Blessed with a natural beauty, Scotland-born actress Deborah Kerr (1921–2007) provided the cinema with memorable studies of English gentility. A star in British pictures before she was 21 and a Hollywood fixture from 1946 on, she projected a cool reserve and stoic nobility, often hinting at passion and insecurity beneath the surface. Frequently portraying selfless, sympathetic women, she was brilliant in such roles as Anna Leonowens in The King and I (1956). And in a fascinating departure from her normal range, her portrayal of the sexually frustrated Army wife in From Here to Eternity (1953) resulted in the screen’s most famous “clinch”—the beach scene with Burt Lancaster. Though she never won an Academy Award despite six nominations, Deborah Kerr received an honorary Oscar in 1994.

Michelangelo Capua is the author of several McFarland biographies of Hollywood film stars. He lives in London.

Michelangelo Capua

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 224
Bibliographic Info: 46 photos, notes, filmography, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-5882-0
eISBN: 978-0-7864-6002-1
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

1. A Lonely Childhood            3
2. Stage and Screen Debuts      11
3. A Time of Love and War      20
4. The Dream Factory      40
5. Hollywood’s Most Elegant Redhead      54
6. A Turning Point to Eternity      68
7. The King and I      82
8. Bob, Cary & Niv      95
9. Peter Viertel: A Love Affair to Remember      113
10. The Sundowners      123
11. Iguana      137
12. Memorable Years, Not So Memorable Roles      145
13. Stage Comeback      156
14. A Gentle Fadeout      164

Filmography      175
Television Appearances      187
Stage Appearances      189
Radio Programs      193
Chapter Notes      195
Bibliography      203
Index      211