Editing George Cukor (section)

==Career==
===Early stage career===
[[File:Bette davis bad sister.jpg|thumb|upright|Bette Davis, aged 23]]
Cukor obtained a job as an assistant stage manager and bit player with a touring production of ''[[The Better 'Ole]]'', a popular British musical based on [[Old Bill (cartoon character)|Old Bill]], a cartoon character created by [[Bruce Bairnsfather]].<ref>McGilligan, p. 21.</ref> In 1920, he became the stage manager for the Knickerbocker Players, a troupe that shuttled between Syracuse, New York and Rochester, New York, and the following year he was hired as general manager of the newly formed Lyceum Players, an upstate [[summer stock]] company. In 1925, he formed the C.F. and Z. Production Company with Walter Folmer and John Zwicki, which gave him his first opportunity to direct.<ref>Levy, pp. 33–34.</ref><ref>McGilligan, pp. 34–35.</ref> Following their first season, he made his Broadway directorial debut with ''Antonia'' by Hungarian playwright [[Melchior Lengyel]], then returned to Rochester, where C.F. and Z. evolved into the Cukor-Kondolf Stock Company, a troupe that included [[Louis Calhern]], [[Ilka Chase]], [[Phyllis Povah]], [[Frank Morgan]], [[Reginald Owen]], [[Elizabeth Patterson (actress)|Elizabeth Patterson]] and [[Douglass Montgomery]], all of whom worked with Cukor in later years in Hollywood.<ref>McGilligan, pp. 36–41.</ref> Lasting only one season with the company was [[Bette Davis]]. Cukor later recalled: "Her talent was apparent, but she did buck at direction. She had her own ideas, and though she only did bits and ingenue roles, she didn't hesitate to express them." For the next several decades, Davis claimed she was fired, and although Cukor never understood why she placed so much importance on an incident he considered so minor, he never worked with her again.<ref>Levy, pp. 36–37.</ref>

For the next few years, Cukor alternated between Rochester in the summer months and Broadway in the winter. His direction of a 1926 stage adaptation of ''[[The Great Gatsby]]'' by [[Owen Davis]] brought him to the attention of the New York critics. Writing in the ''[[Brooklyn Eagle]]'', drama critic Arthur Pollock called it "an unusual piece of work by a director not nearly so well known as he should be."<ref>McGilligan, p. 53.</ref> Cukor directed six more Broadway productions, then departed for Hollywood in 1929.

===Early Hollywood career===
When Hollywood began to recruit New York theater talent for sound films, Cukor immediately answered the call. In December 1928, [[Paramount Pictures]] signed him to a contract that reimbursed him for his train fare and initially paid him $600 per week with no screen credit during a six-month apprenticeship. He arrived in Hollywood in February 1929, and his first assignment was to coach the cast of ''River of Romance'' to speak with an acceptable Southern accent.<ref>McGilligan, p. 61.</ref> In October, the studio lent him to [[Universal Pictures]] to conduct the screen tests and work as a dialogue director for ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'', released in 1930. That year, he co-directed three films at Paramount, and his weekly salary was increased to $1,500.<ref>McGilligan, pp. 67–69.</ref> He made his solo directorial debut with ''[[Tarnished Lady]]'' (1931) starring [[Tallulah Bankhead]].

