Jan Sterling

Actor

About

Also Known As

Jane Adrian, Jane Sterling, Jane Sterling Adriance

Birth Place

New York City, New York, USA

Born

April 03, 1921

Died

March 26, 2004

Biography

Filmography

Piece Touchee (1989)

Herself

Dangerous Company (1982)

Ray'S Mother

First Monday in October (1981)

My Kidnapper, My Love (1980)

Sammy Somebody (1976)

Having Babies (1976)

Mrs Fontreil

Photos & Videos

View All

Ace In The Hole (1951) -- (Movie Clip) Maybe He'd Like A Little Raw Hamburger

Ace In The Hole (1951) -- (Movie Clip) Mountain Of The Seven Vultures

Family & Companions

John Merivale

Husband

Actor. Married in 1941; divorced in 1948.

Paul Douglas

Husband

Actor. Married from 1950 until his death in September 1959; father of her son Adams.

Sam Wanamaker

Companion

Actor. Had relationship from c. 1960 to the 1980s; remained married to his wife; died in 1997.

Notes

Some sources list 1923 as the year of Ms. Sterling's birth.

Biography

While she hailed from a well-to-do NYC family, actress Jan Sterling carved a niche playing tough-as-nails women in 1950s films noir. While still in her teens, she made her Broadway debut (billed as Jane Sterling) in 1938's "Bachelor Born." Over the next decade, the actress amassed an impressive resume of parts in drama and musicals, notably supporting Ethel Merman in "Panama Hattie" (1941) and touring as Billie Dawn in "Born Yesterday" in 1947. That same year, Sterling (billed as Jane Adrian) made her feature debut in "Tycoon." Often a peroxide blonde, the actress went on to essay the wife of a rapist in "Johnny Belinda" (1948) and gave strong performances as a corrupt inmate in "Caged" (1950) and a floozy who meets an untimely end in "Mystery Street" (also 1950). Billy Wilder elicited one of her best screen portrayals as the uncaring spouse of a man (Richard Benedict) trapped in a cave-in in "The Big Carnival/Ace in the Hole" (1951). Three years later, Sterling garnered her only Oscar nomination as a mail-order bride with a past in "The High and the Mighty."

After traveling to London to undertake the female lead in the 1956 screen adaptation of George Orwell's "1984," Sterling starred in the title role of the syndicated TV series "Publicity Girl." While she continued to act up to the 1980s, she tended to concentrate more on stage work (i.e., touring as the mother in "Butterflies Are Free"), accepting the occasional film and TV role. In 1967, she was among the ensemble of "The Incident" (1967), about a crime that occurs on a NYC subway, and she was one of the few big name stars to grace the small screen in a regular role on a soap opera when she joined the cast of CBS' "The Guiding Light" in 1969. Ten years later, she essayed the role of First Lady Lou Hoover in the NBC miniseries "Backstairs at the White House." In 1981, she had her last screen role (to date), playing the wife of a US Supreme Court Justice (played by Walter Matthau) in the comedy "First Monday in October" and the following year, she made her last TV appearance (to date) as the mother of a reformed convict (Beau Bridges) in the CBS drama "Dangerous Company."

Sterling was married twice, first to actor John Merrivale (from 1941 to 1948) and then to actor Paul Douglas (from 1950 until his death in 1959).

Filmography

Life Events

1938

Made Broadway debut billed as Jane Sterling in "Bachelor Born"

1939

Acted in the Broadway show "When We Are Married"

1941

Still billed as Jane Sterling, had featured role in the Ethel Merman vehicle "Panama Hattie"

1945

Changed billing to Jan Sterling for appearance in "The Rugged Path"

1947

First film role in "Tycoon"; billed as Jane Adrian

1947

Toured the USA as Billie Dawn in "Born Yesterday"

1948

Had featured role in "Johnny Belinda"

1949

Assumed role of Billie Dawn in the Broadway comedy "Born Yesterday"

1950

Co-starred in the women's prison drama "Caged"

1951

Offered a terrific turn as the trampy wife of a man trapped by a cave-in in "The Big Carnival", directed by Billy Wilder

1954

Garnered a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for "The High and the Mighty", playing a mail-order bride

1956

Had female lead in the film adaptation of George Orwell's "1984"

1956

Played title role in the syndicated TV series "Publicity Girl"

1958

Acted in "The Female Animal"

1967

Co-starred in "The Incident"

1969

Appeared on the CBS daytime drama "Guiding Light"

1970

Acted the part of the prostitute Molly in a revival of "The Front Page"

1976

Acted in the ABC TV movie "Having Babies"

1978

Cast in the short-lived Broadway production, "The November People"

1979

Portrayed First Lady Lou Hoover in the NBC miniseries "Backstairs at the White House"

1981

Last film acting role, as the wife of a US Supreme Court justice (Walter Matthau) in "First Monday in October"

1982

Final TV-movie, "Dangerous Company" (CBS), playing the mother of a reformed convict

Photo Collections

High School Confidential! - Lobby Card Set

Here is a set of Lobby Cards from Albert Zugsmith's High School Confidential! (1958). Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.

The Harder They Fall - Movie Posters

Female on the Beach - Lobby Card Set

The High and the Mighty - Movie Poster

Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for The High and the Mighty (1954). One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.