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Hope Lange
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The daughter of show folk, Hope Lange was 12 when she appeared in her first Broadway play, Sidney Kingsley's The Patriots. Fourteen years later, with dozens of plays and TV programs to her credit, Lange made her screen debut in Bus Stop (1956), managing to garner critical and audience attention despite her omnipresent co-star Marilyn Monroe (Lange's first husband was Bus Stop leading man Don Murray). Signed to a 20th Century Fox contract, Lange was Oscar nominated for her performance in Peyton Place (1957) and was equally impressive in such films as The Young Lions (1957) and The Best of Everything (1959).
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The American women, Hope Lange and Barbara Rush, both had film careers that eventually headed into television: Rush most notably for an astonishing number of guest star appearances and Lange for The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. The two met up again on The New Dick Van Dyke Show in 1971. May Britt has made only a handful of films since The Young Lions; she gained much notoriety in the 1960s when she married Sammy Davis Jr. at a time when Frank Sinatra and Martin's Rat Pack was the most notorious group of entertainers in America.
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Although Hope Lange's film career didn't reach the heights that her talent seemed to promise, she had a successful, varied career, both in film and on the stage. Having spent 12 years on Broadway, she was already a veteran when she made her film debut alongside Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray in Bus Stop. As the shy Elma, she sits next to Cherie (Marilyn) on the bus and listens to her go on about Beau (Don) and "all that lovin' stuff!" However, off-screen, it was Don and Hope that got together. Their marriage lasted five years, but they remained friends, and later in the 70's, performed together in the two-character play, Same Time Next Year. In Bus Stop, Marilyn Monroe finally got the serious attention as an actress that she had wanted, and with all the attention the film received, Hope Lange couldn't ask for a better film debut.
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During the second season, Hope Lange voiced unhappiness with her role on the series because most of the show's action took place in the workplace. The actress complained that she had nothing to do but ask Dick, "How was your day?" every week at the end of the show. The network was unhappy as well - with the ratings - and they considered canceling the show and buying out Dick Van Dyke's contract.
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Hope played Irene Sperry, the psychiatrist who councels Glenn Tyler (Elvis) in Wild In The Country, an Elvis-version of Peyton Place, probably the only soap-opera Elvis ever made. (OK, Change Of Habit comes close!) After his success in Flaming Star, Elvis was ready to try another dramatic acting role. Unfortunately, his performance in Wild In The Country varies from really good to really bland. Still a curiosity, though. And there's no doubt that Hope and the other talent surrounding him (including Millie Perkins and Tuesday Weld) inspired him to turn in a very good performance! However, you gotta see the "drunk Elvis" scene, where he and Tuesday get plowed on Uncle Ralph's tonic, and turn the garden hose on Hope's house: "Mizz Sperry-erry-erry-oh!!"
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Ms. Lange was born Hope Elise Ross Lane on November 28, 1933 in Redding Ridge, Connecticut. Her father was a composer and musical arranger for the Ziegfield Follies. Her mother was an actress.
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Hope Lange