Hope Lange

Hope Lange

Lange in 1968
Born Hope Elise Ross Lange
(1933-11-28)November 28, 1933
Redding, Connecticut, U.S.
Died December 19, 2003(2003-12-19) (aged 70)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Cause of death Ischemic colitis
Alma mater Reed College
Occupation Actress
Years active 1942–1998
Spouse(s) Don Murray (m. 1956–61)
Alan J. Pakula (m. 1963–71)
Charles Hollerith, Jr. (m. 1986–2003)
Children Christopher Murray
Patricia Murray

Hope Elise Ross Lange (November 28, 1933 – December 19, 2003)[1] was an American film, stage, and television actress.

Lange was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Selena Cross in the 1957 film Peyton Place. In 1969 and 1970, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Carolyn Muir in the sitcom The Ghost & Mrs. Muir.

Early life

A 15-year-old Hope Lange modeling the "Man-from-Mars, Radio Hat", 1949

Lange was born into a theatrical family in Redding, Connecticut.[2] Her father, John George Lange (1885–1942), was a cellist and the music arranger for Florenz Ziegfeld and conductor for Henry Cohen; her mother, Minette (née Buddecke) (1898–1970), was an actress.[3] They had three daughters, Minelda (1922–2004), Joy, (1927–2007), and Hope, and a son, David.[4][5][6] John worked in New York City and the family moved to Greenwich Village when Hope was a young child.

Lange sang with other children in the play Life, Laughter and Tears, which opened at the Booth Theatre in March 1942.[7] At age 9, Lange had a speaking part in the award-winning Broadway play The Patriots, which opened in January 1943.[8][9]

John Lange died in September 1942 but the family stayed in New York City.[10] Minette ran a restaurant on Macdougal Street near Washington Square Park from 1944 to 1956.[3] The name was "Minette's of Washington Square", although some sources confuse it with "Minetta Tavern", an Italian restaurant on Macdougal Street founded in 1937. The entire family worked in the restaurant; the oldest daughter, Minelda, ran the cash register while Joy and Hope waited on tables.[11][12]

While attending high school; Lange studied dance, modeled, and worked in the family restaurant. She sometimes walked the dog of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who had a nearby apartment.[13] When her photo appeared in the newspaper, she received an offer to work as a New York City advertising model.[14] She appeared on the June 1949 cover of Radio-Electronics magazine wearing the "Man from Mars" Radio Hat. This portable radio built into a pith helmet was a sensation in 1949.[15]

Lange attended college for two years at Reed College in Oregon and at Barmore Junior College in New York. She met her first husband, Don Murray, at Barmore.[16]

Career

She began working in television in the 1950s with appearances on Kraft Television Theatre, which caught the eye of a Hollywood producer. Lange came to prominence in her first film role in Bus Stop with Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray, whom she married on April 14, 1956. Murray later said that Monroe grew jealous of another blonde being hired for the movie and asked the studio producers to dye Lange's blonde hair light brown.[2]

Hope Lange in Death Wish (1974).

As a result of favorable reviews, Lange landed a major role in the then-risqué 1957 film Peyton Place. Her strong performance earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award and another for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She would become a rather well-recognized supporting actress of ingénue roles. Lange later said that she became somewhat typecast in her ingénue film appearances and this is why her movie career was short-lived.[17]

She went on to appear in Nicholas Ray's 1957 film, The True Story of Jesse James as James' wife, opposite Robert Wagner. She appeared in The Young Lions alongside Montgomery Clift. She starred as the wife of Jeffrey Hunter's character in Anton Myrer's wartime drama In Love and War in 1958. These roles eventually led to Lange earning top billing in 1959's The Best of Everything, with Suzy Parker and Joan Crawford.[2]

Lange appeared as Elvis Presley's older psychologist love interest in Wild in the Country in 1961, despite being only 13 months Elvis' senior. She then appeared in Frank Capra's final movie, Pocketful of Miracles, alongside Glenn Ford. The next year, she appeared with Ford again in the romantic comedy Love Is a Ball.[2]

