Miriam Hopkins, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Miriam Hopkins
Acting

Miriam Hopkins
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1902-10-18,Savannah, Georgia, USA
Gender
Female
Biography
Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an American actress known for her versatility. She first signed with Paramount Pictures in 1930, working with Ernst Lubitsch and Joel McCrea, among many others. Her long-running feud with Bette Davis was publicized for effect. Later she became a pioneer of TV drama. Hopkins was a distinguished Hollywood hostess, who moved in intellectual and creative circles. At age 20, Hopkins became a chorus girl in New York City. In 1930, she signed with Paramount Pictures, and made her official film debut in Fast and Loose. Her first great success was in the 1931 horror drama film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which she portrayed the character Ivy Pearson, a prostitute who becomes entangled with Jekyll and Hyde. Hopkins received rave reviews, but because of the potential controversy of the film and her character, many of her scenes were cut before the official release, reducing her screen time to approximately five minutes. Nevertheless, her career ascended swiftly thereafter and in 1932 she scored her breakthrough in Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise, where she proved her charm and wit as a beautiful and jealous pickpocket. During the pre-code Hollywood of the early 1930s, she appeared in The Smiling Lieutenant, The Story of Temple Drake and Design for Living, all of which were box office successes and critically acclaimed. Her pre-Code films were considered risqué at the time, with The Story of Temple Drake depicting a rape scene and Design for Living featuring a ménage à trois with Fredric March and Gary Cooper. She also had success during the remainder of the decade with the romantic comedy The Richest Girl in the World (1934), the historical drama Becky Sharp (1935), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, Barbary Coast (1935), These Three (1936) (the first of four films with director William Wyler) and The Old Maid (1939). Hopkins was one of the first actresses approached to play the role of Ellie Andrews in It Happened One Night (1934). However, she rejected the part, and Claudette Colbert was cast instead. She did audition for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, having one advantage none of the other candidates had: she was a native Georgian. But the part went to Vivien Leigh. Both Colbert and Leigh won Oscars for their performances. Hopkins had well-publicized fights with her arch-enemy Bette Davis (Hopkins believed Davis was having an affair with Hopkins' husband at the time), when they co-starred in their two films The Old Maid (1939) and Old Acquaintance (1943). Davis admitted to enjoying very much a scene in Old Acquaintance in which she shakes Hopkins forcefully during a scene where Hopkins' character makes unfounded allegations against Davis's. There were even press photos taken with both divas in a boxing ring with gloves up and director Vincent Sherman between the two. Hopkins was a television pioneer, performing in teleplays in three decades, spanning the late 1940s through the late 1960s, in such programs as The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1949), Lux Video Theatre (1951-1955) and even an episode of The Flying Nun in 1969. She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for motion pictures at 1701 Vine Street, and one for television at 1708 Vine Street.

Filmography

Trouble in Paradise

7.4

Trouble in Paradise
1932-10-30

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

7.23

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1931-12-24

The Children's Hour

7.637

The Children's Hour
1961-12-19

4.091

Fanny Hill
1964-09-25

The Smiling Lieutenant

6.775

The Smiling Lieutenant
1931-08-01

7.093

The Chase
1966-02-18

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

6.375

The Outcasts of Poker Flat
1952-11-03

The Story of Temple Drake

6.524

The Story of Temple Drake
1933-05-06

7.8

The Heiress
1949-10-06

Savage Intruder

5.389

Savage Intruder
1970-01-01

6.5

Carrie
1952-07-17

5.8

Becky Sharp
1935-06-28

7.1

The Old Maid
1939-08-16

6.243

Virginia City
1940-03-23

7.2

These Three
1936-03-18

Old Acquaintance

7.1

Old Acquaintance
1943-11-27

6.434

Barbary Coast
1935-10-13

Design for Living

7.1

Design for Living
1933-12-29

A Gentleman After Dark

4.6

A Gentleman After Dark
1942-04-16

Lady with Red Hair

6.857

Lady with Red Hair
1940-11-30

Woman Chases Man

5.889

Woman Chases Man
1937-05-07

The Mating Season

6.643

The Mating Season
1951-01-12

The Stranger's Return

6.224

The Stranger's Return
1933-07-28

Men Are Not Gods

5.6

Men Are Not Gods
1936-11-26

6.714

Splendor
1935-11-22

She Loves Me Not

6

She Loves Me Not
1934-08-31

The Richest Girl in the World

5.75

The Richest Girl in the World
1934-09-21

7.143

Wise Girl
1937-12-31

7

All of Me
1934-02-01

6.333

24 Hours
1931-10-03

Dancers in the Dark

5.667

Dancers in the Dark
1932-03-11

The Woman I Love

7

The Woman I Love
1937-04-15

5.318

Fast and Loose
1930-11-08

Two Kinds of Women

6.333

Two Kinds of Women
1932-01-16

The House That Shadows Built

8.5

The House That Shadows Built
1931-07-08

The World and the Flesh

7.667

The World and the Flesh
1932-04-22

Breakdowns of 1940

4

Breakdowns of 1940
1940-12-31

Complicated Women

6.917

Complicated Women
2003-05-06

Hollywood on Parade No. B-1

7.333

Hollywood on Parade No. B-1
1934-03-02

Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood

6.1

Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
2008-03-03

Summer Pavilion

9

Summer Pavilion
1955-05-02

8

The Home Girl
1928-12-01

6.725

Route 66
1960-10-07

5.385

Studio One
1948-11-07

General Electric Theater

6.833

General Electric Theater
1953-02-01

Lux Video Theatre

6.714

Lux Video Theatre
1950-10-02

3.833

Climax!
1954-10-07

Matinee Theater

5.286

Matinee Theater
1955-10-31

0

The Whistler
1954-07-13

The Outer Limits

7.8

The Outer Limits
1963-09-16

General Electric Theater

6.833

General Electric Theater
1953-02-01

Lux Video Theatre

6.714

Lux Video Theatre
1950-10-02

Lux Video Theatre

6.714

Lux Video Theatre
1950-10-02

Lux Video Theatre

6.714

Lux Video Theatre
1950-10-02

The Investigators

6

The Investigators
1961-10-05