# Hollywood's low marriage success rate... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280 "2010-04-25T04:52:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/21 "2010-04-25T17:55:18Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > Maybe the proportion of successful first marriages is 20% or less. Yeah… no. The divorce rate in the US for all marriages is 50%. Which includes plenty of 2nd marriages all the way up through couples pulling a Larry King. Therefore, the success rate for first marriages has to be at least above 50%. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/22 "2010-04-25T20:09:21Z")
Jeremy Irons has been married to Sinead Cusack for almost 32 years, although they’ve been open about how stormy their relationship is. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/23 "2010-04-25T21:01:06Z")
Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman married in 1982. First marriage for both. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/24 "2010-04-25T21:33:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Jessica Tandy and Hume Croynin (I’m spelling that wrong) were married something like 50 years. It was her second marriage. It was a second marriage for both of them. ---
**Author:** ![Southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@Southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southpaw)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/25 "2010-04-25T21:39:52Z")
The ubiquitous character actor Charles Lane was married to the same woman for 71 years. Art Linkletter and his wife have been married for almost 75 years. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/26 "2010-04-25T23:00:06Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Charlton Heston was married to his wife for 64 years - until he died. I came in here to mention Heston, and his wife Lydia! Heston said in his autobiography that Lydia was the only girl he ever _dated_. He met her at Northwestern in Chicago, in a university class. When he was on the Jay Leno show, plugging his book, it was the same year the couple celebrated their 50th anniversary. Leno asked him if, as a soldier(it was WWII) he’d ever tried that old gag _“Honey, we may never see each other again, we have to have something to remember each other by”_ Heston’s reply was that he’d _tried_, _“but she was too smart for that!”_ Based on some other comments it was implied they were both virgins when they got married. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/27 "2010-04-25T23:08:08Z")
Steve Buscemi has been married for 30+ years. Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were married for 50+ years when he died. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/28 "2010-04-25T23:21:13Z")
**Maybe the proportion of successful first marriages is 20% or less.** > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Yeah… no. > > The divorce rate in the US for all marriages is 50%. Which includes plenty of 2nd marriages all the way up through couples pulling a Larry King. > > Therefore, the success rate for first marriages has to be at least above 50%. Though I didn’t state it explicitly in that sentence, I’m talking about the success rate of first **Hollywood marriages**. And I’m saying it is lower than normal (lower than 50+%) and it might be 20%… or 10%… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/29 "2010-04-25T23:37:23Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/30 "2010-04-25T23:38:33Z")
Hollywood marriages are subject to a pressure that normal marriages aren’t - living in a fishbowl. It’s not just Hollywood; sports stars, politicians and famous business magnates all have just as much trouble staying married. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/31 "2010-04-26T00:12:08Z")
Another point: We non-movie-stars like to fantasize about being in a relationship with these hot celebrities, and just sort of think that, “If I just married \, then my life would be perfect”. But of course, nothing’s that simple: Being married to a hot celebrity carries at least all the same problems as being married to anyone else, and some of them aren’t nearly as enjoyable to be around as they make themselves seem (which is, after all, their job). If I had the chance to wed, say, Catherine Zeta-Jones, I just might do so, even though I know almost nothing about her. And since I know almost nothing about her, the relationship probably wouldn’t last. Well, the celebrities themselves aren’t immune to that sort of infatuation, either. They find the same people hot that all the rest of us do. The only difference is, they actually do have the chance to get into relationships with other hot celebrities. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/32 "2010-04-26T00:17:47Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Hollywood marriages are subject to a pressure that normal marriages aren’t - living in a fishbowl. > > It’s not just Hollywood; sports stars, politicians and famous business magnates all have just as much trouble staying married. I would also add that there’s also added pressure whenever there’s a relationship between two people in the same competitive profession–in this case, acting. It’s not that you’re competing for the same roles, it’s just that your partner may be more successful than you and that almost always is a source of tension. That’s why it seems that most of the successful Hollywood marriages involve a famous actor or actress who’s married to somebody outside the entertainment world. Or, if they don’t, the other spouse is either a non-actor (i.e., someone who works behind the scenes) or quit acting shortly after getting married. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/33 "2010-04-26T02:15:00Z")
> **[John Travolta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Travolta)** > > John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes Carrie (1976), Saturday Night Fever (1977), Grease (1978), and Urban Cowboy (1980). His acting career declined throughout the 1980s, but he enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with his role in Pulp Fiction (1994), and went on to star in films including Get Shorty (1995), Br Tr... It looks like he’s only been married once, but it was in 1991, and it was her second marriage. But from John’s POV it counts. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/34 "2010-04-26T03:07:59Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were married for 50+ years The reveal of this was one of the best moments of Ken Burns’ _Jazz_ IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/35 "2010-04-26T03:47:47Z")
Gary Sinise has been married to his wife, Moira Harris, since [1981.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Sinise) They met in college. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/36 "2010-04-26T04:16:41Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > That’s why it seems that most of the successful Hollywood marriages involve a famous actor or actress who’s married to somebody outside the entertainment world. Or, if they don’t, the other spouse is either a non-actor (i.e., someone who works behind the scenes) or quit acting shortly after getting married. For example, Phoebe Cates, who married the 16-years-older Kevin Kline. They married in 1989 and her last movie was 1994 (other than The Anniversary Party, a small film in which she appeared, along with Kline and their two children, partly as a favor to Jennifer Jason Leigh, her old friend from Fast Times at Ridgemont High days.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/37 "2010-04-26T06:07:28Z")
All marriages come to an end, if not in divorce, then in death. I figure the divorced ones got off easy. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/38 "2010-04-26T10:51:24Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > All marriages come to an end, if not in divorce, then in death. I figure the divorced ones got off easy. Nah. Death is usually quicker, and often less painful. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/39 "2010-04-26T12:33:04Z")
By longevity, some other nice long Hollywood marriages, just as data points: Anne Meara & Jerry Stiller: 56 years Bill & Camille Cosby: 46 years Ron & Cheryl Howard: 35 years Samuel L. Jackson & LaTanya Richardson: 30 years Dan Aykroyd & Donna Dixon: 27 years Denzel & Pauletta Washington: 27 years Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick: 22 years Tony Shaloub & Brooke Adams: 18 years ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/40 "2010-04-26T12:47:43Z")
I don’t know if Jerry Seinfeld is the best example, since he met his now-wife _right after her honeymoon_ and she divorced that husband right away. Sheesh. Marriage Ref indeed. Jane Wyatt’s husband, Edgar Ward, died in 2000 one day before their 65th anniversary. But he wasn’t an actor, he was a banker. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280.md?page=3)