Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman Facts
| Sign | Capricorn |
| Born |
Jan 5, 1917 St. Joseph, MO |
| Died |
Sep 10, 2007 Palm Springs, CA |
| Age | Died at 90 |
| Total Facts | 69 |
Adopted mother of nationally syndicated radio talk show host Michael Reagan.
After her father's death and the divorce of her mother, she lived with her foster mother, when she was a little girl.
After her guest-starring role on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (1993), she retired from acting at age 76.
After her retirement from acting, and long before her death, she attended other charity and honorable events, as well as the funeral of her best friends.
Apparently broke up with Ronald Reagan over her love for Lew Ayres, but that relationship failed in the long run.
Appeared in every episode of "Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre" (1955) and was nominated for an Emmy twice.
Before she was a successful actress, she had lots of jobs, especially that of a radio singer.
Began her career as a contract player for Warner Bros. in 1936.
Began singing and dancing at an early age.
Best remembered by the public for her starring role as Angela Channing on "Falcon Crest" (1981).
Daughter, Maureen Reagan, was admitted to the John Wayne Cancer Institute for malignant melanoma. [11 December 2000]
Daughter, with third husband - actor/former president Ronald Reagan - Maureen Reagan dies of malignant melanoma (skin cancer) at her Sacramento-area home. [8 August 2001]
Ex-husband Ronald Reagan, who was elected for president at that time, encouraged her to audition for "Falcon Crest" (1981), after her old friend Barbara Stanwyck turned down the role of Angela Channing.
Former sister-in-law of Neil Reagan.
Future "Falcon Crest" (1981) co-star, David Selby, said Wyman was his childhood television heroine.
Had met her first husband, Ronald Reagan, on the set of Brother Rat (1938).
Had relocated from Los Angeles and back to Saint Joseph, Missouri, in 1930, when young Jane was only age 13.
Had taken a break on the ninth and final season of "Falcon Crest" (1981), during the third episode, due to the health problems she was suffering, but came back for the last three episodes of the series.
Has 2 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Her "Falcon Crest" (1981) co-star, Susan Sullivan, won the 1998 Jane Wyman Award at the Arthritis Foundation.
Her "Falcon Crest" (1981) co-stars, Susan Sullivan and Lorenzo Lamas, both went to visit her in the hospital, while the ninth and final season was filming.
Her Best Actress Oscar for Johnny Belinda (1948) makes her the only wife of a future U.S. President (Ronald Reagan) ever to win such an award.
Her best friend Esther Williams is the stepmother of "Falcon Crest" (1981), co-star, Lorenzo Lamas, whose father was Fernando Lamas, who married Williams on New Years' Eve, 1969, till his death in 1982. Ironically, Wyman, Lamas and Williams, knew each other for many years, before.
Her ex-husband, Ronald Reagan, died of complications of Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia. [5 June 2004].
Her father, Manning Jefferies Mayfield, died when she was only 5.
Her name changed to "Jane Faulks" when she was unofficially "adopted" by the Faulks family, middle-aged neighbors of her single mother. Moved to So. California with Mrs. Faulks when she was widowed in 1928
Her parents were Gladys Hope Christian, an a doctor's stenographer and office assistant and Manning Jefferies Mayfield, a meal-company laborer.
Holds the record for the longest screen kiss, with Regis Toomey in You're in the Army Now (1941), at 3 minutes and 5 seconds.
In 1991, she received the Golda Meir Award from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel.
In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by either Lidia Simoneschi or Dhia Cristiani. She was occasionally dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta, Renata Marini, Rina Morelli or Giovanna Scotto.
Interred at Forest Lawn Mortuary and Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California, USA.
Lived in a retirement home in Palm Springs, California, before she resided at the Rancho Mirage Country Club, where she died.
Met Lorenzo Lamas's father, Fernando Lamas, on an episode of "Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre" (1955), when at the time of filming, Lorenzo was a 3 month old infant. By the time Lorenzo Lamas was 21, he persistently auditioned for a co-starring role in the long-running TV series, "Falcon Crest" (1981), opposite Wyman, as her grandson. His persistence paid off, and he won the role.
Mother of Maureen Reagan and Michael Reagan.
On an episode of "Falcon Crest" (1981), Wyman's movie The Blue Veil (1951), showed flashback scenes when her character reminisces about being told in the hospital that her newborn son had died.
Ranks fourth behind Mickey Rooney, Barbara Stanwyck and Bette Davis, but in front of Eddie Albert and Ernest Borgnine, in appearances of movies, she was featured in over 80 films.
Remained good friends with Susan Sullivan, during and after "Falcon Crest" (1981).
Replaced Gracie Allen for an evening of "The Burns and Allen Radio Show" when Gracie had a migraine. It turned out to be the only time Gracie missed their show in all the years Burns and Allen performed together.
Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman had a daughter Christine who was born June 26, 1947 and lived 9 hours.
Several sources have given her date of birth as January 4, 1914, which would mean she was one of the first (and one of the very few) actresses to make herself older. She is a serious convert to Roman Catholicism, attending Mass with good friend Loretta Young.
She and Eddie Albert were best friends from 1938 to Thursday, May 26, 2005, when Eddie Albert lost his life.
She attended Lafayette High School in St. Joseph, Missouri.
She died only 9 months before her "Falcon Crest" (1981) co-star Mel Ferrer.
She dropped out of Lafayette High School, during her freshman year, and took on odd jobs such as a waitress and manicurist.
She had 10 hobbies: landscape painting, golfing, dancing, collecting CDs, listening to music, playing piano, singing, philanthropy, reading and politics.
She had been battling health problems for years, so producers thought they rewrote the scripts in such a way that her character didn't do most of the walking on the "Falcon Crest" (1981) set, by the time she collapsed on the show, she was ordered not to work anymore. Against her doctor's advice, she came back for the show's final three episodes.
She was good friends with: Alexis Smith, Ann Doran, Barbara Stanwyck, Loretta Young, Eddie Albert, Ann Sheridan, and Agnes Moorehead.
She would never talk about Ronald Reagan in an interview, but voted for him three times and attended his funeral.
Survived by two grandchildren and one adopted grandchild.
The first actress ever to have lots of name changes. After she took the name of Sarah Jane Fulks, she dropped her first name and used Jane, as her middle name, hence, she legally changed her name to Jane Durrell, however, she was asked to change her last name to Wyman, the same last name as her adoptive siblings - her mother had first been married to a Dr. Weymann.