An elite group it is, too, with many of them easily answering to that often used designation "star of stage, screen and television," but since it's Oscar time once again, and since the list is extensive, I'm going to include only film actors and actresses and write about television stars some other time.  We remain with the same restriction we have had with all of our other column categories, by the way.  Only frequently-used words (names, in this case) repeated in many different crossword puzzles will be listed.

Inclusion here also has a lot to do with longevity..longevity meaning that they are still popular enough with the crossword clue writers and puzzle solvers of today to be included in present day puzzles.  With the help of AMC, Encore, Ted Turner and a lot of local TV stations all over the world, some of these stars seem to go on forever.
OSCAR...Whether the clue announces it as "movie award," "silver screen statuette," or "favorite film award," we're talking about the most prized accolade available not only to actors, but to everyone involved in the creative elements of motion picture production.  A click of your mouse on the picture of that famous statuette will take you directly to the very interesting and comprehensive site of  the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences itself.

A number of the frequently used actor and actress names in crosswords are Oscar winners and nominees.  For obvious reasons they don't include such all time favorites as Claudette Colbert, Katharine Hepburn or Olivia deHavilland.  It's just not that easy for the puzzle composer to fit names like these into their puzzles with any regularity.  A few names fit quite easily into any crossword, however, with the result that they turn up again and again, and by clicking on a high-lighted name within a paragraph you will be taken to a site containing biographical information.  For example, following are some of the stars which appear most often in a large number of various crosswords.
 

EMIL...The first Oscar for best actor was presented to EMIL JANNINGS on May 16, 1929 for his performances in "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Flesh." From that date to this clues such as "actor Jannings," "actor Jannings of old," "first Oscar winner, Jannings" and "costar for Marlene" have found their way into many a puzzle.  That last clue refers to Jannings best-known role in "The Blue Angel" in which he costarred with Marlene Dietrich.  Click on his high-lighted name above for biographical information about his return to Germany in the 1930s leading to the downfall of his acting career following World War II.
 

BETTE...Ten Academy Award Best Actress nominations resulted in BETTE DAVIS  winning Oscars for "Dangerous" and "Jezebel" and certainly helped to contribute to her popularity with the puzzle makers.  Clues such as "Actress Davis," "she played Margo in 'All About Eve'," and "'Baby Jane' portrayer" are only a few of the many references in crosswords to Bette Davis during her long career.  In recent years, however, she has shared the spotlight with BETTE MIDLER resulting in such clues as "Davis and Midler" and "the divine Miss M."  Bette Midler was twice nominated for a  Best Actress Award..for "The Rose" and "For the Boys."
 
 
 

GEENA...And as if Bette Midler isn't enough of a challenge for crossword space, along comes another "Actress Davis" by the name of GEENA DAVIS, an "Oscar winner for 'Accidental Tourist'" as well as a nominee for portraying "Thelma of 'Thelma and Louise'."
 

RITA...To most of the cluemeisters there is just one.  "Hayworth," RITA HAYWORTH that is, the beautiful senorita who knocked them all for a loop when "she 'Put the Blame on Mame' in 'Gilda'," and then went on to present everyone with her version of Carmen and Sadie Thompson and Salome.  "Hayworth" is still around in a lot of puzzles, but in the last few decades another Rita has come forward to strut her stuff.  And I do mean strut!  It's RITA MORENO, the "first star to win an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy."  In crosswords she's also been "Moreno of Hollywood" and "Moreno from Hunacao."  She took Anita  of "West Side Story" from Broadway to Hollywood and then went on to win an Emmy as guest star in "Rockford Files."  I'd say she deserves her share of the Rita spaces in all those puzzles.

 CHER...With her television career behind her and Mike Nichols as her director the clue writers began to refer to her as "'Silkwood' star," a designation seconded by an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win.  She had always gotten a certain amount of attention in crosswords with clues such as "Sonny's honey," "Sonny and ___," and even "mother of Chastity."  With an Oscar  win for "Moonstruck" they seemed to forget all about her TV beginnings.  A simple " 'Moonstruck' star" was all the identity she needed, and the clue seemed to turn up in every other puzzle for awhile.  She still commands a lot of attention from the clue writers, and only occasionally do they resort to a nostalgic "Sonny's honey, once."
 
 
 

AVA...The closest she ever came to an Oscar was as a nominee for "Mogambo," but AVA GARDNER  has probably been a favorite crossword item many more times than any of the winners or multiple winners we could name.  And even today we find clues of "Gardner," "a Gardner," or maybe "Frank's ex" (a reference to her third husband, Frank Sinatra) in many a puzzle.

