Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman ( WY-mən; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007) was an American actress. A star of both movies and television she received an Academy Award for Best Actress (1948), four Golden Globe Awards (1948, 1950, 1951 and 1983) and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards (1957 and 1959). In 1960 she received stars on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame for both motion pictures and television. She was the first wife of President Ronald Reagan.
Jane Wyman's movie career began in earnest in 1934 at Paramount Pictures as a chorus girl dancing for LeRoy Prinz. Bryan Foy signed Wyman to her first studio contract with Warner Bros. in 1936 at 19. Over a protracted apprenticeship at Warner Bros. Wyman progressed from bit parts and B films to supporting Maureen O’Sullivan (The Crowd Roars, 1938), Alice Faye and Constance Bennett (Tail Spin, 1939), Olivia De Havilland (My Love Came Back, 1940 and Princess O'Rourke, 1943) and Betty Grable (Footlight Serenade, 1942) in major studio releases.
After more than a decade on screen the post-war success of The Lost Weekend (1945) finally established Jane Wyman, then 28, as a movie star. More dramatic vehicles followed including The Yearling (1946), Johnny Belinda (1948), Stage Fright (1950), The Blue Veil (1951), So Big (1953), Magnificent Obsession (1954) and All That Heaven Allows (1955). She received four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress between 1946 and 1954, winning for Johnny Belinda (1948).
In 1955 at 38 Jane Wyman transitioned into television forming her own production company Lewman Productions Ltd.(co-owned with MCA Inc.) and assuming responsibility for producing the next 3 seasons (1955-1958) of the already popular filmed anthology series the Fireside Theatre from Hal Roach Studios for NBC. She served as producer, host and frequent star of the series from 1955 to 1958.
In her early forties Wyman continued to work in both film and television, enjoying a certain level of visibility from the syndication of The Jane Wyman Show but no longer in demand as a leading lady.
After a couple of periods of virtual retirement between 1963–1968 and 1974–1978 she returned to prominence on the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest (1981–1990), portraying the role of villainous matriarch Angela Channing.
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