Patricia Neal, Best Actress Oscar winner for her superb performance in Martin Ritt's 1963 drama Hud (right, with Paul Newman), died from lung cancer at her home in Martha's Vineyard on Sunday, Aug. 8. She was 84.
Among Neal's most important film roles are those in King Vidor's over-the-top melodrama The Fountainhead (1949), opposite Gary Cooper, with whom the actress had a passionate affair; Robert Wise's sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951); Elia Kazan's political drama A Face in the Crowd (1957); and Ulu Grosbard's dysfunctional family tale The Subject Was Roses (1968).
In addition to her film work, Patricia Neal is known for having survived a series of strokes that left her severely debilitated in the mid-'60s.
I'll be posting a Patricia Neal "appreciation" on Monday.
Patricia Neal can be seen in this montage featuring actresses from the '20s to the '50s.