She was a durable, straight-talking, Actors Studio-trained actress with four Oscar nominations and two wins, who morphed from a cute blonde leading lady to a character actress who often took on unforgiving roles and made the most of them. She recently turned 85, and had been recovering from a heart attack when she passed away recently (January 14, 2006) of heart failure in Beverly Hills.
Born on August 18, 1920 (or 1922, according to some sources), as Shirley Schrift, to Jewish parents in East St. Louis, Illinois, Shelley first appeared onscreen in 1943, getting her first big break costarring with Ronald Colman in A Double Life (1947). She hit her stride in the 50s and 60s, with star turns in The Big Knife (1955), The Night of the Hunter (1955), and Lolita (1962)
During the course of a long career with many ups and downs, Shelley has won Oscars for supporting roles in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), and was nominated for Best Actress for A Place in the Sun (1951) and Best Supporting Actress in The Poseidon Adventure (1972). She's appeared on TV dozens of times since the 50s, most recently in a recurring role as Roseanne's grandmother. She was nominated three times for acting Emmys, winning once.
She was married and divorced three times (reportedly she realised her dream of marrying her boyfriend Gerry DeFord only hours before she died) and wrote a couple of tell-all autobiographies that pull no punches (and have made a few enemies). She had romances with Burt Lancaster and William Holden, among others, and was always entertaining, no matter what the venue. She once dumped an ice bucket on the head of British actor Oliver Reed during a Tonight Show episode in 1972 (he probably deserved it)!
Shelley worked a lot, and with a lot of people. In fact, she is currently the second highest ranked female performer (#24 overall) on The Oracle of Bacon's Center of the film universe list (a rough measure of how many people can be linked to them in the manner of the "Kevin Bacon" game).
We hope you enjoy this tribute article in four parts, including links to other Web sites and sources of videos, posters, and books. Our condolences to her family and friends on her passing.
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