Isabel Jewell

Isabel Jewell (July 19, 1907 April 5, 1972) was an American actress most active in the 1930s and early 1940s. Some of her most famous films were Ceiling Zero, Marked Woman, A Tale of Two Cities, and Gone with the Wind.

Isabel Jewell
Jewell in 1933, by Clarence Sinclair Bull
Born(1907-07-19)July 19, 1907
DiedApril 5, 1972(1972-04-05) (aged 64)
Cause of deathSuicide by barbiturate overdose
Other namesIsabel Jewel
Isobel Jewell
OccupationActress
Years active19321972
Spouse(s)Lovell "Cowboy" Underwood
(m. 1927; div. 19??)
Owen Crump
(m. 1936; div. 1941)

(m. 1941; div. 1943)

Early life and career

Born in Shoshoni,[1] Wyoming, on July 19, 1907,[1] Jewell was the daughter of Emory Lee Jewell and Livia A. Willoughby Jewell.[1] Her father was "a prominent ... doctor and medical researcher."[2] She was educated at St. Mary's Academy in Minnesota and at Hamilton College in Kentucky.[1]

After years in theater stock companies, including an 87-week stint in Lincoln, Nebraska, she hit the big time after getting a part on Broadway in Up Pops the Devil (1930).[3] She received glowing critical reviews for Blessed Event (1932) as well.[4]

Jewell's film debut came in Blessed Event (1932).[1] She had been brought to Hollywood by Warner Brothers for the film version of Up Pops the Devil. Jewell gained other supporting roles, appearing in a variety of films in the early 1930s. She played stereotypical gangsters' women in such films as Manhattan Melodrama (1934) and Marked Woman (1937). She was well-received playing against type as the seamstress sentenced to death on the guillotine along with Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman in A Tale of Two Cities (1935). Her most significant role was Sally Bates in She Had to Choose. Jewell's films included Gone with the Wind (1939) (in the role of "that white trash, Emmy Slattery"), Northwest Passage (1940), High Sierra (1941), and the low-budget The Leopard Man (1943).

By the end of the 1940s, her roles had reduced in significance to the degree that her performances were often uncredited, e.g. The Snake Pit. She performed in radio dramas in the 1950s, including This Is Your FBI.

In 1972, Jewell appeared opposite Edie Sedgwick in the film Ciao! Manhattan. Her final film was the B movie Sweet Kill (1973), the directorial debut of Curtis Hanson, a future Academy Award winner.

Personal life

Jewell's first marriage (which "was not generally known during Jewell's lifetime ... [nor] mentioned in the press during her heyday in American films") occurred when she wed Lovell "Cowboy" Underwood when she was 19.[1]

In the mid to late 1930s, Jewell was seen at nightclubs with actor William Hopper. (He appeared on the Perry Mason TV series and was the son of gossip columnist Hedda Hopper and stage star DeWolf Hopper).[5] In 1936, she wed Owen Crump, divorcing in 1941 to facilitate her next wedding.[6]

In 1941, Jewell married actor Paul Marion, who was then a private in the Army. They separated in 1943[1] and were divorced on May 12, 1944.[7]

Jewell was a Democrat who supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.[8]

Death

Jewell died in Los Angeles, California on April 5, 1972, aged 64, from suicide after taking an overdose of barbiturates.[1][9] Her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.[9]

Legacy

In 1960, Jewell was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to motion pictures. The star is located at 1560 Vine Street.[10][11]

