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Jeanne Eagels

Jeanne Eagels (June 26, 1890 – October 3, 1929) was an actress on Broadway and in several motion pictures.

Jeanne Eagels

Born Amelia Jeannine Eagles in Kansas City, Missouri. It was there that she began her acting career, appearing in a variety of small venues at a very young age. Her ambitions were such that she left Kansas City around the age of 12 and toured the Midwest with the Dubinsky Brothers' traveling theater show. At first she was a dancer, but in time she went on to play the leading lady in several popular comedies and dramas put on by the Dubinskys. In or around 1911, she came to New York City and had to start at the bottom again. She started out as a chorus girl and this led to appearances in the chorus of the Ziegfeld Follies (i.e., as a Ziegfeld Girl). At one point her acting coach was Beverly Sitgreaves, who had once shared the stage with the great French actress Sarah Bernhardt.

She changed the spelling of her surname to "Eagels", allegedly because this spelling looked better in lights. Although she struggled for recognition as a dramatic actress, her beauty, talent and luck led to her getting bigger parts in better shows. Her acting career blossomed, and in 1914 she appeared in her first motion picture role. In 1916 and 1917 she made three films for Thanhouser Film Corporation.

Eagels eventually won recognition and kudos playing opposite the stage actor George Arliss in three successive plays. In 1918 she appeared in Daddies, a David Belasco production, and won even more notice. She had to quit this show due to illness (probably sinusitis) and she subsequently travelled to Europe. She appeared in several other Broadway shows once she returned, but in 1922 she made her first appearance as a star in a bone fide hit- Rain. She played the character of Sadie Thompson, a free-wheeling and free-loving spirit who confronts a fire-and-brimstone preacher on a South Pacific island. Critics raved about her tense, smoldering, and vivid performance. The house was packed nearly every night for two years. She went on tour with Rain for two more seasons, and returned to Broadway to give a farewell performance in 1926.


During this period she married 'Ted' Edward Harris Coy (1925), a former Yale University football star. The marriage was a stormy one and they divorced in 1928. They had no children together.


For her next role, Eagels was offered the part of Roxie Hart in the play Chicago, but walked out of this role during rehearsals, possibly due to conflicts with the director. After much speculation about her next play, she chose a comedy Her Cardboard Lover (1927) in which she appeared on stage with Leslie Howard. This play was a modest success, and after a season on Broadway, she took a break to make a movie. She appeared opposite John Gilbert in Man, Woman and Sin, which was directed by Monta Bell and made at MGM studios in California. She then went on tour with Her Cardboard Lover for several months. In 1928, after failing to appear for a performance in Milwaukee, Eagels was banned by Actors Equity from appearing on stage for 18 months.


The ban did not stop Eagels from working in film, and she made two "talkies" for Paramount Pictures, including The Letter and Jealousy (both released in 1929). Her performance in The Letter garnered high praise from critics.


Just before she was to return to the Broadway stage, Jeanne Eagels died suddenly at a hospital in New York City on October 3, 1929. Three medical practitioners gave three different causes for her death, all of which pointed to alcohol and drug abuse. In Kansas City, thousands of mourning fans were at the train station when her coffin was returned for interment in the local Calvary Cemetery. She was survived by her mother, Julia Eagles, and several brothers and sisters.


Eagels was posthumously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the The Letter. The Oscar went to Mary Pickford for the film Coquette. Eagels' performance in The Letter inspired many actors new to the medium of talking pictures, including Bette Davis who repeated the role in a 1940 remake of the film.

External Links

  • Jeanne Eagles page (http://www.jeanneeagels.com)

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Eagels' performance in The Letter inspired many actors new to the medium of talking pictures, including Bette Davis who repeated the role in a 1940 remake of the film. Born in Wedlock. The Oscar went to Mary Pickford for the film Coquette. A Richard Rogers musical with a story by Abby Mann.
Eagels was posthumously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the The Letter. Biographies of: Gertrude Lawrence, Fannie Brice, Edith Piaf, Aimee Semple McPherson. She was survived by her mother, Julia Eagles, and several brothers and sisters. According to a book of David Shipman, Judy Garland: The Secret Life of an American Legend she was bisexual herself, and was in intimate relationship with her (female) secretary; however, Shipman's tale has not been corroborated, and much of his scholarship has been questioned.

In Kansas City, thousands of mourning fans were at the train station when her coffin was returned for interment in the local Calvary Cemetery. Garland's death is often noted as a cause of one of the key events of the modern gay rights movement. Three medical practitioners gave three different causes for her death, all of which pointed to alcohol and drug abuse. Five days after her death, mourning gay fans fought back against police during a routine police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, which set off several days of "gay liberation" riots.
Just before she was to return to the Broadway stage, Jeanne Eagels died suddenly at a hospital in New York City on October 3, 1929. Her funeral in Manhattan resulted in an outpouring of New York City fans, with more than 20,000 coming to view her body - including hundreds of gay men. Her performance in The Letter garnered high praise from critics. A gay icon, Garland always had a large fan base in the gay community.