Lange returned to television for a 1966 role in the series The Fugitive (1963). She starred from 1968 to 1970 in the television series, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir for which she earned two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award nomination. This success was followed by three seasons on The New Dick Van Dyke Show as Dick Van Dyke's wife, Jenny Preston, from 1971 to 1974, declining to return for a fourth season of the show.[2] She also appeared in twelve television movies, one being Crowhaven Farm where she was portrayed as a witch. In 1977, she returned to the Broadway stage where her acting career had originally begun. She also played the wife of Charles Bronson in the original Death Wish film. In 1985, she appeared in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge and in 1986, she took a role as Laura Dern's mother in David Lynch's Blue Velvet. She took a Broadway role in Same Time, Next Year and then made appearances in the television movie based on Danielle Steel's Message from Nam and in 1994's Clear and Present Danger.

Lange made appearances in the Maine town in which Peyton Place had been filmed during the film's 40th anniversary celebrations in 1998.[2]

Personal life

Date of birth

Lange's year of birth is often reported as 1931, but the correct year is 1933. A possible source of this error is the Reader's Digest Almanac and Yearbook.[18] It has shown the 1931 date from as early as 1980 to the 2009 issue. The 1976 and earlier editions give the year of birth as 1933.[19] Other references such as Chase's Annual Events have always shown 1933,[1] as does her Social Security Death Index entry.

The 1933 year also matches the ages given in newspaper accounts of Lange in her youth. The New York Times covered the annual "Young People's Concert" awards given at Carnegie Hall. Lange received an award in April 1945[20] and again in April 1946, when her age was given as 12.[21] Lange's age of 12 in April 1946 would correspond to a birthdate in November 1933, not 1931.

Also, a short feature story was published in February 1951 about Hope Lange's culinary skills. The first paragraph gives the biography of a seventeen-year-old Hope Lange of Greenwich Village, New York. Her late father was "director of music for Florenz Ziegfield" and her mother had a catering business. In addition to modeling, acting, and dancing; Hope could make "terrific" sandwiches. The article gives her recipes for "Sardine Strips" and "Cheese Ribbon" sandwiches.[22] Born in 1933, Lange would have been 17 years old in February 1951.

Relationships

Lange's first marriage was to actor Don Murray in 1956; they had two children,[2] actor Christopher Murray and photographer Patricia Murray. Lange left Don Murray in 1961 for actor Glenn Ford, associate producer and co-star of Pocketful of Miracles. She and Ford never married.[2] She then left acting for three years after her October 19, 1963, marriage to producer-director, Alan J. Pakula, who she divorced in 1971.

In 1972 she also dated Frank Sinatra and began a relationship with married novelist John Cheever.[23] In 1986, she married theatrical producer Charles Hollerith, with whom she remained the rest of her life.[2]

