Gene Tierney: A Biography

177 Pages·2005·7.33 MB·English

by  Michelle Vogel

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Gene Tierney
A Biography

Michelle Vogel

Foreword by
CHRISTINA CASSINI

For Matt – My Husband … my everything.

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Contents

Acknowldegements 6
Foreword 7
Preface 8

1. Brooklyn to Broadway 10
2. Hollywood Beckons 23
3. Hollywood – Take Two 29
4. Bride to Be 36
5. Belle Tier 44
6. Hollywood at War 53
7. It’s a Girl! 64
8. Laura 75
9. Heaven and Heartbreak 79
10. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 90
11. Cassini vs. Hughes 109
12. From Countess to Princess 120
13. The Darkest of Days 127
14. The Ledge of Insanity 133
15. Home, Howard, Happiness… 137
16. Back to Work 142
17. The Final Curtain Call 149

Filmography 154
Bibliography 174

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Acknowledgments

In no particular order of importance, I would like to thank the following people and places
for their help and support.
David Rosen for finding a scrapbook of treasures and allowing me to purchase its contents.
Hart Galleries, Sylvie Bernard, Lou and Mary Jo Mari and Pierre Nolot for their generosity
in sharing items from their collections.
Wesleyan College for access to its Gene Tierney Family Archive.
Three inspirational teachers, the late Rob Mutton, Lucy Croxford and Gary Chapman.
From my tender age of eight, they taught me a love of reading and the joy of writing. I love
what I do because of them.
To my parents, Pam and Bob, and to my mother-in-law Jean, for absolutely everything,
everyday.
My extended family and friends (of which there are simply too many to mention) for your
support in everything I do, no matter how wacky the idea!
My gorgeous husband, Matt: words could never describe how I feel about you. I love you.
My stepsons Josh and Reeve, thank you so very much for making the informed decision
not to clean the toilet with my toothbrush or put frogs in my bed!
Oleg Cassini for his charming generosity and openness in sharing his memories of a life
once shared with Gene Tierney. Without him, this book would be a mere shadow of what it's
become.
Christina Cassini for her generosity in sharing memories of her mother along with personal
family photographs.
Last but not least, I must thank Gene Tierney. Her existence, her talent, her extraordinary
life, inspired me to write this book. Within her sea of tragedy, may we never forget her
triumphs. With the magic of film, may we continue to enjoy her beauty and her acting for
many years to come.

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Foreword

Paris, February 11, 2005

It is difficult to be the daughter of a star.
As far back as I can remember, my love - the natural love that a little girl has for her
mother - was always accompanied by a certain amount of admiration which was shared by
those who knew her. She was a naturally refined beauty with amazing crystal green eyes. She
had a quick wit, a good sense of humor, a charming laugh and a lively warm smile. She was a
woman full of genuine kindness.
Looking back, I can see now that my mother, unfortunately, did not have the necessary
aggressiveness to resist all that she was confronted with in life. Most certainly, my mother had
many exceptional and joyous moments that I did not witness.
Her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven (1945), meeting
the queen of England, meeting Picasso, filming Advise & Consent (1962) after a seven-year
break, sitting next to Jack (President John F. Kennedy) at the White House after so many
years had passed… there are many such instances that meant so much to her before my birth
and those that I was too young to witness first hand.
As an infant and very small child I had nannies that took care of me. My mother, being at
the height of her career, did not have much free time to look after me. Later on I witnessed
many difficult moments, both physical and unhappy ones.
My mother loved her grandchildren dearly. But she saw them rarely due to both her mental
and physical illness. She always remembered to send them cards on their birthdays and for
Christmas and Easter, and the cards were often accompanied by a thoughtful gift. My children
affectionately called my mother "Bama" They enjoyed writing "Bama" thank-you notes,
which she often had framed and hung in her bedroom. Like most grandmothers, she would
brag about her grandchildren to her sister, brother and friends, and she always had up-to-date
pictures of them that I sent from France.
I believe this book faithfully traces the life my mother led, and while reading it, I was able
to relive a part of my own life. Thank you, Michelle.

