Jane Wyman

Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007) was an American actress. She received an Academy Award for Best Actress (1948), four Golden Globe Awards (1948, 1950, 1951 and 1983) and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards (1957 and 1959).

Jane Wyman's movie career began in the chorus in 1934 at 17 dancing for LeRoy Prinz at Paramount Pictures. She signed her first studio contract with Warner Bros. in 1936 at 19. Over her 8 year (1936-1944) apprenticeship at Warner Bros. she progressed from bit parts and B films to supporting Maureen O’Sullivan (''The Crowd Roars'', 1938), Alice Faye (''Tail Spin'', 1939), Olivia De Havilland and Betty Grable (''Footlight Serenade'', 1942) in major studio releases.

With ''The Lost Weekend'' (1945) Jane Wyman finally graduated to leading lady. Over the next decade more dramatic vehicles followed including ''The Yearling'' (1946), ''Johnny Belinda'' (1948), ''Stage Fright'' (1950), ''The Blue Veil'' (1951), ''So Big'' (1953), ''Magnificent Obsession'' (1954), and ''All That Heaven Allows'' (1955). She received four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress between 1946 and 1954, winning for ''Johnny Belinda'' (1948).

In 1955 at 38 Jane Wyman went into television establishing her own production company Lewman Productions Ltd.(co-owned with MCA Inc.) and assuming responsibility for producing the next 3 seasons (1955-1958) of the already popular filmed anthology series the ''Fireside Theatre'' from Hal Roach Studios for NBC. She served as producer, host and frequent star of the series from 1955 to 1958.

In her early forties Wyman continued to work in both film and television, enjoying a certain level of visibility from the syndication of ''The Jane Wyman Show'' but no longer in demand as a leading lady.

After a couple of periods of virtual retirement between 1963–1968 and 1974–1978 she returned to prominence on the prime-time soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1981–1990), portraying the role of villainous matriarch Angela Channing. Provided by Wikipedia