The ban did not stop Eagels from working in film, and she made two "talkies" for Paramount Pictures, including The Letter and Jealousy (both released in 1929). Garland was interred in the Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York. In 1928, after failing to appear for a performance in Milwaukee, Eagels was banned by Actors Equity from appearing on stage for 18 months. She died in 1969 at the age of 47 in London from an accidental overdose of barbiturates. She then went on tour with Her Cardboard Lover for several months. Of Garland's five marriages, the first four marriages all ended in divorce. She appeared opposite John Gilbert in Man, Woman and Sin, which was directed by Monta Bell and made at MGM studios in California. Her children were Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft, and Joey Luft.

This play was a modest success, and after a season on Broadway, she took a break to make a movie. The shortcomings of her childhood years became more apparent as Garland struggled to overcome various personal problems, including weight gain, heavy drinking, and drug addiction. After much speculation about her next play, she chose a comedy Her Cardboard Lover (1927) in which she appeared on stage with Leslie Howard. She had a critically praised if short-lived television series in 1963-64.
For her next role, Eagels was offered the part of Roxie Hart in the play Chicago, but walked out of this role during rehearsals, possibly due to conflicts with the director. Her appearance at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961, was a considerable highlight, called by many the "greatest single night in show business," and the live recording made of the event was a best seller and won Grammy Awards as the Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal of the Year. They had no children together. Throughout the 1950s and most notably in the early 1960s she made enormously successful appearances in both media.

The marriage was a stormy one and they divorced in 1928. When her MGM contract was terminated in 1950 (depending upon the source she either asked to be released from the contract, or she was fired due her unreliability on the set of the musical Royal Wedding), Garland turned to television and live concert appearances.
During this period she married 'Ted' Edward Harris Coy (1925), a former Yale University football star. She received an honorary Academy Award for her performance in The Wizard of Oz, and was nominated for Best Actress in A Star is Born, and Best Supporting Actress for Judgment at Nuremberg. She went on tour with Rain for two more seasons, and returned to Broadway to give a farewell performance in 1926. Louis, in which she introduced three classics standards: "The Trolley Song," "The Boy Next Door," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Her other famous films include The Harvey Girls (1946) (in which she introduced "On the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe"), Easter Parade (1948), A Star Is Born (1954), and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). The house was packed nearly every night for two years. Throughout the 1940s her films increased in popularity, the most critically and financially successful being Meet Me in St.

Critics raved about her tense, smoldering, and vivid performance. After Oz, Garland became one of MGM's most important stars, proving particularly popular when teamed with Mickey Rooney in a string of "let's put on a show!" musicals. She played the character of Sadie Thompson, a free-wheeling and free-loving spirit who confronts a fire-and-brimstone preacher on a South Pacific island. At the age of 16, she got the role of Dorothy in the film of The Wizard of Oz (1939), and was forever afterwards associated with the song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". She appeared in several other Broadway shows once she returned, but in 1922 she made her first appearance as a star in a bone fide hit- Rain. Mayer to a contract with MGM without a screen test. She had to quit this show due to illness (probably sinusitis) and she subsequently travelled to Europe. Garland was signed at the age of 13 by Louis B.

In 1918 she appeared in Daddies, a David Belasco production, and won even more notice. They settled on the Three Garlands, and young Frances chose the name Judy. Eagels eventually won recognition and kudos playing opposite the stage actor George Arliss in three successive plays. In 1934, the Gumm Sisters were performing in Chicago with George Jessel. Jessel encouraged the group to choose a less humorous name. In 1916 and 1917 she made three films for Thanhouser Film Corporation. Frances was soon known as Baby Gumm. Her acting career blossomed, and in 1914 she appeared in her first motion picture role. The family soon moved to Lancaster, California and the Gumm Sisters began work on stage and in movies.

Although she struggled for recognition as a dramatic actress, her beauty, talent and luck led to her getting bigger parts in better shows. Young Frances got on the stage and stole the show with a rendition of Jingle Bells; she was two and a half years old. She changed the spelling of her surname to "Eagels", allegedly because this spelling looked better in lights. One year, her parents and her two older sisters were performing in a Christmas show. At one point her acting coach was Beverly Sitgreaves, who had once shared the stage with the great French actress Sarah Bernhardt. Born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, she was born into a family of vaudeville players. She started out as a chorus girl and this led to appearances in the chorus of the Ziegfeld Follies (i.e., as a Ziegfeld Girl). Judy Garland (June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) was a American film actress who is considered one of the greatest singing stars of Hollywood's Golden Era of musical film.

In or around 1911, she came to New York City and had to start at the bottom again. At first she was a dancer, but in time she went on to play the leading lady in several popular comedies and dramas put on by the Dubinskys. Her ambitions were such that she left Kansas City around the age of 12 and toured the Midwest with the Dubinsky Brothers' traveling theater show. It was there that she began her acting career, appearing in a variety of small venues at a very young age.

Born Amelia Jeannine Eagles in Kansas City, Missouri. Jeanne Eagels (June 26, 1890 – October 3, 1929) was an actress on Broadway and in several motion pictures. Jeanne Eagles page (http://www.jeanneeagels.com).