1990 Prize Winners|access-date=17 March 2011|work=berlinale.de|language=de|archive-date=24 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124044311/http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1990/03_preistr_ger_1990/03_Preistraeger_1990.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><br/>Nominated—[[American Comedy Awards|American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture]]<br/>Nominated—[[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress]]<br/>Nominated—[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress]]
 
|-
 
|1991
 
|''{{sortname|The|Story Lady|nolink=yes}}''
 
|Grace McQueen
 
|TV movie<br>Nominated—[[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film]]
 
|-
 
|1991
 
|''[[Fried Green Tomatoes]]''
 
|Ninny Threadgoode
 
|Nominated—[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]]<br/>Nominated—[[American Comedy Awards|American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture]]<br/>Nominated—[[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role]]<br/>Nominated—[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]
 
|-
 
|1992
 
|''[[Used People]]''
 
|Freida
 
|
 
|-
 
|1993
 
|''[[To Dance with the White Dog]]''
 
|Cora Peek
 
|Television movie<br>Nominated—[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie]]
 
|-
 
|1994
 
|''{{sortname|A|Century of Cinema}}''
 
|Herself
 
|documentary
 
|-
 
|1994
 
|''[[Camilla (1994 film)|Camilla]]''
 
|Camilla Cara
 
|Released posthumously
 
|-
 
|1994
 
|''[[Nobody's Fool (1994 film)|Nobody's Fool]]''
 
|Beryl Peoples
 
|Released posthumously, (final film role)
 
|}
 
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Re-issued on DVD as ''The '''Christmas''' Story Lady''
 
  
===Television===
+
Interestingly, given that her roles in film for decades were small parts, "primarily in character roles, often as the unfortunately plan 'other' girl, or conniving villainesses," as "Hollywood never thought she was pretty enough to be a star,"<ref name=Vincent/> Tandy was chosen by ''[[People (magazine)|People magazine]]'' as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1990.<ref>[https://people.com/archive/beautiful-through-the-years-vol-47-no-18/ Beautiful Through the Years: 1990] ''People'',  May 12, 1997. Retrieved November 11, 2022.</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
|-
 
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
 
|-
 
| 1956 || ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' || Edwina Freel || Episode: "Toby"
 
|-
 
| 1957 || ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' || Julia Lester || Episode: "The Glass Eye"
 
|-
 
| 1958 || ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' || Laura Bowlby || Episode: "The Canary Sedan"
 
|-
 
| 1994 || ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'' || Mrs Backer || Episode: "Going Home"
 
  
|}
+
Other awards and honors given to Tandy include:
 +
*A Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] (1960)
 +
*Induction into the [[American Theatre Hall of Fame]] (1979)
 +
*[[Sarah Siddons Award]] [[Chicago theatre]] (1979)
 +
*[[Drama Desk Special Award]] (1986)
 +
*[[Kennedy Center Honors]] Recipient (1986)
 +
*[[National Medal of Arts]] (1990)
 +
*[[Women in Film Los Angeles|Women in Film]] [[Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards#THE CRYSTAL AWARD|Crystal Award]] (1991)
 +
*Special [[Tony Award]] for Lifetime Achievement shared with her husband, [[Hume Cronyn]] (1994)
 +
 
 +
==Notes==
 +
<references/>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}
+
* Barranger, Milly S. ''Jessica Tandy: A Bio-Bibliography''. Greenwood, 1991. ISBN 978-0313277160
 +
* Cronyn, Hume. ''A Terrible Liar: A Memoir''. Quill, 1991. ISBN 0688128440
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
 +
All links retrieved November 11, 2022.
  
