“the most difficult film I ever did. No director ever demanded as much of me.”
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Donna Reed was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years and included appearances in over 40 films. She is best known for playing Mary Hatch Bailey in Frank Capra's Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946), and for her Academy Award–winning performance as Lorene in Fred Zinnemann's war drama From Here to Eternity (1953).
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entertainment · American actress (1921–1986) · television actor · film actor · actor · peace activist · also Donna Reed, Reed
Born 27 January 1921 · Died 14 January 1986 · Q224021
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“the most difficult film I ever did. No director ever demanded as much of me.”
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Public attention spiked: 2,851 Wikipedia readers in one day, 3× the usual 948, with 0 article edits.
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Awarded Iowa Women's Hall of Fame (2021).
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Marking the 100th anniversary of her birth
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Reed's widower, Grover Asmus, together with actresses Shelley Fabares and Norma Connolly and other friends and family members, created the Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts
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Died 1986-01-14.
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At age 64, of pancreatic cancer in Beverly Hills, California
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“I felt that I was making, for women, a statement. This mother was not stupid. She wasn”
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After 26 years of marriage, Reed and Owen divorced in 1971.
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Reed became a peace activist and co-chaired the anti-war advocacy group, Another Mother for Peace
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Reed took time off from acting to concentrate on raising her children and engaging in political activism
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Won Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for The Donna Reed Show (1962).
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Awarded Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for From Here to Eternity (1954).
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Reed expressed a desire for better roles
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After signing with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Reed made her film debut in The Get-Away opposite Robert Sterling; she was then billed as Donna Adams
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While she was a sophomore at Denison High School, her chemistry teacher gave her the book How to Win Friends and Influence People
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Born 1921-01-27.
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