Patricia Neal: 1926-2010

When I think of Patricia Neal I usually think of her work in "The Day the Earth Stood Still". I will admit that that is because I am a Sci-Fi fan. I knew she was a great actress, & enjoyed many of the other works she appeared in as well.

Sadly, I also usually think of the tragedies in her life as well. & like so many, I was aware of how she came back from the debilitating strokes. But I will admit that I wasn't aware of her being a fallen away Catholic who later returned to the faith. Nor was I aware of her abortion & how later in life she went public with it & how she regretted it.

Over at The American Catholic there is a post that shares a little of what Monsignor James Lisante, a good friend of hers, once shared about her:
“I met Patricia Neal over 20 years ago, and we have become good friends ever since. One time when she was on my television show, I said to her, “Pat, in so many ways you are a female Job.” She had, as you know, several strokes which put her in a coma for a month. She had a daughter who died of the measles at the age of seven. She had a son who was hit when he was an infant by a car in New York City, and he remains alive but brain-damaged and will be forever. Another daughter who suffered from drug and alcohol addiction; a husband who was great to her once she had the strokes, but he ultimately left her for a younger woman.
And I said, “In your life, Pat, if there was one thing you could change, what would it be?” And Patricia Neal said, “Father, none of the things you just mentioned.” But she said, “Forty years ago I became involved with the actor Gary Cooper, and by him I became pregnant. As he was a married man and I was young in Hollywood and not wanting to ruin my career, we chose to have the baby aborted.” She said, “Father, alone in the night for over 40 years, I have cried for my child. And if there is one thing I wish I had the courage to do over in my life, I wish I had the courage to have that baby.”"
Patricia Neal has put herself on the line in saying to many, many women who have experienced abortion or thought about abortion, “Don’t make my mistake. Let your baby live.” What’s particularly painful, but poignant in this story is that some years later, Patricia became good friends with Maria Cooper, the only child of Gary Cooper and his wife. And Maria Cooper said, “You know, I know you had the affair with my father and I have long ago forgiven that. But one thing I find it hard to accept is that as an only child, I so wish that you’d had my brother or my sister. Because in so many ways, I wish so much that you had chosen life.”

Maria Cooper was also instrumental in leading Patricia Neal back to the Catholic faith. Hopefully she has finally (or soon will be if she is still in purgatory) been reunited & reconciled with her child she aborted all those years ago. Eternal Rest Grant Unto Her O Lord! & Let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Her!

PRO-LIFE ACTRESS PATRICIA NEAL OF "HUD" FAME DIES, REGRETTED HER ABORTION

by Marianna Trzeciak, Esq

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Pro-life actress, Patricia Neal, died at age 84 on Sunday. She had been suffering from lung cancer and was surrounded by her family at her home in Massachusetts. Neal is best known for her Oscar-winning portrayal of a housekeeper in the 1963 movie, Hud, with Paul Newman.
She is also very well known for her valiant recuperation from a series of strokes which she suffered while pregnant in 1965. She was in a coma for 21 days. The Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center, situated in Neal's hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, is also award-winning for its care for people recovering from strokes and spinal cord and brain injuries.
The actress herself described her life as a Greek tragedy, in some measure. She had 5 children with her husband, Roald Dahl. The first, Olivia, died of measles at age seven. Another, Theo, was severely injured when his baby carriage was hit by a car. After thirty years of marriage and the survival from her strokes, Neal was divorced from Dahl after discovering his affair with a friend.
However, Neal said that her only regret in life was aborting a child when the actress was 21 years old.
Her lover (and co-star) Gary Cooper had persuaded her to have the abortion, as he was still married and had a daughter with his wife. That daughter, Maria Cooper, famously spat on Neal to show her displeasure that Neal had interfered with the marriage of the Coopers. However, later, the wife and daughter reconciled with Neal.
Maria Cooper is credited with helping Neal return to Catholicism. And, despite her hatred of the affair, Maria Cooper is said to have complained to Neal that the aborted child was the only sibling Maria Cooper would ever have and that she wished that the child had been given life.
Patricia Neal openly admired fellow actress Ingrid Bergman, who gave birth out of wedlock to a son by Roberto Rossellini, and was therefore denounced by the United States Senate. Neal said that Bergman had "guts" and that Neal wished that she had had the guts also to carry her baby to birth.
Joshua Mercer of Catholic Vote Action, noted Neal's death and her pro-life views in later life.
"Neal stood out against the grain of Hollywood by calling for the defense of unborn life. It was learned from her own mistakes," he said. "Neal appeared as a guest on The View and spoke gently about how abortion creates anguish and sorrow. She often said simply but powerfully: 'Don't make my mistake. Let your baby live.'"
"I had the chance to hear her speak about six or seven years ago and I can say without any hesitation that everyone in the room was moved by her testimony," Mercer continued.
Even the New York Times noted her abortion regrets in its obituary:
During her affair with Cooper, she became pregnant. She had an abortion and according to her 1988 autobiography, “As I Am,” (written with Richard DeNeut), she cried herself to sleep for 30 years afterward. “If I had only one thing to do over in my life,” she wrote, “I would have that baby.”
"Never underestimate the power of forgiveness! Maria Cooper understood that Jesus forgives, so she found the strength to do so as well. I believe that Patricia is eternally grateful," Mercer said.
The courage that eluded her at age 21 was certainly shown in later years. Rest in God's peace, Patricia Neal.