Polly Bergen
Encyclopedia
Polly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.

Career

Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear
Cape Fear (1962 film)
Cape Fear is a 1962 film starring Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Polly Bergen. It was adapted by James R. Webb from the novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald. It was directed by J. Lee Thompson, and released on April 12, 1962...

(1962) opposite Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...

 and Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...

. She had roles in three Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...

 and Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...

 comedy films in the early 1950s: At War with the Army
At War With The Army
At War with the Army is a 1950 musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from July through August 1949, and released on December 30, 1950 by Paramount...

, That's My Boy and The Stooge
The Stooge
The Stooge is a 1952 American comedy film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The film was released on December 31, 1952 by Paramount.-Plot:...

. Later roles included Mrs. Vernon-Williams in Cry-Baby
Cry-Baby
Cry-Baby is a 1990 American teen musical film written and directed by John Waters. It stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel "Cry-Baby" Wade Walker, and also features an expansive ensemble cast that includes Amy Locane, Iggy Pop, Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, Kim McGuire, David Nelson, Susan Tyrrell, and...

, a John Waters film.

Bergen received an Emmy award for her portrayal of singer Helen Morgan
Helen Morgan
Helen Morgan was an American singer and actress who worked in films and on the stage. A quintessential torch singer, she made a big splash in the Chicago club scene in the 1920s...

 in the episode The Helen Morgan Story of the 1950s television series Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...

. Signed to Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

, she enjoyed a successful recording career during this era, as well.

She was a regular panelist on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

 To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...

during its original run. She also appeared on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 interview program Here's Hollywood
Here's Hollywood
Here's Hollywood is an American celebrity interview program which aired on weekday afternoons on NBC at 4:30 Eastern time from September 26, 1960, to December 28, 1962.-Overview:...

.

In 1963, Bergen co-starred with Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...

 and James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...

 in the film comedy Move Over, Darling
Move Over, Darling
Move Over, Darling is a 1963 remake of the 1940 screwball comedy My Favorite Wife that starred Irene Dunne, Cary Grant and Gail Patrick. The remake stars Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen.-Plot:...

. Garner's character marries hers when he believes his long-lost wife (Day) to be deceased, only to have her turn up.

Bergen earned an Emmy nomination for her role as Rhoda Henry, wife of Capt. "Pug" Henry (played by Mitchum) in two ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 miniseries, The Winds of War
The Winds of War
The Winds of War is Herman Wouk's second book about World War II, the first being The Caine Mutiny . Published in 1971, it was followed up seven years later by War and Remembrance; originally conceived as one volume, Wouk decided to break it in two when he realized it took nearly 1000 pages just to...

and its sequel War and Remembrance
War and Remembrance
War and Remembrance is a novel by Herman Wouk, published in 1978, which is the sequel to The Winds of War. It continues the story of the extended Henry family and the Jastrow family starting on 15 December 1941 and ending on 6 August 1945. This novel was adapted into a mini-series presented on...

.

She starred in a 2001 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 revival of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...

's Follies
Follies
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...

at the Belasco Theater and received a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

She also appeared as Fran Felstein on HBO's The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...

, the former mistress of Tony Soprano
Tony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...

's father, and former acquaintance of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

.

From 2007 to 2009, Bergen had a guest role in Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...

as Lynette Scavo
Lynette Scavo
Lynette Scavo is a fictional character on the series Desperate Housewives. The character is playedby actress Felicity Huffman, who won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 2005, and was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series...

's mother, Stella Wingfield, which earned her an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 nomination.

Bergen became a semi-regular cast member of 2006's Commander-in-Chief as the mother of Mackenzie Allen, the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, played by Geena Davis
Geena Davis
Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...

. Bergen herself had once played the first female President of the United States as President Leslie McCloud in the 1964 film Kisses for My President.

Another of her recent appearances came in CBS' Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...

 presentation Candles on Bay Street
Candles on Bay Street
Candles on Bay Street is a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie starring Alicia Silverstone as a single mother who returns to her hometown after a lengthy absence.-Plot:...

(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.

Personal life

Bergen was born in Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

 in eastern Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, 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
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

/variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...

, The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show is a half-hour 18-episode comedy/variety show, starring then 27-year-old Polly Bergen, which aired on NBC in the 1957-1958 television season. The program is remembered for its impressive guest-star lineup as well as its closing theme song, "The Party's Over" .The Polly Bergen...

, which aired in the 1957-1958 television season.

In 1965, Bergen created the Polly Bergen Company cosmetics line. She has also created lines of jewelry and shoe brands, and has authored three books on beauty.

