Shirley Knight

[MrMidwest]

Her list of stage credits is endless. Any memories of seeing her on stage or meeting her?

[egghumor]

I saw her in KENNEDY'S CHILDREN pre-Broadway in Boston, and LOSING TIME at Manhattan Theater Club. I also saw her in John Guare's LANDSCAPE OF THE BODY at the Public which was one of the most thrilling theater-going experiences I ever had. The play and the entire cast was amazing.

If you're interested in Shirley Knight, I urge you to try and find interviews with her. Her perspective on acting is rather unique.

[daredevil]

Agreed---Kennedy's Children is a bit of a blur for me, but I remember thinking all the cast was great. Her work in Landscape of the Body was terrific; the last performance that I saw her give on stage was as the mother in Foote's The Young Man From Atlanta. She was terribly moving in that play.

[PalJoey]

I saw her play Blanche in Streetcar at the McCarter Theater in 1976. A young and unknown Glenn Close played Stella. They were both remarkable. A very hunky Frank Converse played Stanley, but I have absolutely no memory of him.

It was that kind of Streetcar. They were both that good.

[Ed_Mottershead]

I saw her do Albee's Marriage Play at the McCarter in the early 90s. I don't think it ever made it to NYC (at least Broadway)and wasn't one of his better works. It was a 2 character play but I can't remember for the life of me who played the husband. They were both fine but the play wasn't all that great, IMO.

[henrikegerman]

I also saw Marriage Play at the McCarter but have no clear memory of it. Except the first line: I'm leaving you.

[bobs3]

I saw Shirley Knight and David Selby do a reading of THE YOUNG MAN FROM ATLANTA at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles. They were both excellent.

Otherwise, I only know Ms. Knight from her many film performances.

[egghumor]

I found this audio interview with Shirley Knight from 2010. I haven't listened to it yet myself, but I can assume from previous interviews I've seen and read that it will be interesting. (58 minutes).
American Theater Wing interview with Shirley Knight - audio

[TimesSquareRegular]

Saw her this past spring in the first production ever of IN MASKS OUTRAGEOUS and AUSTERE by Tennesse Williams in an off-Braodway production.

[mamaleh]

My most vivid memory of Shirley Knight is her searing, haunting performance in the Public's LANDSCAPE OF THE BODY back in '77.

[MrMidwest]

Classic TV History interview

[henrikegerman]

Cool interview.

"Vanessa Redgrave, and she’s absolutely blind as a bat as well. And Ingrid Bergman was blind without her glasses, and she did all those films and couldn’t see a thing. My theory is that you cut out a lot because you can’t see, and your imagination is really working because you can’t see."

Ok, I'm probably about to sound pompous, but here goes;

I find this really interesting because when I was acting, I much preferred to work without contact lenses for exactly that reason. What was right there with, in and around me, especially my scene partners and my imagination, were all that really mattered. What didn't matter was cut out.

It's probably very different for someone who has good vision, but when you don't, and when your first experiences acting are with uncorrected vision, maybe it's that kind of acting, that kind of world you create on stage, that you fall in love with, and it will never be quite the same with the aid of Bausch and Lomb.

[MrMidwest]

"Her whirlwind career took off and she hasn't stopped working in half a century. Her first film was "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs," co-starring Robert Preston, Dorothy McGuire, and Angela Lansbury. Knight played a 15-year-old girl and was nominated for an supporting actress Oscar. Shortly thereafter Warners loaned her out to MGM to play Heavenly in "Sweet Bird of Youth" starring Geraldine Page and Paul Newman. "Tennessee said I looked exactly the way he wanted Heavenly to look," Knight recalls his comment at their first meeting.

Knight remained a contract player for five years, appearing in numerous films and TV programs, including such classics as "Maverick," "77 Sunset Strip," and "Cheyenne."

She looks back at the old studio system with mixed feelings. "You were really taken care of," she says. "They did all the publicity and when I was nominated for an Academy Award, they took me into the wardrobe department and said you're the same size as Joan Fontaine. They brought out a gown she wore in one of her movies and that's what I wore to the Oscars. The next day I returned it."

http://www.backstage.com/interview/shirley-knight-stars-in-williams-final-masks/

[jayinchelsea]

Love reading this and love Shirley Knight. I particularly remember her in KENNEDY'S CHILDREN as a ripe, Monroe-type beauty. She is a remarkable actress, and would love to see her on stage again.