Lee Remick

Let's discuss. Definitely not a gay icon and neither a great nor a bad actress. Was supposed to replace Monroe on Something's Got To Give (demerits for accepting that offer), but Dean Martin's contract gave hom co-star approval and he said no (bonus points for Dean on that one).

But there is something likeable about her - indie rock group The In Betweens even recorded a song about her called (what else) "Lee Remick".

I love her! I can't think of a movie I've seen her in where I didn't love her performance.

Class act. Very solid performer. Died too young.

"Nutcracker - Money, Madness, Murder" is the first thing I recorded with my first vcr, and I still love it. Beautiful and talented woman, class act.

Largely forgotten now, but she was solid in everything she did.

Lovely voice in Anyone Can Whistle with Angela Lansbury.

And she’s a hoot as the baron-twirling tramp in A Face in the Crowd with Andy Griffith.

I wish she were around today.

Wasn't she considered for the Beth role in Ordinary People? MTM was really born to play it, but Lee, and maybe a few others, would've done nearly as well.

In Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle.

Loved her as the trampy wife who liked things a little rough in "Anatomy of a Murder."

She played Margaret Sullavan in Haywire but didn't attempt to emulate Sullavan's distinctive voice. Fail.

I liked her in the 1974 mini series about Jennie Churchill.

She was a very gifted actress. I thought her performance in “The Days of Wine and Roses” was magnificent. She was adept at comedy and drama.

I knew her daughter in college. One day I was hanging around Kate's room, a knock came on the door, I opened it, and there was standing Lee Remick. Kind lady who paid for more than a few late-night pizzas and drinks -- she loved that her daughter had a good solid circle of friends that included lesbians and a few odd birds.

In Sondheim’s Follies.

They remained friends after Anyone Can Whistle majestically and undeservedly flopped.

[quote] Was supposed to replace Monroe on Something's Got To Give

Doris Day ended up taking it.

At her prettiest in "The Running Man" (1963). The movie is based on a novel that was a rip-off of Patricia Highsmith's "The Talented Mr. Ripley", which was first filmed as "Purple Noon" in 1960. Not as good as "Purple Noon" but worth watching for the cast and the Spanish locations.

She truly was a brilliant actress who somehow never got typed by Hollywood, and I think that may be why she never became a top 10 star. She always played the female lead to a bigger male star. The public couldn't quite identify her and put her in a single simple box (no jokes about caskets here, please!).

There was also never a scandal of any kind associated with her which often works against greater stardom.

Also, if you've seen those wonderful Malibu home movies of Roddy McDowell, you know that Lee was one of the loveliest natural beauties of her era.

Allie: 'Ike had an affair with Lee Remick?'

Kate: 'She played his mistress in the movie, Allie!'

Days of Wnie ad Roses with Jack Lemmon -sixties

Had an affair with Sondheim in the 60s

in the James Ivory film The Europeans

I get her confused with Kim Novak.

Worked very well with beat-up Clift in "Wild River" and, I believe, was helpful in holding him together during filming.

Played a San Francisco bank teller who, with sister Stefanie Powers, is terrorized by psychopath Ross Martin in 1962’s “Experiment in Terror.” Directed by Blake Edwards; also stars Glenn Ford.

She was great in ‘The Omen’.

Forgettable. Pauline Kael said that the studios kept pushing her as a star but the audience rejected her.

Her Upper class demeanor worked against her because it was hard to see her as anything else. I think audiences saw her as a snob.

I thought she was talented, but she had all the appeal and excitement of a Nilla Wafer.

[quote]I liked her in the 1974 mini series about Jennie Churchill.

I did too. You should see it now. It HAS NOT dated well.

[quote]She truly was a brilliant actress who somehow never got typed by Hollywood, and I think that may be why she never became a top 10 star.

It didn't help that she spent the 1970s in England where there was no film industry at that time, hence ^^ Jennie

She was great in the miniseries Nutcracker. My favorite moment in that is when she’s at a party cackling over the Sandra Dee/Diary of Anne Frank story-“She’s in the ATTIC!”

I wish she had married Christopher Lee...

