Anniversary of marriage of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco
By Tom Gillespie
LAST Tuesday (April 19) marked the 66th anniversary of US actress Grace Kelly's marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. The religious ceremony followed the required civil ceremony the previous day, Wednesday.
At the time of her tragic death, on September 14, 1982, Princess Grace had plans to build a holiday home at Drimurla, two miles from Newport.
Princess Grace’s grandfather, John Bernard Kelly, was born in the two-roomed cottage overlooking the Leg of Mutton lake where he eked out a living before emigrating to the US.
In 1976 the Princess purchased the tumbledown cottage and the surrounding 35 acres of land for £7,800. During a visit that year she spoke of plans to build a ‘simple little cottage’ on the ruins, which are located off the main Castlebar to Newport road.
However, a car accident in 1982 put an end to these plans when the princess was killed at the age of 54 years.
Princess Grace had previously visited the cottage with her husband Prince Rainier in 1961. At the time it was owned by Mrs. Ellen Mulchrone who subsequently sold it to the princess.
In 1995 plans to restore the cottage and develop a memorial park were given the thumbs up by the Grimaldi family in Monaco. The cottage was to contain photographs and memorabilia of the princess, but these plans never came to fruition.
After embarking on an acting career in 1950, when she was 20, Kelly appeared in New York City theatrical productions and more than 40 episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television.
In October 1953, she gained stardom from her performance in director John Ford’s film ‘Mogambo’, starring Clark Gable and Ava Gardner, which won her a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination in 1954. Subsequently, she had leading roles in five films, including ‘The Country Girl’ (1954) with Bing Crosby, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Other films included ‘High Noon’ (1952) with Cary Cooper, ‘Dial M for Murder’ (1954) with Ray Milland, ‘Rear Window’ (1954) with James Stewart, ‘To Catch a Thief’ (1955) with Cary Grant, and ‘High Society’ (1956) with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
Kelly retired from acting at the age of 26 to marry Rainier and began her duties as Princess of Monaco. They had three children: Carolina, Albert II, and Stéphanie.
Kelly retained her link to America by her dual US and Monégasque citizenship.
She suffered a stroke while driving home to Monaco on September 13, 1982, and had a road accident which led to her death the following day.
Grace Kelly was born on November 12, 1929, at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia to an affluent and influential family. Her father, Irish-American John B. Kelly Sr., had won three Olympic gold medals for sculling and owned a successful brickwork contracting company that was well-known on the east coast.
A registered Democrat, he was nominated to be Mayor of Philadelphia for the 1935 election but lost by the closest margin in the city's history.
Kelly's mother Margaret Katherine Majer had German parents. Margaret had taught physical education at the University of Pennsylvania and had been the first woman to coach women's athletics at the institution. She also modelled for a time in her youth.
After marrying John B. Kelly in 1924, Margaret focused on being a housewife until all her children were of school age, following which she began actively participating in various civic organisations.
Kelly had two older siblings, Margaret and John Jr., and a younger sister, Elizabeth.
Despite her parents' initial disapproval, Kelly decided to pursue her dreams of being an actress. John was particularly displeased with her decision. He viewed acting as ‘a slim cut above streetwalker’.
To start her career, she auditioned for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Kelly worked diligently and practiced her speech by using a tape recorder. Her early acting pursuits led her to the stage, most notably a Broadway debut in Strindberg’s ‘The Father’ alongside Raymond Massey. At 19, her graduation performance was as Tracy Lord in ‘The Philadelphia Story’.
Director John Ford had first noticed Kelly in a 1950 screen test. The studio flew her to Los Angeles to audition in September 1952, and he said that she showed ‘breeding, quality and class’.
She was hired for the role of Linda Nordley in the film 'Mogambo' and was offered a seven-year contract with MGM on a salary of $850 a week. She signed the deal under two conditions: That every two years she could get time off to do theatre performances, and that she could live in New York City at the now-landmarked Manhattan House.
Two months after signing her contract, Kelly and the cast arrived in Nairobi to begin production of the film. Gene Tierney was initially cast in the role, but she had to drop out at the last minute because of personal issues.
On getting the role, Kelly told Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, ‘Mogambo’ had three things that interested her - John Ford, Clark Gable, and a trip to Africa with expenses paid.
She admitted: "If Mogambo had been made in Arizona, I wouldn't have done it."
After the success of ‘Mogambo’, Kelly starred in a TV play, ‘The Way of an Eagle’, with Jean-Pierre Aumont, before being cast in the film adaptation of Frederick Knott’s Broadway hit ‘Dial M for Murder’. Director Alfred Hitchcock also saw the 1950 screen test and took full advantage of her beauty on-camera. He was one of her last mentors in the film industry.