Death

Lange died on December 19, 2003, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, as a result of an ischemic colitis infection at the age of 70.[24]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1956 Bus Stop Elma Duckworth Alternative title: The Wrong Kind of Girl
1957 The True Story of Jesse James Zee James Alternative title: The James Brothers
1957 Peyton Place Selena Cross
1958 The Young Lions Hope Plowman
1958 In Love and War Andrea Lenaine Kantaylis
1959 The Best of Everything Caroline Bender
1961 Wild in the Country Irene Sperry
1961 Pocketful of Miracles Elizabeth "Queenie" Martin
1963 Love Is a Ball Millicent "Millie" Mehaffey Alternative title: All This and Money Too
1968 Jigsaw Helen Atterbury
1974 I Love You... Good-bye Karen Chandler
1974 Death Wish Joanna Kersey
1983 The Prodigal Anne Stewart
1983 I Am the Cheese Betty Farmer
1985 A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge Cheryl Walsh
1986 Blue Velvet Mrs. Williams
1990 Tune in Tomorrow Margaret Quince Alternative title: Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
1994 Clear and Present Danger Senator Mayo
1995 Just Cause Libby Prentiss
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1956 Kraft Television Theatre Randy Episode: "Snapfinger Creek"
1957–1958 Playhouse 90 Raiya
Jessica Lovell
Alex Winter		 3 episodes
1962 Cyrano De Bergerac Roxane Television movie
1962–1975 Hallmark Hall of Fame Roxane
Mrs. Douglas		 2 episodes
1966 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre Rachel Douglas Episode: "Shipwrecked"
1966 The Fugitive Annie Johnson Episode: "The Last Oasis"
1967 CBS Playhouse Lois Graves Episode: "Dear Friends"
1968–1970 The Ghost & Mrs. Muir Carolyn Muir 50 episodes
1970 Crowhaven Farm Maggie Porter Television movie
1971–1974 The New Dick Van Dyke Show Jenny Preston 72 episodes
1972 That Certain Summer Janet Salter Television movie
1973 The 500 Pound Jerk Karen Walsh Television movie
1974 I Love You, Goodbye Karen Chandler Television movie
1974 Fer-de-Lance Elaine Wedell Television movie
1975 The Secret Night Caller Pat Durant Television movie
1975 Medical Story Diana Hopkins Episode: "Woman In White"
1975 The Rivalry Mrs. Douglas Television movie
1976 Gibbsville Harriet Episode: "Afternoon Waltz"
1977 Police Story Ann Wells Episode: "Nightmare on a Sunday Morning"
1977 The Love Boat II Elaine Palmer Television movie
1978 The Love Boat Sandra Newberry Episode: "Where Is It Written?/Julie's Aunt/The Big Deal"
1978 Match Game Herself (panelist) 5 episodes
1979 Like Normal People Roz Meyers Television movie
1980 The Day Christ Died Claudia Television movie
1980 Beulah Land Deborah Kendrick Miniseries
1980 Pleasure Palace Madelaine Calvert Television movie
1982 Matt Houston Kate Riley Episode: "Recipe for Murder"
1983 Fantasy Island Marion Stamford Episode: "Naughty Marietta/The Winning Ticket"
1983–1986 Hotel Gwen Andrews
Dr. Hannah Fielding		 2 episodes
1984 Finder of Lost Loves Catherine Connally Smith Episode: "Maxwell Ltd: Finder of Lost Loves Pilot"
1985 Survival Guide Television movie
1985 Private Sessions Mrs. Coles Television movie
1987 Ford: The Man and the Machine Clara Ford Television movie
1987 Trying Times Frances Fletcher Episode: " A Family Tree"
1987–1993 Murder, She Wrote Charlotte Newcastle
Helen Lewis		 2 episodes
1989 Knight & Daye Gloria Daye 7 episodes
1993 Dead Before Dawn Virginia DeSilva Television movie
1993 Cooperstown Cassie Willette Television movie
1993 Message from Nam Marjorie Wilson Television movie
1998 Before He Wakes Helen Rawlings Television movie, (Last appearance)

Awards and nominations

Year Award Result Category Film or series
1958 Academy Award Nominated Best Supporting Actress Peyton Place
1969 Emmy Award Won Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
1970 The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
1958 Golden Globe Award Nominated Best Supporting Actress Peyton Place
1969 Best TV Star — Female The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
1958 Laurel Awards Nominated Laurel Awards Top New Female Personality
2008 TV Land Award Nominated Favorite Character from the "Other Side" The Ghost & Mrs. Muir