Lee Lee

[quote]Didn't she marry a Brit?

yes, hence her dreary 1970s movie career

this is going to be a mess, sorry:-

1970tLoottNurse Fay McMahont 1970tA Severed HeadtAntonia Lynch-Gibbont 1971tSometimes a Great NotiontViv Stampert 1973tA Delicate BalancetJuliat 1974tTouch Me NottElanort 1975tHennessytKate Brooket 1976tThe OmentKatherine Thornt 1977tTelefontBarbarat 1978tThe Medusa TouchtDoctor Zonfeldt 1979tThe EuropeanstEugenia Youngt 1980tThe CompetitiontGreta Vandemannt 1980tTributetMaggie Strattont 1988tEmma's Wart

I'll do it again:

1970tLoottNurse Fay McMahon t 1970tA Severed HeadtAntonia Lynch-Gibbon t 1971tSometimes a Great NotiontViv Stampert

1973tA Delicate BalancetJulia t 1974tTouch Me NottElanort

1975tHennessytKate Brooket

1976tThe OmentKatherine Thornt

1977tTelefontBarbarat

1978tThe Medusa TouchtDoctor Zonfeldt

1979tThe EuropeanstEugenia Youngt

1980tThe CompetitiontGreta Vandemann t 1980tTributetMaggie Strattont

1988tEmma's Wart

Oh, dear - still a mess.

Where did those t's come from?

I never miss a Harry Guardino musical.

[quote]baron-twirling tramp

Aren't barons kind of heavy?

LEE REMICK WAS A GODDESS.

She died young because she smoked.

I can never find this photo through Google, but it was taken by Dominick Dunne. It's of Lee and Roddy kissing (and she's wearing sunglasses?). I know their lives didn't turn out this way, but it's an image I think of when I imagine young, glamorous couples who will probably end up doomed, but are at the top of the world at that moment.

She left her first husband for that British guy, didn’t she?

I always remember her for "No Way To Treat A Lady" - 1968, as a kooky New York gal.

Her second husband looks like he's smelling cookies.

Bathing Beauties: Debbie Reynolds, Shirley Maclaine, Marge Champion, Sheree North, Rock Hudson, Kim Novak, Lee Remick, Dana Wynter, Joan Collins

Keystone Cops & Tophat Man: Nick Adams, Don Murray, Tommy Sands, Fess Parker, Gower Champion, Buddy Ebsen, James Garner (tophat), Paul Newman

She was beautiful. Keri Russell often reminds me of her.

Originally cast in Broadway’s “Agnes of God”, Remick was replaced by Elizabeth Ashley. Broadway buffs: What happened there?

R49 yes.

And r3 I love that movie!

R26 Pauline Kael can go suck Debra Winger’s dick I don’t gaf.

R40, JFK biographer Robert Dallek refers to the deceased president as a “compulsive womanizer.” JFK has been accused of having a number of affairs while president, including with stripper Tempest Storm, actresses Lee Remick, Audrey Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe, Judith Campbell, Mimi Alford, and more.

Her father owned Remick's, an upscale department store in Quincy, MA.

I loved her. Loved her look and she did a lot of solid, respectable work.

I thought her first husband had a terrible stroke and died.

Never mind.^^^^Just checked wiki and she divorced him.

She was clearly very happy with her second husband.

What sort of dog is that? SO cute.

I remember seeing her back when I was a teen around 1966-67 in Times Square. I was heading to a Saturday matinee of a new musical and she was obviously on her way to a matinee of Wait Until Dark, which she was starring in at the time. I could kick myself that I didn't follow her and see her in that play instead of that stupid musical, Illya, Darling!

It was summer and she was as pale as pocelain in a sleeveless top and capri slacks. And lovely strawberry blonde hair.

Did she eventually play Desiree somewhere in a production of A Little Night Music? If not, she should have.

I thought she was supposed to in LA but was too ill.

[quote]I remember seeing her back when I was a teen around 1966-67 in Times Square. I was heading to a Saturday matinee of a new musical

I love you so much, R60.

R50 In a 1997 "Playbill" the reason given is:

[quote]The shrink in Agnes of God was a chain-smoker -- so much so that Lee Remick, the show's original leading lady, found the habit played havoc with her lungs, and had to drop out. Elizabeth Ashely took over, and inhaled away for 13 of the next 14 months.

