Maria Ouspenskaya

Maria Ouspenskaya
Maria Ouspenskaya

in Love Affair (1939)
Born July 29, 1876(1876-07-29)
Tula, Russia
Died December 3, 1949(1949-12-03) (aged 73)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Occupation Actress • Acting teacher
Years active 1915–1949

Maria Alekseyevna Ouspenskaya (Russian: Мария Алeкceeвнa Успенская; July 29, 1876, – December 3, 1949) was a Russian actress and acting teacher.[1] She achieved success as a stage actress as a young woman in Russia, and as an elderly woman in Hollywood films.[2]

Ouspenskaya was born in Tula, Russia, and studied singing in Warsaw and acting in Moscow. She was a founding member of the First Studio, a theatre studio of the world-famous Moscow Art Theatre.[3] There she was trained by Konstantin Stanislavski and his assistant Leopold Sulerzhitsky in the 'system'.[4]

The Moscow Art Theatre traveled widely throughout Europe, and when it arrived in New York in 1922, Ouspenskaya decided to stay there. She performed regularly on Broadway over the next decade. She taught acting at the American Laboratory Theatre [5] and in 1929, together with her colleague from Moscow Art Theatre Richard Boleslavsky,[citation needed] she founded the School of Dramatic Art in New York.[5] One of Ouspenskaya's students at the school during this period was Anne Baxter, then an unknown teenager.

Although she had appeared in a few Russian silent films many years earlier, Ouspenskaya stayed away from Hollywood until her school's financial problems forced her to look for ways to repair her finances. According to ads from "Popular Song" magazine in the 1930s, around this time Ouspenskaya also opened the "Maria Ouspenskaya School of Dance" on Vine Street in Los Angeles. There, one of her famous pupils included Marge Champion (who was the model for Disney's Snow White.) [6]

Her first Hollywood role in Dodsworth (1936) brought her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[7] She received a second nomination in 1939 for her role in Love Affair.[8] She strongly portrayed Maleva, a sinister old Gypsy fortuneteller in the horror films The Wolf Man (1941) and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). Her other successes included The Rains Came (1939), Waterloo Bridge (1940), Beyond Tomorrow (1940), Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), The Mortal Storm (1940), and Kings Row (1942).

Ouspenskaya died several days after suffering a stroke and receiving severe burns in a house fire, which she allegedly caused by falling asleep while smoking a cigarette.[5][9] She was buried in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.[10]

References

  1. ^ Robinson (2007, 81) and Nissen (2006, 141).
  2. ^ Obituary Variety, December 7, 1949; page 63.
  3. ^ Benedetti (1999, 210).
  4. ^ Benedetti (1999, 209-211).
  5. ^ a b c Smith, Ronald L. (2010). Horror Stars on Radio: The Broadcast Histories of 29 Chilling Hollywood Voices. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786445257. http://books.google.com/books?id=1_-EtQwxAP4C&pg=PA203. 
  6. ^ King, Susan (September 30, 2009). "Marge Champion still has the dance moves". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/30/entertainment/et-classic-hollywood30. 
  7. ^ Robinson (2007, 81).
  8. ^ "Academy list its selections". The Palm Beach Post: p. 9. 1940-02-12. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0SoyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LbYFAAAAIBAJ&dq=maria%20ouspenskaya&pg=1209%2C4326650. 
  9. ^ "Fag Blamed For Actress' Death". Tri City Herald: p. 3. 1949-12-04. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rI4kAAAAIBAJ&sjid=a-IFAAAAIBAJ&dq=maria%20ouspenskaya&pg=3647%2C4172751. 
  10. ^ Mank, Gregory W. (McFarland & Co.). Women in Horror Films, 1940s. 1999. pp. 95. 

Sources

  • Benedetti, Jean. 1999. Stanislavski: His Life and Art. Revised edition. Original edition published in 1988. London: Methuen. ISBN 0413525201.
  • Robinson, Harlow. 2007. Russians in Hollywood, Hollywood's Russians: Biography of an Image. Boston: Northeastern UP. ISBN 978-1555536862.
  • Nissen, Axel. 2006. Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties. Illustrated ed. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0786427468.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Maria Ouspenskaya — (russisch Мария Успенская/Marija Uspenskaja; * 29. Juli 1876 in Tula; † 3. Dezember 1949 in Los Angeles) war eine US amerikanische Bühnen und Filmschauspielerin und Schauspiellehrerin russischer Abstammung. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Maria Ouspenskaya — Ouspenskaya en Love Affair (1939). Maria Ouspenskaya (en ruso: Мария Успенская, Maria Uspénskaya); (29 de julio de 1876 – 3 de diciembre de 1949) fue una actriz rusa nominada al premio Óscar, quien consiguió el éxito en su juventud como actriz… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Maria Ouspenskaya — Maria Ouspenskaya est une actrice russe née le 29 juillet 1876 à Tula (Russie), décédée le 3 décembre 1949 à Los Angeles (Californie) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Maria Ouspenskaya — …   Википедия

  • Ouspenskaya — Maria Ouspenskaya Maria Ouspenskaya (russisch Мария Успенская; * 29. Juli 1876 in Tula; † 3. Dezember 1949 in Los Angeles) war eine US amerikanische Bühnen und Filmschauspielerin und Schauspiellehrerin russischer Abstammung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ouspenskaya, Maria — (1876 1949)    Born in Tula, Russia, Maria Ouspenskaya joined the Moscow Art Theatre (MAT) and appeared in Russian motion pictures before the Revolution. When the MAT visited New York for a season in 1922 1923, Ouspenskaya decided not to return… …   The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater

  • Maria Walewska (Film) — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel Maria Walewska Originaltitel Conquest Produktion …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Love Affair (1939 film) — Infobox Film name = Love Affair writer = Delmer Daves Donald Ogden Stewart Leo McCarey (story) Mildred Cram (story) starring = Irene Dunne Charles Boyer Maria Ouspenskaya Lee Bowman director = Leo McCarey producer = Leo McCarey music = Roy Webb… …   Wikipedia

  • The Wolf Man (1941 film) — Infobox Film name = The Wolf Man director = George Waggner writer = Curt Siodmak starring = Lon Chaney, Jr. Claude Rains Warren William Ralph Bellamy Patric Knowles Bela Lugosi Maria Ouspenskaya Evelyn Ankers producer = George Waggner |… …   Wikipedia

  • Oscar/Beste Nebendarstellerin — Mit dem Oscar für die beste Nebendarstellerin werden die Leistungen von Schauspielerinnen in Nebenrollen gelobt. Statistik Am häufigsten honorierte Nebendarstellerin Dianne Wiest und Shelley Winters (je 2 Siege) Am häufigsten nominierte… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”