RIP Patricia Neal

First coming to the attention of the movie-going public as the beautiful, masochist Dominique Francon in the big screen adaptation of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, Patricia Neal immediately grabbed the attention of the media with a highly publicised affair with the married and much-older Gary Cooper (she was 21, he was 49). Needless to say, this notoriety followed her and she was treated like a jezebel, thus never getting any of the glamorous studio roles she richly deserved. This did not deter her from becoming a fascinating actress who used her sad elegance to bring a touch of class to a variety of roles.

Her most memorable role was probably in The Day the Earth Stood Still but she also won an Oscar for her role in Hud. Married for 20 years to fascinating literary genius Roald Dahl, Patricia Neal led a somewhat unglamorous life, herself and her children plagued with health problems. Soon after winning her Oscar, she had three strokes which left her semi-paralyzed and unable to speak for a while. She overcame these problems however, and lived a long life, dying yesterday from lung cancer at the ripe old age of 84.

Ms. Neal...you've left your mark!

Recommended watching:
The Day the Earth Stood Still (Wise, 1951)
The Fountainhead (Vidor, 1949)
Hud (Ritt, 1963)
Cookie's Fortune (Altman, 1999)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (Edwards, 1961)