Jeanne Crain: A Radiant Star of Hollywood's Golden Age
Early Life and Family
Jeanne Crain was born on May 25, 1925, in Barstow, California, a small town in the Mojave Desert. Her family later moved to Los Angeles, where her father, George A. Crain, became the head of the English department at 'Inglewood High School'.
Crain studied acting at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the St. Mary's Academy. She even caught the eye of Orson Welles during her high school years, who tested her for the role of 'Lucy' in 'The Magnificent Ambersons'. Crain signed a contract with 20th Century Fox when she was just 18.
Career Highlights
Jeanne Crain made her Hollywood debut in the 1943 film 'The Gang's All Here' in an uncredited role. Her breakout roles came in 1944 with 'Home in Indiana', 'The Winged Victory', and 'In the Meantime, Darling'. In 1945, Crain found greater success in the musical 'State Fair', featuring original scores from Rodgers and Hammerstein. She sang 'It Might as Well Be Spring' and other songs in the film, although her vocals were dubbed by Louanne Hogan.
Crain's career highlight came in 1946 with the classic melodrama 'Leave Her to Heaven', where she portrayed a 'good girl' opposite Gene Tierney's evil scheming. The same year, she appeared in the Jerome Kern musical 'Centennial Summer', again with her vocals dubbed by Louanne Hogan. Crain's other notable films include 'Apartment for Peggy' in 1948, where she delivered a standout performance as the pregnant wife of an ex-GI played by William Holden. The same year, she also starred in 'You Were Meant for Me'.
In 1949, Crain acted in 'Pinky', directed by Elia Kazan, as a black woman with a skin light enough to be passed as a white woman. She earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the film. Crain's other notable films with Fox included the comedies 'Cheaper by the Dozen' in 1950 and its sequel 'Belles on Their Toes' in 1952, 'I'll Get By' in 1950, 'Take Care of my Little Girl' and 'People Will Talk' in 1951, opposite Cary Grant and directed by Mankiewicz, and 'The Model and the Marriage Broker' in 1951, directed by George Cukor, in which she acted with character actress Thelma Ritter.
Crain worked for radio from 1951 to 1953 and featured in films like 'O. Henry's Full House' in 1952 and 'City of Bad Men' in 1953. Crain's final films before leaving Fox were 'Vicki' in 1953, a remake of the mystery 'I Wake Up Screaming' first made in 1941, and 'Dangerous Crossing' in 1953, and 'Duel in The Jungle' in 1954.
After leaving Fox, Crain starred in a couple of musicals 'The Second Greatest Sex' for 'Universal Studios' and 'Gentlemen Marry Brunettes' for 'United Artists' in 1955 and two westerns 'Man Without a Star' for 'Universal Studios' in 1955 opposite Kirk Douglas and 'The Fastest Gun Alive' for 'MGM' in 1956 opposite Glen Ford.
In 1957, Crain made 'The Tattered Dress' and the biopic 'The Joker Is Wild' for MGM, where she played the role of one of the women in the life of singer and comedian Joe E. Lewis, played by Frank Sinatra. Crain acted in the films 'Guns of Timberland' in 1960, 'Twenty Plus Two' in 1961, 'Madison Avenue' in 1962, 'Queen of the Nile' in 1964, 'Invasion 1700' in 1965, and 'Hot Rods to Hell' in 1967.
Crain spent her later career doing films for television, such as the 'Playhouse 90' adaptation of 'The Great Gatsby', where she played the role of 'Daisy Buchanan'. She also appeared in various series and a couple of minor epic films made in Europe.
After retirement, Crain lived on her ranch in Santa Barbara.
Awards and Achievements
Jeanne Crain won the 'Miss Long Beach' title in the 'Miss California' beauty pageant in 1941 and became a runner-up during the 'Miss America' finals. In 1941, she won the 'Interscholastic Shakespearean Contest' held at the 'Occidental College'.
She was named 'Camera Girl of 1942' and her pictures were published on the covers of magazines such as 'Coronet', 'Ladies Home Journal' and 'True Romance' in 1942. She earned an Academy Award nomination for the 'Best Actress' for her role in 'Pinky' in 1949.
Facts about Jeanne Crain
- Jeanne Elizabeth Crain was a popular American film actress whose screen career spanned from the 1940s into the early 1970s.
- She received an Academy Award nomination for Beast Actress for her role in the controversial drama Pinky (1949), where she played a light-skinned Black woman passing for white.
- She was a major 20th Century Fox contract player in the 1940s and early 1950s, starring in musicals, dramas, and comedies before freelancing at other studios.
- Crain was married to Paul Brinkman for decades and had seven children.
- She died of a heart attack at age 78 in 2003.