Matinee Classics - Sandy Dennis Biography & Filmography

Sandy Dennis ACTOR

PHOTOS

SANDY DENNIS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Sandy Dennis was born on April 27th, 1937 in Hastings, Nebraska with the birth name Sandra Dale Dennis, born to Jack and Yvonne Dennis. After graduating from Lincoln High School she enrolled at Nebraska Wesleyan University and later the university of Nebraska.

She first developed a passion for acting in high school and participated in a number of school productions. After college, she found work with the Lincoln Community Theater group and began to realize how much she enjoyed performing.

At the age of nineteen she relocated to New York City and began studying acting with Uta Hagen. Soon she was appearing on the stage in such productions as, "The Lady from the Sea". After gaining some more stage experience, she was given her first Broadway role in the play, "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs".

Along with stage work she had also been lucky enough to work in television in the early years of her career appearing in, "Guiding Light" (1952). Other stage credits she added throughout her career were roles in the plays, "Bus Stop", "Motel", "Burning Bright", "Face of a Hero", "Port Royal", "How the Other Half Loves", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Born Yesterday", "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", "The Little Foxes" and "Peter Pan".

Now she had quite a bit of experience in the industry, she felt ready to enter into films. Her film debut was in 1961 on, "Splendor in the Grass" starring Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood, followed by another television role on, "Naked City" (1961-1962).

Although, she had caught the attention of Hollywood with her film and television work, she loved live performances on the stage and continued to keep her focus there. A role in the theatrical production of, "A Thousand Clowns" awarded her with a Tony Award and in 1964 she earned her second Tony Award for her role in the play, "Any Wednesday".

Dennis remained working as a stage actress, but on occasion would make television appearances as well. Some of her other credits included roles on, "The Fugitive", "Arrest and Trial", "The Love Boat" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".

Some of her more successful film roles were on such features as, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), "Up the Down Staircase" (1967), "The Fox" (1967), "Sweet November" (1968), "That Cold Day in the Park" (1969), "Thank You All Very Much" (1969) and "The Out of Towners" (1970) co-starring Jack Lemmon, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.

Sandy Dennis never married nor did she ever have any children, although she did suffer one miscarriage. She was in two very long relationships, one with a jazz musician by the name of Gerry Mulligan from 1965 through 1976, although they never married. She was then in a relationship for five years with Julia Robert's actor brother, Eric Roberts from 1980 through 1985.

Most recent film credits included, "The Four Seasons" (1981), "Another Woman" (1988), "976-EVIL" (1988), "Parents" (1989) and her final film role in 1991 in, "The Indian Runner".

Sadly, Sandy Dennis passed away far to early for her time. On March 2nd, 1992 at the young age of fifty four, she lost her life in Westport, Connecticut after being unable to overcome ovarian cancer. Her remains were cremated and her ashes were interred at the Lincoln Memorial Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.