In the autobiography of the director of the production (Michael Lindsay-Hogg), he says only that Remick "didn't work out". Her reviews in Boston weren't good, and you'd think if smoking was the issue Lindsay-Hogg would have mentioned it.

The truth may lie somewhere in between.

Smoking was not what killed her.

Maybe she was already not well.

At her last public appearance, receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Lee was bloated from chemotherapy and walking with a cane.

I can't believe it took fuckin' Hollywood until Lee was practically dead to award her one of those stupid stars.

Lee Remick told one of my all-time favorite stories. She said a woman approached her and said, "Aren't you Lee Remick?" "Why, yes," she said modestly. "I am." "I thought so," said the woman. " SHE'S SO PRETTY."

She got to sleep with Gregory Harrison in The Women's Room.

What's the story on the Bathing Beauties/Keystone Cops picture at R48? That's certainly an odd group of stars.

R71 The photo was staged and taken for a 1958 "Life" magazine issue that paid tribute to the silent movie "King of Comedy", Mack Sennett, who was still alive at the time.

R42, if there'd been a tsunami that day...

With Rock Hudson posing as one of the Bathing Beauties. Talk about hiding in plain sight.

There is another thread about Summit/Chatham which reminded me about Lee Remick. I remember one of my neighbors in Chatham (Amherst Road) was related to Lee Remick. Lee would visit every so often. The neighborhood fraus were so impressed. I was a teen at the time and my friends all thought it was cool that Damien's mother was in town.

That LIFE Magazine special issue was a tribute to Hollywood that they published around 1957-1958, I think. It was a gorgeous issue that I saved for many years, with lots of great articles and photos about old Hollywood.

This group photo was a part of a series of b&w photos staged like stills from a silent Sennett movie. Kim Novak played the Unwilling Bride and I think Paul Newman was the Evil Groom and James Garner was the Nasty Father of the Bride. And Rock Hudson played the Bride's Preferred Suitor (awful character titles are mine!) who steals her away at the altar; it all culminates at the beach with those other movie stars as Keystone Kops and Bathing Beauties. Kim and Rock were hiding out among the Bathing Beauties. But Rock, yes....lol!

The other even better photo spread was of Marilyn Monroe in full page color replica poses of famous sex symbols and included her as Lillian Russell, Theda Bara, Clara Bow, Marlene Dietrich, Jean Harlow and, finally, as herself. She's all but unrecognizable in all but the last photo, where she appears without much makeup and a naturally dishevelled hairdo. Really fabulous! Look for it on the internet....I'm sure it's google-able.

Marilyn Monroe as Theda Bara. Talk about unrecognizable! I would never have guessed that was her.

yes r6 she was considered but according to an interview with MTM that is on youtube Redford came to a meeting at her house and told her she was who he pictured when he read the book and that he wanted to explore the dark side of America's sweetheart. She said sure and laughs saying who could say no to Robert Redford?

But she jokes then months went by and he proceeded to audition every actress around for the part before eventually coming back to her.

It's funny there are lots of jokes on the MTM show where both Mary and Sue Ann are attracted to Redford.

Also Timothy Hutton said his final audition was with Ann-Margret as the mother.

Yes r62. She had been advertised for it but had to back out due to her health and Lois Nettleton took over. (Glynnis Johns played the Hermonie Gingold role btw)

R80, Natalie Wood wanted the role of Beth Jarrett and believed she had an edge since she fought to have Redford cast in "Inside Daisy Clover" and "This Property is Condemned", played a cameo role in "The Candidate" as a favor and Redford was best man at her wedding to Richard Gregson.

Natalie left message after message, none of them returned by Redford.

r82 and then oddly just like Buck a year later Natalie drowned.

I thought her best performance was as Frank Sinatra's nympho wife in "The Detective".

It was really interesting in 1987 when there were dueling TV movies about Frances Schreuder, the socialite who urged her son to murder her father. Stefanie Powers could only be campy in "At Mother's Request," and did even that incompetently; Remick, by contrast, acted the hell out of it, and was terrifying (although she allowed for some campy moments--which she pulled off brilliantly).

