Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Wendy Hiller
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Career== === Stage === The huge popularity of ''Love on the Dole'' took the production to [[New York City|New York]] in 1936, where Hiller's performance attracted the attention of [[George Bernard Shaw]]. Shaw recognised a spirited radiance in the young actress, which was ideally suited for playing his heroines. Shaw cast her in several of his plays, including ''[[Saint Joan (play)|Saint Joan]]'', ''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]'' and ''[[Major Barbara (play)|Major Barbara]]'', and his influence on her early career is clearly apparent. She was reputed to be Shaw's favourite actress of the time. Unlike other stage actresses of her generation, she performed in relatively few [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] productions, preferring the more modern dramatists such as [[Henrik Ibsen]] and new plays adapted from the novels of [[Henry James]] and [[Thomas Hardy]], among others. In the course of her stage career, Hiller won popular and critical acclaim in both London and New York. She excelled at rather plain but strong-willed characters. After touring Britain as Viola in ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' (1943), she returned to the West End to be directed by [[John Gielgud]] as Sister Joanna in ''The Cradle Song'' (Apollo, 1944). The string of notable successes continued as [[Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales|Princess Charlotte]] in ''[[The First Gentleman (play)|The First Gentleman]]'' (Savoy, 1945) opposite [[Robert Morley]] as the Prince Regent, Pegeen in ''[[Playboy of the Western World]]'' (Bristol Old Vic, 1946) and ''[[Tess of the d'Urbervilles]]'' (Bristol Old Vic, 1946, transferring to the [[Piccadilly Theatre]] in the West End in 1947), which was adapted for the stage by her husband. In 1947, Hiller originated the role of Catherine Sloper, the painfully shy, vulnerable spinster in ''[[The Heiress (1947 play)|The Heiress]]'' on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. The play, based on the Henry James novel ''[[Washington Square (novel)|Washington Square]]'', also featured [[Basil Rathbone]] as her emotionally abusive father. The production enjoyed a year-long run at the [[Samuel J. Friedman Theatre|Biltmore Theatre]] in New York and would prove to be her greatest triumph on Broadway. On returning to London, Hiller again played the role in the West End production in 1950. Her stage work remained a priority and continued with ''Ann Veronica'' (Piccadilly, 1949), which was adapted by Gow from [[Ann Veronica|the novel]] by [[H. G. Wells]]<ref>[http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsG/gow-ronald.html "Ronald Gow (1897β1993)"], doollee.com Gow is also co-credited with the book for the 1969 musical.</ref> with his wife in the leading role. She performed in a two-year run of N. C. Hunter's ''[[Waters of the Moon]]'' (Haymarket, 1951β53) alongside [[Sybil Thorndike]] and [[Edith Evans]]. At the [[Old Vic]] for the 1955β56 season, Hiller contributed a notable performance as Portia in ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]],'' among others, including as Helen of Troy in ''[[Troilus and Cressida]]''. Other stage work at this time included ''The Night of the Ball'' (New Theatre, 1955), the new [[Robert Bolt]] play ''Flowering Cherry'' (Haymarket, 1958, Broadway, 1959), ''[[Toys in the Attic (play)|Toys in the Attic]]'' (Piccadilly, 1960), ''[[The Wings of the Dove]]'' (Lyric, 1963), ''A Measure of Cruelty'' (Birmingham Repertory, 1965), ''A Present for the Past'' ([[Edinburgh]], 1966), ''[[The Sacred Flame (play)|The Sacred Flame]]'' ([[Duke of York's Theatre|Duke of York's]], 1967) with [[Gladys Cooper]], ''The Battle of Shrivings'' (Lyric, 1970) with [[John Gielgud]] and ''Lies'' (Albery, 1975). In 1957, Hiller returned to New York to star as Josie Hogan in [[Eugene O'Neill]]'s ''[[A Moon for the Misbegotten]]'', a performance that gained her a [[Tony Award]] nomination as Best Dramatic Actress. The production also featured [[Cyril Cusack]] and [[Franchot Tone]]. Her final appearance on Broadway was as Miss Tina in the 1962 production of [[Michael Redgrave]]'s adaptation of ''[[The Aspern Papers]]'' from the Henry James novella. As Hiller matured, she demonstrated a strong affinity for the plays of [[Henrik Ibsen]], as Irene in ''[[When We Dead Awaken]]'' (Cambridge, 1968), as Mrs. Alving in ''[[Ghosts (play)|Ghosts]]'' (Edinburgh, 1972), Ase in ''[[Peer Gynt]]'' (BBC, 1972) and as Gunhild in ''[[John Gabriel Borkman]]'' (National Theatre Company, Old Vic, 1975), in which she appeared with [[Ralph Richardson]] and [[Peggy Ashcroft]]. Later West End successes such as [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] in ''[[Crown Matrimonial (play)|Crown Matrimonial]]'' (Haymarket, 1972) proved that she was not limited to playing dejected, emotionally deprived women. She later revisited some earlier plays playing older characters, as in West End revivals of ''Waters of the Moon'' (Chichester, 1977, Haymarket, 1978) with [[Ingrid Bergman]] and ''[[The Aspern Papers]]'' (Haymarket, 1984) with [[Vanessa Redgrave]]. She was scheduled to return to the American stage in a 1982 revival of ''Anastasia'' with [[Natalie Wood]], but Wood died just weeks before rehearsals. Hiller made her final West End performance in the title role in ''[[Driving Miss Daisy (play)|Driving Miss Daisy]]'' (Apollo, 1988). ===Film=== [[Image:Pygmalion-1938.jpg|thumb|right|[[Scott Sunderland (actor)|Scott Sunderland]], [[Leslie Howard (actor)|Leslie Howard]] and Wendy Hiller in ''[[Pygmalion (1938 film)|Pygmalion]]'' (1938)]] At Shaw's insistence, she starred as [[Eliza Doolittle]] in the film ''[[Pygmalion (1938 film)|Pygmalion]]'' (1938) with [[Leslie Howard (actor)|Leslie Howard]] as Professor Higgins. This performance earned Hiller her first [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nomination, a first for a British actress in a British film, and became one of her best-remembered roles. She was also