Sarah Ellen Allgood (30 October 1880 – 13 September 1950), known as Sara Allgood, was an Irish-American actress. She first studied drama with the Irish nationalist Daughters of Ireland and was at the opening of the

Irish National Theatre Society The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

. In 1904, she had her first big role in ''

Spreading the News ''Spreading the News'' is a short one-act comic play by Lady Gregory, which she wrote for the opening night of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, 27 Dec. 1904. It was performed as part of a triple bill alongside William Butler Yeats's "On Baile's Strand" ...

'' and was a full-time actress the following year. In 1915, she toured Australia and New Zealand as the lead in ''Peg o' My Heart''. Her acting career continued in Dublin,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and the U.S. She appeared in a number of films, most notably being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Beth Morgan in the 1941 film ''

How Green Was My Valley ''How Green Was My Valley'' is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, narrated by Huw Morgan, the main character, about his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed that he based the book on his own persona ...

''. She became an American citizen in 1945 and died of a heart attack in 1950.

Early life

Allgood was born on 30 October 1880 at 45 Middle

Abbey Street Abbey Street () is located on Dublin's Northside, running from the Customs House and Store Street in the east to Capel Street in the west. The street is served by two Luas light rail stops, one at the Jervis shopping centre and the other ne ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, then still part of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

at the time, a daughter of Margaret ( Harold) and compositor George Allgood. Her mother was Catholic, while her father was Protestant. She had two baptisms, a Catholic baptism on 3 November 1880 and a Church of Ireland (Protestant Anglican) baptism on 21 November 1880.Catholic baptismal record confirming date of birth as 30 October 1880
irishgenealogy.ie. Accessed 22 April 2022. She had seven siblings, one of whom was fellow actress

Maire O'Neill Maire O'Neill (born Mary Agnes Allgood; 11 January 1886 – 2 November 1952) was an Irish actress of stage and film. She holds a place in theatre history as the first actress to interpret the lead character of Pegeen Mike Flaherty in John Mill ...

, although the two were later reportedly estranged. A brother, Tom, became a Roman Catholic priest, who took the religious name of "Father Vincent". After her father's death when she was a young girl, her mother returned to work as a furniture trader. Allgood began work as soon as she was able, apprenticed to a

French polish French polishing is a wood finishing technique that results in a very high gloss surface, with a deep colour and chatoyancy. French polishing consists of applying many thin coats of shellac dissolved in denatured alcohol using a rubbing pad lubri ...

er near her mother's workplace who sold high quality antique and modern furniture from their warerooms at 19 and 20 Bachelor's Walk, Dublin, and who also operated as cabinet-makers, upholsterers, valuers, house agents, and auctioneers.

Career

Allgood joined the Irish nationalist Daughters of Ireland, where she first began to study drama under the direction of

Maud Gonne Maud Gonne MacBride ( ga, Maud Nic Ghoinn Bean Mhic Giolla Bhríghde; 21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953) was an English-born Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette and actress. Of Anglo-Irish descent, she was won over to Irish nationalism ...

and

William Fay William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. She began her acting career at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

and was in the opening of the

. Her first big role was in December 1904 at the opening of

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...

's ''

''. By 1905 she was a full-time actress, touring England and North America. In 1915, Allgood was cast as the lead in

J. Hartley Manners John Hartley Manners (10 August 1870 – 19 December 1928) was a London-born playwright of Irish extraction who wrote ''Peg o' My Heart'', which starred his wife, Laurette Taylor, on Broadway in one of her greatest stage triumphs. Biography ...

' comedy ''

Peg o' My Heart "Peg o' My Heart" is a popular song written by Alfred Bryan (words) and Fred Fisher (music). It was published on March 15, 1913 and it featured in the 1913 musical ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The song was first performed publicly by Irving Kaufman ...

'' which toured Australia and New Zealand in 1916. She played the lead role opposite her ''Peg o' My Heart'' co-star and then-husband Gerald Henson in J. A. Lipman's 1918 silent film '' Just Peggy'', shot in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. After his death and her return to Ireland, she continued to perform at the Abbey Theatre. Her most memorable performance was in

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ga, Seán Ó Cathasaigh ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. ...

's ''

Juno and the Paycock ''Juno and the Paycock'' is a play by Seán O'Casey. Highly regarded and often performed in Ireland, it was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924. It is set in the working-class tenements of Dublin in the early 1920s, during the Ir ...

'' in 1923. She won acclaim in London when she played Bessie Burgess in O'Casey's ''

The Plough and the Stars ''The Plough and the Stars'' is a four-act Play (theatre), play by the Irish writer Seán O'Casey that was first performed on 8 February 1926 at the Abbey Theatre. It is set in Dublin and addresses the 1916 Easter Rising. The play's title refe ...

'' in 1926. Allgood was frequently featured in early

Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

films, such as ''

Blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

'' (1929), ''

'' (1930), and ''

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

'' (1936). She had a significant role in '' Storm in a Teacup'' (1937). After many successful theatre tours of America, she pursued a film career. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role as Beth Morgan in the 1941 film ''

''. She had memorable roles in the 1941 retelling of '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', ''It Happened in Flatbush'' (1942), ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

'' (1943), '' The Lodger'' (1944), ''

The Keys of the Kingdom ''The Keys of the Kingdom'' is a 1941 novel by A. J. Cronin. Spanning six decades, it tells the story of Father Francis Chisholm, an unconventional Scottish Catholic priest who struggles to establish a mission in China. Beset by tragedy in h ...

