Rhonda Fleming (born Marilyn Louis, August 10, 1923 – October 14, 2020) was an American film and television actress and singer. She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most glamorous actresses of her day, nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor" because she photographed so well in that medium.
Career
Early life
Fleming was born Marilyn Louis in Hollywood, California to Harold Cheverton Louis, an insurance salesman, and Effie Graham, a stage actress who had appeared opposite Al Jolson in the musical Dancing Around at New York's Winter Garden Theatre from 1914 to 1915. Fleming's maternal grandfather was John C. Graham, an actor, theater owner and newspaper editor in Utah.[1]
Fleming began working as a film actress while attending Beverly Hills High School,[2] graduating in 1941. She was discovered by the well-known Hollywood agent Henry Willson, who changed her name to Rhonda Fleming.[3]
Fleming said later, "It's so weird ... He stopped me crossing the street. It kinda scared me a little bit – I was only 16 or 17. He signed me to a seven-year contract without a screen test. It was a Cinderella story, but those things could happen in those days."[4]
Fleming received her first substantial role in the thriller Spellbound (1945), produced by Selznick and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. She later said, "Hitch told me I was going to play a nymphomaniac. I remember rushing home to look it up in the dictionary and being quite shocked."[8] The film was a success and Selznick offered her another good role in the thriller The Spiral Staircase (1946), directed by Robert Siodmak.[9]
Fleming auditioned for the female lead in the Bing Crosby film in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), a musical loosely based on the story by Mark Twain. Fleming exhibited her singing ability, dueting with Crosby on "Once and For Always" and soloing with "When Is Sometime". They recorded the songs for a three-disc, 78-rpm Decca album conducted by Victor Young, who wrote the film's orchestral score. Fleming's vocal coach Harriet Lee praised her "lovely voice", saying, "she could be a musical comedy queen."[12] The film was Fleming's first in Technicolor.[13][14] Her fair complexion and bright red hair photographed exceptionally well and she was nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor."[15][16]
Fleming next starred with Bob Hope in the hit film The Great Lover (1949), which established her as a star. She later said, "After that, I wasn't fortunate enough to get good directors. I made the mistake of doing lesser films for good money. I was hot—they all wanted me—but I didn't have the guidance or background to judge for myself."[17]
In February 1949, Selznick sold his contract players to Warner Bros., but he kept Fleming.[18]
In 1950, she ended her association with Selznick after eight years, although five years remained in her contract with him.[20][21]
Paramount
Fleming signed a three-picture deal with Paramount.[22] Pine-Thomas cast her as Ronald Reagan's leading lady in the Western The Last Outpost (1951), John Payne's leading lady in the adventure film Crosswinds (1951) and with Reagan again in Hong Kong (1951).
Much of the location work for Fleming's 1955 Western Tennessee's Partner, in which she appeared with Payne and Reagan, was filmed at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California. A distinctive monolithic sandstone feature behind which Fleming's character hides during an action sequence later became known as the Rhonda Fleming Rock. The rock is part of a section of the former movie ranch known as Garden of the Gods, which has been preserved as public parkland.[23]
In May 1957, Fleming began performing a successful nightclub act at the Tropicana in Las Vegas. She later said, "I just wanted to know if I could get out on that stage – if I could do it. And I did! ... My heart was to do more stage work, but I had a son, so I really couldn't, but that was in my heart."[24]
In 1960, Fleming described herself as "semi-retired," having earned money through real-estate investments. That year, she toured her nightclub act in Las Vegas and Palm Springs.[24][27]
On March 4, 1962, Fleming appeared in one of the final segments of ABC's Follow the Sun in a role opposite Gary Lockwood. She played a Marine in the episode titled "Marine of the Month".[31]
In the 1960s, Fleming became involved with other businesses and began performing regularly on stage and in Las Vegas.[33]
One of her final film roles was a bit part as Edith von Secondburg in the comedy The Nude Bomb (1980) starring Don Adams. She also appeared in Waiting for the Wind (1990).[34]
Fleming worked for several charities, especially in the field of cancer care, and served on the committees of many related organizations. In 1991, with her fifth husband Ted Mann, she established the Rhonda Fleming Mann Clinic for Women's Comprehensive Care at the UCLA Medical Center.[34]
Thomas Wade Lane, interior decorator, (1940–1942; divorced), one son
Dr. Lewis V. Morrill, Hollywood physician, (July 11, 1952 – 1954; divorced)
Lang Jeffries, actor, (April 3, 1960 – January 11, 1962; divorced)
Hall Bartlett, producer, (March 27, 1966 – 1972; divorced)
Ted Mann, theater owner and producer, (March 11, 1977 – January 15, 2001; his death)
Darol Wayne Carlson, businessman, (2003 – October 31, 2017; his death)[39]
Through her son Kent Lane (b. 1941), Fleming also had two granddaughters, four great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.[40][41]
Fleming was a Presbyterian.[42] She was interred in the plot of her fifth husband, Ted Mann, at the Jewish Hillside Memorial park in Culver City, California upon her death.[43] Her obituary mentioned that she had been a "faithful and devoted Christian".[44]
On the 100th anniversary of Fleming's birth, Turner Classic Movies honored her on Summer Under the Stars, programming a 24-hour block of her films. It was Fleming's first time on the lineup.
^Saari, Laura (April 19, 1989). "A glamour girl finds there's no place like home Actress Rhonda Fleming pursues the joys of good causes and her Laguna sanctuary". Orange County Register. p. K1.
^Rosenfield, Paul (July 4, 1976). "Rhonda Fleming Still Queen of the Redheads". Los Angeles Times. p. N29.
^"Selznick Stars To Do Movies For Warners". The New York Times. February 21, 1949. p. 18.
^Schallert, Edwin (June 20, 1950). "U-I Recaptures Philip Substitute in Debate Friend". Los Angeles Times. p. A7.
^"Rhonda Fleming to Quit Selznick". The New York Times. June 12, 1950. p. 18.
^ abHopper, Hedda (May 5, 1957). "She's Her Own Boss!: No Contracts Cramp the Actions of Actress-Singer-Realtor Rhonda Fleming, Inc". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. C25.
^Schallert, Edwin (July 2, 1950). "HOLLYWOOD IN REVIEW: Rhonda Eyes Role of Film Songstress Movie Songstress Roles Eyed by Miss Fleming". Los Angeles Times. p. D1.
^ abcPearson, Drew (May 14, 1964). "The Washington Merry-Go-Round"(PDF). Bell-McClure Syndicate. Archived from the original(PDF) on January 16, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2013 – via Washington Research Library Consotrium.
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