Ann Savage
| Ann Savage | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Born as: | Berniece Maxine Lyon | |
| Born | Feb 19, 1921 Columbia, South Carolina, | |
| Died | Dec 25, 2008 - age 86 Hollywood, California, U.S. Natural death | |
| Spouse(s): |
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| IMDB #: | 0767243 | |
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- Ann Savage appeared in YANK magazine on 17 March 1944 - British Edition. - she was about 23 when this picture was taken.
Ann Savage (born February 19, 1921 - December 25, 2008 in Columbia, South Carolina as Bernice Maxine Lyon) was a motion picture actress for over sixty years who is mainly remembered as the cigarette-puffing femme fatale in "Detour" (1945) and other Hollywood B-movies and film noirs of the 1940s. Savage and "Detour" co-star Tom Neal made 5 movies and 1 television show together. Savage temporarily left the entertainment business in the early 1950s. She returned to screen acting in the 1986 film "Fire with Fire", the television show "Saved By The Bell", and made numerous live appearances at film festivals and screenings of Detour. Embraced by the independent film generation, Ann crowned her career with a stunning portrayal as Canadian director Guy Maddin's mother in his most personal film - "My Winnipeg" (2007).
- Wikipedia article: Ann Savage
Mini Biography from http://www.IMDB.com
- written by Gary Brumburgh
For a tough cookie who achieved cult stardom with her hard-bitten blonde looks and "Perfect Vixen" tag, Ann Savage in real life is a lovely, spirited, gentle-looking lady. She may have peaked briefly in 40s Hollywood lowbudget films, but she made the most of it during that fairly short tenure. Out of the dozens of movies under her belt, one film noir part that came her way in 1945 shot her to femme fatale infamy. It took only four-to-six days to shoot, but Detour (1945) stands out as one of the best examples of surreal film noir and the unforgettable dialogue and riveting teaming of Ann and sulky co-star Tom Neal are the primary reasons for its enduring fame.
An only child, Ann was born Bernice Maxine Lyon in Columbia, South Carolina, on February 19, 1921. Her father was a U.S. Army officer who was stationed from base to base, including Dallas and New Orleans, before settling in Jacksonville, Florida. He died when she was only four years old. Ann's mother, a jewelry buyer, took the two of them to Los Angeles before Ann reached the age of 10. Appearing in local theater productions, the young hopeful trained at Max Reinhardt's acting school. The school's manager happened to be Bert D'Armand, who later became her agent. They subsequently married in 1945.
She changed her name to "Ann Savage" before even stepping onto a soundstage. It was a workshop production of "Golden Boy" that led to a contract at Columbia Pictures. Ann's actual first appearance was as an extra in MGM's The Great Waltz (1938). During the war years, she started off in unbilled parts in such movies as The More the Merrier (1943) and Murder in Times Square (1943), but she quickly moved up to featured and co-star status in such lightweight Columbia films as Two Señoritas from Chicago (1943), Footlight Glamour (1943) and Saddles and Sagebrush (1943).
Her devilish dames in The Unwritten Code (1944), Apology for Murder (1945) and The Last Crooked Mile (1946) notwithstanding, it was her black-mailing, cigarette-dangling, good-for-nothing Vera who bullies luckless, tough-guy musician (Tom Neal) into her schemes in Detour (1945) that remains the apex of her 'bad girl' career. At the inducement of mogul 'Harry Cohn', Savage and Neal made three other films together before hitting the "Detour" jackpot. These were Klondike Kate (1943), Two-Man Submarine (1944) and The Unwritten Code (1944). The two actors would reunite years later in a 1955 episode of "Gangbusters".
Ann was one of the more popular WWII pinups of her time. After appearing in Esquire magazine in 1944, which was shot by renowned studio photographer George Hurrell Sr., Ann became a favorite with the troops making numerous personal appearance tours at various military bases in order to raise war bonds. Freelancing after leaving Columbia, Ann appeared in a host of other "B" pictures, including One Exciting Night (1944), The Spider (1945), The Dark Horse (1946) and Renegade Girl (1946), Jungle Flight (1947), Satan's Cradle (1949), Jungle Jim in Pygmy Island (1950), and Woman They Almost Lynched (1953), which became her last film role in over three decades. While she certainly demonstrated the talent and range, she was unable to rise above the "B" label. This led her to look at TV in the 1950s as a possible medium and guest roles on such shows as "Ford Theater", "City Detective", "Schlitz Theater", "Death Valley Days" and "Fireside Theater".
She semi-retired in the late 1950s and moved from Hollywood to Manhattan with husband Bert, who by now had traded his agent business with financing and professional trading. She occasionally appeared on local TV. The couple traveled extensively until his sudden death in 1969. A grief-stricken Ann returned to Hollywood to be near her mother, taught herself law by working as a docket clerk at Bert's attorneys in LA (Loeb & Loeb), and became an avid speed-rated pilot in her spare hours. At the same time she continued with appearances in "film noir" festivals, nostalgia conventions and special screenings of her work. Refusing to appear in exploitive material, Ann resisted much work. In later years she appeared very sporadically -- in the movie Fire with Fire (1986) and an episode of "Saved by the Bell". Most recently, the resilient octogenarian was cast by Canadian director Guy Maddin to play a shrewish mother in the highly acclaimed film My Winnipeg (2007), earning "bad girl" raves all over again.
Named an "icon and legend" by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2005, and applauded for her body of work by Time Magazine twice in 2007, actress Ann Savage has persevered as a dramatic actress through a collective will and determination in a career now surpassing six decades.
Trivia
- Spouse: Bert D Armand' (1942 - 1969) (his death)
- At one time flew her own plane - a 250 Comanche.
- Her husband, financier Bert D'Armand died in 1969. Ann returned to Los Angeles, flying planes, working various jobs, and making public appearances with her personal print of Detour.
- Made three other pictures with her "Detour" co-star Tom Neal. They had a rather chilly working relationship. The volatile Neal, who once severely pummeled actor Franchot Tone over the affections of actress Barbara Payton, was later jailed for involuntary manslaughter in the 1960s for shooting his third wife to death in the head. He got six years despite maintaining it was an accident.
- In 1992, the Library of Congress named Detour (1945) as the first film noir and "B- movie" inducted into the National Registry of Film.
- In May of 2007, Time called her walking nightmare portrayal of Vera in Detour (1945) one of the Top "10 All-Time Best Villains", included alongside James Cagney in White Heat (1949) and Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear (1962).
- John Garfield was originally cast to play the lead opposite Ann in Detour (1945). Tom Neal eventually got the part.
- Personal Quotes
- No one would wish to be remembered for things like "Two-Man Submarine" or "Saddles and Sagebrush", which were typical of the kind of pictures I did. The part in "Detour" seemed like the opportunity every actress longs for. When I first read the script by Martin Goldsmith I knew that I was going to be part of something very exciting.
- Where Are They Now
- (July 2006) Lives in the Hollywood area and continues to make public appearances with Detour. In spring of 2006 played Guy Maddin's Mother in My Winnipeg. She died in her sleep December 25, 2008
Ann Savage at the Internet Movie Database - She made about 37 films from 1943 to 1986.
- Wikipedia article: Ann Savage
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Note: Ann Savage was a volunteer at the Hollywood Canteen |
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