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Rita Gam Profile
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| (Rita R. Gam) |
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| 2 April 27 | is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Benjamin Gam and his wife |
| ? | grows up in New York |
| 46 | begins acting |
| 49 | marries Sidney Lumet, son of Polish-born Yiddish theater actor Baruch Lumet. He's about 25; she's about 22. |
| June 52 | columnist Louella Parsons reports: "Rita Gam, who has been described as the Hedy Lamarr of television comes here for the lead opposite Ray Milland in The Thief. Clarence Greene, producer of the picture for Harry Popkin waved such a lucrative contract at her, Miss Gam couldn't refuse." |
| July 52 | is screen-tested by MGM |
| September 52 | columnist Earl Wilson tells that Bernie "the Bachelor" Kamber helped to cast her for The Thief |
| 15 September 52 | is on the cover of Life |
| October 52 | is signed to a long-term contract by MGM after clicking in The Thief |
| she and photographer Philippe Halsman, who made her Life cover shot, are judges of the "Mrs. America" contest at Ashbury Park, New Jersey |
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| columnist Erskine Johnson reports that "she and her hubby, a New York video director, are in a hassle. She's twice postponed leaving him for Hollywood. It's one of these career-or-marriage things." |
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| Wilson knows: "A picture of Rita Gam (the baddie in The Thief) was ordered out of the Roxy lobby. Too sexy..." |
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| November 52 | wears such a low necked gown that two Air Force generals refuse to pose with her at the opening of Breaking Through the Sound Barrier |
| still hasn't reported to MGM to start her much-ballyhooed contract. "Now it's agreed she can remain in New York with her hubby until the studio has a definite role for her." |
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| 13 December 52 | is on the cover of Picturegoer |
| December 52 | columnist Harrison Carroll reports: "Ted Briskin and Rita Gam discovered each other when Rita was in Chicago..." |
| columnist Hedda Hopper thinks that producer Al Lewis gives Rita the break of her life by teaming her with Mel Ferrer and Cornel Wilde in Saadia |
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| leaves for French Morocco to film Saadia |
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| April 53 | columnist Harrison Carroll knows that "the Sultan of Zanzibar will speed his $500,000 plane, filled with hand-tooled leather and silver cabin fittings, to the Saadia location to pick up Rita Gam and fly her to his palace for a visit..." |
| May 53 | will reign as the queen at the Art Student League's Gala Dream Ball in New York City |
| July 53 | replaces Gloria Grahame in the cast of Night People |
| October 53 | is put on suspension because she turned down the feminine lead in Living It Up, the new Martin and Lewis picture. Her studio wishes to loan her out. |
| December 53 | columnist Edith Gwynn writes: "The Gam must have giggled (or been feeeurious) reading recent items about her twoing with some gent at a certain cafe here. Unless things have changed in the past week, Rita is still happily wed to a TV producer back East." |
| ? | is off to the Geiselgasteig studios in Munich, Germany, for filming of Night People |
| March 54 | while filming Sign of the Pagan, the press notes that she can hardly wait to get back to New York and to her husband, Sidney Lumet |
| ? | shares a small apartment with New York actress and friend Grace Kelly while filming Sign of the Pagan |
| ? | together with her friend, Grace Kelly, and fellow actors in Sign of the Pagan, Ludmilla Tcherina and Jeff Chandler, she’s out at a party |
| April 54 | turns down the Marlene Dietrich role in ABC-TV's upcoming pilot film of "Cafe Istanbul" |
| June 54 | her friends believe she'll be Cecil B. De Mille's choice to play Moses' wife in his upcoming The Ten Commandments |
| 54 | is off to Munich, Germany, for the filming of Magic Fire |
| March 55 | she and Lumet separate |
| ? | divorces Lumet in Mexico |
| August 55 | columnist Lee Mortimer writes: "Gant Gaither's dates with Rita Gam had a funny result. He's just hired her ex, Sidney Lumet, to direct The Man with the Golden Arm..." |
| is scheduled to pose for publicity pictures with the Davis Cup - "but no one could find the cup" |
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| is reported "second-thoughting about her ex, director Sidney Lumet, who seems to be first-thoughting about Gloria Vanderbilt..." |
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| August 55 | her divorce from Lumet becomes final. Lumet will marry heiress Gloria Vanderbilt in 1956. |
| October 55 | her friends say that privately she’s very depressed about her career. "Hollywood's indifference is getting her down - and ex-husband Sidney Lumet's fitting with Gloria Vanderbilt isn't helping her morale..." |
| November 55 | the newest entry in her dating book is Jennings Lang. "They did the hand-holding bit as Las Pyrenees the other evening..." |
| Late November 55 | columnist Dorothy Kilgallen tells that Joe DiMaggio "was smiling and looked like a happy chap as he strolled into the Spindletop the other night with Rita Gam on his arm..." |