Filmography

Complete filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1931 The Week End Mystery Miss Keith Short
1932 Blessed Event Dorothy Lane Uncredited
1933 The Crime of the Century Bridge Player Uncredited
Bondage Beulah
Beauty for Sale Hortense Credited as Isobel Jewell
Bombshell Lily, Junior's Girl Friend Credited as Isobel Jewell
Day of Reckoning Kate Lovett
Design for Living Plunkett's Stenographer
Advice to the Lovelorn Rose
The Women in His Life Catherine 'Cathy' Watson
Counsellor at Law Bessie Green
1934 Men in White Scenes cut
Let's Be Ritzy Betty
Manhattan Melodrama Annabelle
Here Comes the Groom Angy
She Had to Choose Sally Bates
Evelyn Prentice Judith Wilson
1935 Shadow of Doubt Inez 'Johnny' Johnson - singer
I've Been Around Sally Van Loan
Times Square Lady 'Babe' Sweeney
The Casino Murder Case Amelia Llewellyn
Mad Love Marianne Scenes cut
A Tale of Two Cities Seamstress
1936 Ceiling Zero Lou Clarke
Dancing Feet Mabel Henry
The Leathernecks Have Landed Brooklyn
Big Brown Eyes Bessie Blair
Small Town Girl Emily 'Em' Brannan
36 Hours to Kill Jeanie Benson
The Man Who Lived Twice Peggy Russell
Valiant Is the Word for Carrie Lilli Eipper
Go West, Young Man Gladys
Career Woman Gracie Clay
1937 Lost Horizon Gloria Stone
Marked Woman Emmy Lou Eagan
Love on Toast Belle Huntley
1938 Swing It, Sailor! Myrtle Montrose
The Crowd Roars Mrs. Martin
1939 They Asked for It Molly Herkimer
Missing Daughters Peggy
Gone with the Wind Emmy Slattery
1940 'Oh Johnny, How You Can Love Gertie
'Northwest Passage' (Book I -- Rogers' Rangers) Jennie Coit
Irene Jane McGee
Babies for Sale Edith Drake
Scatterbrain Esther Harrington
Marked Men Linda Harkness
Little Men Stella
1941 High Sierra Blonde
For Beauty's Sake Amy Devore
1943 The Leopard Man Maria - Fortune Teller
The Seventh Victim Frances Fallon
Danger! Women at Work Marie
The Falcon and the Co-eds Mary Phoebus
1944 The Merry Monahans Rose Monahan
1945 Steppin' in Society Jenny the Juke
Sensation Hunters Mae
1946 Badman's Territory Belle Starr
1947 Born to Kill Laury Palmer
The Bishop's Wife Hysterical mother
1948 Michael O'Halloran Mrs. Laura Nelson
The Snake Pit Ward 33 Inmate Uncredited
Unfaithfully Yours First Telephone Operator Uncredited
Belle Starr's Daughter Belle Starr
1949 The Story of Molly X Mrs. Mack—Prison Laundry Matron Uncredited
1953 Man in the Attic Katy
1954 Drum Beat Lily White
1957 Bernardine Mrs. McDuff
1972 Sweet Kill Mrs. Cole
Ciao! Manhattan Mummy
Partial television credits
Year Series Role Episode
1952 The Adventures of Kit Carson Mary Barker "The Trap"
The Unexpected Sister "One for the Money"
Mr. & Mrs. North Anne Noble "The Nobles"
Fireside Theatre "The Boxer and the Stranger"
1953 Fireside Theatre "The Twelfth Juror"
1955 Treasury Men in Action "The Case of the Lady in Hiding"
1956 Dr. Christian Mae "Insurance Policy"
1957 Climax! Actress " Murder Has a Deadline"
1961 The Aquanauts Miss Port "The Defective Tank Adventure"
Lock Up "Planter's Death"
1962 The Untouchables Sophie "The Night They Shot Santa Claus"
1964 Kraft Suspense Theatre Mrs. Lyons "The Gun"
1965 Gunsmoke Mme. Ahr "Circus Trick"

References

  1. Nissen, Axel (2016). Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood. McFarland. pp. 96–104. ISBN 9781476626062. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  2. "Isabel Jewell, film star, dead at 62". Redlands Daily Facts. California, Redlands. United Press International. April 6, 1972. p. 12. Retrieved October 23, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Isabel Jewell succumbs at 62". Evening Herald. Pennsylvania, Shenandoah. United Press International. April 6, 1972. p. 16. Retrieved April 7, 2017 via Newspapers.com.
  4. Twomey, Alfred E.; McClure, Arthur F. (1969). "Isabel Jewell". The Versatiles : Supporting Character Players in the Cinema 1930-1955 (hardcover) (First ed.). Cranbury, NJ: A. S. Barnes. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-498-06792-1.
  5. Newspapers, Bettelou Peterson, Knight-Ridder. "-- What happened to Dennis Hopper who..." chicagotribune.com.
  6. "Classic Hollywood Beauties". Archived from the original on 2014-02-27. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
  7. "Divorces". Billboard. May 27, 1944. p. 32. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  8. Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
  9. Wilson, Scott (16 September 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. ISBN 9781476625997 via Google Books.
  10. "Isabel Jewell - Hollywood Walk of Fame". www.walkoffame.com.
  11. "Isabel Jewell - Hollywood Star Walk - Los Angeles Times". projects.latimes.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.