Cukor was then assigned to ''[[One Hour with You]]'' (1932), an [[operetta]] with [[Maurice Chevalier]] and [[Jeanette MacDonald]], when original director [[Ernst Lubitsch]] opted to concentrate on producing the film instead. At first the two men worked well together, but two weeks into filming Lubitsch began arriving on the set on a regular basis, and he soon began directing scenes with Cukor's consent. Upon the film's completion, Lubitsch approached Paramount general manager [[B.P. Schulberg]] and threatened to leave the studio if Cukor's name wasn't removed from the credits. When Schulberg asked him to cooperate, Cukor filed suit. He eventually settled for being billed as assistant director and then left Paramount to work with David O. Selznick at [[RKO Studios]].<ref>McGilligan, pp. 69–71.</ref>
[[File:PhiladelphiaStory trailer.png|thumb|Scene from Cukor's hit film ''The Philadelphia Story'']]
Cukor quickly earned a reputation as a director who could coax great performances from actresses and he became known as a "woman's director", a title he resented. Despite this reputation, during his career, he oversaw more performances honored with the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] than any other director: [[James Stewart]] in ''[[The Philadelphia Story (film)|The Philadelphia Story]]'' (1940), [[Ronald Colman]] in ''[[A Double Life (1947 film)|A Double Life]]'' (1947), and [[Rex Harrison]] in ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (1964). One of Cukor's earlier ingenues was actress [[Katharine Hepburn]], who debuted in ''[[A Bill of Divorcement (1932 film)|A Bill of Divorcement]]'' (1932) and whose looks and personality left RKO officials at a loss as to how to use her. Cukor directed her in several films, both successful, such as ''[[Little Women (1933 film)|Little Women]]'' (1933) and ''[[The Philadelphia Story (1940 film)|The Philadelphia Story]]'' (1940), and disastrous, such as ''[[Sylvia Scarlett]]'' (1935). Cukor and Hepburn became close friends off the set.

Cukor was hired to direct ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' by Selznick in 1936, even before the book was published.<ref>McGilligan, p. 134.</ref> He spent the next two years involved with pre-production, including supervision of the numerous screen tests of actresses anxious to portray [[Scarlett O'Hara]]. Cukor favored Hepburn for the role, but Selznick, concerned about her reputation as "box office poison", would not consider her without a screen test, and the actress refused to film one. Of those who did, Cukor preferred [[Paulette Goddard]], but her supposedly illicit relationship with [[Charlie Chaplin]] (they were, in fact, secretly married) concerned Selznick.<ref>McGilligan, pp. 137–38.</ref>

Between his ''Wind'' chores, the director assisted with other projects. He filmed the cave scene for ''[[The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938 film)|The Adventures of Tom Sawyer]]'' (1938),<ref>McGilligan, pp. 139–40.</ref> and, following the firing of its original director [[Richard Thorpe]], Cukor spent a week on the set of ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'' (1939). Although he filmed no footage, he made crucial changes to the look of Dorothy by eliminating [[Judy Garland]]'s blonde wig and adjusting her makeup and costume, encouraging her to act in a more natural manner.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/852/the-wizard-of-oz |title=''The Wizard of Oz'' at Turner Classic Movies |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref><ref>McGilligan, p. 145.</ref> Additionally, Cukor softened the Scarecrow's makeup and gave [[Margaret Hamilton (actress)|Margaret Hamilton]] a different hairstyle for the Wicked Witch of the West, as well as altering her makeup and other facial features. Cukor also suggested that the studio cast [[Jack Haley]], on loan from [[20th Century Fox]], as the Tin Man.

[[File:DavidSelznick.jpg|thumb|upright|David O. Selznick]]
Cukor spent many hours coaching [[Vivien Leigh]] and [[Olivia de Havilland]] before the start of filming ''Wind'', but [[Clark Gable]] resisted his efforts to get him to master a Southern accent. However, despite rumors about Gable being uncomfortable with Cukor on the set, nothing in the internal memos of David O. Selznick indicates or suggests that Clark Gable had anything to do with Cukor's dismissal from the film. Rather, they show Selznick's mounting dissatisfaction with Cukor's slow pace and quality of work. From a private letter from journalist Susan Myrick to [[Margaret Mitchell]] in February 1939: "George [Cukor] finally told me all about it. He hated [leaving the production] very much he said but he could not do otherwise. In effect he said he is an honest craftsman and he cannot do a job unless he knows it is a good job and he feels the present job is not right. For days, he told me he has looked at the rushes and felt he was failing...the things did not click as it should. Gradually he became convinced that the script was the trouble...So George just told David he would not work any longer if the script was not better and he wanted the [Sidney] Howard script back...he would not let his name go out over a lousy picture...and bull-headed David said 'OK get out!'"<ref>Myrick, Susan White (1986), ''Columns in Hollywood: Reports from the Gwtw Sets'', Mercer University Press.</ref>