| Early December 55 | columnist Earl Wilson knows: "Gant Gaither took Rita Gam to a dance, then couldn't find her - she'd changed gowns during the evening..." Gaither is 38; she's 27. |
| attends the eighth annual Knickerbocker Ball in New York |
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| Mid-December 55 | she and Tyrone Power are reported making the Spindletop spot a habit |
| January 56 | Kilgallen tells that Rita's "sizzling new romance is an editor at Viking Press. She's flipped this time, chums say..." |
| February 56 | will be among the bridesmaids at Grace Kelly's April 19 wedding to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. She will sail aboard the S.S. Constitution from New York on April 4. The ship either will stop at Monaco or disembark the wedding party at Cannes, France. |
| Late February 56 | says about her reported romance with Joe DiMaggio: "Romance? I wish someone would introduce us." |
| 12 March 56 | her parents announce in New York that she will marry publishing executive Thomas Henry Guinzburg, Jr., son of the founder and president of Viking Press, Harold K. Guinzburg. He's 29; she's 27. No date for the wedding is announced but friends say the couple hopes to marry and go on a honeymoon before leaving for Monaco. |
| 23 March 56 | marries Guinzburg in a quiet and simple ceremony at the 8 Sutton Square home of the bridegroom's parents. About 40 personal friends are present, including Grace Kelly, who took time out from trousseau shopping in New York. |
| 24 March 56 | the press reports she is having a little trouble reaching Italy for her honeymoon. An airline spokesman says "the plane carrying her and her new husband, Thomas H. Guinzburg, was delayed in Ottawa, and again in Newfoundland for deicing. It should deliver them in Rome to start their European honeymoon sometime tonight." She and Guinzburg will tour Sicily until it’s time to go to Monaco. |
| Mid-April 56 | columnist Earl Wilson reports that she and fellow bridesmaid Judy Kantor visited the Monaco gambling casino that Grace Kelly "will never enter, unless to attend an opera. The Monegasques aren't supposed to gamble here." |
| 19 April 56 | is bridesmaid at the wedding of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier III at the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Monte Carlo. Among the guests are King Farouk of Egypt, British novelist W. Somerset Maugham, Ava Gardner, and the Aga Khan and his wife. President Eisenhower sends hotel man Conrad N. Hilton as his personal representative. |
| 20 April 56 | Louella Parson reports: "Unfortunately the Grace Kelly-Prince Rainier III wedding was the same day as the command performance of Magic Fire in London. That made it impossible for bridesmaid Rita Gam, who plays the role of Richard Wagner's second wife in the film, to accept the invitation from the Royal family. The Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandria received the guests. Valentina Cortesa was there from Rome. William Dieterle, the producer-director, was unable to accept the invitation because he is making a picture. Although Rita Gam could not be at the command performance, she left Monte Carlo for London with her bridegroom, publisher Thomas Guinzburg, immediately after the Kelly ceremony." |
| Early May 56 | is reported under a doctor's care in New York for "complete nervous and physical exhaustion" resulting from the "trying" festivities of the Grace Kelly-Prince Rainier wedding. Her father says she has been under medical care in a clinic since April 30. |
| Early July 56 | is reported to have recovered. "Top item on her agenda list since leaving the hospital has been a tour of the Broadway shows with bridegroom Tom Guinzburg. " |
| October 56 | she and Guinzburg buy the Joyce Matthews-Billy Rose apartment for $30,000 |
| April 57 | petrifies the house when Don DeFore films a pilot for the new ABC talent show "Fame and Fortune," produced by Larry Puck |
| June 57 | expects her baby on July 4 |
| 6 July 57 | her daughter, Kate T., is born in New York. She will become a producer. |
| January 58 | her husband presents her with a pipe to help her cut down on cigarette consumption |
| c. 58 | her son, Michael, is born |
| May 58 | is on stage in The Tunnel of Love |
| reports ill due to exhaustion |
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| 14 October 58 | with Susan Strasberg and Dan Dailey she attends a reception at the Savoy Hotel in London |
| 6 August 59 | competes with Denise Darcel and Cornelia Otis Skinner in the dance contest finals of "The Arthur Murray Party" |
| December 59 | is among the well-wishers at Lauren Bacall's Goodbye, Charlie opening at the Lyceum |
| c. August 60 | is off to Madrid, Spain, for location filming for King of Kings |
| December 60 | her entrance at Fontana di Trevi makes the crowd go into a complete swivel - "perhaps because she looked so much the way a movie star is supposed to look" |
| February 61 | she and her husband are noted at the Waldorf speaking to Gloria Vanderbilt and her husband, Sidney Lumet |
| March 61 | does an undressed layout for Esquire with some of the shots so daring that the magazine may have to kill them |
| June 61 | she and Ben Piazza will join Betty Field and Viveca Lindfors in the Actors Studio project touring South America under State Department sponsorship |
| September 61 | is back from her South American tour "including the Brazilian trouble spots and gaily showing off her new hats" |
