David Nezelek
Cibbuano
TyronneDeborah Kerr - Shall we Mourn?
October 21st 2007 00:14
Deborah Kerr - Final thoughts
Deborah Kerr as she was in our memories
"All the most successful people these seem to be neurotic. Perhaps we should stop being sorry for them and start being sorry for me - for being so confounded normal." – Deborah Kerr
Passing away yesterday after a long battle with Parkinsons Disease, Scottish born actress Deborah Kerr exemplified the onscreen persona of prim and proper English class. Classically trained in ballet the refined star is best remembered in for the films the King and I, An Affair to Remember, Heaven Knows Mr Allison and From Here to Eternity.
Nominated six times for an Oscar, she finally snared the Honorary statue in 1994. Carrying herself with poise, her graceful movements as she dances in the ballroom with Yul Bryner’s King of Siam is unforgettable.
Deborah kerr and Yul Bryner - The King and I
A star in Britian by the 1940’s, she gained international recognition after shattering her image as the strumpet on the beach with Burt Lancaster in the Best Picture Winner From Here To Eternity.
Showing she wasn't so prim and proper all the time
There was a dynamic chemistry when her leading man could match her femineity with an equal charisma. Her films opposite loner rebel Robert Mitchum are in my opinion her best.
In Heaven Knows Mr Allison Miss Kerr played a nun marooned on a tropical island with a rough around the edges Mitchum as a crashed pilot. They would later reteam in the extraordinary Sundowners. A film shot in Jindabyne Australia that features the pair doing a faultless local accent that feels more genuine than some natives to the land.
With Robert Mitchum in Mr Allison
After appearing in a string of highly successful films throughout the 1950’s, in the 1960’s she expanded her thespian skills with the chilling ghost story The Innocents (1961) and the Tennessee Williams penned Night of the Iguna (1964)
The Horror of Kerrs Innocence
Disgusted by the state of the industry and its proclivity towards more realistic sex and violence in 1968 she quit appearing in films. This was the end of her reign as one of the most respected performers of the time.
“When I was under contract to MGM, with people like poor Robert Taylor and so many others, the cinema's job was solely entertainment. It filled a public need then. Now the cinema serves so many other purposes; it functions as psychiatrist, politician, message-maker, money maker and, incidentally, entertainer. But it's no good regretting that things are different. Times have to change.” – Deborah Kerr (1969)
Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr have an affair to remember
She did a few TV roles and Broadway productions later but the indelible Deborah Kerr will be missed for her effervescence off screen life and dignified presence in cinema history.
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Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Check this out...
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
this is a most eloquent, fitting and beautiful eulogy!
Deborah Kerr would have blushed!
I loved her work too, and absently forgot about her, thinking she must have died many years ago. Alas, alas...if only I had been a producer/writer, I would have loved to have created a film just for her.
cheers
fog
Comment by Tyronne
Sydney Fun
Melbourne DiaryStar
Sad new about Deborah Kerr, but I'm glad that I'm not the only one that will miss her.
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Lovely tribute, Tyronne.
Michaelie
Comment by Tyronne
Sydney Fun
Melbourne DiaryStar
Thank you for the kind words, so pleased that others appreciated her immense talent. She had a presence that just isn't matched today.
Comment by Tyronne
Sydney Fun
Melbourne DiaryStar
It is sad when an icon passes who affected us, she will be missed.
Thank you for the visit.