Ida Lupino
(1914-1995)
| BIOGRAPHY |
Ida Lupino was born on February 4, 1914
in London. She began her career as an actress, following in her
parents' footsteps (they were both actors). She studied at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. At the age of 15, while
accompanying her mother to an audition, Lupino won her first movie
role in Her First Affaire (1933). She appeared in a few
more films in England that year, leaving for Hollywood in 1934.
Her first Hollywood film was The Search for Beauty
(1934). She acted in over 30 more films over the next 15 years,
including Artists & Models (1937), The Adventures of
Sherlcok Holmes (1939), and High Sierra (1941). Lupino had trouble finding acting work in the mid-1940s (due to an 18-month suspension) and turned to directing, not only to find work but also to take control over her career. Lupino formed her own production company, the Filmmakers, and proceed to independently produce her directorial debut, Not Wanted (1949). She would write and direct six features over the next 4 years. Much like the work of Lois Weber three decades before, Lupino's films were socially conscious and took on controversial topics such as rape, bigamy, and unwed mothers. On the back of her director's chair, the words "Mother of Us All" were printed. Her film company was closed in 1954 and Lupino moved on from feature filmmaking into the world of television. Over the next 28 years, Lupino would direct episodes of TV series like "The Twilight Zone," "The Fugitive," "Bewitched," and "Gilligan's Island." She claimed to have directed hundreds of episodes - it is estimated that she had directly at least 100. After marrying her third husband, Howard Duff, and having a daughter, Bridget, Lupino directed less and less. She directed her last feature, The Trouble with Angels, in 1966. Even though Lupino herself seemed to agree with the gender role conventions of the times (saying in one interview that she would rather be home cooking dinner for her man than directing), one only needs to look at what she accomplished to see that she did not wholeheartedly agree with the traditional role of women. She continued to act even after she stopped directing, appearing in a dozen films in the 1970s. After making My Boys Are Good Boys (1978) at the age of 60, Lupino decided it was time to retire. In 1995, Lupino suffered a stroke and on August 3rd at the age of 77, Ida Lupino died in Los Angeles, CA. |
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