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Claudette Colbert
Actor
Died July 30, 1996 (92 years)
Claudette Colbert was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France on September 13, 1903 and was brought to the United States as a child three years later. Born Emilie 'Lily' Claudette Chauchoin, she went to high school in New York. She was studying at the Art Students League when, in 1923, she took the name Claudette Colbert for her first Broadway role in "The Wild Westcotts". Her most noteworthy stage vehicle was the "The Barker" in 1927. Her first film was a silent For the Love of Mike (1927), directed by Frank Capra. Made on a shoestring, the movie was a flop, and she vowed that it would be her last film role: "I only left Broadway when the crash came. The Depression killed the theater, and the pictures were manna from heaven". She had her first film success the next year, however, in The Lady Lies (1929).
Her early notable films were all box-office hits and included Cleopatra (1934), in which she played the title role enticingly. She had her greatest triumph playing a runaway heiress, with enormous charm, opposite Clark Gable in Capra's comedy It Happened One Night (1934), for which she won the Academy Award as Best Actress. By 1938 her keen ability in business made her the highest paid star in Hollywood. By 1950, though, her star had begun to wane. She returned to the stage in 1956 when she replaced Margaret Sullavan during the spring and summer in the comedy "Janus". Appearances in other Broadway productions followed, including "The Marriage-Go-Round". Besides the stage, she did TV specials and had a supporting role in a notable TV movie, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987), for which she received a Golden Globe award. In 1989 she was presented with a Life Achievement award from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
She married actor Norman Foster in 1928, although they never lived together and were divorced after seven years. She married surgeon Dr. Joel Pressman soon after and remained married until his death in 1968. In latter years she divided her time between an apartment in New York and a 200-year-old plantation house in Speightstown, Barbados, where she entertained such guests as Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan. She remained on Barbados Island after her stroke. On July 30, 1996, Claudette died in Speightstown, Barbados. She was 92.
Her early notable films were all box-office hits and included Cleopatra (1934), in which she played the title role enticingly. She had her greatest triumph playing a runaway heiress, with enormous charm, opposite Clark Gable in Capra's comedy It Happened One Night (1934), for which she won the Academy Award as Best Actress. By 1938 her keen ability in business made her the highest paid star in Hollywood. By 1950, though, her star had begun to wane. She returned to the stage in 1956 when she replaced Margaret Sullavan during the spring and summer in the comedy "Janus". Appearances in other Broadway productions followed, including "The Marriage-Go-Round". Besides the stage, she did TV specials and had a supporting role in a notable TV movie, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987), for which she received a Golden Globe award. In 1989 she was presented with a Life Achievement award from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
She married actor Norman Foster in 1928, although they never lived together and were divorced after seven years. She married surgeon Dr. Joel Pressman soon after and remained married until his death in 1968. In latter years she divided her time between an apartment in New York and a 200-year-old plantation house in Speightstown, Barbados, where she entertained such guests as Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan. She remained on Barbados Island after her stroke. On July 30, 1996, Claudette died in Speightstown, Barbados. She was 92.