* {{Find a Grave|21464}}
+
* [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/jessica-tandy-68863 Jessica Tandy] ''IBDB''
* {{IBDB name}}
+
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001788/ Jessica Tandy] ''IMDb''
* {{iobdb name|14991}}
+
* [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/188816%7C82278/Jessica-Tandy/#overview Jessica Tandy] ''Turner Classic Movies''
* {{IMDb name|1788}}
+
* [https://www.playbill.com/person/jessica-tandy-vault-0000042485 Jessica Tandy] ''Playbill''
* [http://www.shoestring.org/mmi_revs/jessica-tandy.html Movie Magazine International Tribute]
+
* [https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5698-jessica-tandy?language=en-US Jessica Tandy] ''The Movie Database''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110721054307/http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html#86#90 Lifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts]
+
* [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21464/jessica-tandy Jessica Tandy] ''Find a Grave''
* [https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0607.html Obituary]''The New York Times'', 12 September 1994
+
* [https://www.shoestring.org/mmi_revs/jessica-tandy.html Jessica Tandy "Movie Magazine International" Tribute] by Monica Sullivan, 1996.
* [http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=187787&lang=eng Katharine Cronyn Harley fonds (R11163)] at [[Library and Archives Canada]]. The fonds includes many records related to Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn.
+
* [https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/jessica-tandy Jessica Tandy] ''Golden Globe Awards''
 +
* [https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp940913/09130062.htm Remembering Jessica Tandy Award-winning Actress was Consummate Professional] by Mal Vincent, ''The Virginian-Pilot'', September 13, 1994.
 +
* [https://walkoffame.com/jessica-tandy/ Jessica Tandy] ''Hollywood Walk of Fame''
  
{{Navboxes
 
|title = Awards for Jessica Tandy
 
|list =
 
{{AcademyAwardBestActress 1981-2000}}
 
{{BAFTA Award for Best Actress 1980-1999}}
 
{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress}}
 
{{David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress}}
 
{{DramaDesk PlayOutstandingActress 1975-2000}}
 
{{Distinguished Performance Award}}
 
{{EmmyAward MiniseriesLeadActress 1976-2000}}
 
{{GoldenGlobeBestActressMotionPictureMusicalComedy 1981-2000}}
 
{{Kennedy Center Honorees 1980s}}
 
{{National Medal of Arts recipients 1990s}}
 
{{Saturn Award for Best Actress}}
 
{{Special Tony Award}}
 
{{TonyAward PlayLeadActress}}
 
}}
 
 
{{Triple Crown of Acting winners}}
 
{{Triple Crown of Acting winners}}
 
  
 
[[Category:Biography]]
 
[[Category:Biography]]

Latest revision as of 20:21, 19 November 2022

Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy Publicity Photo.jpg
Tandy, c. 1950s
BornJessie Alice Tandy
June 07 1909(1909-06-07)
Hackney, London, England
DiedSeptember 11 1994 (aged 85)
Easton, Connecticut, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1927–1994
Spouse(s)Jack Hawkins​
(m. 1932; div. 1940)​
Hume Cronyn
(m. 1942)
Children3

Jessie Alice Tandy (June 7, 1909 – September 11, 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She was an acclaimed stage actress, excelling in both classical and popular productions on the London stage, including various Shakespearean roles, and then became famous for playing Blanche DuBois in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire (1948).

Although she was not given leading roles in screen productions for many years, she finally achieved well-deserved recognition for her performances in films like Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) and Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), as well as several in which she starred with her husband Hume Cronyn, including Cocoon (1985) and *batteries not included (1987). At the age of 80, she became the oldest actress to receive the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Tandy was dedicated to her craft, never expecting starring roles and considering herself fortunate to have the chance to perform each role.

Life

The youngest of three siblings, Jessica Tandy was born in Geldeston Road in Hackney, London on June 7, 1909, the third child of Harry Tandy and his wife, Jessie Helen Horspool. Her mother was from a large Fenland family in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, and the head of a school for mentally handicapped children, and her father was a traveling salesman for a rope manufacturer.[1] She was educated at Dame Alice Owen's School in Islington.

Her father died when she was 12, and her mother subsequently taught evening courses to earn an income. Jessica suffered from tuberculosis as a child which limited her school attendance. However, she accompanied her mother to night school and enjoyed studying poetry, dance, calisthenics, and drama. In 1924, at age fifteen, she enrolled at Sir Ben Greet‘s Academy of Acting, the most prestigious training ground for actors at that time. Instructor Lillian E. Simpson nurtured her talent there for three years.[2] After completing her studies, Tandy made her stage début in The Manderson Girls, at London’s Playhouse Six on November 22, 1927.[1]

Tandy and Hume Cronyn, 1988

In 1932 Tandy married English actor Jack Hawkins and together they had a daughter, Susan Hawkins, born in 1934. However, they marriage failed and they divorced in 1940.