the first actress to utter the word "bloody" in a British film, when Eliza utters the line "Not bloody likely, I'm going in a taxi!" Hiller followed up this success with another Shaw adaptation, ''[[Major Barbara (film)|Major Barbara]]'' (1941) with [[Rex Harrison]] and Robert Morley. [[Powell and Pressburger]] signed her for ''[[The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp]]'' (1943), but her second pregnancy forced her to bow out in favor of [[Deborah Kerr]]. Determined to work with Hiller, the filmmakers later cast her with [[Roger Livesey]] again for ''[[I Know Where I'm Going!]]'' (1945), another classic of British cinema. [[File:Wendy Hiller, Boxoffice Barometer 1939.jpg|left|upright|thumb|Hiller, {{circa|1938}}]] Despite her early film success and offers from Hollywood, she returned to the stage full-time after 1945 and only occasionally accepted film roles. With her return to film in the 1950s, she portrayed an abused colonial wife in [[Carol Reed]]'s ''[[Outcast of the Islands]]'' (1952), but had already transitioned into mature, supporting roles with ''[[Sailor of the King]]'' (1953) and as a memorable victim of the [[Mau Mau uprising]] in ''[[Something of Value]]'' (1957). She won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Oscar for Best Supporting Actress]] in 1959 for the film ''[[Separate Tables (film)|Separate Tables]]'' (1958) as a lonely hotel manager and mistress of [[Burt Lancaster]]. She remained uncompromising in her indifference to film stardom, as evidenced by her surprising reaction to her Oscar win: "Never mind the honour, cold hard cash is what it means to me."<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,864590,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216221529/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,864590,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=16 February 2008| title=That Honor, That Cash| magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| date=20 April 1959| url-access=subscription }}</ref> She received a [[BAFTA]] nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the domineering, possessive mother in ''[[Sons and Lovers (film)|Sons and Lovers]]'' (1960).<ref>{{cite web| url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1961/film/british-actress| title=BAFTA Awards| website=BAFTA}}</ref> She reprised her London stage role in the [[southern gothic|Southern Gothic]] ''[[Toys in the Attic (1963 film)|Toys in the Attic]]'' (1963), which earned her a [[Golden Globe]] nomination as the elder spinster sister in a film that also stars [[Dean Martin]] and [[Geraldine Page]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.goldenglobes.com/person/wendy-hiller| title=Wendy Hiller| website=Golden Globes.com}}</ref> Hiller received a third Oscar nomination for her performance as the simple, unrefined but dignified Lady Alice More, opposite [[Paul Scofield]] as [[Thomas More]], in ''[[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' (1966). Her role as the grand [[Russia]]n princess in a great commercial success, ''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder on the Orient Express]]'' (1974), won her international acclaim and the [[Evening Standard British Film Award]] as Best Actress. Other notable roles included a Jewish refugee fleeing [[Nazi Germany]] with her dying husband in ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'' (1976), the formidable London Hospital matron in ''[[The Elephant Man (1980 film)|The Elephant Man]]'' (1980) and [[Maggie Smith|Maggie Smith's]] emotionally cold and demanding aunt in ''[[The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne]]'' (1987). === Television === Hiller made numerous television appearances, in both Britain and the United States. In the 1950s and 1960s, she performed in episodes of American drama series such as ''[[Westinghouse Studio One|Studio One]]'' and ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' among others. In 1965, she starred in an episode of the acclaimed dramatic series ''[[Profiles in Courage (TV series)|Profiles in Courage]]'' (1965), in which she played [[Anne Hutchinson]], a free-thinking woman charged with heresy in Colonial America. In Britain during the 1960s, Hiller gained critical acclaim for a guest appearance in a 1964 episode of the police drama ''[[Z-Cars]]'',<ref name="zcars">{{cite news |last1=Webber |first1=Jim |date=21 November 1964 |title=Brian Blessed and Wendy Hiller Can Take Top Marks|language=English |work=[[Bristol Post|Bristol Evening Post]] |location=Bristol, UK |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004769/19641121/005/0005|access-date=28 January 2023 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |quote= All praise to Wendy Hiller for a memorable performance that would have done credit to a stage production, let alone a television 'once only' presentation. How well it demonstrated Miss Hiller's long dramatic experience, both on the stage and in the film studio. Her talent was exploited the full in this episode of Z Cars}}</ref> appeared in the drama series ''[[Play of the Month]]'', and in 1965 was the narrator for [[List of Jackanory episodes|five episodes]] of the BBC children's television programme ''[[Jackanory]]'', reading the stories of [[Alison Uttley]]. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she appeared in many television films including a memorable Duchess of York in the [[BBC Television Shakespeare]] production of ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]'' (1978), the irascible Edwardian Oxford academic in ''[[Miss Morison's Ghosts]]'' (1981) and the BBC dramatisations of [[Julian Gloag]]'s ''Only Yesterday'' (1986) and the [[Vita Sackville-West]] novel ''[[All Passion Spent]]'' (1986), in which she was the quietly defiant Lady Slane. This performance earned her a BAFTA nomination as Best Actress. Her last appearance before retiring from acting was the title role in ''[[The Countess Alice]]'' (1992), a BBC/WGBH-Boston television film with [[ZoΓ« Wanamaker]].
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Wendy Hiller
(section)
Add topic