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Chronicle Pepperpot December 21, 2014
Ingrid Bergman From page XVI
(in Maxwell Anderson's 'Joan of Lorraine') and on film in 1948 (Joan of Arc (1948)) and 1954 (Giovanna d'Arco al rogo (1954)). Former mother-in-law of Martin Scorsese. Has a type of rose named after her, called the Ingrid Bergman rose. Many of her shorter male co-stars, such as Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains, had to wear lifts to avoid looking small next to this 5' 10" beauty. Turned down the role opposite Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes (1968). Bergman and Sean Connery had topped a list of "greatest actors of all time" compiled by 50,000 readers of German magazine Funk Uhr. She and her husband were often invited to dinner parties at the home of Alfred Hitchcock. According to those present, she never seemed to notice that her host was sulking because of his crush on her. Was fluent in English, Swedish, French, German and Italian. Sergio Scaglietti, Ferrari's master coachbuilder and aluminum sculptor, shaped some the most beautiful Ferraris of the '50s and '60s, including the 375MM built in 1954 for her. That "Ingrid" car has, in turn, inspired the proportions of today's 612 Scaglietti, the largest Ferrari ever (there's even a silver "Ingrid" paint option). At her funeral service held at Saint Martin's-in-the-fields Church, there was nothing that was as touching as the moment when, a violin played the strains of 'As Time Goes By'. She wasn't nominated for Best Actress in her role as the sultry Ilsa, but for her role in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), losing to her close friend Jennifer Jones for The Song of Bernadette (1943). It was also newcomer Jones' 25th birthday, and after winning when Bergman congratulated her, she apologized, saying, "Ingrid, you should have won." Bergman said, "No, Jennifer, your Bernadette was better than my Maria.". She broke her foot at the beginning of the American run of "The Constant Wife" and played the next five weeks in a wheelchair. Her daughter, Pia Lindström accepted her Best Leading Actress Emmy for A Woman Called Golda (1982) posthumously. Bergman died 3 weeks prior to the ceremony, after the ballots were cast. Cary Grant, her great friend, accepted her Anastasia (1956) Oscar at the 29th Annual Academy Awards (1957). On their last meeting, Alfred Hitchcock was in tears, terrified of his impending death. Suffering from the cancer that would kill her, Bergman told him, "But of course you are going to die sometime, Hitch, we are all going to die." She later recalled that the comment seemed to bring him peace; it was a bittersweet goodbye. Hitchcock died in 1980, followed by Bergman in 1982. Her famous love affair with the war photographer, Robert Capa was the basis for Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954). When Ernest Hemingway told her she would have to cut off her hair for the role of Maria in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), she shot back, "To get that part, I'd cut my head off!" She would rehearse tirelessly until any hour of the night, begging to repeat a scene long after the director was satisfied. Her luck was as phenomenal as her talent. In New York City, a Swedish couple praised a film of hers to their son, an elevator operator in the apartment building where one of film producer David O. Selznick's young talent scouts lived. Six months later, Ingrid was on her way to Hollywood. "I owe my whole career to that elevator boy", she would say laughingly. Industrialist Howard Hughes once bought every available seat from New York to Los Angeles to be sure she would accept a ride in his private plane. During the making of Casablanca (1942), Humphrey Bogart's wife Mayo Methot continually accused him of having an affair with Bergman, often confronting him in his dressing room before a shot. Bogart would come onto the set in a rage. Her daughter, Pia Lindström, with first husband Petter Lindstrom, is a television personality and actress. Another daughter, Isabella Rossellini, became a model and actress, and has appeared in such films as Blue Velvet (1986), Immortal Beloved (1994), Merlin (1998) and Don Quixote (2000). MGM had originally cast her in the Beatrix Emery role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) and Lana Turner in the Ivy Peterson role. Bergman felt the role of Ivy was more challenging and persuaded the studio to let her switch roles with Turner.
She has the distinction of having inadvertently been one of the first Hollywood performers to help break down the studio contract system. On the first anniversary of her death, stars, friends and family came to Venice Film Festival to honor her. Among the many guests were Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, Charlton Heston, Roger Moore, Claudette Colbert, Olivia de Havilland and Prince Albert of Monaco. Swedes are very proud of Bergman. They even have "Ingrid Bergman Square" with a statue of the screen goddess looking out over the water to her former home. Her ashes were scattered over the sea nearby. Was named #4 on The Greatest Screen Legends actress list by the American Film Institute. To prepare for her role of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, in A Woman Called Golda (1982), she traveled around Israel and interviewed those who had known Golda. She spent hours studying old newsreels to master Golda's mannerisms. She was 66 years old at the time. Her father encouraged her play-acting and even helped her find funny hats and costumes to dress up in while he photographed her. Received a fan letter from James Stewart on his way to combat duty for World War II (1943). One day at the studio she hooked bumpers with another car. A studio policeman found her tugging and heaving with all her might. The policeman said, "Darndest thing I ever saw. First film star I ever knew that didn't mind getting her hands dirty". Enjoyed working with Gary Cooper, for she did not have to take off her shoes. Received a fascinating 1939 telegram from the great Greta Garbo reading, "I would like to see you when I am free, if you would be willing". Visited Hotel Panamonte in Panama twice, and so the suite was named after her. Flavored with vibrations from Hollywood's "Golden Heyday," her luxurious rooms retain their original décor. Cannes jury secretary Christiane Guespin was remembering all the different stars at the festival and she said the most impressive was Bergman back in 1973 when she was President of the jury. Guespin said, "Every night, when she arrived at the evening screenings, people