Jane Wyman may have been most famous for her silence.The 1948 role in Johnny Belinda that won her an Oscar for Best Actress had her playing a deaf mute. (Her famously brief acceptance speech: "I accept this award very gratefully for keeping my mouth shut once. I think I’ll do it again.") Years later, during her sixth decade in Hollywood, she spent the ’80s running the winery on CBS’ Falcon Crest, while her ex-husband spent the same years running the United States, but she refused to talk about Ronald Reagan in interviews. In fact, she broke her silence about him only after he died in 2004, calling him "a great president and a great, kind, and gentle man." (Reagan had been equally discreet about her, devoting just two sentences in his autobiography to their eight-year marriage.) Like Reagan, Wyman, who died Monday morning, lived to be 93.
Of course, Wyman was much more than Reagan’s first wife or the matriarch of CBS’ popular 1981-90 nighttime soap. Despite the dubious achievements of her early movie career (Warner Bros. often typecast her as a streetwise dame, and she and Regis Toomey set a record for the longest screen kiss — more than three minutes — in 1941’s You’re in the Army Now), she developed into a top-notch dramatic actress who ultimately earned four Oscar nominations. Besides her still striking performance in Johnny Belinda, her memorable roles came in such films as The Lost Weekend, The Yearling, Stage Fright, The Blue Veil, So Big, Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, and even Disney’s Pollyanna. Still, the role she’ll most likely be remembered for is Angela Channing (pictured), who for nine years on Falcon Crest was fiercely determined to control her own destiny and do things her own way. So, too, was Wyman.
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A great actress and a classy lady. May she rest in peace.
A GREAT LOST. A FINE ACTRESS – SPECIAL LADY IN MY HEART – LOVED HER MOVIES AND WILL BE REMEMBERING HER IN OUR PRAYERS. MAY SHE REST IN PEACE. ONE FINE ACTRESS.
loved her in Falcon Crest. she was magnetic on that show.
Angela Channing always reminded me of my mother. Probably because Mom always watched that show and kept saying “I am Angela Channing”.
Sad. A film legend passes away and gets 5 comments. Britney Spears? Over 1100.
-khc, http://moviedearest.blogspot.com/
Considering how disposable Hollywood regards the ‘talent’…the fact that she a 60 something year career says a lot, no? And yeah, it’s sad that Britney gets more comments. Here’s hoping Jane’s talent is not forgotten.
Love Pollyanna. Ahhh, if only life were that simplistic.
Kudos to Ms. Wyman and may she rest in peace.
I remember her mostly for Falcon Crest. Great actress. Not only that but had class.
jane wyman could say more with a facial expression than most actors could with a page of dialogue. great actress – and a classy lady.
I remember watching Falcon Crest with my parents. Didn’t have a clue as to what was going on (I probably started watching when I was eight), but I did like that Angela.
There was no one else on television like Angela Channing. RIP Jane Wyman.
David Selby, who appeared with her on Falcon Crest, has some comments about her passing on his web site – DavidSelby.com
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