Gertrude Lawrence

. Silvana Mangano died of lung cancer in Madrid, Spain, at 59 years of age.
. Married to Bitter Rice producer Dino De Laurentiis, Mangano had four children, one of whom, daughter Raffaela, coproduced with his father the Mangano's next-to-last film Dune (David Lynch, 1984).
. Though she never scaled the heights of her contemporaries Sophia Loren and Lollobrigida, Mangano remained a favorite star between the 1950s and 1970s, appearing in Anna (Alberto Lattuada, 1951), The Gold of Naples (L' Oro di Napoli, Vittorio De Sica, 1954), Mambo (Robert Rossen, 1955), Theorem (Teorema, Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1968), and Death in Venice (Morte a Venezia, Luchino Visconti, 1971). In the 1968 film, Star!, based on her life, Gertrude Lawrence was played by Julie Andrews. This led her to a movie contract, though it would take sometime for Mangano to ascend to international stardom with her stunning performance in Bitter Rice (Riso Amaro, Giuseppe De Santis, 1949).

She died of cervical cancer in New York, New York and was buried in her pink "Shall We Dance?" gown from the second act of The King and I in Lakeview Cemetery, in Upton, Massachusetts. Mangano's earliest connection with filmmaking occurred through her romantic relationship with actor Marcello Mastroianni. She won the 1952 Tony Award for Best Actress for her role as Anna Leonowens in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I. One year later she was one of the girls in the Miss Italia contest. Potential actress Lucia Bose became "The Queen", among Mangano and some other future stars of Italian cinema like as Gina Lollobrigida, Eleonora Rossi Drago and Gianna Maria Canale. She starred as Liza Elliot in Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's psychoanalytic musical Lady in the Dark, and was a popular entertainer of the troops in World War II. In 1946, at 16, Mangano won the Miss Rome beauty pageant. Noel Coward wrote Private Lives and Tonight at 8:30 (a cycle of nine one-act musicals and plays) for her. She was born in Rome, Italy. Trained as a dancer, she was supporting herself as a model.

In this play she was the first British actress to create a lead role on Broadway. Cole Porter wrote Nymph Errant for her to star in London in 1929. Silvana Mangano (April 21, 1930 - December 16, 1989) was the most sexy actress of Italy's neo-realistic period. George and Ira Gershwin wrote Oh, Kay! for her, with the song "Someone to Watch Over Me," which became a standard. Her onstage persona inspired composers and writers. She is also thought to have had lesbian affairs, notably with Daphne Du Maurier.

She married Richard Aldrich in 1940. They divorced in 1927. She married Francis Gordon-Howley in 1924, and they had a daughter, Pamela. Her great charisma is attested to by those who saw her onstage, but her films fail to convey her charm.

She was one of the foremost comediennes of her time, capable of playing both slapstick clowns and elegant ladies. She understudied Beatrice Lillie in Andre Charlot's London revues on the 1920s, and became their star when they were brought to Broadway in 1924 and 1926. She was born Gertrude Alexandria Dagmar Lawrence-Klasen in London, England, and was a professional performer by the age of ten. She was particularly associated with the light comedy of Noel Coward.

Gertrude Lawrence (June 4, 1898 - September 6, 1952) was an actress and musical performer popular in the 1930s-40s, appearing on stage in London and on Broadway, and in several films. Gertrude Lawrence's Internet Movie Database page (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0492775/). Gertrude Lawrence's Internet Broadway Database page (http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=49117). The Glass Menagerie - 1950.

Catherine the Great - 1948. Brief Encounter - 1945. Men Are Not Gods - 1936. Rembrandt - 1936.

Mimi - 1935. No Funny Business - 1933. Lord Camber's Ladies - 1932. Aren't We All? - 1932.

The Battle of Paris - 1929. The King and I - 1951. Pygmalion - 1945. Gratefully Yours - 1942.

Lady in the Dark - 1941. Skylark. Susan and God - 1937. Still Life.

Family Album. Ways and Means. Fumed Oak. Shadow Play.

We Were Dancing. The Astonished Heart. Red Peppers. Hands Across the Sea.

Tonight at 8:30 - 1936