Oscar Winner Jennifer Jones Dead at 90

[Kristie-K2]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 3:40pm

� APJennifer JonesOscar winner Jennifer Jones dead at 90
Dec. 17, 2009, 1:25 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jennifer Jones, the beautiful, raven-haired actress who was nominated for Academy Awards five times, winning in 1943 for her portrayal of a saintly nun in "The Song of Bernadette," died Thursday. She was 90.

Jones, who in later years was a leader of the Norton Simon Museum, died at her home in Malibu of natural causes, museum spokeswoman Leslie Denk told The Associated Press.

Jones was the widow of the museum's founder, wealthy industrialist Norton Simon, and served as chair of the museum's board of directors after his death.

Known for her intense performances, Jones was one of Hollywood's biggest stars

Updated On: 12/17/09 at 03:40 PM

[Q]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 3:44pm

RIP.

I go to the Norton Simon frequently, and never knew about her connection.

Talk about fame's fleeting fortune - I wonder how many people at this point have even heard of her?

Peace to her and hers.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 5:03pm

They probably confuse her with:

[nmartin]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 6:58pm

Little Phylis Isley from Tulsa. Love Since You Went Away.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 7:06pm

Tribute

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 7:43pm

RIP

Since You Went Away has a special place in my heart. It is such a shame that she and Robert Walker had their marriage destroyed due to her affair with David O. Selznick (whom she later married) but actually amazing as their chemistry in the movie (shot while the marriage was coming to a bitter end) was electric and heartbreaking. Did she and Walker ever reconcile before his death?

[Marquise]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 8:51pm

So David O. Selznick produced SINCE YOU WENT AWAY while he was screwing Jennifer Jones and her husband *also* co-starred in the picture? That's pretty messed up and skanky of both of them.

OT: Had no idea Shirley Temple was still acting as a young woman.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 9:25pm

Did she and Walker ever reconcile before his death?

I don't believe so. I read a biography on him when I was in high school and am trying to remember back to it. He had married John Ford's daughter but that ended due poorly. He died alone if I recall correctly. It seems he kinda lost it after Jennifer left him for David.

OT: Had no idea Shirley Temple was still acting as a young woman.

Fox dropped her when she got "too old" and she left acting to attend high school. Selznick offered her Since You Went Away which really reopened the door for her. She wasn't the star she was in her childhood but some of her best movies came out of the 1944-1949 time period - Since You Went Away, I'll Be Seeing You, Fort Apache, and the classic Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer. She was never the star but played second (or third) fiddle to some greats such as Claudette Colbert, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Ginger Rogers, and Cary Grant.

Updated On: 12/17/09 at 09:25 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 9:52pm

This saddens me deeply. THE SONG OF BERNADETTE made such a deep impression on me as a youngster that it prompted me to become active at the shrine of Lourdes, France as an adult.

May she rest in peace.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 10:06pm

Jennifer and Robert in nicer times




Stills from Since You Went Away in not so nice times


I gotta say Robert Walker Jr. (who sadly has passed on) was a deadringer of his father.


Awwwwwwwwwwwwwkward

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 10:26pm

I gotta say Robert Walker Jr. (who sadly has passed on) was a deadringer of his father.

The first time I saw the film Ensign Pulver I could not get over the resemblance

[Marquise]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 10:57pm

I also read that Jennifer and the boys did not attend his funeral.
She may have been considered a great actress in her day but from what I've been reading about her personally as a human being she lacked something. Robert Walker must have really loved her so much to not be able to truly get over that deception.

Nevertheless I hope she rests in peace.... no one is perfect.

Updated On: 12/17/09 at 10:57 PM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 11:18pm

This backs up most of what I was remembering from the book I read all those years ago. Such a sad story
Walker's IMDB bio

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 11:27pm

Loved her in Song of Bernadette. Hell, I even loved her in The Towering Inferno.

RIP

[Q]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 11:31pm

So, are we getting a glimpse of the future, when Angelina dies (the Oscar winner,) and people old enough to remember talk about how skanky the history was - but maybe, also, how something in the life touched them? And no one really knows who or what they're talking about?

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 11:44pm

The Selznick-Jones affair was very well-known but Selznick was king of Hollywood so Walker was helpless on the matter. Considering he died so young with little contact of his children I would say the affair was a life-changing moment. Selznick was no prince either, his first marriage was entirely to be connected to the Mayer family, he philandered beyond Jones, he was a gambling addict, and Hitchcock loved to take jabs at Selznick once he was independent from him. How Selznick and Walker dealt with each other remains a bit of a mystery and since there is no consensus I choose not to say what allegedly happened on set when Selznick was present.

Jones was a beautiful woman and good actress, I cannot speak how she was privately but the Selznick affair and how her first marriage ended was not exactly her shining moment. Ironically the divorce became final after she won the Oscar and prior to her marriage to Selznick (also prior Selznick's own divorce from Irene Mayer).

[Marquise]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 3:14am

Angelina should play Jennifer in a bio. They have lots in common, Well, except the for marrying the big, powerful studio boss to further the career and then after that to unsuccessfully commit suicide and then bag her self not a millionaire but a BILLIONAIRE, in that aspect Jones has it ALL OVER on Jolie, Jolie only managed to cheat with mere actors, kudos to Jones as her life should have been filmed ages ago... it reads like a Douglas Sirk melodrama....

Good call Q!!!

Updated On: 12/18/09 at 03:14 AM

[Marquise]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 3:24am

This thread introduced me to the wonders of post "Good Ship Lollipop 1944-1949 Shirley Temple". She was very beautiful and now I am going to try to get my hands on some of her films from that era!

[nmartin]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 4:42am

"Loved her in Song of Bernadette. Hell, I even loved her in The Towering Inferno."

I wondered if anyone would mention The Towering Inferno. She fell out of a glass elevator.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 8:45am

This thread introduced me to the wonders of post "Good Ship Lollipop 1944-1949 Shirley Temple". She was very beautiful and now I am going to try to get my hands on some of her films from that era!

Of that era The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer is probably the most famous though I find I'll Be Seeing you to be an underated gem. Great performances by Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotton and it's a Christmas movie. Fort Apache is part of John Ford's calvary trilogy and starred Henry Fonda, John Wayne, and Shirley's first husband. The Story of Seabiscuit is a good one but not as good as the one's I already mentioned.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 6:30pm

lthough Jones' performance in THE SONG OF BERNADETTE affected me in a life-altering way, it was not an accurate depiction of Bernadette Soubirous. In reality, Bernadette was hardly 5' tall and had a sarcastic wit. The latter may be one of the reasons why I love her so. I mean, even sarcastic people can become saints!

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 7:47pm

I loved Shirley Temple in that "adult" period. My two favorites are THAT HAGEN GIRL and HONEYMOON, where she is the star in both.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 9:34pm

I forgot how much I loved Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie.

I also liked older Shirley Temple in The Bachelor & The Bobby Soxer with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy- but there are few Cary Grant movies I dislike.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 9:44pm

Portrait of Jennie is excellent.

[geaj]

Posted: 12/19/09 at 12:12am

When she fell out of that elevator in The Towering Inferno, I just about **** my pants!