Tandy married Canadian actor Hume Cronyn in 1942.[3] They had two children, daughter Tandy Cronyn, an actress who co-starred with her mother in the TV film The Story Lady,[4] and son Christopher Cronyn.

Tandy became a naturalized citizen of the US in 1952, and spent much of the ensuing decade collaborating with Cronyn. In addition to ten stage productions, they also appeared together in seven plays for television’s Omnibus series. They remained happily married until her death: "The reason we can live and work together is that in no way do we threaten each other. We’re safe. I can’t play him and he can’t play me."[1]

In 1990, Jessica Tandy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and she also suffered from angina and glaucoma. Despite her illnesses and age she continued working. On September 11, 1994, she died at home in Easton, Connecticut, at the age of 85.[5]

Acting career

Tandy (left, with Kim Hunter and Marlon Brando) portrayed Blanche in the original 1947 Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire, a role that earned her the 1948 Tony Award for Best Actress
Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn in the Broadway play, "The Fourposter," 1952

Tandy was 18 years old when she made her professional debut in The Manderson Girls on the London stage in 1927. During the 1930s, she acted in many plays in London's West End, both popular and classical. She excelled in a number of Shakespearean roles, including Ophelia opposite John Gielgud's legendary Hamlet, as Cordelia to Gielgud's King Lear, and as both Sebastian and Viola opposite Laurence Olivier's Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night.[2] During her time as a leading actress on the stage in London, she often had to fight over roles with her two rivals, Peggy Ashcroft and Celia Johnson.[6]

She was cast in her first British film role in The Indiscretions of Eve (1932). Several years later she appeared in Murder in the Family with Roddy McDowall (1938). However, after her marriage to Jack Hawkins began to fail, she moved to the United States hoping to find better roles on both stage and screen. On Broadway, she won a Tony Award for her performance as Blanche Dubois in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948. Hoping for success in movies, she signed a five-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but was not considered for leading actress roles. She was even overlooked for the role of Blanche DuBois in the screen version of A Streetcar Named Desire; it was given to Vivien Leigh who won an Oscar for her performance.[2]

Tandy made her American film debut in The Seventh Cross (1944). She had supporting appearances in The Valley of Decision (1945), The Green Years (1946, as Cronyn's daughter), Dragonwyck (1946) starring Gene Tierney and Vincent Price and Forever Amber (1947). She appeared as the insomniac murderess in A Woman's Vengeance (1948), a film noir adapted by Aldous Huxley from his short story "The Gioconda Smile."

Broadway restrictions on immigrants limited her possibilities for roles and so she resorted to working in radio. Among other programs, she was a regular on Mandrake the Magician as Princess Nada.[7] During this time she met Hume Cronyn and the two married on September 27, 1942. They performed on radio together in The Marriage from 1953 to 1954.

In addition to their radio work Cronyn and Tandy carried forward a tradition that is now a casualty of changing times: the theatrical tour. Cronyn recalled: "We played ‘The Gin Game’ about 800 times [starting in 1978]. We did ‘The Fourposter’ 600 times [1951]. We did Albee’s ‘A Delicate Balance’ I think 400 times [1966] and ‘Noel Coward in Two Keys’ 400 times [1974]."[3]

Over the next three decades, Tandy's film career continued sporadically while she found better roles on the stage. Her roles during this time included The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951) opposite James Mason, The Light in the Forest (1958), and a role as a domineering mother in Alfred Hitchcock's film, The Birds (1963).

Tandy in Alfred Hitchcock Presents "The Glass Eye" (1957)

After this, she concentrated on the stage. In 1976, she and Cronyn joined the acting company of the Stratford Festival, and returned in 1980 to debut Cronyn's play Foxfire.[8] In 1977, she earned her second Tony Award, for her performance (with Cronyn) in The Gin Game and her third Tony in 1982 for her performance, again with Cronyn, in Foxfire.

