Polly
Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 - September 20, 2014) was an American actress,
singer, and entrepreneur.
Bergen
was born in Knoxville in eastern Tennessee, the daughter of Lucy (née Lawhorn)
and William Hugh Burgin, a construction engineer. "Bill Bergen," as
he was later known, had singing talent and appeared with his daughter in
several episodes of her 18-episode NBC comedy/variety show, The Polly Bergen
Show, which aired in the 1957-1958 television season.
A radio
performer from the age of 14, Polly Bergen went the summer stock-nightclub
route before heading for Hollywood in 1949. During her first months in the
entertainment capitol, Bergen married actor Jerome Courtland, a union that was
over virtually before it began; her later marriage to agent Freddie Fields
endured for nearly 20 years. Though she could take some pride in having
survived three Martin and Lewis films (At War With the Army, That's My Boy and
The Stooge), Bergen chafed at the nondescript movie parts being offered her,
and in 1953 walked out of a very lucrative studio contract.
Here's Polly's cover of "The Wayward Wind" from 1956
She
headed for New York, where, while headlining in the Broadway revue John Murray
Anderson's Almanac, she strained her voice and was forced to undergo a painful
throat operation. Bergen received an Emmy award for her portrayal of singer
Helen Morgan in a May 1957 episode of the television series Playhouse 90 on
CBS. Sylvia Sidney played her mother on the episode. Signed to Columbia
Records, she also enjoyed a successful recording career during this era.
Another serious career set-back occurred in 1959 when, while starring in the
musical First Impressions, she nearly lost her life during a difficult
pregnancy.
Gamely
surviving these and other personal travails, Bergen rose to stardom via her
stage performance, her one-woman cabaret act, and her many TV appearances.She
was a regular panelist on the CBS game show To Tell the Truth during its
original run. She also
appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood.
In 1962,
she gave films a second chance when she played a North Carolina housewife
threatened with rape by rampaging ex-con Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear (1962)
(over 20 years later, she and Mitchum played husband and wife in the popular TV
miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance). Her bravura portrayal of
a mental patient in The Caretakers (1963) was quite an eye-opener for those
familiar with Bergen only through her appearances on TV's To Tell the Truth.
Less aesthetically successful was Kisses for My President (1964), in which
Bergen starred as the first female Chief Executive. Later roles included Mrs.
Vernon-Williams in Cry-Baby, a 1990 John Waters film.
Though
busy with her show-business activities into the 1990s (she recently co-starred
in the network sitcom Baby Talk), it is interesting to note that, in her Who's
Who entry, Bergen lists herself as a business executive first, an actress second.
There is certainly plenty of justification for this; over the last 40 years,
she has maintained such successful business ventures as Polly Bergen Cosmetics,
Polly Bergen Jewelry, and Polly Bergen Shoes; she has also been active as
part-owner of and pitch person for Oil-of-the-Turtle cosmetics. Equally busy in
nonprofit organizations, she has served with such concerns as the National
Business Council and Freedom of Choice. Scarcely a year goes by without Bergen
receiving an award or honorarium from a professional, charitable, political or
civic organization. As if all this wasn't activity enough, Polly Bergen is also
the author of three books: Fashion and Charm (1960), Polly's Principles (1974),
and I'd Love to, but What'll I Wear? (1977).
She
starred in a 2001 Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Follies at the Belasco
Theater and received a Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actress in a
Musical. She also appeared as Fran Felstein on HBO's The Sopranos, the former
mistress of Tony Soprano's father, and former acquaintance of John F. Kennedy.
Another of her recent appearances came in CBS' Hallmark Hall of Fame
presentation Candles on Bay Street (2006), in which she played the assistant to
a husband-and-wife team of veterinarians. In the 1950s, she was also known as
"The Pepsi Cola Girl," having done a series of commercials for that
product.
From
2007 to 2011, Bergen had a guest role in Desperate Housewives as Lynette
Scavo's mother, Stella Wingfield, which earned her an Emmy Award nomination.
Bergen
converted to Judaism after having married Hollywood talent agent Freddie
Fields, with whom she had one biological child and two adopted children. She
had previously been a Southern Baptist.
She had
two other marriages that ended in divorce. When not working, Bergen lives in
Connecticut. Her third marriage, to Jeffery Endervelt, ended in divorce in
1990.
Bergen
died of natural causes on September 20, 2014, at her home in Southbury,
Connecticut, surrounded by family and close friends. She had been diagnosed
with emphysema and other ailments in the late 1990s.
(Info edited from All Rovi.com & Wikipedia)
4 comments:
For Polly Bergen – The Early Years go here\;
http://turbobit.net/irmigj4c3946/ja1p9.Polly.Bergen..The.Early.Years.2007.rar.html
1. Honky Tonkin' (2:13)
2. Mount'n Boys Have Fun With Mount'n Girls (2:36)
3. Oh Them Dudes (2:33)
4. I Got Tookin (2:33)
5. Just The Way You Are (2:55)
6. I Put My Head In The Lion's Mouth (2:23)
7. Tonda Wanda Hoy (2:48)
8. Out Of Sight Out Of Mind (3:26)
9. Apple On A Pear Tree (2:16)
10. Don't Let Our Love Die On The Vine (2:52)
11. No One Else Will Ever Know (2:47)
12. Let's Make Love (2:18)
13. Someone To Watch Over Me (3:27)
14. Autumn Leaves (3:27)
15. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe (4:02)
16. Little Girl Blue (3:46)
17. The Way You Look Tonight (2:54)
18. A Woman Likes To Be Told (2:58)
19. I Thought Of You Last Night (2:36)
20. When The World Was Young (6:06)
21. The Wayward Wind (3:10)
22. How Little We Know (2:15)
23. Too Close For Comfort (2:25)
24. It's All Yours (2:24)
25. Darling I Belong To You (2:35)
26. One Little Mistake (3:02)
Thank you Bob They were real 'stayers' back then and really enjoyed what they did
Happy Sunday BB! May I get a copy of Polly Bergen?
Thanks & Cheers
- D
Hello Denis, here's Polly....
https://www.upload.ee/files/13268662/PB-EY.rar.html
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