Kim Stanley (born Patricia Reid; February 11, 1925 – August 20, 2001) was an American actress who was primarily active in television and theatre but also had occasional film performances.
She began her acting career in theatre and subsequently attended the Actors Studio in New York. She received the 1952 Theatre World Award for her role in The Chase (1952), and starred in the Broadway productions of Picnic (1953) and Bus Stop (1955). Stanley was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her roles in A Touch of the Poet (1959) and A Far Country (1962).
In the 1950s, Stanley was a prolific performer in television; she later progressed to film, with a well-received performance in The Goddess (1958). She was the narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), and starred in Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), for which she won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was less active during the remainder of her career; two of her later film successes were as the mother of Frances Farmer in Frances (1982), for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and as Pancho Barnes in The Right Stuff (1983). Stanley received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie for her performance as Big Mama in a television adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1985. That same year, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Early life Stanley was born in Tularosa, New Mexico, the daughter of Ann (née Miller), an interior decorator, and J. T. Reid, a professor of philosophy and education at the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque. Her father was of Irish or Scottish descent, born and raised in Texas, where he met her mother (who was of German and English ancestry). She had three older brothers (Howard Clinton Reid, a psychiatrist; Kenneth Reid, killed in pilot training during World War II; and Justin Truman Reid, a lawyer); and a half-sister (Carol Ann Reid). She was a drama major at the University of New Mexico, and later studied at the Pasadena Playhouse and adopted her maternal grandmother's surname as her stage name.
Career
Theatre Stanley was a successful Broadway actress with only a few film roles. She was singled out by The New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson for her early work. She eventually attended the Actors Studio, studying under Elia Kazan, Lee Strasberg, and Vivian Nathan. She received the 1952 Theatre World Award for her performance as Anna Reeves in The Chase,Internet Broadway Database: The Chase Production Credits and starred in such Broadway hits as Picnic (1953), playing Millie Owens and Bus Stop (1955), playing Cherie.
She was nominated for the 1959 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for A Touch of the Poet and the 1962 Tony for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Elizabeth von Ritter in Henry Denker's A Far Country. Stanley also portrayed Maggie "The Cat" in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the original London production of the play at the Comedy Theatre, making her London and West End debut, alongside another newcomer, Paul Massie. Directed by Sir Peter Hall, this production ran for 132 performances, from January to May 1958. In 1965, she played Masha in the London run of an Actors Studio production of Anton Chekhov's play The Three Sisters. After a savaging of the production by local critics, she made good on her promise to never act on stage again.
She taught her unique approach to Method Acting in New York City. One of her students, John Uecker, continued to teach her technique in a studio setting that prepared actors for work of heightened realism, which was equally suited towards works of heightened circumstances as in those by Tennessee Williams and James Purdy, or kitchen-sink realism. The Kim Stanley Method featured a preparation technique with modified Misner repetition exercise, as well as Sense Memory and Affective Memory. It was relaxation-based, using needs individually or in combination to help integrate the actor into the context of the work. The needs, combined with a sense of place and relationships, made acting a sensual experience, not an intellectual exercise: the "actor" would not have to control their reactions, but allow themselves to be informed of the reality of the work. For stage work, this gave the actor a momentum of reality before even stepping on stage. For film, it might be simple enough to work on a small piece of music and allow that to inform the body, and therefore, the reactions.
Television Stanley was a leading lady of live television drama, which flourished in New York City during the 1950s. On October 17, 1950, she starred in "The Vanishing Lady" on The Trap. Her other starring roles included Wilma, a star-struck 15-year-old girl from the U.S. Gulf Coast of Texas in Horton Foote's A Young Lady of Property, which aired on The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse on April 5, 1953.
Film Her first film was The Goddess (1958), playing a tragic movie star. She starred in Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), winning both the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
A filmed version of Strasberg-directed Three Sisters (1966) opened with Stanley reprising the role of Masha, and is the only time one can see her perform in a film alongside Geraldine Page, Sandy Dennis, Shelley Winters and other well-known names of the Actors Studio. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance as Frances Farmer's possessive mother in Frances (1982). She also played Pancho Barnes in The Right Stuff (1983). Stanley was the uncredited narrator in the drama film To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). As the narrator, she represents the character Jean Louise Finch ("Scout") as an adult. Mary Badham portrays Scout as a child in the film.
She received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her appearance in the episode, "A Cardinal Act of Mercy" (1963), of the television series, Ben Casey (1961–1966), and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for her appearance in the 1984 television adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Southern melodrama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, this time as Big Mama.
Personal life Stanley was married four times: to Bruce Hall (1945–1946), Curt Conway (1949–1956), Alfred Ryder (1958–1964), and Joseph Siegel (1964–1967). All four marriages ended in divorce.
She had three children: one by Curt Conway; one by Brooks Clift (brother of Montgomery Clift), while she was married to Conway; and one by Alfred Ryder (Laurie). During her marriage to Ryder, Stanley converted to Judaism.
Stanley did not act during her later years, preferring the role of teacher in New York City, Los Angeles, and later Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Death Stanley died of cancer at a hospital in Santa Fe at the age of 76. She was survived by her brother Justin, her children, and three grandchildren. A biography, Female Brando: the Legend of Kim Stanley (2006), by Jon Krampner, was published by Back Stage Books, a division of Watson-Guptill.
