Ann Blyth

Ann Blyth (born Anne Marie Blythe; August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. She began her career in radio as a child before transitioning to Broadway, where she appeared in Lillian Hellman’s '' Watch on the Rhine'' (1941–42). Blyth signed with Universal Studios in the 1940s and made her film debut in '' Chip Off the Old Block'' (1944), followed by a series of musical comedies. Her breakout role came in '' Mildred Pierce'' (1945), where she played the scheming Veda Pierce, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Blyth worked extensively in film throughout the 1940s and 1950s, appearing in notable films such as '' Brute Force'' (1947), '' The Great Caruso'' (1951), and '' The King’s Thief'' (1955). After transitioning to theater and television in the late 1950s, she starred in productions such as ''The King and I'' and appeared on shows like ''The Twilight Zone'' and ''Murder, She Wrote''. Blyth retired from acting in 1985. She is the earliest surviving Academy Award-nominee and one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Life and career

Early life

Anne Marie Blythe (she later dropped the "e" from her first and last names) was born in Mount Kisco, New York, on August 16, 1928. After her father left the family, Anne, her elder sister Dorothy, and their mother moved to a walk-up apartment on East 31st Street in New York City, where her mother took in ironing.

''Watch on the Rhine''

Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five. When she was nine, she joined the New York Children's Opera Company.

Blyth's first acting role was on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's '' Watch on the Rhine'' (1941-42). She played the part of Paul Lukas's daughter, Babette. The play ran for 378 performances, and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. After the New York run, the play went on tour, and while performing at the Biltmore Theatre Los Angeles, Blyth was offered a contract with Universal Studios.

Universal

Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth", but changed the spelling of her first name to "Ann" at the beginning of her film career. She made her film debut in 1944, teamed with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teenager musical '' Chip Off the Old Block'' (1944). She followed it with two similar films: '' The Merry Monahans'' (1944), with O'Connor and Ryan again, and '' Babes on Swing Street'' (1944) with Ryan. She had a supporting role in the bigger-budgetted '' Bowery to Broadway'' (1944), a showcase of Universal musical talent.

On loan to Warner Brothers, Blyth was cast "against type" as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in ''Mildred Pierce'' (1945). Her dramatic portrayal won her outstanding reviews, and she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blyth was only 16 when she made the Michael Curtiz film. (Crawford won the Best Actress award.)

After ''Mildred Pierce'', Blyth sustained a broken back while tobogganning in Snow Valley in the Southern California mountains and was not able to fully capitalize on the film's success.

She recovered and made two films for Mark Hellinger's unit at Universal: '' Swell Guy'' (1946), with Sonny Tufts, and Jules Dassin's '' Brute Force'' (1947) with Burt Lancaster. Universal lent her to MGM to play the female lead in '' Killer McCoy'' (1947), a boxing film with Mickey Rooney that was a box-office hit..

Back at Universal, Blyth did a film noir with Charles Boyer and Jessica Tandy, '' A Woman's Vengeance'' (1948), affecting a British accent. She was then cast in the part of Regina Hubbard in Lillian Hellman's '' Another Part of the Forest'' (1948), an adaptation of the 1946 play wherein Regina had been played by Patricia Neal. The play was a prequel to '' The Little Foxes''. Blyth followed it with '' Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid'' (1948) with William Powell. She was top-billed in '' Red Canyon'' (1949), a Western with Howard Duff.

Universal lent Blyth to Paramount Pictures to play the female lead in '' Top o' the Morning'' (1949), as Barry Fitzgerald's daughter, who is romanced by Bing Crosby. Back at Universal, she was teamed with Robert Montgomery in '' Once More, My Darling'' (1949), meaning she had to drop out of ''Desert Legion''. She did a comedy with Robert Cummings: '' Free for All'' (1949). In April 1949, Universal suspended her for refusing a lead role in the baby adoption ring crime noir '' Abandoned''; Gale Storm played it.

Universal lent her to Samuel Goldwyn Productions to star opposite Farley Granger in '' Our Very Own'' (1950). Universal gave her top billing in a romantic comedy, '' Katie Did It'' (1951). Blyth was borrowed by MGM for '' The Great Caruso'' (1951) opposite Mario Lanza, which was a massive box-office hit. Back at Universal she made '' Thunder on the Hill'' (1951) with Claudette Colbert and had the female lead in '' The Golden Horde'' (1951) with David Farrar. 20th Century Fox borrowed her to star opposite Tyrone Power in '' I'll Never Forget You'' (1952), a last-minute replacement for Constance Smith. She appeared on TV in '' Family Theater'' in an episode called "The World's Greatest Mother" alongside Ethel Barrymore.