Selznick had already been unhappy with Cukor ("a very expensive luxury") for not being more receptive to directing other Selznick assignments, even though Cukor had remained on salary since early 1937; and in a confidential memo written in September 1938, four months before principal photography began, Selznick flirted with the idea of replacing him with [[Victor Fleming]]. "I think the biggest black mark against our management to date is the Cukor situation and we can no longer be sentimental about it...We are a business concern and not patrons of the arts." Cukor was relieved of his duties, but he continued to work with Leigh and Olivia de Havilland off the set. Various rumors about the reasons behind his dismissal circulated throughout Hollywood. Selznick's friendship with Cukor had crumbled slightly when the director refused other assignments, including ''[[A Star Is Born (1937 film)|A Star Is Born]]'' (1937) and ''[[Intermezzo (1939 film)|Intermezzo]]'' (1939).<ref>McGilligan, p. 139.</ref> Given that Gable and Cukor had worked together before (on ''[[Manhattan Melodrama]]'', 1934) and Gable had no objection to working with him then, and given Selznick's desperation to get Gable for [[Rhett Butler]], if Gable had any objections to Cukor, certainly they would have been expressed before he signed his contract for the film.<ref>''Hollywood Studio Magazine'', "The Great Directors" September 1986.</ref> Yet, writer [[Gore Vidal]], in his autobiography ''Point to Point Navigation'', recounted that Gable demanded that Cukor be fired off ''Wind'' because, according to Vidal, the young Gable had been a male hustler and Cukor had been one of his johns.<ref>{{cite book|last=Vidal|first=Gore|title=Point to Point Navigation: A Memoir|year=2007|publisher=Random House|location=New York|isbn=978-0-307-27501-1|page=135|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yP8KHNtT69gC}}</ref> This has been confirmed by Hollywood biographer E.J. Fleming, who has recounted that, during a particularly difficult scene, Gable erupted publicly, screaming: "I can't go on with this picture. I won't be directed by a fairy. I have to work with a real man."<ref>{{cite book|last=Fleming|first=E. J.|title=The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling, and the MGM Publicity Machine|year=2005|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson NC|isbn=978-0-7864-2027-8|page=182|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0usSUISUUMC}}</ref>

Cukor's dismissal from ''Wind'' freed him to direct ''[[The Women (1939 film)|The Women]]'' (1939), which has an all-female cast, followed by ''[[The Philadelphia Story (film)|The Philadelphia Story]]'' (1940). He also directed [[Greta Garbo]], another of his favorite actresses, in ''[[Two-Faced Woman]]'' (1941), her last film before she retired from the screen.

[[File:Twofaced woman.jpg|thumb|Greta Garbo and [[Melvyn Douglas]] in ''Two-Faced Woman'' (1941)]]
In 1942, at the age of 43, Cukor enlisted in the [[Signal Corps (United States Army)|Signal Corps]]. Following basic training at [[Fort Monmouth]], he was assigned to the old [[Kaufman Astoria Studios|Paramount]] studios in Astoria, Queens (where he had directed three films in the early 1930s), although he was permitted to lodge at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan. Working with [[Irwin Shaw]], [[John Cheever]] and [[William Saroyan]], among others, Cukor produced training and instructional films for army personnel. Because he lacked an officer's commission, he found it difficult to give orders and directions to his superiors. Despite his efforts to rise above the rank of private—he even called upon [[Frank Capra]] to intercede on his behalf—he never achieved officer's status or any commendations during his six months of service. In later years, Cukor suspected his [[homosexuality]] impeded him from receiving any advances or honors,<ref>McGilligan, pp. 171–75.</ref> although rumors to that effect could not be confirmed.<ref>Levy, p. 150.</ref>

