Polly Bergen
| Polly Bergen | |
|---|---|
Bergen in 1953
|
|
| Born |
Nellie Paulina Burgin July 14, 1930 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | September 20, 2014 (aged 84) Southbury, Connecticut, United States |
| Occupation | Actress, singer, writer, entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1949–2012 |
| Spouse(s) |
Jerome Courtland (m. 1950–55) Freddie Fields (m. 1957–75) Jeffrey Endervelt (m. 1982–90) |
| Children | 2 adopted children 1 stepchild |
Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer, and entrepreneur.
She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan in The Helen Morgan Story. For her stage work she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Carlotta Campion in Follies in 2001. Her film work included 1962's Cape Fear and 1963's The Caretakers, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She hosted her own variety show for one season (The Polly Bergen Show), and as an author wrote three books on beauty, fashion, and charm.
Bergen was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, to 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 during the 1957-1958 television season.
Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear (1962) opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. She had roles as the romantic interest in three Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy films in the early 1950s: At War with the Army, That's My Boy, and The Stooge. She was featured in a number of westerns during the 1950s, including Warpath, Arena and Escape from Fort Bravo. She also starred in a horse-racing comedy, Fast Company, as the first female commander-in-chief in Kisses for My President and as the wife of James Garner in the romantic comedy Move Over, Darling, also starring Doris Day. Bergen's later roles included Mrs. Vernon-Williams in Cry-Baby, a John Waters film.
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