References

  1. 1 2 Chase, William D.; Helen M. Chase (1988). Chase's Annual Events: Special Days, Weeks and Months in 1988. McGraw-Hill. p. 263. ISBN 978-0-8092-4667-0. Hope Lange, actress, born at Reading Ridge, CT, Nov. 28, 1933
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Hope Lange". The Independent. 23 December 2003. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Mrs. John G. Lange". The New York Times. October 31, 1970. "Mrs. Minette Buddecke Lange, who ran Minette's restaurant in Macdougal Street from 1944 to 1956, died Oct. 23 in a nursing home in Hanover, N. H. Her age was 71. She was the widow of John George Lange, composer and conductor."
  4. ↑ "Jiras-Lange". The New York Times. August 28, 1949. p. 70. Minelda Lange, daughter of Mrs. John G. Lange married Robert Jiras. Minelda attended American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
  5. ↑ "Harry Boardman 1920–2009". Whetstone Inn, Inc. Retrieved September 12, 2009. "During this time [1949–1954], he met and married Joy Lange, for whose family he had worked as a waiter at their Macdougal Street restaurant—Minette’s of Washington Square—and whose sister, Hope, was beginning to make a name as a Hollywood star in movies such as Bus Stop and Peyton Place."
  6. ↑ Birth and death years for Minelda L Jiras and Joy L Boardman are from the Social Security Death Index.
  7. ↑ "News of the Stage". The New York Times. February 21, 1942. p. 14. Life, Laughter and Tears arrives at the Booth on March 11. Mildred Dunnock, Gene Ross, Mervin Taylor, Hope Lange and Joan Shepherd are recent additions to the cast.
  8. ↑ Nathan, George Jean; Charles Angoff (1972). The Theatre Book of the Year, 1942–1943. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-8386-7946-3. The Patriots opened January 29, 1943. Hope Lange played Anne Randolph.
  9. ↑ Corry, John (July 1, 1977). "Broadway". The New York Times. p. 41. Miss Lange was on Broadway at the age of 9, appearing in something called The Patriot
  10. ↑ "Deaths". The New York Times. September 15, 1942. p. 23. John George Lange, September 13, 1942.
  11. ↑ Scott, Vernon (January 5, 1972). "Hope Lange is a divorcee off of stage". Boca Raton News. Boca Raton, Florida. pp. 5B.
  12. ↑ Gehman, Richard (May 1959). "Moveland marriage with a mission". Coronet. 45 (38): 38–40.
  13. ↑ Beasley, Henry R.; Holly Cowan Shulman (2001). The Eleanor Roosevelt encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 382. ISBN 978-0-313-30181-0. Eleanor Roosevelt lived at 29 Washington Square West from 1945 to 1949
  14. ↑ Polgreen, Lydia (December 22, 2003). "Hope Lange, Versatile Actress And Emmy Winner, Dies at 70". The New York Times. p. 7.
  15. ↑ "The Radio Hat". Radio Electronics. 20 (9): 4, 32–33. June 1949. Cover description: The Radio Hat, posed by Hope Lange. page 4
  16. ↑ Stone, Judy (February 16, 1969). "Nothing Haunted About Hope". The New York Times. p. D19.
  17. ↑ Oliver, Myrna (December 22, 2003). "Hope Lange, 70; Drew an Oscar Nomination for 'Peyton Place'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  18. ↑ Reader's Digest Almanac and Yearbook, 1980. Reader's Digest Association. 1980. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-89577-079-0. Hope Lange (1931– ) actress
  19. ↑ Reader's Digest Almanac and Yearbook, 1976. Reader's Digest Association. 1976. p. 262. Hope Lange (1933– ) actress
  20. ↑ "Ganz Plays Works By Girl, 13, Boy, 14". The New York Times. April 8, 1945. p. 36. an annual "Young People's Concerts" award
  21. ↑ "Youth Awards Given For Music Notebooks". The New York Times. April 7, 1946. p. 40.
  22. ↑ "Versatile Greenwich Villager, 17, Tells Her Sprightly Buffet Recipes". The Lowell Sun. February 20, 1951. p. 4. This wire service story was published in several newspapers.
  23. ↑ Donaldson, Scott (2001). John Cheever: A Biography. iUniverse. p. 237. ISBN 978-0-595-21138-8. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  24. ↑ "Hope Lange, actress in 'Peyton Place,' dies". Deseret News (Salt Lake City). 2003-12-22. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
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