Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is probably best-remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura in the 1940s.

Career, affair & mental breakdown

Tierney gave memorable performances in two classic film noirs, Jules Dassin's Night and the City and Otto Preminger's Where the Sidewalk Ends (both in 1950).

Related Topics:
Jules Dassin - Night and the City - Where the Sidewalk Ends - 1950

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After playing Teresa opposite Rory Calhoun in Way of a Gaucho (1952), which was filmed on location in Argentina, her contract at 20th Century Fox expired. That same year, she starred as Dorothy Bradford in Plymouth Adventure opposite Spencer Tracy at MGM, which was followed by her role as Marya Lamarkina Sutherland opposite Clark Gable in Never Let Me Go (1953). She remained at the studio to play Kay Barlow in Personal Affair, which was released that same year.

Related Topics:
Rory Calhoun - Way of a Gaucho - 1952 - Argentina - Plymouth Adventure - Spencer Tracy - Clark Gable - Never Let Me Go - 1953 - Personal Affair

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While Tierney was in Europe, she began an affair with Prince Aly Khan, but their marriage plans met with fierce opposition from the Aga Khan. She returned to the U.S., where she played Iris Denver in Black Widow (1954), about a woman murderer co-starring Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, George Raft, with Peggy Ann Garner.

Related Topics:
Prince Aly Khan - Aga Khan - Black Widow - 1954 - Ginger Rogers - Van Heflin - George Raft - Peggy Ann Garner

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While playing the role as Anne Scott in The Left Hand of God (1955) opposite Humphrey Bogart, Tierney's long string of personal troubles finally took their toll. She said that Bogey could see that she was mentally unstable.

Related Topics:
The Left Hand of God - 1955 - Humphrey Bogart

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Worried about her mental health, she consulted a psychiatrist. She then left Hollywood and was admitted to Harkness Pavilion in New York. Later she went to the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. After 27 shock treatments, she tried to run away, but was caught and led back.

Related Topics:
Psychiatrist - Hollywood - Harkness Pavilion - Institute of Living - Hartford, Connecticut - Shock treatments

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Tierney was seen by a neighbor in 1957 as she was about to jump from a ledge. The police were called and she was admitted to the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, on December 25. She was released from Menningers the following year, after a treatment that included, in its final stages, working as a sales girl in a large department store, where she was spotted by a customer and it resulted in sensational newspaper headlines. She then met Howard Lee in Aspen, Colorado.

Related Topics:
1957 - Menninger Clinic - Topeka, Kansas - December 25 - Aspen, Colorado

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20th Century Fox offered her a lead role in Holiday for Lovers. However, the stress proved too great. Days into production, she quit and was readmitted to Menningers briefly in 1959.

Related Topics:
Holiday for Lovers - 1959

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