Seems like every middle-aged actress in Hollywood at that time wanted the Beth Jarrett part.

Lee Remick or Natalie would have been fine in the role (Lee probably more so than Natalie) but Redford real improved the story by casting MTM because everyone went in expecting MTM to play a likeable character as she always did in the past. (plus it in the film everybody else likes Beth and thinks Conrad is the one with all the issues)

Yes r85! It was odd the Powers one was a ratings smash but the Remick one got all the acclaim and Emmy noms.

"Not a gay icon," the dreary and illiterate OP says.

Listen to "Anyone Can Whistle," dumbo, and learn what a woman gay men loved meant.

Her rendition of the title song in Anyone Can Whistle is heart-breakingly beautiful. She sounds like a young Judy Garland.

R88 they were good friends, too. And they were both in another series that was a favorite of my moms called Mistrala daughter. Remick was Great playing a scheming character in that too.

I think had she lived that would have been her ticket in her third act - she was always a very good, solid actress but playing these kind of campy scheming villains is where she really came alive.

I always thought her name would make an excellent cosmetic company like Merle Norman and Estée Lauder.

Natalie Wood would have been too short to play Beth Jarrett. She would have looked ridiculous standing next to Donakd Sutherland, who’s around 6’3”.

Buck would never want the Beth Jarrett part, R86.

Buck would never want the CONRAD Jarrett part.

Good actress, certainly pretty, but there was something cold about her aura. Maybe that's why Redford considered her for "Ordinary People" but finally, Mary Tyler Moore was the superlative choice. Remick's film career faltered in the 197os, and she was lost to TV in the 1980s.

[quote] It was odd the Powers one was a ratings smash but the Remick one got all the acclaim and Emmy noms.

Well, the Powers one came first, and the Remick was soon after, so it was inevitable the Remick one wasn't going to be seen as much. (The Powers one also had the much more memorable title.)

But though they were roughly the same age, Stefanie Powers was never more than a starlet, and Lee Remick was a genuine actor.

Lee (with awful '80s perm), Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur.

Lee Remick would not have been as surprising as Beth Jarrett--it would have seemed par for the course for her to play such a role.

One of the most brilliant things about casting MTM was until then no one except her friends knew she could be so cold since both Laura Petrie and Mary Richards were so warm and kind.

She wasn't very good in Follies. She looked like the character, but for whatever reason, her voice wasn't up to it that day.

R64. I say they dropped her because chain smoked in A Delicate Balance.

I'm twice the person she is.

Her eyes in the scene in The Omen when the nanny hangs herself were so expressive and terrified. (contrast it with Julia Stiles' somnambulistic look in the remake.)

That's not an awful perm, r99. That's what her hair looked like as it grew back after chemo.

Lee's film career as a leading lady spanned the late 1950s to the early 1970s. 10+ years is par for the course, if not exceptional, for most Hollywood actresses. And she certainly made several memorable appearnces on TV in the 2 later decades.

Pauline Kael was an overrated pap smear. Why anyone gives a shit about her now and feels the need to consult her crotchety old books because they can't form their own opinions is fucking pathetic.

R107, Lee Grant, er Remick is already forgotten. Kael is still influencing opinions after her death.

R91, wasn’t “Mistral’s Daughter” the one where Stefanie Powers plays a French (!) teenager (!!!) complete with Pepe Le Pew accent, who becomes a top model? Ah, the 80s!

And based on a Judith Krantz' novel, r110. So very 80s.

Powers defined the term “mediocrity.”

Remick was special.

Allll of that r110/r111.

Back when We was the romance channel (anyone remember this?) they reran it all the time.

"Kael is still influencing opinions after her death."

Only if you're too stupid to be able to form opinions of your own.

Sondheim convinced himself that he was in love with Remick during WHISTLE, but they did not have an affair. I think he even proposed to her but she was smart enough to say no. This was typical of some gay men in the 60s who were fucked up about their orientation.

Nevertheless they remained good friends until her death.

I think Sondheim tried the same thing with Natalie Wood during the filming of WEST SIDE STORY, or was it Jerome Robbins?

I thought it was she who wanted marriage.

