Jessica Lange's entry into
Hollywood was anything but triumphant. She made her debut playing a
ditsy blonde in the 1976 remake of King Kong. The film was a dismal
flop and Lange was written off as a no-talent actress. It took a
couple of years before she was finally cast in another film, this time
playing an angel of death in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz. Good reviews
followed, and by 1981, Lange was given an opportunity to chew up the
scenery with Jack Nicholson in the steamy remake of The Postman Always
Rings Twice.
1982 was a huge year for Lange, as
she made two notable roles for which she earned two nominations. Her
first was a starring role in the over-the-top, and wildly inaccurate bio-pic
of actress Francis Farmer. The second, and the film that earned her
the Supporting Actress Oscar, was Tootsie, the box office smash, about an
actor who dresses as a woman to get a soap opera role.
With Frances, Lange proved her
ultimate strength as an actress, combining oozing sexuality and stark
raving madness, all in the wink of an eye. Her former lover and
director, Bob Fosse said, "I have never seen someone go from so cold
to so hot."
In any other year, the part would
have been a shoe-in for the Best Actress role, but 1982 saw one of the
worlds most celebrated actresses, Meryl Streep, deliver her best role
ever, as the war-mangled mother in Sophie's Choice.
Lange
followed the tradition set almost fifty years prior, by winning the
Supporting Actress Oscar for Tootsie, but this time, critics were starting
to scratch their heads. Lange was excellent in Tootsie, but her
flashy role in Francis far out shadowed the part of the wanton soap opera
actress she played in here. Further, her Tootsie co-star, and fellow
Best Supporting Actress nominee, Teri Garr, seemed to have the better
role. Even Garr, herself, was critical of the win.
Lange attended the ceremony with
her brother George in tow, as apparently she was avoiding publicity over
her recent break up with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Jessica's victory
highlighted what many felt was a pattern in the voting. 'When
they're nominated twice, give them the supporting
award.'
