Ann-Margret

Often Works With…

Dismissed early in her career as a mere "sex kitten," Ann-Margret would prove a tremendous talent, not only as a singer and dancer, but also as a fine dramatic actress, first in films and later on TV. The red-headed siren and native of Sweden made her national TV debut on "Ted Mack's Amateur Hour" in 1957, and though she did not win, it was just a matter of time before the world sat up and took notice. George Burns discovered the still-teenaged cabaret performer singing and playing the maracas in the lounge of the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, hiring her for $100 per night for ten nights to perform in his Christmas show at the Sahara Hotel's Congo Room. After landing a recording contract with RCA and capturing the eye of Hollywood, she made her feature debut as Bette Davis' daughter in Frank Capra's wet-blanket remake "A Pocketful of Miracles" (1961). Though her second film, the remake of "State Fair" (1962), was a bomb, Ann-Margret became the "Hottest Name in Town" when she sang the Oscar-nominated "Bachelor in Paradise" at the 34th annual Academy Award presentations.

A sizzling live stage performer, with a breathy, girlish singing voice and a hip-swinging, high-energy dancing style, Ann-Margret helped resuscitate the nearly comatose Hollywood musical as the small-town girl chosen to kiss a rock star in "Bye Bye Birdie" (1963). She also played a key role in making "Viva Las Vegas" (1964) Elvis Presley's best musical, matching the King step-for-step in the talent and charisma departments. Unfortunately, these were high points amidst the flurry of films cranked out to capitalize on her box office (sex) appeal. She tackled her first "serious" role in the uninspired "Kitten with a Whip" (also 1964), playing a tough, conniving escapee from a reformatory, and though some noticed the beginnings of a dramatic actress, most refused to take her seriously. A steady diet of fluff ensued until her 1967 marriage to Roger Smith, the former star of ABC's "77 Sunset Strip", who took over her management in partnership with Allan Carr. Groomed as a variety artist, she inaugurated a series of highly enjoyable musical-comedy specials appearing almost annually for over a decade with "The Ann-Margret Show" (CBS, 1968). She also became a staple of Las Vegas, selling out her shows weeks in advance.

The cultural icon who had inspired and voiced the character of Ann-Margrock on an episode of "The Flintstones" (ABC) finally won respect as a dramatic actress with her powerful, Oscar-nominated supporting performance as Jack Nicholson's neglected wife in "Carnal Knowledge" (1971), bringing in the words of one critic "the only sign of humanity" to the picture. A life-threatening fall from a stage in 1972 temporarily disrupted her career, but she rebounded nicely, making a triumphant comeback in Las Vegas an astonishing ten weeks later and then realizing her dream of playing opposite John Wayne in the relaxed Western "The Train Robbers" (1973). She also delivered an intense performance as, rather surprisingly, Roger Daltrey's mother in the glitzy rock musical "Tommy" (1975), earning an Oscar nomination as Best Actress. Though Ann-Margret remained busy during the late 70s, few good roles and films presented themselves, with the lame comedies "The Cheap Detective (1978), "The Villain" (1979), and "Middle Age Crazy" (1980) pretty representative.

As a leaner, more ascetic look gradually replaced her full baby-faced cuttings, Ann-Margret's whispery voice and slightly hard but intriguing beauty remained unchanged. Since meaty feature fare presented itself only occasionally (i.e., "Twice in a Lifetime" 1985), she turned to TV during the 80s as an outlet for her dramatic talents. Her TV-movie debut, "Who Will Love My Children?" (ABC, 1983), was a stunner. Encouraged by director John Erman to shed her "glamour" image to play the part of a cancer-stricken single mother who tries to place her ten children with new families before she succumbs, Ann-Margret garnered the first of her Emmy nominations. She followed with a fine interpretation of Blanche DuBois in a TV remake of "A Streetcar Named Desire" (ABC, 1984) and brought some class to the enjoyably trashy miniseries "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles" (NBC, 1987) and held her own opposite Julie Andrews the touching AIDS drama "Our Sons" (ABC, 1991), all helmed by Erman, who would also direct her in two CBS miniseries, "Queen" (1993) and "Scarlett" (1994). All told, her collaborations with Erman have yielded four of her five Emmy nominations to date.

Feature films including "A New Life" (1988) and "Newsies" (1992) went largely unseen, but Ann-Margret kept strutting her formidable stuff onstage, making her critically-acclaimed NYC debut in 1991 as star of the biggest production show ever staged by a single performer at Radio City Music Hall. She also enjoyed her most popular feature in years as the attractive bone of contention between Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in "Grumpy Old Men" (1993) and its equally popular sequel "Grumpier Old Men" (1995). The 90s saw her begin producing (through Ann-Margret Productions) star vehicles for herself like "Following Her Heart" (NBC, 1994) and "Seduced By Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story" (NBC, 1996), but her first foray into series TV as the matriarch of a large New Mexican ranching family in "Four Corners" (CBS, 1998) fizzled after three episodes. An Emmy-nominated role in the Lifetime biographical movie "Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story" (1998) about the storied socialite, an almost unrecognizable turn as a wily grandmother in "Happy Face Murders" (Showtime, 1999) and a featured role as a 200-year-old Cinderella in the NBC fantasy miniseries "The 10th Kingdom" (2000) continued her run as queen of dramatic TV.

