Eleanor Parker

Trivia of Eleanor Parker (26 June 26, 1922 – 9 December 2013)

*During her studies at both schools, she was approached by various studios for screen tests in their films but she refused them and continued with her studies till they were complete.For her, Study is number one!!.

*She was supposed to make her film debut with the western ‘They Died With Their Boots On’ in 1941 opposite Errol Flynn but the scenes in which she appeared were edited and cut.Her actual film debut was as Nurse Ryan in the short film Soldiers in White in 1942.

*At 20 minutes and 10 seconds, Eleanor Parker's performance in Detective movie was the shortest ever to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar at that time.The record broke by Beatrice Straight for her performance in Network (1976), who has 5 minutes 2 seconds of screen time.

*Had the admirable reputation as an easy going actress, who was down to earth and got on with everyone on set, from the director to the crew. However, she revealed years later that the only actor she ever worked with whom she did not have a good relationship with was her co-star in Scaramouche (1952) Stewart Granger, claiming that it wasn't just her and that everyone involved with the movie disliked him intensely.

*Her versatile talent led to her being dubbed "Woman of a Thousand Faces" .The range of parts she played, from a terrified prisoner in Caged (1950) to the icy baroness in The Sound of Music (1965).

*Her favorite role was Marjorie Lawrence at Interrupted Melody (1955) starring with Glenn Ford, where she can show her skill read music that has perfect pitch as a singer. She decided to study the scores of the opera songs used in this movie on her own. She rented a cabin in Lake Arrowhead, California, and played the records while singing along, until she had the breathing and phrasing memorized. Then when filming the scenes, instead of lip-synching to the tracks recorded by Eileen Farrell for the movie, she sang full voice (but an octave lower). She is proud of the fact that they never had to do a re-take, in order to "match" the tapes. She nailed it on the first take every time.

*Throughout her acting career, Eleanor Parker has won only one award and has been nominated for eight others. She was nominated for an Oscar three times, a Golden Globe once, an Emmy once, and a Golden Laurel three times. She won the International Award at the Venice Film Festival for Best Actress in 1950 for her role in Caged.