DONNA REED: FROM CHILDHOOD TO HOLLYWOOD ICON

[TMC]

https://www.grunge.com/1168746/donna...ollywood-icon/

BY JENNIFER SHEA/JAN. 16, 2023 4:13 PM EST

In American culture, Donna Reed has long been associated with the stereotypical 1950s housewife: always docile, ever-supportive of her husband, and never seeking employment outside the home. Reed herself arguably invited such associations with her portrayal of Donna Stone, doting wife to Dr. Alex Stone, on "The Donna Reed Show." In fact, her former colleague Jeffrey Hayden, who directed episodes of the show for three seasons, told the Television Academy in 2010 that Reed "had her hand not only in her performance every week ... [but also] in the stories and the scripts."

Yet Reed's own childhood was not quite the suburban idyll depicted on her TV show. The actress grew up on a farm in Denison, Iowa, and while her small-town roots helped cement her girl-next-door typecasting later in life, the Great Depression was hard on Denison. In a recollection Reed published in Guideposts in 1962, she recounted how her neighbors abandoned their farms in desperation and her parents sold all the animals on their farm trying to make ends meet. "Family after family loaded their belongings into rickety automobiles and left," she wrote.

Still, Reed's own family life was free of the upheaval that often prompts aspiring actors and actresses to hop a bus to Hollywood, as historian Geoffrey Mark pointed out to Closer Weekly. Reed herself wrote about her father's belief in family bonds and faith in God as pillars of strength through difficult times.

[biffbronson]

Very beautiful, seen here while in her mid-20s with Jimmy Stewart in the renowned film "It's a Wonderful Life"