Bergen converted to Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

after having married Hollywood talent agent Freddie Fields
Freddie Fields
Freddie Fields , born Fred Feldman, was an American theatrical agent and film producer who was instrumental in the careers of such stars as Judy Garland, Woody Allen, Henry Fonda, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Peter Sellers, and Steve McQueen. He was the brother of band leader Shep Fields...

, with whom she had two adopted children, Pamela Kerry Fields and Peter William Fields. She had previously been a Southern Baptist.

When not working, Bergen lives in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

.

Television

  • The Blue Angel (1954) (canceled after a few weeks)
  • The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
    The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
    The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse is an American dramatic anthology series that aired on ABC from 1953 to 1955, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. The show was hosted by Arlene Dahl , Anita Colby , and, finally, Polly Bergen -Guest stars:* Claude Akins...

    (host from 1954–1955)
  • To Tell the Truth
    To Tell the Truth
    To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...

    (panelist from 1956–1961)
  • The Polly Bergen Show
    The Polly Bergen Show
    The Polly Bergen Show is a half-hour 18-episode comedy/variety show, starring then 27-year-old Polly Bergen, which aired on NBC in the 1957-1958 television season. The program is remembered for its impressive guest-star lineup as well as its closing theme song, "The Party's Over" .The Polly Bergen...

    (NBC
    NBC
    The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

    , 1957–1958)
  • The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
    The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
    The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom is a half-hour variety show that aired on ABC from October 3, 1957 to June 23, 1960, starring the young singer Pat Boone and a host of top-name guest stars. The program was of course sponsored by Chevrolet...

  • Death Cruise (1974)
  • Murder on Flight 502
    Murder on Flight 502
    Murder On Flight 502 is a 1975 American made-for-TV movie directed by George McCowan and starring Robert Stack, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Sonny Bono, Danny Bonaduce, and Fernando Lamas.- Plot summary :...

    (1975)
  • Not for Women Only (host from 1976–1977)
  • 79 Park Avenue
    79 Park Avenue
    79 Park Avenue was an American television miniseries broadcast in 1977. It was based on the Harold Robbins' novel by the same name.It starred Lesley Ann Warren and Marc Singer as a prostitute and a mobster struggling to survive in the 1930s...

    (1977) (miniseries)
  • Teleton (1977)
  • How to Pick Up Girls! (1978)
  • The Million Dollar Face (1981)
  • Born Beautiful (1982)
  • The Winds of War
    The Winds of War
    The Winds of War is Herman Wouk's second book about World War II, the first being The Caine Mutiny . Published in 1971, it was followed up seven years later by War and Remembrance; originally conceived as one volume, Wouk decided to break it in two when he realized it took nearly 1000 pages just to...

    (1983) (miniseries)
  • Velvet (1984)
  • Addicted to His Love (1988)
  • War and Remembrance
    War and Remembrance
    War and Remembrance is a novel by Herman Wouk, published in 1978, which is the sequel to The Winds of War. It continues the story of the extended Henry family and the Jastrow family starting on 15 December 1941 and ending on 6 August 1945. This novel was adapted into a mini-series presented on...

    (1988) (miniseries)
  • She Was Marked for Murder (1988)
  • The Haunting of Sarah Hardy (1989)
  • My Brother's Wife (1989)
  • Steel Magnolias
    Steel Magnolias
    Steel Magnolias is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross that stars Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts....

    (1990) (unsold pilot)
  • Baby Talk (1991–1992)
  • Lightning Field (1991)
  • Lady Against the Odds (1992)
  • Arly Hanks (1993) (unsold pilot)
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal
    Perry Mason
    Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...

    (1993)
  • Leave of Absence (1994)
  • The Surrogate (1995)
  • In the Blink of an Eye (1996)
  • For Hope
    For Hope
    For Hope is a 1996 ABC TV movie starring Dana Delany and directed by Bob Saget. Based on Saget's sister Gay, the movie showed the experience of a young woman fatally afflicted with the disease scleroderma...

    (1996)
  • The Sopranos
    The Sopranos
    The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...

    ("In Camelot") (2004)
  • Early Bird (2005)
  • Commander in Chief
    Commander in Chief (TV series)
    Commander in Chief is an American drama television series that focused on the fictional administration and family of Mackenzie Allen , the first female President of the United States, who ascends to the role from the Vice Presidency after the death of the sitting President from a sudden cerebral...