She returned to features, essaying the estranged mother of a football team owner (Cameron Diaz) in Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday" (also 1999), and played the wife of nearly-washed-up movie mogul Burt Reynolds in "The Last Producer" (2000), also directed by Reynolds. On the small screen she excelled in the "ripped from the headlines" television movie "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder" (2000) playing the mother of Patsy Ramsey in the tale of a mysteriously murdered child beauty pageant queen, and she appeared in the CBS miniseries "Blonde" (2001), based on the Joyce Carol Oates book, as one of the influential women in the life of Marilyn Monroe. In "A Woman is a Hell of a Thing" (2001) she was not used to best effect as the New Age-y stepmother of a men's magazine publisher who pushed him to battle his deceased mother's longtime lesbian lover over the dead woman's estate, but she was dazzling in the telepic "A Place Called Home" (2004) as an aging, reclusive Southern Belle who finds her feistiness pitted against a pair of con artists who've made her their next mark.

She made a welcome return to the big screen as the mother of Jimmy Fallon's rookie cop in the action-buddy-comedy "Taxi" (2004). After that comedic debacle came and thankfully went, Ann-Margret costarred in “The Break-Up” (2006), playing the mother of an art dealer (Jennifer Aniston) going through a messy and painful break-up with her louse boyfriend (Vince Vaughn). She was next set to play Santa’s mother-in-law in “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause” (2006), the continuing misadventures of Tim Allen as a bumbling Kris Kringle.

Also Credited As:
Ann-Margaret Olsson
Born:
April 28, 1941 in Valsjobyn, Jamtland, Sweden
Job Titles:
Actor, Singer, Dancer, Cabaret performer, Producer

Family

Father: Gustav Olsson. had worked for a time in the USA during his youth; emigrated back to the USA in 1942 shortly after Ann-Margret s birth when he got a job with the Johnson Electrical Company; mother, initially reluctant to leave Sweden, and Ann-Margret followed in 1946
Mother: Anna Olsson. mother went to work after father became too ill to continue with his job at the electric company
Step-daughter: Dallas Thomas Smith.
Step-daughter: Tracey Smith.
Step-son: Jordan Smith.

Significant Others

Companion: Burt Sugarman. prominent Hollywood businessman; briefly engaged in 1962; married TV host Mary Hart in 1989
Companion: Elvis Presley. co-starred with Ann-Margret in Viva Las Vegas (1964); romantically involved for a time c. 1964; the two remained friends until Presley s 1977 death

Education

New Trier High School, Winnetka, Illinois, 1959
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, speech