She was inducted into the New Mexico Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2012.
Stage work Partial listing of stage work:
+ Opening date Closing date Title Role Playwright Theatre Notes 1949 1949 Yes Is For A Very Young Man Gertrude Stein Cherry Lane Theatre Oct 29, 1949 Dec 24, 1949 Montserrat Replacement for Julie Harris as Felisa Lillian Hellman adaptationoriginal Emmanuel Roblès Fulton Jan 7, 1951 Jan 20, 1951 The House of Bernarda Alba Adela Federico García LorcaTranslation James Graham Lujan and Richard L. O'Connell ANTA Apr 15, 1952 May 10, 1952 The Chase Anna Reeves Horton Foote Playhouse 1952 Theatre World Award for Kim StanleyFeb 19, 1953 Apr 10, 1954 Picnic Millie Owens William Inge Music Box New York Drama Critics Award Oct 27, 1954 Nov 20, 1954 The Traveling Lady Georgette Thomas Horton Foote Playhouse Mar 2, 1955Apr 21, 1956 Bus Stop Cherie William Inge Music Box Winter Garden Jan 10, 1957 Feb 9, 1957 A Clearing in the Woods Virginia Arthur Laurents Belasco Jan 30, 1958 May 25, 1958 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Maggie Tennessee Williams Comedy Theatre Oct 2, 1958 Jun 13, 1959 A Touch of the Poet Sara Melody Eugene O'Neill Helen Hayes Tony Award nomination, Best Actress Oct 12, 1959 Nov 28, 1959 Chéri Léa de Lonval Anita LoosColette Morosco Apr 4, 1961Nov 25, 1961 A Far Country Elizabeth von Ritter Henry Denker Music Box Tony Award nomination, Best ActressJan 31, 1963 Mar 02, 1963 Natural Affection Sue Barker William Inge Booth Jun 22, 1964 Oct 03, 1964 The Three Sisters Masha Anton ChekhovRandall Jarrell English version Morosco
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1958 Emily Ann Faulkner 1962 To Kill a Mockingbird Scout as an Adult – Narrator Voice, Uncredited 1964 Séance on a Wet Afternoon Myra Savage Laurel Award for Top Dramatic Performance, Female (3rd place)National Board of Review Award for Best ActressNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNominated-Academy Award for Best ActressNominated-BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role 1966 The Three Sisters Masha 1982 Frances Lillian Farmer Nominated-Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated-Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture 1983 Pancho Barnes
Television Year Series Role Title and Notes1950 The Magnavox Theatre Unknown Father, Dear Father Cavalcade of Stars Self Episode #1.53 Sure As Fate Unknown The Vanishing Lady The Trap Unknown Sentence of Death Escape Unknown The Covenant 1951 Danger Unknown The Anniversary Out There Unknown The Bus to Nowhere 1952 Danger Helen The System Goodyear Television Playhouse Unknown The Witness 1953 You Are There Cleopatra The Death of Cleopatra (30 B.C.) Joan of Arc The Final Hours of Joan of Arc (May 30, 1431)The Gulf Playhouse Unknown The Tears of My SisterThe Ed Sullivan Show Self Episode #6.36 The Philco Television Playhouse Unknown A Young Lady of Property Unknown The Strong Women Unknown The Sixth Sense 1954 Danger Unknown The Bet Goodyear Television Playhouse Unknown The BrownstoneThe Philco Television Playhouse Unknown Somebody Special Armstrong Circle Theatre Unknown H Is for Hurricane Inner Sanctum Mystery Maggie The Hands Kraft Television Theatre Unknown The Scarlet Letter 1955 A.N.T.A. Album of 1955 Herself Production of American National Theater and Academy Playwrights 56Abby The Waiting Place Martha Anderson Flight The Elgin Hour Lili The Bridge 1956 Goodyear Television Playhouse Kay Joey Unknown In the Days of Our Youth Unknown Conspiracy of Hearts Kraft Television Theatre Unknown Death Is a Spanish Dancer 1957 Unknown The Glass Wall Westinghouse Studio One Georgette Thomas The Traveling Lady Playhouse 90 Mae D'Amato Clash by Night 1958 Armchair Theatre Georgette Thomas The Travelling Lady 1960 Playhouse 90 Sarah Eubanks Tomorrow Armchair Theatre Unknown The Cake Baker DuPont Show of the Month Sarah Anne Howe Ethan Frome 1962 Westinghouse Presents: That's Where the Town Is Going Wilma Sills TV movie 1963 Ben Casey Faith Parsons A Cardinal Act of Mercy:, Parts 1 and 2Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 1964 The Eleventh Hour Unknown Does My Mother Have to Know?:, Parts 1 and 2 1968 Flesh and Blood Della TV movie 1969 U.M.C. Joanna Hanson TV movie, Pilot for Medical Center 1970 NET Playhouse: Dragon Country Unknown TV movie1971 Night Gallery Elizabeth Croft A Fear of Spiders/Junior/Marmalade Wine/The Academy |The Name of the Game|| Veta Marie Goss || The Man Who Killed a Ghost |- | 1982 || It Takes Two || Mrs. Tandy || Death Penalty |-