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Actress Shelley Winters Dies at 85

Shelley Winters, two-time Oscar winner, died on January 14th at the age of 85. Her first major film role was in the 1944 Nelson Eddy musical, `Knickerbocker Holiday`. According to Winters, the most memorable part of that film, was when superstar Eddy - angry at his former co-star and lover, Jeanette MacDonald, entered a drunken rage and attempted to rape Winters in her dressing room.

Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, who had starred in musical blockbusters at MGM, both left that studio in 1942 after a falling out with studio boss Louis B. Mayer. Nelson then signed a million dollar, two picture deal with Universal. His first film was the very successful `Phantom of the Opera` co-starring Claude Rains and Susanna Foster. The second film was to be with MacDonald, but she only filmed two musical numbers for a Universal revue called `Follow the Boys`. Their joint film plan fell apart, and Eddy and MacDonald were never to team again on film. Instead Nelson ended up filming `Knickerbocker Holiday` for United Artists.

Winters related the shocking story in her autobiography, `Shelley: Also Known as Shirley`. Filming began at the Samuel Goldwyn Studio in the fall of 1943. `Knickerbocker Holiday` was adapted from the Broadway play that boasted one hit tune, `September Song`. Nelson`s supporting cast included Constance Dowling, Charles Coburn and Winters (who was billed as Shelley Winter). She will surely be missed.