Universal teamed Blyth with Gregory Peck in '' The World in His Arms'' (1952). She was top-billed in the comedy '' Sally and Saint Anne'' (1952) and was borrowed by RKO for '' One Minute to Zero'' (1952), a Korean War drama with Robert Mitchum, wherein she replaced Claudette Colbert, who came down with pneumonia.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had been interested in Blyth since she worked at the studio on ''The Great Caruso''. In December 1952, she left Universal and signed a long-term contract with MGM. She was the leading lady in '' All the Brothers Were Valiant'' (1953) with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor, stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor, who had to drop out due to pregnancy.

On television, Blyth appeared in '' The Lux Video Theatre'' version of '' A Place in the Sun'' with John Derek and Marilyn Erskine. Back at MGM, Blyth had the lead in the remake of '' Rose Marie'' (1954) with Howard Keel, which earned over $5 million, but lost money due to high costs. Plans to remake other MacDonald-Eddy films (such as '' The Girl of the Golden West'') were discussed, but did not occur.

Blyth was meant to be reteamed with Lanza in ''The Student Prince'' (1954), but he was fired from the studio and replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom; the film did well at the box office. Blyth and Purdom were reunited in a swashbuckler, '' The King's Thief'' (1955), with David Niven. She was teamed again with Keel on the musical '' Kismet'' (1955); despite strong reviews, the film was a financial flop. She was named as the female lead in '' The Adventures of Quentin Durward'' (1955), but Kay Kendall was cast in the film, instead. For her final picture at the studio, MGM put Blyth in ''Slander'' (1957) opposite Van Johnson.

Final features

Sidney Sheldon cast Blyth in '' The Buster Keaton Story'' (1957) with O'Connor at Paramount. Warner Bros. then cast her in the title role of '' The Helen Morgan Story'' (1957) directed by Michael Curtiz with Paul Newman. Blyth reportedly beat 40 other actresses for the part. Though her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, her vocals were dubbed by Gogi Grant. The soundtrack was much more successful than the film itself. Blyth made no further films.

In 1957, she sued Benedict Bogeaus for $75,000 for not making the film ''Conquest''.

Theatre and television

From the late 1950s into the 1970s, Blyth worked in musical theater and summer stock, starring in the shows ''The King and I'', ''The Sound of Music'', and ''Show Boat''. She also appeared sporadically on television, including co-starring opposite James Donald in the 1960 adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel, '' The Citadel''.

She guest-starred on episodes of '' The DuPont Show with June Allyson'', '' The Dick Powell Theatre'', '' Saints and Sinners'', ''Wagon Train'' (several episodes), ''The Twilight Zone'' (" Queen of the Nile"), '' Burke's Law'', '' Kraft Suspense Theatre'', ''Insight'', and '' The Name of the Game''. Several of these appearances were for Four Star Television, with whom Blyth signed a multiple-appearance contract. Blyth became a spokesperson for Twinkies and Ho Hos.

Her last television appearances were in episodes of ''Switch'' and '' Quincy, M.E.'' in 1983 and ''Murder, She Wrote'' in 1985. She then officially retired.

For her contributions to the film industry, Blyth has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard.

Live performance

Blyth performed live in concert tours for many years with Harper MacKay serving as her accompanist and music director.

Personal life

In the December 1952 edition of ''Motion Picture and Television Magazine'', Blyth stated in an interview that she was a Republican who had endorsed Dwight D. Eisenhower for president, the month before during the 1952 presidential election.

In 1953, Blyth married obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, who had introduced them. The bridesmaids were actresses Joan Leslie, Jane Withers, and Betty Lynn. The couple received a special commendation from the pope. After her marriage, Blyth took a hiatus from her career to focus on raising their five children. In 1955, an armed man who had written her fan letters was arrested near her house.

Honors

In 1973, she and McNulty, both Roman Catholics were accorded the honorific rank of Lady and Knight of the Holy Sepulchre in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Cooke.

In 2003, Blyth was the recipient of the Living Legacy Award by the Women's International Center.

Later years

Blyth was widowed when Dr. McNulty died at 79 on May 13, 2007, in La Jolla, California.

Filmography

;Film

;Television

Radio appearances

Award nominations

References

Further reading

* Dye, David. ''Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914–1985''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 22-23.

External links

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''Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest'', Ann Blyth
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* ttp://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=1981 Photographs of Ann Blyth

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blyth, Ann
1928 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American women singers
20th-century Roman Catholics
21st-century Roman Catholics
Actresses from Manhattan

American child actresses
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American radio actresses
American Roman Catholics
American sopranos
American stage actresses
American television actresses
American torch singers
California Republicans
Catholics from California
Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
Traditional pop music singers
Universal Pictures contract players