Jane Wyman biography
Date of birth : 1914-01-04
Date of death : 2007-09-10
Birthplace : St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Nationality : American
Category : Famous Figures
Last modified : 2011-01-04
Credited as : Actress, role of Belinda McDonald, Best Actress Oscar 1948
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Early Years
Jane Wyman always allowed an aura of mystery to surround her birth date in St. Joseph, Missouri. Even though the date of January 4, 1914 was often given — because, like many people in the film industry, Jane initially wanted to be seen as older for career reasons — the State of Missouri issued a birth certificate for Sarah Jane Mayfield on January 5, 1917 to Manning J. Mayfield and Gladys Hope Christian, a doctor's stenographer and office assistant. Friends who have seen Wyman's driver's license and passport also confirm her 1917 birth date.
In 1921, her parents divorced. Her father died unexpectedly the following year of pneumonia at age 27 while working in San Francisco for a shipping board. The five-year-old eventually assumed the name Sarah Jane Fulks in honor of her Missouri neighbors, Richard and Emma Fulks, who unofficially adopted her after her father died. While Sarah Jane remained with the Fulks family, her birth mother, Gladys, went to Cleveland, Ohio, to work and came to visit Sarah Jane from time to time. Richard Fulks was chief of detectives in St. Joseph, a strict disciplinarian and a remote man, but a steady provider.
It was the second marriage for Sarah Jane's adoptive parents and both were in their 50s when Sarah Jane was born. Sarah Jane's interest in singing and dancing may have started before she was 10, after she saw a road-show company musical in town. She soon convinced Mrs. Fulks to give her dancing lessons at the Prinz School of Dance in St. Joseph.
Actress Jane Wyman was nominated for Best Actress Oscar three times, and eventually won in 1948 for her role as "Belinda McDonald," a deaf mute who is raped by a bully in a Nova Scotia fishing village in Johnny Belinda.
In 1930, she changed her name to Jane Durrell, and began a career in radio. Six years later, she moved to Hollywood, landing bit parts in the films My Man Godfrey and Cain and Mabel. She received her first starring role just three years later, in Torchy Plays With Dynamite. She received much acclaim for her performance in the film The Lost Weekend, and was nominated for Best Actress for The Yearling in 1946. Among her other films are Stage Fright, Here Comes the Groom, The Glass Menagerie, The Blue Veil (Best Actress nomination), Magnificent Obsession (Best Actress nomination), All that Heaven Allows, and Miracle in the Rain.
In the 1950's, Wyman hosted a TV anthology series called Jane Wyman Theatre, and she returned to the small screen in the 1980's as the star of the prime-time soap opera, Falcon Crest.
In 1938, she had co-starred with Ronald Reagan, in the movie, Brother Rat. Married in 1940, they were divorced eight years later. They had two children, Maureen and Michael. Maureen died of cancer in 2001.
Wyman has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures and one for television. She holds the record for the longest screen kiss, with Regis Toomey in You're in the Army Now (1941), at 3 minutes and 5 seconds.
Jane Wyman died on September 10, 2007.
Filmography:
# The Kid from Spain (1932)
# Elmer, the Great (1933)
# Roman Scandals (1933)
# Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
# All the King's Horses (1934)
# College Rhythm (1934)
# Rumba (1935)
# George White's 1935 Scandals (1935)
# Stolen Harmony (1935)
# King of Burlesque (1936)
# Freshman Love (1936)
# Anything Goes (1936)
# Bengal Tiger (1936)
# My Man Godfrey (1936)
# Stage Struck (1936)
# Cain and Mabel (1936)
# Here Comes Carter (1936)
# Polo Joe (1936)
# Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
# Smart Blonde (1937)
# Ready, Willing, and Able (1937)
# The King and the Chorus Girl (1937)
# Slim (1937)
# The Singing Marine (1937)
# Public Wedding (1937)
# Mr. Dodd Takes the Air (1937)
# Over the Goal (1937)
# The Spy Ring (1938)
# He Couldn't Say No (1938)
# Fools for Scandal (1938)
# Wide Open Faces (1938)
# The Crowd Roars (1938)
# Brother Rat (1938)
# Tail Spin (1939)
# The Kid from Kokomo (1939)
# Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite (1939)
# Kid Nightingale (1939)
# Private Detective (1939)
# Brother Rat and a Baby (1940)
# An Angel from Texas (1940)
# Flight Angels (1940)
# Gambling on the High Seas (1940)
# My Love Came Back (1940)
# Tugboat Annie Sails Again (1940)
# Honeymoon for Three (1941)
# Bad Men of Missouri (1941)
# The Body Disappears (1941)
# You're in the Army Now (1941)
# Larceny, Inc. (1942)
# My Favorite Spy (1942)
# Footlight Serenade (1942)
# Princess O'Rourke (1943)
# Make Your Own Bed (1944)
# The Doughgirls (1944)
# Crime by Night (1944)
# Hollywood Canteen (1944)
# The Lost Weekend (1945)
# One More Tomorrow (1946)
# Night and Day (1946)
# The Yearling (1946)
# Cheyenne (1947)
# Magic Town (1947)
# Johnny Belinda (1948)
# A Kiss in the Dark (1949)
# It's a Great Feeling (1949)
# The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949)
# Stage Fright (1950)
# The Glass Menagerie (1950)
# Three Guys Named Mike (1951)
# Here Comes the Groom (1951)
# The Blue Veil (1951)
# Starlift (1951)
# The Story of Will Rogers (1952)
# Just for You (1952)
# Let's Do It Again (1953)
# So Big (1953)
# Magnificent Obsession (1954)
# Lucy Gallant (1955)
# All That Heaven Allows (1955)
# Miracle in the Rain (1956)
# Holiday for Lovers (1959)
# Pollyanna (1960)
# Bon Voyage! (1962)
# How to Commit Marriage (1969)
# Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1995) (documentary)
# Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (1997) (documentary)
