BARBARA STANWYCK The Man She Couldn't Forget

THE SCREEN LEGEND NEVER MARRIED AGAIN AFTER SPLITTING UP WITH ACTOR ROBERT TAYLOR

- LOUISE A. BARILE

The funeral of veteran actor Robert Taylor, who died from lung cancer at 57 in 1969, was held at the Forest Lawn Church of the Recessional in Glendale, Calif. Gov. Ronald Reagan, a longtime friend of the actor, gave the eulogy. Screen legend Barbara Stanwyck, who had been Robert's first wife, wore a yellow suit and shed tears.

Despite hurt feelings and the flow of time, Barbara, a four-time Oscar nominee whose credits included Stella Dallas, Double Indemnity and TV's The Big Valley, could never forget Robert, her second and final husband. The pair were wed for 12 years, parted ways in 1952 and reunited on screen for 1964's The Night Walker. "Barbara and I have remained good friends," Robert said.

Barbara later confessed it wasn't as easy as that. "Losing somebody you love by death or divorce is hard," she confided in 1981. "Bob and I didn't stay friends. We became friends again. Time does take care of things."

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Brooklyn-born Barbara arrived in Hollywood in 1929, fresh from Broadway. The former Ziegfeld girl found her perfect niche playing tough-talking but passionate women. "Barbara was extremely versatile," says Jeanine Basinger, former professor of film studies at Wesleyan University. "She could sing and dance, do comedy with impeccable timing, and she was a really good dramatic actress. She was also in a lot of great films that have held up over time."