The beginning of the 1980s saw a resurgence in her film career, with character roles in The World According to Garp, Best Friends, Still of the Night (all 1982) and The Bostonians (1984). She and Cronyn were now working together more regularly on stage and television, including the films Cocoon (1985), *batteries not included (1987), Cocoon: The Return (1988), and the Emmy Award winning television film Foxfire (1987), recreating her Tony winning Broadway role. Although she was finally receiving recognition for her work in film, Tandy commented "My parts are never big in films, but that's all right ... Films aren't as satisfying to me as the theater."[1]

However, it was her colorful performance in Driving Miss Daisy (1989), as an aging, stubborn Southern Jewish matron, that earned her an Oscar at the age of 80.[9]

Despite illnesses and age she continued working, her performances reflecting her ability and her dedication to her craft: "She was the consummate professional - a steel magnolia who provided the most genteel illusion."[10] She received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in the grassroots hit Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and co-starred in The Story Lady (1991 TV film, with her daughter Tandy Cronyn), Used People (1992, as Shirley MacLaine's mother), television film To Dance with the White Dog (1993, with Cronyn), Camilla (1994, with Cronyn). Nobody's Fool (1994) proved to be her last performance, at the age of 84.

Legacy

Jessica Tandy's stage career spanned six decades, during which she gave legendary performances in plays by Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, and Samuel Beckett. Her power on stage was "couched in gentility," appearing to be a thin and frail actress but even her whispers could be heard in every seat in the theater.[10] Her most famous role was that of the heroine, Blanche Dubois, in A Streetcar Named Desire. For this she was regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation, acclaimed by critics, including Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times who called her performance the "perfect marriage of acting and playwriting."[2]

However, she waited decades for similar recognition on the screen, through no fault of her own: "Not that there were ever any failures on her part, it was simply put that, for many years, producers couldn't imagine Tandy as the star of a major Hollywood movie."[11] This did not cause Tandy to despair, partly because her first love was the stage, and partly because she did not consider it her right to have any role, but rather a privilege: "fortunate experiences that a kind fate had allowed her to possess.[10]

When she finally was rewarded for her outstanding performance in Driving Miss Daily (1989), winning numerous awards including the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, [[|Berlinale|Silver Bear for the Best Joint Performance]] (with Morgan Freeman), and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, she rejected the idea that that she would win the Oscar too: "Oh, no I don't think so. I'm primarily a stage actress, you know."[10] In fact, she did win the Oscar, becoming the oldest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actress at the age of 80 years.

Interestingly, given that her roles in film for decades were small parts, "primarily in character roles, often as the unfortunately plan 'other' girl, or conniving villainesses," as "Hollywood never thought she was pretty enough to be a star,"[10] Tandy was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1990.[12]

Other awards and honors given to Tandy include:

  • A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1960)
  • Induction into the American Theatre Hall of Fame (1979)
  • Sarah Siddons Award Chicago theatre (1979)
  • Drama Desk Special Award (1986)
  • Kennedy Center Honors Recipient (1986)
  • National Medal of Arts (1990)
  • Women in Film Crystal Award (1991)
  • Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement shared with her husband, Hume Cronyn (1994)

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 David Parkinson, The Academy Awards: A Look At Jessica Tandy OUP Blog, February 23, 2007. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Milly S. Barranger, Jessica Tandy: A Bio-Bibliography (Greenwood, 1991, ISBN 978-0313277160).
  3. 3.0 3.1 Charles Champlin, Life After Jessie : For 52 years, Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy shared the love story of the century. Her death last year devastated him, but his love lives on Los Angeles Times, June 18, 1995. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  4. Theatre / Film Bio Tandy Cronyn. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  5. David Shipman, Obituary: Jessica Tandy The Independent, September 12, 1994. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  6. Mel Gussow, AT HOME WITH: Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy; The Driven Mr. and Mrs. Daisy The New York Times, May 26, 1994. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  7. Hume Cronyn, A Terrible Liar: A Memoir (Quill, 1991, ISBN 0688128440).
  8. Jessica Tandy acting credits Stratford Festival Archives. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  9. Dave Kehr, Miss Daisy, Jessica Tandy Win Top Oscars Chicago Tribune, March 27, 1990. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Mal Vincent, Remembering Jessica Tandy Award-winning Actress was Consummate Professional The Virginian-Pilot, September 13, 1994. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  11. Monica Sullivan, [Jessica Tandy "Movie Magazine International" Tribute, 1996. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  12. Beautiful Through the Years: 1990 People, May 12, 1997. Retrieved November 11, 2022.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

External links

All links retrieved November 11, 2022.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.