Jo Van Fleet

Jo Van Fleet (December 29, 1915<ref name="birthinfo">"The Birth of Cathrin Vanfleet [sic]", online database of California birth records, 1905-1995; californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved September 2, 2015.</ref> – June 10, 1996) was an American stage, film, and television actress. During her long career, which spanned over four decades, she often played characters much older than her actual age. Van Fleet won a Tony Award in 1954 for her performance in the Broadway production The Trip to Bountiful, and the next year she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in East of Eden.<ref name=Independent>Vallance, Tom. "Obituary: Jo Van Fleet", The Independent (London), June 20, 1996. Retrieved November 21, 2013.</ref>

Early life and training

Josephine Kay Van Fleet/Catherin J VanFleet was born in 1915 in Oakland, California, the younger of two daughters of Michigan native Roy H. Van Fleet and Indiana native Elizabeth "Bessie" Catherine (née Gardner).<ref>"Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992", original registration, Roy H. Van Fleet to Elizabeth Catherine Gardner, Goshen, Indiana, 1 June 1898; archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. FamilySearch.</ref><ref>"California Birth Index, 1905-1995", "Catherine J Vanfleet", 29 December 1915; registration database, Alameda, California Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento; archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch.</ref> Her father Roy worked for the railroads, but died in 1919 of a streptococcus throat infection which was lanced, inadvertently spreading the disease throughout his body. Federal census records show that by age five Josephine, her 18-year-old sister Corinne, and their widowed mother were living in Oakland with Bessie's parents, Ralph and Mary Gardner.<ref name="1920Census">"The Fourteenth Census of the United States Census: 1920", copy of original enumeration page, Josephine Van Fleet in household of Ralph W. Gardner, Oakland, Alameda, California, January 6, 1920; citing ED 145, sheet 8A, line 16, family 181, NARA microfilm, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.</ref> To help support herself and her two daughters at her parents' home, Bessie worked as a "sales lady" in an Oakland dry goods store.<ref name="1920Census"/>

While she had an early interest in stage productions, "Jo" graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1936, focusing on a variety of subjects, and then spent several years as a high school teacher in Morro Bay, California. She continued her theatrical training in a graduate program at the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California.<ref name=NYT>Gussow, Mel. "Jo Van Fleet, 81, an Actress Who Portrayed Proud Women", obituary, The New York Times, June 11, 1996, p. B-12; subscription required for archival access. Retrieved July 21, 2020.</ref> She moved after her graduation from her masters program to New York City, where she continued her training with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse.<ref name=NYT/><ref>"Jo Van Fleet; Obituary", The Times (London), June 14, 1996, p. 1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers (Ann Arbor, Michigan); subscription access through The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library.</ref>

Career

In 1944, Van Fleet began her professional stage career and immediately distinguished herself in the role of Miss Phipps in the production of Uncle Harry at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C.<ref name="LAT">"Jo Van Fleet, Award-Winning Actress", obituary, Los Angeles Times, June 11, 1996, p. 22. ProQuest.</ref><ref>"Show Time in the Downtown Theaters/STAGE/National—'Uncle Harry' at 8:30 p.m."], The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.), August 17, 1944, p. 5. ProQuest.</ref> Two years later, in New York, she distinguished herself as well on Broadway by her performances as Dorcas in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale; and yet again, in 1950, as Regan opposite Louis Calhern in King Lear.<ref name=Independent/> She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 1954 for her portrayal of Jessie Mae Watts in Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful, costarring Lillian Gish and Eva Marie Saint.

File:Jo Van Fleet in East of Eden trailer.jpg

Van Fleet, in her Oscar-winning role, in East of Eden (1955).

Despite her early successes on the stage, Van Fleet continued to refine her skills in the late 1940s and early 1950s by studying with Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York.<ref name="LAT"/> Kazan in 1952 directed her in the play Flight to Egypt and the following year in Camino Real. In 1954 he encouraged her to work in films in Hollywood. There Kazan cast her in his screen adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1955) for Warner Bros. In that production—her film debut—Van Fleet portrays Cathy Ames, the mother of James Dean's character.<ref name=Independent/> Her performance, which was widely praised by critics, won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her subsequent film work was steady through 1960 and included films such as The Rose Tattoo (1955), I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), The King and Four Queens (1956), and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). Her career, however, did not progress as she had hoped. Her friend and mentor, Kazan, personally experienced her frustrations: "'Jo stagnated, and, since she knew it, was bitter. And as she became bitter, she became more difficult.'"<ref name=Independent/> In an interview for the Los Angeles Times after her Oscar-winning performance in East of Eden, Van Fleet openly expressed her concerns "about being typecast in tragic roles".<ref name="LAT"/>

File:Jo Van Fleet Anthony Perkins Look Homeward Angel 1958.jpg

Van Fleet and Anthony Perkins in the Broadway production Look Homeward, Angel (1957).

In 1958, Van Fleet was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in Look Homeward, Angel, in which she played the acquisitive mother of Anthony Perkins' character. Her later films included Wild River (1960), one of the productions in which she played a character far older than her actual age. Only age 44 at the time of Wild River, Van Fleet spent five hours every morning getting into make-up for her role as Ella, the 89-year-old matriarch of the Garth family.<ref name=Independent/> Some of her other notable roles include the Wicked Stepmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1965), Paul Newman's mother in Cool Hand Luke (1967), and Peter Sellers's mother in I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968).

