Famous Weddings & Divorces in 1956

Famous Weddings

Gene Hackman

Jan 1 American actor Gene Hackman (25) weds Fay Maltese; divorce in 1986

Neil Armstrong

Jan 28 Science student later astronaut Neil Armstrong marries fellow student Janet Elizabeth Shearon in Wilmette, Illinois

Willie Mays

Feb 14 MLB center fielder Willie Mays (24) weds Margherite Wendell Chapman in NYC, New York

Rupert Murdoch

Mar 1 Media magnate Rupert Murdoch marries first wife Patricia Booker

Bob Hawke

Mar 3 Prime Minister of Australia Bob Hawke (26) weds first wife Hazel Masterson (26) at Perth Trinity Church in Australia

Aldous Huxley

Mar 19 British "The Doors of Perception" author Aldous Huxley (62) weds second wife, American musician and author Laura Archera (45), until his death in 1963

Vera Miles

Apr 14 American actress Vera Miles (25) weds American "Tarzan" actor Gordon Scott (29), the second time for both; divorce in 1960

Grace Kelly & Rainier III

Apr 18 American film actress Grace Kelly (26) weds Prince Rainier III of Monaco (33) in a civil ceremony at the Prince's Palace in Monaco-Ville, Monaco

Apr 19 American film actress Grace Kelly (26) weds Monaco's Prince Rainier III (33) in a religious ceremony at Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco-Ville, Monaco

C. S. Lewis

Apr 23 Novelist C. S. Lewis (57) weds poet Joy Davidman (41) at the register office in Oxford, England

George Steinbrenner

May 12 American NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner (25) weds Elizabeth Joan Zieg

Anita Ekberg

May 22 Swedish actress Anita Ekberg (24) weds actor and singer Anthony Steel (36) in Florence, Italy; divorce in 1959

Sonja Henie

Jun 6 Three-time Olympic Champion figure skater Sonja Henie (44) weds Norwegian shipping magnate and art patron Niels Onstad (47)

Ted Cassidy

Jun 14 Actor Ted Cassidy (23) weds Margaret Helen

Ted Hughes & Sylvia Plath

Jun 16 British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes (25) weds American writer and poet Sylvia Plath (23) at St George the Martyr Holborn in London, England, until her death in 1963

Marilyn Monroe & Arthur Miller

Jun 29 American actress and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe (30) weds for the 3rd time, this time marrying playwright Arthur Miller (40) at White Plains Court House in White Plains, New York; divorce in 1961