would stand and give her an ovation and applause. Every single night. I have never seen that happen for anyone else". Cary Grant remembered that she had come on the set one morning and was simply out of it: "We went over and over the scene, and she was in some sort of haze. You know, she just wasn't there. But [director] Alfred Hitchcock didn't say anything. He just sat there next to the camera, pulling on his cigar. Finally, around 11 a.m., I began to see in Ingrid's eyes that she was starting to come around. And for the first time all morning, the lines were coming out right. And just then Hitchcock said, 'Cut.' Hitch just sat and looked up at Ingrid and said, quietly, 'Good morning, Ingrid' ". In 1971, when Daily Variety had noted filmmakers select the best films and performers of the sound era, she was named Best Actress. She had a reputation as a tough negotiator. David O. Selznick said of her, "Her angelic nature is not above being tarnished by matters of mere money". Her arrival for her first day's work; wheeled into the studio on a bicycle and wearing sunglasses. Her 1980 autobiography, "My Story", was a best-seller. Lived in five interesting cities in five different countries; Stockholm, Hollywood, Rome, Paris and London. When David O. Selznick told his prospective new 23-yearold star that they would have to change her name, cap her teeth and pluck her eyebrows, she threatened to return to Sweden. Received the (at the time) enormous amount of $129,000 for her role in Maxwell Anderson's "Joan of Lorraine" on Broadway. She also received at least 21 awards for that play. To promote her film Joan of Arc (1948), the studio placed an eight-story-high figure of her in white plastic armor in New York City's Times Square, at a cost of $75,000. She and her third husband, Lars Schmidt, had their own island called Danholmen, off the coast of Sweden. She was voted the 12th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. In 1960 she became the third performer to win the Triple Crown of Acting: Oscars for Gaslight (1944), Anastasia (1956), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), a Tony for "Joan of Lorraine" (1947) and Emmys in 1960 and 1982.
Won Broadway's 1947 Tony Award as Best Actress (Dramatic) for "Joan of Lorraine" - an award shared with Helen Hayes. They would later co-star in Anastasia (1956), for which she won her second Oscar. Was a good friend of author Ernest Hemingway, whom she called "Papa." He, in turn, called her "Daughter.". Bergman was making The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), the sequel to Going My Way (1944), when the 1944 Academy Awards ceremony took place. She, co-star Bing Crosby and director Leo McCarey had all been nominated for Oscars, Crosby and McCarey for Going My Way (1944). They all won that night, Bergman for Gaslight (1944), the first of her three Academy Awards. When she picked up her Best Actress statuette, she said, "I'm afraid that if I went on the set tomorrow without an Oscar, neither of them would speak to me.". She was ranked #5 in the Premiere's list of "The 50 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time" President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. She and Roberto Rossellini made 6 movies together: Europe '51 (1952), Giovanna d'Arco al rogo (1954), Fear (1954), We, the Women (1953), Stromboli (1950) and Journey to Italy (1954). No relation to Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, although the fact that his wife was also a Swedish actress named Ingrid Bergman--also no relation--confused matters greatly. One of the first tall leading ladies in Hollywood in an era where most famous actresses were just over five feet. Was originally offered the role of Princess Dragonmiroff in Murder on the Orient Express (1974). She later ended up playing Greta Ohlsson which won her an Oscar. Virtually all of her Oscar-winning performance is contained in a single scene: her interrogation by Poirot, captured in a single continuous take, nearly five minutes long. Upon accepting her Oscar for Murder on the Orient Express (1974), she apologized to fellow actress Valentina Cortese, who was nominated for Day for Night (1973), saying that she would have deserved the award more. She is the favorite actress of poet Cheryl Scott. Her former French estate was up for sale for $3 million. The country compound, comprising five buildings on 18.5 acres in the pastoral town of Choisille, is located 30 minutes from the center of Paris. The property includes 10 bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a greenhouse, a 55-foot indoor-outdoor pool and a small barn. On Broadway, her portrayal of Joan of Arc, in Maxwell Anderson's "Joan of Lorraine", won her an Antoinette Perry award--the "Tony"--the highest honor in the American theater. Shares the distinction with actors José Ferrer, Helen Hayes and Fredric March of being the first winners of acting Tony Awards when the annual event was established in 1947. Took acting class from Michael Chekhov in Hollywood. Bergman and Humphrey Bogart were voted the second greatest on-screen couple of all time in a poll commissioned by British chain store Woolworths for their work in Casablanca (1942). (2005) In DigitalDreamDoor's 100 Greatest Female Acting Performances, she was ranked 7# for Gaslight (1944), 20# for Casablanca (1942), 62# for Anastasia (1956), 67# for Notorious (1946), 74# for Spellbound (1945) and 86# for Autumn Sonata (1978). In DigitalDreamdoor's 100 Greatest Movie Actresses, Bergman ranked third, only Katharine Hepburn and Meryl Streep topped her in the list. Took a $7000 pay cut to appear in Casablanca (1942). David O. Selznick gave her the role, not giving her an option to take it or not. According to her daughter, whenever anyone would come up to her and say "I loved you in Casablanca (1942)", she would look at them like she didn't know what they were talking about. At Stockholm Arlanda airport, there is a large billboard; "Welcome To My Hometown, Ingrid Bergman, legend". Aigner's Autumn/Winter collection was held at a runway on the Cavenagh Bridge next to the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore. The collection is inspired by Bergman, with relaxed elegance, sophistication and, of course, the trenchcoat from her scene in Casablanca (1942). The "It" bag this season is the Stromboli (named after Stromboli (1950), another of Bergman's famous movies). Harpers & Queen magazine, along with the Getty Images Gallery, put a photographic exhibition together titled (April 2003) 'Queens of the 20th Century at Getty Images Gallery' in Continued on page XXVI