    (2005–2006)
  • Candles on Bay Street
    Candles on Bay Street
    Candles on Bay Street is a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie starring Alicia Silverstone as a single mother who returns to her hometown after a lengthy absence.-Plot:...

    (2006)
  • Desperate Housewives
    Desperate Housewives
    Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...

    (2007–2009)


Film

  • Champion
    Champion (1949 film)
    Champion is an American film noir drama based on a short story by Ring Lardner. Filmed in black-and-white, it recounts the struggles of boxer "Midge" Kelly fighting his own demons while working to achieve success in the boxing ring. The drama was directed by Mark Robson, with cinematography by...

    (1949)
  • Across the Rio Grande (1949)
  • At War with the Army
    At War With The Army
    At War with the Army is a 1950 musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from July through August 1949, and released on December 30, 1950 by Paramount...

    (1950)
  • That's My Boy (1951)
  • Warpath (1951)
  • The Stooge
    The Stooge
    The Stooge is a 1952 American comedy film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The film was released on December 31, 1952 by Paramount.-Plot:...

    (1952)
  • Cry of the Hunted (1953)
  • Arena (1953)
  • Half a Hero (1953)
  • Escape from Fort Bravo
    Escape from Fort Bravo
    Escape from Fort Bravo is a 1953 western film set during the American Civil War. It stars William Holden, Eleanor Parker, and John Forsythe.-Plot:...

    (1953)
  • The Long Gray Line
    The Long Gray Line
    The Long Gray Line is a 1955 American drama film directed by John Ford based on the life of Marty Maher. Tyrone Power stars as the scrappy Irish immigrant whose 50-year career at West Point took him from dishwasher to non-commissioned officer and athletic instructor.Maureen O'Hara, one of Ford's...

    (1955)
  • Cape Fear
    Cape Fear (1962 film)
    Cape Fear is a 1962 film starring Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Polly Bergen. It was adapted by James R. Webb from the novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald. It was directed by J. Lee Thompson, and released on April 12, 1962...

    (1962)
  • Belle Sommers (1962)
  • The Caretakers
    The Caretakers
    The Caretakers is a 1963 United Artists film drama starring Joan Crawford, Robert Stack, Polly Bergen and Janis Paige in a story about a mental hospital....

    (1963)
  • Move Over, Darling
    Move Over, Darling
    Move Over, Darling is a 1963 remake of the 1940 screwball comedy My Favorite Wife that starred Irene Dunne, Cary Grant and Gail Patrick. The remake stars Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen.-Plot:...

    (1963)
  • Kisses for My President
    Kisses for My President
    Kisses for My President is a 1964 comedy directed by Curtis Bernhardt, starring Fred MacMurray and Polly Bergen. Leslie McCloud makes history when she is elected the first female President of the United States. However, her husband Thad McCloud is less enthusiastic.-Plot summary:The United States...

    (1964)
  • A Guide for the Married Man
    A Guide for the Married Man
    A Guide for the Married Man is a 1967 American bedroom farce comedy film starring Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, and Inger Stevens. It was directed by Gene Kelly. It features a large number of cameos, including Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Terry-Thomas, Jayne Mansfield, Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Joey...

    (1967)
  • Making Mr. Right
    Making Mr. Right
    Making Mr. Right is a science fiction/comedy film, directed by Susan Seidelman and starring John Malkovich as Jeff Peters/Ulysses and Ann Magnuson as Frankie Stone.This film is primarily about an android and a woman's misadventures.-Plot:...

    (1987)
  • Mother, Mother (1989) (short subject)
  • Cry-Baby
    Cry-Baby
    Cry-Baby is a 1990 American teen musical film written and directed by John Waters. It stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel "Cry-Baby" Wade Walker, and also features an expansive ensemble cast that includes Amy Locane, Iggy Pop, Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, Kim McGuire, David Nelson, Susan Tyrrell, and...

    (1990)
  • Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored (1995)
  • Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde
    Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde
    Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde is a 1995 British-American comedy film starring Tim Daly, Sean Young and Lysette Anthony. The film is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic horror novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.-Plot:...

    (1995)
  • Paradise, Texas
    Paradise, Texas (film)
    Paradise, Texas is a 2005 family drama film directed by Lorraine Senna and starring Timothy Bottoms, Ben Estus, and Meredith Baxter. Premiering at the 2006 WorldFest Film Festival, Paradise, Texas received a Gold Remi Award...

    (2005)
  • A Very Serious Person (2006)


Albums

  • 1957 Bergen Sings Morgan — The Billboard 200 — 10
  • 1957 The Party's Over — The Billboard 200 — 20

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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