By Heidi Simmons
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A Life of Barbara Stanwyck Steel-True 1907-1940
by Victoria Wilson
Biography
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After being together for a decade and with six children, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were married. Their marriage, on the scale of global events and news, should be considered relatively low. But at the very least the union is happy news. Even as the world goes crazy, somehow celebrity matters. In Victoria Wilsons, A Life of Barbara Stanwyck Steel-True 1907-1940 (Simon& Schuster, 1044 pages) Hollywood stardom is not as easy as it looks.
Barbara Stanwyck was born Ruby Stevens on July 16, 1907 in Brooklyn, New York. She was the youngest of five siblings. She and her brother were born more than sixteen years after the youngest of three elder sisters. Ruby’s pregnant mother died after being beaten by a drunken stranger. Ruby was four years old.
Shortly after her mother’s death, Ruby’s father abandons the family and would never be seen again. Ruby and her brother were separated and moved around from home to home. Their elder sisters were not able to take them in, but helped pay expenses to keep them out of orphanages.
Ruby adored her brother and would see him as often as she could. He always looked after her on the playground and let her play with the boys. Ruby dropped out of school after finishing the eighth grade. Ruby was street smart and savvy. She got jobs with the phone company and for Vogue cutting patterns. She enjoyed her independence. She had an abortion at 15.
Like her eldest sister, Mildred, Ruby wanted to become a dancer. She started reading books, a habit she never gave up. After reading Sandra Bernhardt’s biography, Ruby realized she too could make her dreams come true with hard work and perseverance.
At 16, Ruby got a job as a chorus girl. She worked in speakeasies and partied with entertainers and gangsters. Ruby became a Ziegfeld girl. Through connections, Ruby got a role in a play called “The Noose.” The director wanted to cast a real chorus girl in the part of the chorus girl. The producer gave her the part, but asked that she change her name. A new name was selected out of an old playbill combining different names. She was now Barbara Stanwyck. The play was eventually acclaimed and Barbara’s performance was recognized.
Barbara got other theater roles and met actor Frank Fey who became her husband in 1928. He was married twice before and was 16 years older than Barbara. Fey had opportunities in Hollywood. He and Barbara moved west, although she never wanted to leave New York. She got a few movies rolls but nothing interested her and she didn’t like the attitude of the Hollywood movers and shakers. She was uncomfortable with glamour and pretense.
Sound was new to film and Barbara had a great voice the soundmen loved – low and resonant. With Fey’s help, Frank Capra cast her in “Ladies of Leisure” her fourth film. Capra didn’t like Barbara at first, but once he saw her work, they became good friends. At one point, he wanted to marry her. But she was committed to Fey.
So committed was Barbara to Fey, that as his career waned she insisted that Fey be included in her contracts. The studio had to find him work or she wouldn’t work. She challenged the studios over pay and found herself in regular trouble with the executives. Barbara was always professional and worked hard. She wanted to be treated with respect and valued as an actress. She and Fey kept to themselves and some Hollywood players resented their quiet lifestyle.
Fey and Barbara were growing apart. Fey drank heavily. She adopted a son. They named him Dion. Fey resented the child. She wanted to keep her marriage together, but couldn’t. Fey would beat her and abuse the boy. Fey caused problems for Barbara even after they divorced.
One of the highest paid actresses, Barbara let Fey control everything during their nearly seven years together. He owed taxes and spent lavishly. After the divorce she had to start fresh. She had lost popularity with audiences and she was with a new studio.
Barbara made “Stella Dallas” in 1937 and was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost. Even with the loss, she was back on top.
Robert Taylor was a new actor in town. Good friends Marion and Zeppo Marx introduced the two. They dated three years. She was his friend, mentor and lover. They married in 1939 after a gossip magazine called out all the Hollywood stars living in sin. She was four years his senior.
Barbara made movies with Hollywood’s best directors and stars, making 37 films from 1927 to 1940. Barbara was a fascinating woman, bold, brave and beguiling. She was wise and thoughtful. She brought all of herself to every roll. Her roles often reflected her real life demeanor.
There is so much in this biography; I can barely do it justice. It is not only about Barbara, but those she worked with and the movies she and others made and her Hollywood pals like Joan Crawford and Carole Lombard. There is Hollywood history, the nation’s history and the politics of the rapidly changing eras of the 20s and 30s.
Author Wilson worked for fifteen years to bring Barbara Stanwyck’s story to life and it is incredible! Wilson even includes a fascist plot to take over Franklin Roosevelt’s Presidency. If you love Barbara Stanwyck or Hollywood movies from that era, this book will engage you.
The book is filled with wonderful photographs. It is especially fun when Barbara and her friends are in Palm Springs. She and Robert Taylor go to the newly opened Plaza Theater to see the premiere of his film “Camille” costarring Greta Garbo. It’s always fun to see pictures and hear stories about familiar locations around Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley and the desert.
This tome is only the first half of Barbara Stanwyck’s life. Wilson continues to write the second half and I’m sure it will be equally compelling. After experiencing Barbara’s life and seeing her career unfold, I have a whole new appreciation for actors and the challenges of celebrity.
Victoria Wilson will be speaking at the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival in January.