I've never heard that he had any interest in Natalie Wood--or Robbins either--so that's interesting news.

I'd like to watch Mistral's Daughter again!

R114, yeah, you've already said that, sweetheart. The opinion on this thread was that she was a beautiful, mediocre talent. And that's an opinion formed from her body of work and because of her blandness, it's highly unlikely she will be highly regarded in the future.

R118 I don’t think the consensus anywhere has been that she was a mediocre talent, just that she never became a household name. That could be for a number of reasons.

Lee was one of those 60s actresses that were awesome and got star billing, but the parts were mostly supporting as a wife, girlfriend or mother. She was so good in Days, and Anatomy of a Murder, but her smaller roles in The Detective and No Way To Treat A Lady were fun to watch too. One movie she did in 1969 that has fallen thru the cracks is called Hard Contract with James Coburn. He's a hit man and she's a prostitute in scenic Europe. Universal wanted her to play the nutjob obsessed with Clint Eastwood in Play Misty For Me, but Eastwood wanted Jessica Walter (REALLY????). Clint knew Remick would steal her scenes and no one outshines Clint. Lee never gave a bad performance...........

She died from kidney cancer. I think she was only 55? So sad.

R117 All 10 hours are on Youtube, if Dutch subtitles don't bother you.

She was suggested to Hitchcock for both "Marnie" and "Torn Curtain", but he stuck with his icy blonde Tippi for the former, and went with Julie Andrews for the latter.

Some trivia:

Lee Remick was good friends with Elizabeth Montgomery, who served as Lee's matron of honor for her 1957 wedding to Bill Colleran.

Lee detested working with Laurence Harvey on "The Running Man."

Frank Sinatra allegedly had affairs with both Lee Remick and Jacqueline Bisset while making "The Detective," and while married to Mia Farrow.

I love her. She always seemed so classy.

Beautiful hair, voice, face, body ... but ultimately didn't seem to be quite distinctive enough, or have enough pizazz , to be a big star. But she did well with everything she was handed.

A good actress who could play sexy/slutty without seeming like a floozie. Kinda like Carroll Baker and Tuesday Weld.

Keri Russell looks a lot like her (but harder, as she aged) (which might have served Remick better)

R124, Does a twenty minute one time encounter in his trailer deserve to be called an affair?

"Lee detested working with Laurence Harvey. "

You could fill Yankee Stadium with people who felt that way.

she did Damn Yankees for television.

Huh! I'll have to look up who played hunky Joe Hardy in that Damn Yankees. Anyone happen to know?

How did I miss this back then??

R132, It was Jerry Lanning, elder Patrick in Mame on Broadway.

Interesting!

Jerry Lanning had a long affair with Gwen Verdon after she and Fosse split up.

Jerry Lanning today . . .

Even though Lee is no Gwen, Phil Silvers is an improvement over Ray Walston.

By the 1960s, most leading actresses in Hollywood had to be paired in American films with (at least) an equally starry male lead. I think the only exceptions were Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, Barbra Streisand and Audrey Hepburn and, I guess Julie Andrews for a few years. As the decade went on it became even more male-dominated.

So Lee's career was fairly typical.

Her career was perfectly respectable; she was a working actor. I remember she said in an interview, probably in the 70s, that she was essentially a wife and mother who occasionally acted in a film, and she was fine with that.

[quote]r137 By the 1960s, most leading actresses in Hollywood had to be paired in American films with (at least) an equally starry male lead. I think the only exceptions were Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, Barbra Streisand and Audrey Hepburn and, I guess Julie Andrews for a few years. As the decade went on it became even more male-dominated.So Lee's career was fairly typical.

True - - and that's probably why she gravitated to TV movies; there were meatier parts. She did do very interesting films along the way (like WILD RIVER and NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY), but that didn't seem to cement her as a big enough star to get her near the front of the line in movies.

THE OMEN was a blockbuster. It would have been so cool if she had a percentage deal in lieu of salary. That would have been a jackpot!

I met her when she was in Agnes of God in Boston. Despite being ambushed me and two other college students, she was charming and friendly even posing with a copy of our school paper.

I didn't know r124 about her and Liz Montgomery - they always reminded me of each other.