The remainder of the decade was a series of hits and misses for Cukor. Both ''Two-Faced Woman'' and ''[[Her Cardboard Lover]]'' (1942) were commercial failures. More successful were ''[[A Woman's Face]]'' (1941) with [[Joan Crawford]] and ''[[Gaslight (1944 film)|Gaslight]]'' (1944) about a woman suffering from suspicion with [[Ingrid Bergman]] and [[Charles Boyer]]. During this era, Cukor forged an alliance with screenwriters [[Garson Kanin]] and [[Ruth Gordon]], who had met in Cukor's home in 1939 and married three years later. Over the course of seven years, the trio collaborated on seven films, including ''[[A Double Life (1947 film)|A Double Life]]'' (1947) starring [[Ronald Colman]], ''[[Adam's Rib]]'' (1949), ''[[Born Yesterday (1950 film)|Born Yesterday]]'' (1950), ''[[The Marrying Kind]]'' (1952), and ''[[It Should Happen to You]]'' (1954), all featuring [[Judy Holliday]], another Cukor favorite, who won the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] for ''Born Yesterday''.

===Later Hollywood career===
[[File:Judy Garland in A Star is Born trailer.jpg|thumb|Judy Garland, star of ''A Star Is Born'']]
In December 1952, Cukor was approached by [[Sidney Luft|Sid Luft]], who proposed the director helm a musical remake of ''A Star Is Born'' (1937) with his then-wife Judy Garland in the lead role. Cukor had declined to direct the earlier film because it was too similar to his own ''What Price Hollywood?'' (1932), but the opportunity to direct his first [[Technicolor]] film and work with screenwriter [[Moss Hart]] and especially Garland appealed to him, and he accepted.<ref>McGilligan, 217–18.</ref> Getting the updated ''[[A Star Is Born (1954 film)|A Star Is Born]]'' (1954) to the screen proved to be a challenge. Cukor wanted [[Cary Grant]] for the male lead and went so far as to read the entire script with him, but Grant, while agreeing it was the role of a lifetime, steadfastly refused to do it, and Cukor never forgave him. The director then suggested either [[Humphrey Bogart]] or [[Frank Sinatra]] tackle the part, but [[Jack L. Warner]] rejected both. [[Stewart Granger]] was the front runner for a period of time, but he backed out when he was unable to adjust to Cukor's habit of acting out scenes as a form of direction.<ref>McGilligan, pp. 219–20.</ref> [[James Mason]] eventually was contracted, and filming began on October 12, 1953. As the months passed, Cukor was forced to deal not only with constant script changes but a very unstable Garland, who was plagued by chemical and alcohol dependencies, extreme weight fluctuations, and real and imagined illnesses. In March 1954, a rough cut still missing several musical numbers was assembled, and Cukor had mixed feelings about it. When the last scene finally was filmed in the early morning hours of July 28, 1954, Cukor already had departed the production and was unwinding in Europe.<ref>McGilligan, pp. 224–26.</ref> The first preview the following month ran 210 minutes and, despite ecstatic feedback from the audience, Cukor and editor [[Folmar Blangsted]] trimmed it to 182 minutes for its New York premiere in October. The reviews were the best of Cukor's career, but Warner executives, concerned the running time would limit the number of daily showings, made drastic cuts without Cukor, who had departed for Pakistan to scout locations for the epic ''[[Bhowani Junction (film)|Bhowani Junction]]'' in 1954–1955. At its final running time of 154 minutes, the film had lost musical numbers and crucial dramatic scenes, and Cukor called it "very painful".<ref>McGilligan, pp. 236–37.</ref> He was not included in the film's six Oscar nominations.

