Why Shelley Winters Dumped A Drink On Oliver Reed On Live TV

Per Turner Classic Movies, Winters took a break from Hollywood in the mid-1950s to study at the Actor's Studio and do some work on Broadway. She returned to the silver screen as a character actor, winning Oscars in 1959 ("The Diary of Anne Frank") and 1965 ("A Patch of Blue") and famously playing Charlotte Haze in the 1962 adaptation of "Lolita." She was prodigious, appearing in a bevvy of roles throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including her role as a former swimming champion who performs heroically during an at-sea disaster in "The Poseidon Adventure." 

Oliver Reed was born in Wimbledon, London, England in 1938, per The Irish Times. After working as a boxer, bouncer at a strip club, and morgue attendant, as well as a stint in the British Army, he became a film extra. His first film was 1960's "The League of Gentlemen" and he soon became a British film idol, starring in "The Curse of the Werewolf," "Women In Love," "The Devils," and "Oliver!" By the 1970s, Reed was the highest paid actor in England, and in 1974 was quoted as saying, "Get rid of me and you get rid of the entire British film industry." He was also reportedly known for his heavy drinking and outspoken, outlandish demeanor, which he wasn't shy about playing up in interviews. In 1975, he appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." Shelley Winters was a fellow guest alongside Reed.