It's Valentine's Week! ...Show Business Marriages that Lasted

Yes, it’s finally here! The romance lover’s excuse to celebrate love---the week leading up to Valentine's Day! On this occasion, I thought it fitting to begin the week by recognizing love stories with happy endings, marriages that lasted in the difficult environment of show business.

In Hollywood, where forces conspire against a lasting relationship, particularly when both parties are actors, some marriages have endured for a lifetime.

Here’s a list to encourage you. It did me.

Charton & Lydia Heston, 1960

The Hestons, 2001

1.  Charlton and Lydia Heston - 64 years, ending with his death in 2008

2.  James and Frances Cagney - 63 years, ending with his death in 1986

3.  Ronald and Nancy Reagan - 52 years, ending with his death in 2004

4.  Roy Rogers and Dale Evans – 51 years, ending with his death in 1998




5.  Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward - 50 years, ending with his death in 2008

6.  Gregory and Veronique Peck - 47 years, ending with his death in 2003

7.  Jimmy and Gloria Stewart - 44 years, ending with her death in 1994. (He married her in 1949 at the age of 41.)

Jimmy & Gloria Stewart

And:

8.  Susan Hayward and Eaton Chalkey - 39 years, ending with his death in 1966

9.  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III - 36 years, ending with her death in 1982

And my personal favorite from an earlier time:

Annie Oakley and Frank Butler (from Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show), who met when she was a young teen who defeated him in a shooting match.

The Butlers as a young couple

Annie & Frank Butler and their dog Dave

Frank began courting Annie after she bested him in a shooting match (broadminded man!). They were married in 1876, just days after her 16th birthday.



They remained married for 50 years until her death in 1926. Frank was so brokenhearted when Annie  died, he stopped eating and died 18 days later, unable to face life without her.

So, as you think about your Valentine, know that true love can last!