Van Fleet's work on television included such series as Naked City, Thriller, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, Mannix and Police Woman. Among her most emotionally charged dramatic performances on television is her portrayal of the bitter, explosive Mrs. Shrike in the 1956 episode "Shopping for Death" on Alfred Hitchcock Presents.<ref>To view a video excerpt of Van Fleet's cited performance, see "The Accident Prone 'Shopping For Death'|Hitchcock Presents", originally uploaded May 3, 2019 on YouTube (San Bruno, California). Retrieved July 22, 2020.</ref>

Van Fleet's final performance, a brief but "delicious" supporting turn in the 1986 TV adaptation of Saul Bellow's Seize the Day,<ref>Rosenberg, Howard (May 1, 1987). "TV Review: Robin Williams Seizes Bellow's 'Day'". The Los Angeles Times. p. 22. "There are also some delicious cameos by Jo Van Fleet and William Hickey." Retrieved March 7, 2022.</ref> elicited this comment from Washington Post critic Tom Shales:

Jo Van Fleet, who seems even to walk and blink legendarily, has a tiny part and only two small scenes as Mrs. Einhorn, an old woman with two incontinent dachshunds, but what a piquant impression she makes.<ref>Shales, Tom (May 2, 1987). "Robin Williams Seizes the Day". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2022.</ref>

Personal life and death

In 1946, Van Fleet married William G. Bales, whose career in modern dance included work as a performer, choreographer, professor at Bennington College, and the founding Dean of Dance at the State University of New York at Purchase, N. Y. They remained together until his death in 1990.<ref name=NYT/> The couple had one child, Michael Bales.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In February 1960, in recognition of her career in the motion-picture industry, as well as her work on stage and in television, Van Fleet was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<ref name="HWoF">"Jo Van Fleet", ceremony February 8, 1960, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles, California. Retrieved July 21, 2020.</ref> It is located at 7010 Hollywood Boulevard.<ref name="HWoF"/> Politically, she was a Democrat, and in the 1952 United States presidential election she supported Adlai Stevenson.<ref>"Motion Picture's Christmas Toy Party". Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, Vol. 84, No. 5; page 33.</ref>

Van Fleet died at age 80 from undisclosed causes in New York City, at Jamaica Hospital in Queens. Her body was cremated and her ashes were returned to her family.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955	Max Liebman Spectaculars	Aunt Dete	Episode: "Heidi"
	Star Tonight	Irene Rankin	Episode: "Concerning Death"
	East of Eden	Kate	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles
	The Philco Television Playhouse	Shirley	Episode: "A Business Proposition"
	The Rose Tattoo	Bessie
	I'll Cry Tomorrow	Katie Roth
1956	Kraft Theatre	Ma	Episode: "Snapfinger Creek"
	The King and Four Queens	Ma McDade
	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Mrs. Shrike	Season 1 Episode 18: "Shopping for Death"
1957	Gunfight at the O.K. Corral	Kate Fisher
	This Angry Age	Madame Dufresne
	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Anna Kaminsky	Season 3 Episode 6: "Reward to Finder"
1958	Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse	Mrs. Lombe	Episode: "The Crazy Hunter"
1959	Alcoa Theatre	Mrs. Weiss	Episode: "30 Pieces of Silver"
	G.E. True Theatre	Miss Wanda Kelsey	Episode: "Disaster"
1960	Wild River	Ella Garth
	Play of the Week	Canina	Episode: "Volpone"
1961	The DuPont Show of the Month	Callie	Episode: "The Night of the Storm"
	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Molly Drake	Season 6 Episode 34: "Servant Problem"
	Thriller	Mrs. Cissy Hawk	Episode: "The Remarkable Mrs. Hawk"
1962	Naked City	Dr. Anna Chaloupka	Episode: "The Night the Saints Lost Their Halos"
	Frontier Circus	Amelia Curtis	Episode: "The Courtship"
1963	Route 66	Hazel Quine	Episode: "The Stone Guest"
	77 Sunset Strip	Jane Patterson	Episode: "Don't Wait for Me"
1964	Summer Playhouse	Velma Clarke	Episode: "Satan's Waitin'"
	Kraft Suspense Theatre	Hildy Hesse	Episode: "The World I Want"
1965	Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella	Stepmother	TV movie
1966	The Virginian	Lee Calder	Episode: "Legacy of Hate"
1967	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	Emily Cooper	Episode: "Verdict for Terror"
	Cool Hand Luke	Arletta
1968	I Love You, Alice B. Toklas	Mrs. Fine
1969	The Wild Wild West	Amelia Bronston	Episode: "The Night of the Tycoons"
	80 Steps to Jonah	Nonna
1970	Mannix	Alexandra Pulvarenti	Episode: "One for the Lady"
	Mod Squad	Annie Crabtree	Episode: "'A' is for Annie"
	Bonanza	Amy Wilder	Episode: "The Trouble with Amy"
1971	Great Performances	Clara	Episode: "Paradise Lost"
	Bonanza	Miss Ellen Dobbs	Episode: "The Stillness Within"
	The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight	Big Momma
	Medical Center	Margaret	Episode: "Martyr"
1972	The Family Rico	Mama Rico	TV movie
1973	Medical Center	Leah	Episode: "Time of Darkness"
	Satan's School for Girls	Headmistress	TV movie co-produced by Aaron Spelling
1976	The Tenant	Madame Dioz
1977	Police Woman	Irini Karabetas	Episode: "The Buttercup Killer"
1980	Power	Mother Vanda	TV movie
1986	Seize the Day	Mrs. Einhorn	TV movie

External links

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