Christina Cassini

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Preface

She married a Count, was engaged to a Prince, and was romanced by a future U.S.
President. She had the lifelong devotion of one of America's most eccentric billionaires, and
according to Darryl F. Zanuck, founder of 20th Century-Fox, "Unquestionably, she was the
most beautiful woman in movie history." She was Gene Tierney.
Gene Tierney's life, if it were not true, could easily be categorized as one of the most
highly fabricated fictional stories ever written. She went from the dizzying heights of starring
in many 1940s film classics, such as Laura, Leave Her to Heaven (of which she was
nominated for a Best Actress Oscar) and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, to the depths of personal
despair when her daughter, Daria, was born severely retarded. She had lived it all, or so it
seemed. Gene had experienced great triumph and even greater tragedy at a very young age, all
of it before she turned 25. Yet, her biggest challenge was still to come in the form of an illness
that was surely triggered by the pressures of her life, both good and bad.
By the l950s, Gene's down-spiraling mental condition threatened her booming film career
and her life to the point that she was institutionalized for full time treatment. At times, the so-
called cures seemed far worse than the condition itself. Gene suffered through years of drug-
warped days, radical psychological counseling, and, worst of all, dozens of electric shock
therapy treatments that caused periods of her life to be erased from her memory forever. Her
name and the fame it brought her in the outside world meant nothing to the doctors and nurses
who bound her naked body in icy bedsheets to shock the demons from her mind. Gene
Tierney was just another patient, a woman who had gone mad.
Yet, in an inspirational story of survival after nearly a decade of battling her wavering
mental condition, Gene Tierney bravely returned to Hollywood after a break of seven long
years. It was the biggest comeback of any Hollywood star in movie history, and the public
loved her for it.
This is her story. It is the first complete biography since her death, covering everything:
her rise to fame, her romances, her mental illness and her triumphant return to Hollywood.
Despite her miraculous comeback, Gene eventually walked away from a film career at a time
that most actresses would consider premature. By her mid-40s, she had retired to Texas with a
devoted husband, and for the very first time in her life she was truly happy. In her darkest of
days, the very thought of happiness, a day without burden, had been only a dream. Gene
Tierney retired content with the fact that she had made it, lost it, and made it back in an
industry that so many hopefuls fail to conquer at all.
Gene Tierney's on-screen presence and her ability to transform herself into a variety of
characters throughout her career were rare qualities that few stars have. She had what the
industry commonly refers to as the "It" factor. Moviegoers sat up when she appeared on
screen, listened to every word she had to say, and when she left the scene, anticipated her
return. She had the ability to use her beauty when she needed to, but she did not rely solely on
her looks for any one performance. There was depth, vulnerability, a soul behind that pretty
face. In reality, it was a tortured soul, but I believe her inner demons helped her create such
loved characters as Laura Hunt and Lucy Muir, and such hated characters as Ellen Berent and
Isabel Bradley. Gene said it herself: "I had no trouble playing any kind of role. My problems
began when I had to be myself.'' Gene Tierney was a movie star in every sense of the word.
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Sadly, she's no longer talked about like Monroe, Hepburn or Garbo, but she left her mark on
Hollywood, just as they did in their own special way.
An extensive filmography with interesting anecdotes from behind the scenes, together with
rare photographs spanning her life and career, makes this book a definitive reference on Gene
Tierney, the actress, the person, the movie star. I hope it will ensure that her star doesn't fade
to black like so many now forgotten names who gave heart and soul to Hollywood's golden
age.
On a personal note, I started this book because I admired Gene Tierney the actress, but
after finishing it, I now admire Gene Tierney the person. She lived a roller-coaster life of
triumph and tragedy, but I know you'll enjoy reliving every moment right along with her. I
know I did. Most of all, I hope her story inspires you to be a bit stronger and a bit braver when
life's road gets bumpier than you'd like it to be.

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1

Brooklyn to Broadway

If only there were a director in real life who could yell "Cut" when life's battles became too
much to bear. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of inner peace to the real life role of being
Gene Eliza Tierney. No movie script would come close to echoing the dramas scripted for her
by destiny. Her 36 movies and many unforgettable portrayals will live on. Yet through it all,
she proved that her best and most courageous performance was the one she gave on life's
stage playing the role of herself. With all of its triumphs and tragedies, her story could not
have been written or directed by the best of them and believed as the real life tale of one
woman.
Gene Eliza Tierney was born in an elaborate brownstone house in Brooklyn, New York, on
November 19, 1920. She was the second child born to Howard Sherwood Tierney, a
successful insurance broker, and Belle Lavinia Taylor Tierney, an ex-gymnastics teacher.
Lovingly, she was named in memory of her late uncle, her mother's brother, who died of
diabetes at the age of 17. Insulin was yet to be discovered, and his death was considered a
family tragedy of such despair that he was never spoken about again. Now his namesake, his
niece, would eventually ensure that his name and its spelling would long be remembered.
Her elder brother Howard Jr., now three years old and otherwise known as "Butch" would
welcome another sister, Patricia, three years later, but on the day of November 19 his new
baby sister, Gene, was something of a trea-
sure. Life in Brooklyn was comfortable, but
Gene's father, Howard, felt that he needed to
find a place where his children could run and
play. After her first five years in Brooklyn it
was time for a change. Howard Tierney was
looking for a house that had access to some
open land, a property that would present
opportunities for countless adventures for his
young family to experience. He found the
ideal place; an old farmhouse in Green
Farms, Connecticut, was for sale, and to him
it was the perfect home.
The Tierney forefathers had owned land
in the area generations before, back as far as
George Washington, and so with the newly
acquired farmhouse Howard began to
reclaim the land of his relatives for himself
and his family of today. Eventually as money
would allow, 35 surrounding acres were
bought, most of it covered in milkweed and
some parts with views of Long Island Sound.
Later in life Gene remembered the
peacefulness of those early days. "You could
wake up in the morning and peek out your
window and see deer loping in the woods. I
have never known a place more serene," she
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