British actress Jean Simmons is dead at 80

Los Angeles Times ^ | January 22, 2010 | By Valerie J. Nelson

[DJ MacWoW]

Jean Simmons, a radiant British actress who as a teenager appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in "Hamlet" and emerged a star whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s in such films as "Guys and Dolls, "Elmer Gantry" and "Spartacus," has died. She was 80.

Simmons, who won an Emmy Award for her role in the 1980s miniseries "The Thorn Birds," died Friday evening at her home in Santa Monica, said Judy Page, her agent. She had lung cancer.

[Krankor]

Loved “The Big Country” with Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives.

The opening score is incredible. Listen

[Jet Jaguar]

I knew it!

[DJ MacWoW]

His real name is Chaim Witz.

[Petronski]

Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz . . . on August 25, 1949) is an American rock bassist, vocalist, and actor. He is best known as “The Demon”, the blood-spitting, fire-breathing, and tongue-wagging bassist and co-frontman and lead vocalist in the hard rock band Kiss, a group he co-founded in the early 1970s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Simmons

[stevem]

Loved “The Big Country” with Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives. She will be missed. RIP

What a great movie! I thought Carroll Baker played a superb and complicated roll in that movie. What about the sleeze that was Chuck Connors?

I don't think it was Charleton Heston's best part, but he did play it superbly as always.

An allstar for a truly great movie. Jean Simmos was as god as any and better than most.

[Petronski]

In the late 1960s, he changed his name to Gene Simmons to honor legendary rockabilly performer Jumpin’ Gene Simmons.[2]

Same source.

[Migraine]

Kim Novak, Sophia Loren, Jill St. John, Natalie Wood — we used to have some great ones.

I loved Jean Simmons.

[DJ MacWoW]

we used to have some great ones.

Yes we did. And as my daughter pointed out, even the "tarts" were ladies.

[EveningStar]

ping

[irishtenor]

“That’s Headley...” from Blazing Saddles :>)

[1066AD]

“Shall we walk or ride?”

“Any place you can walk around ain’t worth bragging about.”

[C19fan]

What a loss. :( I have seen her as a girl playing the young Estella in Lean’s version of Great Expectations to the movies mentioned before and her work in the later part of her life in an episode of Star Trek Next Generation and her voice work in Howl’s Moving Castle (hearing her and Lauren Bacall do voice work is work seeing the movie). She had one of the most distinctive voices in Hollywood history.

[joethedrummer]

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I call most of our modern crop in Hollyweird Mcactors and Mcactresses. Jean Simmons and her contemporaries leave them in dust.

[Palladin]

Sophia is still alive. I just saw her recently in something.

[Palladin]

10 times more beautiful than Elizabeth Taylor, and 100 times more talented!

Rest in Peace, Jean.

[353FMG]

And then there was Ava Gardner — most beautiful woman in the 20th century.

[Exit148]

Loved her.

A google shows how good she looked, even at 80.

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/4lpugURcK-J/Actress+Jean+Simmons+Turns+80

May she rest in peace.

[DJ MacWoW]

My 24 year old daughter prefers most of the older movies like Life With Father, Bringing up Baby, His Girl Friday etc.

[DJ MacWoW]

Wow!

Bacalls hands look painful in that pic.