Career
After signing with MGM in 1941, Reed made her film debut that same year in The Get-Away, opposite Robert Sterling. Billed in her first feature as Donna Adams, MGM decided against the name and changed it to Donna Reed. Behind the cameras, she was the uncredited producer and director of the show, studying and mastering both lighting and cinematography--roles rarely handled by women of that time. She starred in The Courtship of Andy Hardy and had a supporting role with Edward Arnold in Eyes in the Night (1942). In 1943, she appeared in The Human Comedy with Mickey Rooney, followed by roles in The Picture of Dorian Gray and They Were Expendable, both in 1945.
Her "girl-next-door" good looks and warm on-stage personality made her a popular pin-up for many GIs during World War II. She personally answered letters from many GIs serving overseas.
In 1946, she was lent to RKO Pictures for the role of Mary Bailey in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. The film has since been named as one of the 100 best American films ever made by the American Film Institute and is regularly aired on television during the Christmas season.
Following the release of It's a Wonderful Life, Reed appeared in Green Dolphin Street (1947) with Lana Turner and Van Heflin, and Scandal Sheet (1952). In 1953, she played the role of Alma "Lorene" Burke, a prostitute, and girlfriend of Montgomery Clift's character in the World War II drama From Here to Eternity. The role earned Reed an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for 1953.
Beginning in 1958, she starred in The Donna Reed Show, a television situation-comedy series that featured her as Donna Stone, the idealized housewife of pediatrician Dr. Alex Stone (Carl Betz) and mother of Jeff (Paul Petersen) and Mary Stone (Shelley Fabares). It ran for eight seasons on ABC. Reed won a Golden Globe Award and earned four Emmy Award nominations for her work on the series.
After The Donna Reed Show ended its run in 1966, Reed took time off from acting and helped form the advocacy group, Another Mother For Peace in 1967. Reed also became an opponent of the Vietnam War and the use of nuclear weapons, supporting anti-war Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 presidential election. She returned to acting in the 1970s, appearing in various guest spots in television series and television movies.
In 1984, she replaced Barbara Bel Geddes, who had decided to step down from her role as Miss Ellie Ewing in the television series Dallas in the 1984-85 season. When Bel Geddes agreed to return to the role for the 1985-86 season, Reed was abruptly fired. She sued the show's production company for breach of contract and later settled out of court for over $1 million.
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Famous quotes containing the word career:
“Clearly, society has a tremendous stake in insisting on a woman’s natural fitness for the career of mother: the alternatives are all too expensive.”
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