Known For
Filmography
| 2012 | Hitchcock · as Lee Addams |
| 2008 | Hollywood contra Franco · as Augusta Nash |
| 1994 | That's Entertainment! III · as (archive Footage) |
| 1987 | The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (TV Series) · as Alice Grenville |
| 1982 | Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter · as Ellie Andrews |
| 1976 | America at the Movies · as Ellie Andrews |
| 1965 | The Love Goddesses · as (archive Footage) |
| 1963 | Hollywood: The Great Stars · as Ellie |
| 1961 | Parrish · as Ellen Mclean |
| 1959 | The Bells of St. Mary's · as Sister Benedict |
| 1957 | Suspicion (TV Series) · as Edith Miller |
| 1956 | Zane Grey Theater (TV Series) · as Lucy Bradford |
| 1956 | Playhouse 90 (TV Series) |
| 1956 | Telephone Time (TV Series) |
| 1955 | Texas Lady · as Prudence Webb |
| 1955 | Ford Star Jubilee (TV Series) · as Ruth Condomine |
| 1954 | Climax! (TV Series) · as Sister Cecilia |
| 1954 | The Best of Broadway (TV Series) · as Actress |
| 1954 | Royal Affairs in Versailles · as Mme De Montespan |
| 1954 | Daughters of Destiny · as Elizabeth Whitefield (segment "elisabeth") |
| 1953 | General Electric Theater (TV Series) · as Edith Miller |
| 1952 | Outpost in Malaya · as Liz Frazer |
| 1952 | Ford Theatre: All Star Theatre (TV Series) · as Elizabeth Hopkins |
| 1951 | Let's Make It Legal · as Miriam Halsworth |
| 1951 | Thunder on the Hill · as Sister Mary Bonaventure |
| 1950 | The Secret Fury · as Ellen Ewing |
| 1950 | Three Came Home · as Agnes Newton Keith |
| 1950 | |
| 1949 | Bride for Sale · as Nora Shelley |
| 1948 | Family Honeymoon · as Katie Armstrong Jordan |
| 1948 | Sleep, My Love · as Alison Courtland |
| 1947 | The Egg and I · as Betty Macdonald |
| 1946 | The Secret Heart · as Lee Addams |
| 1946 | Without Reservations · as Kit Madden |
| 1946 | Tomorrow Is Forever · as Elizabeth Hamilton |
| 1945 | Guest Wife · as Mary Price |
| 1944 | Practically Yours · as Peggy Martin |
| 1944 | Since You Went Away · as Mrs. Anne Hilton |
| 1943 | So Proudly We Hail! · as Lt. Janet 'davy' Davidson |
| 1943 | No Time for Love · as Katherine Grant |
| 1942 | The Palm Beach Story · as Geraldine 'gerry' Jeffers |
| 1941 | Remember the Day · as Nora Trinell |
| 1941 | Skylark · as Lydia Kenyon |
| 1940 | Arise, My Love · as Augusta Nash |
| 1940 | Boom Town · as Betsy Bartlett |
| 1939 | Drums Along the Mohawk · as Lana (magdelana) |
| 1939 | Land of Liberty · as Lana (edited From 'drums Along The Mohawk') |
| 1939 | It's a Wonderful World · as Edwina Corday |
| 1939 | Midnight · as Eve Peabody |
| 1938 | Zaza · as Zaza |
| 1938 | Bluebeard's Eighth Wife · as Nicole De Loiselle |
| 1937 | Tovarich · as Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna Romanov |
| 1937 | I Met Him in Paris · as Kay Denham |
| 1937 | Maid of Salem · as Barbara Clarke |
| 1936 | Under Two Flags · as Cigarette |
| 1935 | The Bride Comes Home · as Jeannette Desmereau |
| 1935 | She Married Her Boss · as Julia Scott |
| 1935 | Private Worlds · as Dr. Jane Everest |
| 1935 | The Gilded Lily · as Marilyn David |
| 1934 | Imitation of Life · as Beatrice 'bea' Pullman |
| 1934 | Cleopatra · as Cleopatra |
| 1934 | It Happened One Night · as Ellie Andrews |
| 1934 | Four Frightened People · as Judy Jones |
| 1933 | Torch Singer · as Sally Trent, Aka Mimi Benton |
| 1933 | Three Cornered Moon · as Elizabeth Rimplegar |
| 1933 | I Cover the Waterfront · as Julie Kirk |
| 1933 | Tonight Is Ours · as Princess Nadya |
| 1932 | The Sign of the Cross · as Empress Poppaea |
| 1932 | The Phantom President · as Felicia Hammond |
| 1932 | Make Me a Star · as Claudette Colbert (uncredited) |
| 1932 | The Man from Yesterday · as Sylvia Suffolk |
| 1932 | The Misleading Lady · as Helen Steele |
| 1932 | The Wiser Sex · as Margaret Hughes |
| 1931 | His Woman · as Sally Clark |
| 1931 | Secrets of a Secretary · as Helen Blake |
| 1931 | The Smiling Lieutenant · as Franzi |
| 1931 | The House That Shadows Built · as (archive Footage) |
| 1931 | Honor Among Lovers · as Julia Traynor |
| 1930 | Manslaughter · as Lydia Thorne |
| 1930 | Young Man of Manhattan · as Ann Vaughn |
| 1930 | The Big Pond · as Barbara Billings |
| 1929 | The Lady Lies · as Joyce Roamer |
| 1929 | The Hole in the Wall · as Jean Oliver |
| 1927 | For the Love of Mike · as Mary |