Three more names related to Academy Awards continue to turn up in crosswords pretty regularly.  They are RAE, GIGI and LILI, and they refer to films with actresses SALLY FIELD and LESLIE CARON. RAE is a reference to "Norma RAE," a 1979 movie, with the persistent puzzle clue of "Norma _ _ _"   a character played by Sally Field  which resulted in the first of her two Oscar wins.  GIGI and LILI  are two other films often in puzzles.  If the clue is either "Caron role" or "Leslie Caron role"  it is bound to be one or the other of these two extremely popular films.  "Lili" was Caron's only Oscar nomination, and "Gigi" was the big 1958 winner, including an Oscar for Best Picture of that year.  If you are interested in learning about Leslie Caron's more recent activities as the owner of an inn and restaurant named "The Owl's Nest" in Burgundy, France, click on a recent color photo with sunflowers.
 

NEAL.. .Most clues for PATRICIA NEAL will make some reference to "Hud," the 1963 movie that gave her the Best Actress Oscar.  "Patricia of 'Hud'" and "'Hud' star" still make an appearance every so often.

Looking back through our list to this point we find it to be almost entirely composed of film actresses.  Well, there are several film actors who have also become puzzle favorites.

SEAN..."Connery or Penn" the clue will read..for SEAN CONNERY and SEAN PENN.    .  Sean Connery was an Oscar winner for "The Untouchables." "Dead Man Walking" brought a Best Actor nomination for Sean Penn, as did "I Am Sam" in 2001.  Connery also had quite a run in crosswords during the 1960s and 1970s when he would be simply clued as "he's James Bond" or "007 of the movies."  His decision to let others take over the role has sent clues of that sort into oblivion.

LIAM...A relative newcomer to crossword puzzles is LIAM NEESON, whose Oscar nomination for "Schindler's List" means that he is clued as "Schindler portrayor" as often as he turns up as "Actor Neeson" in puzzles.
 
 
 

GERE..."Actor Richard" as the clue might just as easily refer to Richard Harris or Richard Burton, but nine times out of ten it will be a clue for actor RICHARD GERE .  I've also seen the clue writer get very specific with one of his starring roles such as "'Internal Affairs' star, 1990" as the reference.
 
 
 
 

DERN...For years we seemed to run across clues such as "Bruce of films," "'Coming Home' costar," and even "'Tattoo' star," all references to actor BRUCE DERN .  Then along came his daughter LAURA DERN in films and suddenly the clues became "Laura and Bruce,"  "Actress Laura," and finally "Laura of 'Jurassic Park'."

 There are also several film actresses who date all the way back to the 1920s and 1930s who have been with us in crosswords since that time and who are obviously going to be with us well into the 21st century.  See if you don't recognize them and agree that they should also be a part of our film list.

MAE..."West of Hollywood" can only mean one thing to puzzle solvers.  MAE WEST  has been as much of a standby in crosswords as she has been on the various old-time movie channels on television.  If we're asked the identity of "W.C. Fields' little chickadee" we immediately know it is Mae.

BARA...And who hasn't been invited to fill in the corner of some puzzle with the last name of "Theda of Hollywood" or "Theda of the silents?"   THEDA BARA has been with us decade after decade, even though most of us have no memory of having seen movies starring the famous "vamp" of silent films.
 
 
 

EDNA...Does anyone really remember that "Actress Best" was star EDNA BEST of Hitchcock's first version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much" in 1935?  She's still around (at least in crosswords), but is now quite often sharing her popular first name with "writer Ferber" and "poetess St. Vincent Millay."

ELLA...When we're asked to come up with the first name of "Actress Raines" we are so used to knowing it is ELLA RAINESfrom having seen it in crosswords that we fill it in automatically.  But can anyone name one of the 23 movies in which she starred between 1943 and 1957?  She now shows up only occasionally, having been replaced by "Fitzgerald" and "scat queen" if the name is required.

And last but far from least there is

GRETA GARBO..  If the clue is "Greta" the answer is Garbo, and if the clue is "Garbo" the answer is "Greta".  It would be very difficult to say which of the two names is included in puzzles more often.  And if the clue is "star of 'Camille'" or "'Ninotchka' star" the answer could be either Greta or Garbo.

As I've promised, we'll get around to Crossword Television Actors and Actresses somewhere down the line.  There are a lot of them who are just as frequently used in crosswords as the film stars listed above.

If you are into online crosswords, and have a Java-powered browser, you might like
to try Timothy Parker's Universal Crossword.  Just click on the logo below.

Copyright 1998 C. Schnebel, Revised 2002
All rights reserved
 

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