Full name Geraldine Sue Page; born November 22, 1924, in Kirksville, MO; diedof a heart attack in New York City, June 13, 1987. Geraldine Page was widelyacknowledged to be one of America's most gifted performers. Playwright Tennesee Williams, whose troubled heroines she often portrayed on stage and screen, described her as "the most disciplined and dedicated of actresses." In factit was as the female lead in the 1952 Off-Broadway production of his Summerand Smoke that Page first won critical notice, after earlier appearances in summer stock and bit parts in New York shows. In 1953 she made her Broadway debut in Midsummer and, although the play received mixed reviews, Page's performance was cited with a Donaldson Award, a New York Critics Circle Award, anda Drama Desk Award. Page also received her first Academy Award nomination that year, as best supporting actress in Hondo. Her next film, Summer and Smoke,1961, saw her recreate her Off-Broadway role and she was again nominated foran Academy Award, but it was not until her eighth nomination, for The Trip to Bountiful, 1985, that she finally won. In addition, Page received Emmy awards for her television work in A Christmas Memory, 1966, and A Thanksgiving Visitor, 1968, and continued to create memorable stage portrayals throughout her career in such plays as Sweet Bird of Youth, 1959, Black Comedy and White Lies, both 1967, Absurd Person Singular, 1974, Agnes of God, 1982, and BlitheSpirit, in which she was appearing at the time of her death. A great proponent of Off-Broadway and regional theatre, throughout her career Geraldine Pageappeared with a number of repertory companies around the country.
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