Milestones

1941 Born in Valsjobyn, a tiny Swedish town near the Arctic Circle
1946 Moved with mother to Fox Lake, Illinois, near Chicago; father had emigrated from Sweden several years earlier
1954 At age 13, won a dancing and singing talent contest on a local TV station (date approximate)
1957 Appeared on Ted Mack s Amateur Hour (ABC), winning prize as first runner-up
1958 Made professional performing debut singing with Danny Ferguson s band for one summer month at the Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City
1959 Formed jazz combo, the Suttletones, with three male classmates at Northwestern University; worked in Chicago nightclubs on weekends
1960 Continued on with group to Los Angeles; found agents; worked in Newport Beach, California and Elko and Reno, Nevada
1960 Left school; headed for Las Vegas with group to play gig at the Nevada Hotel in June; job failed to materialize
1960 Noticed by George Burns while singing and playing the maracas in the lounge of the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas; hired for $100 per night for ten nights to perform in his Christmas show at the Congo Room of the Sahara Hotel
1961 Film acting debut as Bette Davis daughter in Frank Capra s A Pocketful of Miracles
1961 First major TV appearance on the Jack Benny Show (CBS) led to a contract with 20th Century-Fox and her first movie
1961 Released first album And Here She Is--Ann-Margret
1961 Signed recording contract with RCA (date approximate)
1962 Performed the Oscar-nominated song Bachelor in Paradise at the Academy Awards ceremony; received write-up in Show Magazine that said: In the space of three minutes, Ann-Margret became the hottest name in town
1962 Played sweet-but-seductive bombshell-next-door in third-rate film remake of the musical State Fair
1963 Co-starred as Kim McAfee in the film adaptation of the Broadway hit Bye Bye Birdie ; sang on the popular soundtrack album
1963 Sang at President John F Kennedy s 46th birthday party, just as Marilyn Monroe had the year before
1964 Made motion picture exhibitors poll of top ten boxoffice stars, placing eighth; acted opposite Elvis Presley in Viva Las Vegas ; also starred in Kitten with a Whip and The Pleasure Seekers
1964 Performed at President Lyndon B Johnson s inaugural gala
1965 Displayed plenty of cleavage in her sexy portrayal of Steve McQueen s trampy wife in The Cincinnati Kid
1968 Hosted first TV special, The Ann-Margret Show (CBS)
1970 Elicited some favorable reviews for her turn in Stanley Kramer misfire, R.P.M
1971 Received increased critical respect and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role in Carnal Knowledge , directed by Mike Nichols
1972 Fell 22 feet from a stage platform while performing at the Sahara Hotel, Lake Tahoe, Nevada (November 10); was in a coma for three days; suffered concussion and many fractures, including ones in her left arm, jaw, and five other facial bones; returned to the stage in ten weeks
1973 Acted opposite John Wayne in The Train Robbers
1973 Starred in TV musical variety special, Ann-Margret ... When You re Smiling (NBC), an edited version of her Las Vegas stage act; was her most popular TV special, drawing over 51 million viewers
1975 Earned Oscar nomination as Best Actress for her turn as Nora Walker Hobbs in Tommy , Ken Russell s film version of the Who s rock opera
1975 Entertained President and Mrs Ford and the Shah and Empress of Iran at the White House
1977 Headlined as Lady Booby in Tony Richardson s Joseph Andrews , the director s failed attempt to recapture the glory of his Tom Jones (1963)
1978 Gave another well-received performance alongside Anthony Hopkins in Magic , directed by Richard Attenborough
1979 Acted with Kirk Douglas and Arnold Schwarzeneggar in Hal Needham s The Villain
1980 Starred in last TV variety special (to date) Ann-Margret s Hollywood Movie Girls (ABC)
1981 First film with Walter Matthau, I Ought to Be in Pictures
1982 Portrayed Alan Bates doting cousin in The Return of the Soldier
1983 TV dramatic debut, Who Will Love My Children? (ABC); earned her an Emmy nomination; first collaboration with director John Erman who convinced her to shed her glamour image for the part of an Iowa farm wife dying of cancer
1984 Scored a triumph as Blanche DuBois in the ABC-TV remake of A Streetcar Named Desire , earning a second Emmy nomination; again directed by Erman
1985 Played home-wrecking other woman in Twice in a Lifetime , co-starring Gene Hackman and Ellen Burstyn
1986 Turned in fine performance as Roy Scheider s wife in John Frankenheimer s 52 Pick-Up
1987 Earned another Emmy nomination for her miniseries debut, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (NBC), helmed by Erman; starred opposite Claudette Colbert who was returning to the screen after a 25-year absence
1991 Made NYC debut at Radio City Music Hall
1993 Co-starred with Jack Lemmon and Matthau in the hit comedy Grumpy Old Men
1993 Picked up fourth Emmy nomination for the miniseries Queen (CBS), helmed by Erman; played a woman who aged from 35 to 85, ending up with a dowager s hump, bad teeth and failing eyesight (contact lenses gave the appearance of cataracts)
1994 Portrayed madam Belle Watling in CBS miniseries Scarlett , adapted from Alexandra Ripley s sequel to Gone With the Wind ; sixth collaboration with Erman; network censors cut one of her scenes for US version
1994 Produced (through Ann-Margret Productions) and starred in Following Her Heart (NBC), directed by Lee Grant; first time singing in a TV-movie; her mother helped her rehearse her role as a Swedish immigrant, guaranteeing an authentic accent
1995 Reprised her role in the sequel Grumpier Old Men
1996 Played a popular teacher who uses her wiles to convince three students into killing her husband in the fact-based NBC miniseries Seduced By Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story ; produced through Ann-Margret Productions
1998 TV series debut as regular, starring in the short-lived CBS midseason replacement Four Corners ; show cancelled after three episodes aired; produced through Ann-Margret Productions
1998 Won plaudits (and a fifth Emmy nod) for her impersonation of Pamela Harriman in the Lifetime biographical movie Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story
1999 Portrayed the estranged mother of a football team owner (Cameron Diaz) in Oliver Stone s Any Given Sunday
1999 Was almost unrecognizable as a wily grandmother who frames her abusive younger boyfriend in Happy Face Murders (Showtime); first collaboration with actress Marg Helgenberger
2000 Acted in Burt Reynolds The Last Producer (shot in 1999); screened at Cannes; aired on USA Network in 2001
2000 Essayed the role of a 200-year-old Cinderella (who looks 55) in NBC fantasy miniseries The 10th Kingdom
2000 Reteamed with Helgenberger (as Patsy Ramsey) for CBS miniseries Perfect Murder, Perfect Town , a look at the murder of JonBenet Ramsey
2001 Co-starred in A Woman s a Helluva Thing (filmed 1999); screened at Seattle Film Festival
2001 Starred as Miss Mona in a national tour of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ; debut as a musical theater performer; briefly withdrew from performances in late February to care for her ill mother
2006 Cast as Santa s mother-in-law in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
2006 Joined with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston in the comedy The Break-Up
2007 Co-starred with Billy Zane in the psychological thriller, Memory
Acknowledged she was an alcoholic and began treatment
Inspired and voiced the character of Ann-Margrock on an episode of The Flintstones (ABC)
Moved with family to Wilmette, Illinois, where they lived in the funeral parlor at which her mother was receptionist
Performed regularly in Las Vegas; became known for a time as The Queen of Vegas , The Swedish Meatball and, again in reference to her Scandinavian origins, The Vegas Valkyrie
Turned down the female lead in Cat Ballou (1965)