Geraldine Sue Page was born on November 22, 1924, in Kirksville, Missouri. Her father, Dr. Leon Elwin Page, was an osteopathic physician and her mother, Pearl Maize, a homemaker. She had an older brother, Donald, and when she was five years old, the family moved to Chicago. Drawn to the arts from a very age, she soon found her passion in the drama club of her parents’ church where she performed in many plays and became fascinated with the lives of old time actresses, like Lucille La Verne and Maude Adams. After graduating from high school in 1942, she joined the Goodman Theater School where she began to hone her extraordinary ability to bring out the deepest detail of whatever character she was portraying.
She spent a few years in summer stock theaters, and made her New York debut in an off-Broadway production of “Seven Mirrors.” In 1952, she got the lead in the Off Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams “Summer and Smoke,” and it became the first big hit Off-Broadway. Page became the first actor to receive the Drama Critics Award for a non-Broadway production. Her theater career flourished throughout the 1950s. She studied at the Actor’s Studio in New York, and in 1959 starred opposite Paul Newman in “Sweet Bird of Youth,” for which she earned her first Tony Award nomination. In 1961, she starred in the film version of “Summer and Smoke” and in 1962, “Sweet Bird of Youth.” She earned both Golden Globe Awards and Academy Award nominations for these performances. In 1963, she married Rip Torn, one of her co-stars.
She and her husband founded the Sanctuary Theater Company during the 1970s. This provided a venue for young actors, and many of the productions received rave reviews. Page and Rip Torn shared a daughter and twin sons.
At the time of her death from a heart attack on June 13, 1987, she was appearing in “Blithe Spirit” on Broadway. She was only 62 years old, and left a formidable film legacy as one of the greatest actresses that every lived.
What are some of YOUR favorite Geraldine Page performances? Please share.