[[File:Remick - Cukor - 1962.jpg|thumb|upright|Rehearsing with [[Lee Remick]] in 1962]]
Over the next 10 years, Cukor directed a handful of films with varying success. ''[[Les Girls]]'' (1957) won the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture&nbsp;– Musical or Comedy]], and ''[[Wild Is the Wind (1957 film)|Wild Is the Wind]]'' (also 1957) earned Oscar nominations for [[Anna Magnani]] and [[Anthony Quinn]], but neither ''[[Heller in Pink Tights]]'' nor ''[[Let's Make Love]]'' (both 1960) were box-office hits. Another project during this period was the ill-fated ''[[Something's Got to Give]]'', an updated remake of the comedy ''[[My Favorite Wife]]'' (1940). Cukor liked leading lady [[Marilyn Monroe]] but found it difficult to deal with her erratic work habits, frequent absences from the set, and the constant presence of Monroe's acting coach [[Paula Strasberg]]. It was reported at the time that after 32 days of shooting, the director had only 7½ minutes of usable film.<ref name="Levy, p. 271">Levy, p. 271.</ref> Footage would be discovered in the 1990s that showed at least 37 minutes of total footage had survived. Then Monroe travelled to New York to appear at a birthday celebration for President [[John F. Kennedy]] at Madison Square Garden, where she serenaded Kennedy. Studio documents released after Monroe's death confirmed that her appearance at the political fundraising event was approved by Fox executives. The production came to a halt when Cukor had filmed every scene not involving Monroe and the actress remained unavailable. [[20th Century Fox]] executive Peter Levathes fired her and hired [[Lee Remick]] to replace her, prompting co-star [[Dean Martin]] to quit because his contract guaranteed he would be playing opposite Monroe.<ref>McGilligan, p. 272.</ref> It was also reported at the time that with the production already $2 million over budget<ref name="Levy, p. 271"/> and everyone back at the starting gate, the studio pulled the plug on the project. However, Monroe successfully renegotiated her contract from $100,000 to $500,000 with a bonus should the film be completed on time. Cukor was to be replaced by Jean Negulesco. There was limited press at the time about the project restarting and even less on Cukor being replaced. When Monroe was found dead in her home in the beginning of August, Cukor would give a high-profile interview discussing Monroe's many reported problems.

Two years later, Cukor achieved one of his greatest successes with ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (1964). Throughout filming, there were mounting tensions between the director and designer [[Cecil Beaton]]; Cukor was thrilled with leading lady [[Audrey Hepburn]], but the crew was less enchanted with her diva-like demands.<ref>Levy, p. 289.</ref> Although several reviews were critical of the film – [[Pauline Kael]] said it "staggers along" and [[Stanley Kauffmann]] thought Cukor's direction was like "a rich gravy poured over everything, not remotely as delicately rich as in the [[Anthony Asquith|Asquith]]–[[Leslie Howard (actor)|Howard]] 1937 [''sic''] ''[[Pygmalion (1938 film)|Pygmalion]]''"—<ref>Levy, p. 293.</ref> the film was a box-office hit which won him the [[Academy Award for Best Director]], the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director]], and the [[Directors Guild of America Award]] after having been nominated for each several times.

Following ''My Fair Lady'', Cukor became less active. He directed [[Maggie Smith]] in ''[[Travels with My Aunt (film)|Travels with My Aunt]]'' (1972) and helmed the critical and commercial flop ''[[The Blue Bird (1976 film)|The Blue Bird]]'' (1976), the first joint Soviet-American production. He reunited twice with Katharine Hepburn for the television movies ''[[Love Among the Ruins (film)|Love Among the Ruins]]'' (1975) and ''[[The Corn Is Green (1979 film)|The Corn Is Green]]'' (1979). At the age of 82,  Cukor directed his final film, ''[[Rich and Famous (1981 film)|Rich and Famous]]'' for MGM in 1981, starring [[Jacqueline Bisset]] and [[Candice Bergen]].

In 1970, he received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/}}</ref>

Cukor wanted the Academy to host a film festival in Los Angeles however the olan did not materialise and Cukor ended up being co-founder of the [[Los Angeles International Film Exposition]] (Filmex) in 1970.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 14, 1987|page=1 Calendar section|title=AFI introduces its new offspring: A film festival|last=Matthews|first=Jack}}</ref>

In 1976, Cukor was awarded the [[George Eastman Award]], given by [[George Eastman House]] for distinguished contribution to the art of film.<ref>[http://www.eastmanhouse.org/museum/awards.php The George Eastman Award] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415183637/http://www.eastmanhouse.org/museum/awards.php |date=April 15, 2012 }}</ref>