"Was supposed to replace Monroe on Something's Got To Give (demerits for accepting that offer), but Dean Martin's contract gave hom co-star approval and he said no (bonus points for Dean on that one)."

Dean Martin didn't have any particular loyalty to Marilyn Monroe. Working with her was hell, like it usually was. When the studio fired her, he said he wouldn't work with any other actress but her not because he had any great fondness for Marilyn but because he just wanted OUT. The movie was a disaster and he knew it and to say he wouldn't work with anyone but Marilyn made him look like a nice guy and would get him away from the craziness of making that awful movie.

As for Lee Remick...well, I always thought she was ok. I always wanted to see her turn as Margaret Sullavan in the tv movie version of her daughter's memoir "Haywire." I've been looking to see if it can be found anywhere on the internet, but I haven't seen it available anywhere.

R140 I don’t think they look alike but I always associate the two together because they were the two queens of quality TV movies of the 70s and 80s. And they both went to one of the NY private girls schools and had that upper crust thing going on, and both died too young.

Big fans of both - Liz seems like she was a bit more of a pistol, though.

R128, thanks for the side by side pic. Keri Russell always reminded me of Lee Remick but it wasn’t just the faces looking uncannily similar. It was also how Russell has carried herself, the attitude, the coolness. Very Lee Remick.

[quote]r142 When the studio fired her, he said he wouldn't work with any other actress but her not because he had any great fondness for Marilyn but because he just wanted OUT.

I think it was more because Monroe was a much, much bigger box office than Remick. Practically the whole film was done already except for the character of Ellen's scenes, and since Remick was younger, healthier and more professional than Monroe, that could have been done on a quick schedule, and (I imagine) everything practically on the first take. It all would have been over fairly soon, so I don't imagine Dean Martin had to bail, mentally.

Remick was smart in that she later said she knew "there was no way in hell this was happening," so she told the studio she'd go along with replacing Monroe, but whether she herself actually worked or not, they had to write off the remaining film she had in their multi-picture contract, so she could move on.

They never did use her in the film, aside from some publicity stills with George Cukor, and she moved on.

Lee and Tony Franciosa played a very steamy couple, second to stars Paul New man and Joanne Woodward, in The Long Hot Summer.

I'm forgetting.....did Tony play Joanne's brother? That's not very believable casting.

She originated the Audrey Hepburn role in Wait Until Dark on Broadway.

Anyone on here see her in it?

A weird synchronicity: I lived in the same building in San Francisco that she and Jack Lemmon lived in in "The Days of Wine and Roses" . It was 18800 Pacific Ave. It's so strange watching the movie and seeing them in the lobby, elevator, etc. Also in the scene when Lee starts the fire and causes the place to be evacuated, all the tenants are standing outside in bathrobes. I used to park my car in that exact spot!

1800 Pacific Ave not 18800 - sorry about that.

I always used to get her confused with Tess Harper.

R148, did you know anyone who had recollections of the filming? I lived in SF long ago and hear it's gotten really grotty.

I always used to get Tess Harper confused with Fess Parker.

No R151 actually a cab driver told me about when he dropped me off. I had seen the movie a million times growing up and never made the connection. I ran out and bought the DVD and sure enough there it was! Jack Lemmon staggering down Franklin Street and walking into the lobby and getting in the elevator I'd rode a million times. Many other scenes too. Like much of SF the building hadn't changed. It was built in 1962 the same year as the movie. It must have been very chic at the time. It was still a nice place when I lived there until 2002.

I always got Fess Parker mixed up with Miss Marker.

She was FABULOUS in that TV version of Damn Yankees. Charisma for days. There used to be a video of her doing "A Little Brains, A Little Talent" on YouTube but it's gone.

[quote]r149 1800 Pacific Ave not 18800 - sorry about that.

[italic]Not [/italic] acceptable.

LOCK 'IM UP!

She was great in "The Competition."

R157 if she could be great in that dreck imagine how good she would have been in Ordinary People..

I bet she was originally offered Jennifer Warren’s role as the acerbic skating coach in Ice Castles

Several noted the resemblance between Lee and Kerri Russel. In Telefon Lee played a role very similar to The Americans.

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