| Mid-January 62 | she and Guinzburg separate. Her spokesman gives no reason but says "there were hopes the separation would be only temporary." Guinzburg has moved into a hotel, she remains in the couple's East Side apartment with her two children, Kate, 4, and Michael, 3. |
| End January 62 | Kilgallen writes: "Maximilian Schell has discovered Rita Gam..." |
| August 62 | she and Colonel Serge Obolensky are a duet at the Drake |
| September 62 | her escort at El Morocco is Serge Obolensky |
| Mid-September 62 | receives the Silver Bear Award for best actress at the Berlin Film Festival for her performance in Jean-Paul Satre's No Exit |
| October 62 | attends Italian tenor Franco Corelli's opening of the New York Metropolitan Opera's 78th season |
| January 63 | columnist Earl Wilson writes: "Rita Gam got real flirty at a Foreign Film Awards dinner at the Americana and sent several flaming mash notes to young handsome Serge Bourguignon, producer of Les Dimanches de Ville d'Avray, a.k.a. Sundays and Cybele. Lilo, the French chanteuse, sitting beside him, translated the notes. He dated Monique Van Vooren one night, Miss Gam the next..." |
| March 63 | columnist Hedda Hopper tells from a party thrown for her by New York City publicist Ben Sonnenberg at his Gramercy Park home: "Rita Gam, looking more beautiful than when she was being touted as a second Ava Gardner by Metro, came in with Serge Obolensky. Her marriage to book publisher Thomas Guinzburg has been dissolved and she'll be back in Hollywood in October for another picture." |
| Early June 64 | her escort at the Chateau Madrid to hear Los Chavalas de Espana is Adlai Stevenson's son Borden |
| Late June 64 | she and Farley Granger are a duo at the Rainbow Grill |
| October 64 | she and Dick Cowell are a duo at the Chateau Madrid |
| 19 March 66 | attends the most glamorous ball of the New York season held at the Americana Hotel for visiting Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Among those attending are the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and former Viceroy of India, Mrs. Winston Guest, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Arthur Krim, Spyros Skouras, Carroll Baker and Elizabeth Arden. The ball raises $250,000 for the International Variety Club's children's charities. |
| June 66 | is among the guests at Henry Fonda's party to celebrate 30 years of stardom at New York's fancy new L'Etoile |
| August 66 | she and James Lipton are a new duet at the Copenhagen |
| October 66 | her escort at Annie Get Your Gun is Borden Stevenson. "He appears to be her favorite date." He's 34; she's 38. |
| March 67 | she and Stevenson are a steady date at Tamburlaine |
| attends the opening of Thoroughly Modern Millie at New York's Criterion Theater with Arnold Weissberger |
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| July 67 | is signed by St. Subber for his production of There's a Girl in My Soup |
| September 68 | is advertising spokesman for Borden's new Lite Line, a 99 percent fat-free product with more protein than milk |
| April 71 | columnist Earl Wilson writes "Rita Gam went to see Otto Preminger about a role in his next picture and gave an actressy kiss to an associate. 'How about me?' asked Otto as he bent over - and Rita kissed his bald head." |
| 72 | publishes her book The Beautiful Woman |
| 28 December 72 | is among the 250 guests at the funeral service for former President Harry S. Truman in Independence, Missouri. She's a close friend of Truman's 48-year-old daughter, Margaret Truman Daniels. |
| August 74 | attends Jan Sterling's gala opening of Come Back, Little Sheba at the Queens Playhouse in Flushing, New York |
| July 74 | visits Princess Grace at a party at the palace in Monaco "for old time's sake" |
| January 75 | she and Princess Grace are seen shopping in New York |
| July 76 | attends the cocktail reception of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier at the Regency Ballroom of the New York Regency Hotel with her son, Michael |
| June 77 | her daughter, Kate, has a summer job working as an assistant to the maitre d' at the Tavern on the Green |
| November 86 | publishes her book Actress to Actress and says "too much fame can be a bad thing" |
| July 88 | publishes her book Actors: A Celebration |
| 22 March 16 | dies at age 88 in a Los Angeles hospital of respiratory failure |
| Sources: The New York Times, The Daily Register, Parade, Ames Daily Tribune, The Charleston Gazette, Long Beach Independent, The Delta Democrat-Times, Gazette and Bulletin, The Zanesville Signal, Syracuse Herald-Journal, The Times Recorder, The Dixon Evening Telegraph, The Monessen Daily Independent, Valley Morning Star, The Independent, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Pottstown Mercury, Picturegoer, Chronicle Telegram, The Lima News, Nevada State Journal, The Coshocton Tribune, Pasadena Independent, The Newark Advocate, The Holland Evening Sentinel, The Berkshire Eagle, The Kerrville Times, The Fresno Bee, The Daily Review, The Daily Register, The Hammond Times, The Daily Intelligencer, The New Oxford Item, The Frederick Post, The Palladium-Times, The Post-Standard, Reno Evening Gazette, Daily Northwestern, The Daily Gleaner, The Times Recorder, The Edwardsville Intelligencer, Oakland Tribune, Bucks Courier County Times, The Valley Independent, Dare, The Hollywood Reporter, Silver Screen Annual 1958, pro.Corbis.com, www.Ancestry.com | |
| Recommended Books: | |
| Links: Filmography | |