Posted on 08/08/2010 9:08:41 PM PDT by PROCON
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Patricia Neal, the willowy, husky-voiced actress who won an Academy Award for 1963's "Hud" and then survived several strokes to continue acting, died on Sunday. She was 84. Neal had lung cancer and died at her home in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard, said longtime friend Bud Albers of Knoxville.
Neal was already an award-winning Broadway actress when she won her Oscar for her role as a housekeeper to the Texas father (Melvyn Douglas) battling his selfish, amoral son (Paul Newman).
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May she rest in peace, I thought that she was wonderful.
Jennifer is now a beaming, light-filled Christian Lady.
Great actress. RIP.
One of my favorite movies.
Thanks to her efforts and generosity many persons got the necessary therapy and rehab they needed. Without her behind it the place may never have been built. My wife was there for three months in early 1986. Back then there was no place else except Shepherd in Atlanta as the nearest such center.
I remember her appearance at the Academy Awards a few years after suffering a stroke.
She came out on stage from behind the curtain to a standing ovation.
What she accomplished at that time, when stroke rehabilitation was much more chancey, was amazing.
She always gave credit to her husband Roald Dahl for his persistance in encouraging her.
She was a flawed human being, as are we all, but a authentic American success story.
She was tremendous in “The Subject was Roses” with a young Martin Sheen in addition to “Hud.”
RIP Patricia Neal.
I loved reading both of your posts, thanks.
Patricia Neal was one of those few remaining “old school” actresses that I think could qualify as “great.”
My two favorite roles portrayed by Ms. Neal were “Maggie” in the movie “In Harm’s Way” along with John Wayne as “Rock,” and as “Olivia Walton” in “The Homecoming,” the original movie which served as the pilot for the series.
As a WWII Army nurse she was a natural, in command, not a “raving beauty” but a confidence that made her sensual and a compassion that made her strong. She was the perfect female lead to John Wayne’s Naval Admiral “Rock.” And the rest of the cast of that movie was phenomenal as well!
I believe it was not long after Ms. Neal finished “In Harm’s Way” that she suffered her strokes, and spent some years in recuperation. “The Homecoming” was among her first projects upon her return to the screen. It was a holiday movie, made for TV. And I think Patricia Nealjust nailed the 1930’s Virginia mountain woman — attitude, accent, socio-economic circumstances and all. My own Mom tells me she thought Ms. Neal’s accent sounded fake, but we’ve agreed to disagree. The only hint I saw of Ms. Neal’s medical issues was a slight limp in the scene as she walked to buy sugar at “Ike’s Store” early in “The Homecoming.” I still try to watch this DVD every year during the holidays. The networks ought to put it on just like “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Patricia Neal was a talented woman who poured herself into her roles. She was not perfect in her personal life — but how many of us look to actors and actresses of any era as our moral compasses? By that standard, she was almost exemplary! What I saw in her was a very gifted woman who invested her life in roles that spoke to something in the audiences who viewed the movies they were a part of. They identified somehow with her. And because of that, Patricia Neal can truly be said to have been a great American actress! Ms. Neal, you shall be missed, but not forgotten.
Rest in peace. Patricia Neal was one great actress.
Rest in His Peace
Nam Vet
.
My favorite Christmas movie is “The Homecoming.” I watched it every year on TV as a kid and own the DVD. She played Olivia Walton perfectly with her slow Southern drawl and was believable as a mother of seven during the Depression. How she didn’t win the Emmy Award baffles me.
Thank you again, dear cva66snipe. Your personal experiences touch my heart. It’s wonderful to know about her goodness “off screen.” We already know she was a great actress. God bless and may she rest in peace.
Yes, I remember that movie and Patricia Neal.
She was absolutely beautiful in the Fountainhead.
Patricia Neal: Lt Maggie Haynes, "In Harm's Way" ...
Rosemary Clooney: Betty Haynes, "White Christmas" ...
Now that I type it, I guess I should have married a woman with the last name of "Haynes" ...
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