'' (1944), '' The Spiral Staircase'' (1946), ''

The Fabulous Dorseys ''The Fabulous Dorseys'' is a 1947 musical biography, biopic which tells the story of the brothers Tommy Dorsey, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, from their boyhood in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania through their rise, their breakup, and their personal reunion ...

'' (1947), and the original ''

Cheaper by the Dozen ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bestsell ...

'' (1950).

Personal life

In September 1916, Allgood married her ''Peg o' My Heart'' co-star Gerald Henson while they were touring in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In January 1918, they had a daughter named Mary who died one day later. In November of that year, the

Spanish flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

claimed Henson's life. Allgood settled in Hollywood in 1940 and became an American citizen in 1945.

Death

On 13 September 1950, at the age of 69, Allgood died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at her home in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

. She was buried in

Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Holy Cross Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Los Angeles Archdiocese. It is partially in the Culver City city limits. Opened in 1939, Holy Cross comprises . It contains—amo ...

Partial filmography

* '' Just Peggy'' (1918) - Peggy * ''

'' (1929) - Mrs. White * ''

To What Red Hell ''To What Red Hell'' is a 1929 British crime film directed by Edwin Greenwood and starring Sybil Thorndike, Bramwell Fletcher and Janice Adair. Made at Twickenham Studios, it was one of the earliest all-talking sound films to be produced in Br ...

'' (1929) * ''

'' (1930) - Mrs. Boyle ('Juno') * ''

The World, the Flesh, the Devil ''The World, the Flesh, the Devil'' is a 1932 British crime film directed by George A. Cooper and starring Harold Huth, Isla Bevan and Victor Stanley. It was based on a play by Laurence Cowen. It was shot at Beaconsfield and Twickenham Studios ...

'' (1932) - Emme Stanger * ''

The Fortunate Fool ''The Fortunate Fool'' is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Norman Walker and starring Hugh Wakefield, Joan Wyndham and Jack Raine. It was made at Ealing Studios as a quota quickie.Chibnall p.272 The film's sets were designed by the art ...

'' (1933) - Rose * '' Lily of Killarney'' (1934) - Mrs O'Connor * '' Irish Hearts'' (1934) - Mrs. Gogarthy * '' Lazybones'' (1935) - Bridget * ''

Peg of Old Drury ''Peg of Old Drury'' is a 1935 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke and Margaretta Scott. The film is a biopic of eighteenth-century Irish actress Peg Woffington. It was based on the play ' ...

'' (1935) - Irish Woman on Boat (uncredited) * ''

The Passing of the Third Floor Back ''The Passing of the Third Floor Back'' is a 1935 British drama film directed by Berthold Viertel and starring Conrad Veidt, Anna Lee, Rene Ray and Frank Cellier. The film is based on a 1908 play and short story by Jerome K. Jerome and depicts ...

'' (1935) - Mrs. de Hooley * ''

Crime Unlimited ''Crime Unlimited'' is a 1935 British crime film that was made as a Quota quickie. It was directed by Ralph Ince. The film marked the English-language debut of Lilli Palmer. Plot The Merrick gang pull off a diamond robbery and murder a police o ...

'' (1935) - Jewel Thief (uncredited) * ''

Riders to the Sea ''Riders to the Sea'' is a play written by Irish Literary Renaissance playwright John Millington Synge. It was first performed on 25 February 1904 at the Molesworth Hall, Dublin, by the Irish National Theater Society with Helen Laird playing Ma ...

'' (1936, Short) - Maurya * '' Pot Luck'' (1936) - Mrs. Kelly * ''

It's Love Again ''It's Love Again'' is a 1936 British musical film directed by Victor Saville and starring Jessie Matthews, Robert Young and Sonnie Hale. In the film, a chorus girl masquerades as a big game hunter to try to boost her showbiz career. The fi ...

'' (1936) - Mrs. Hopkins * ''

Southern Roses ''Southern Roses'' is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Frederic Zelnik and starring George Robey, Gina Malo and Chili Bouchier. It was shot at Denham Studios.Wood p.92 The film's sets were designed by the art director Frederick P ...

'' (1936) - Miss Florence * ''

'' (1936) * '' Kathleen Mavourneen'' (1937) - Mary Ellen O'Dwyer * '' Storm In A Teacup'' (1937) - Honoria Hegarty * '' The Sky's the Limit'' (1938) - Mrs. O'Reilly * '' The Londonderry Air'' (1938) - Widow Rafferty * ''

On the Night of the Fire ''On the Night of the Fire'', released in the United States as ''The Fugitive'', is a 1939 British thriller film, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Ralph Richardson and Diana Wynyard. The film is based on the novel of the same name ...

'' (1939) - Charwoman * ''

That Hamilton Woman ''That Hamilton Woman'', also known as ''Lady Hamilton'', is a 1941 black-and-white historical film drama produced and directed by Alexander Korda for his British company during his exile in the United States. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, th ...

'' (1941) - Mrs. Cadogan-Lyon * '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1941) - Mrs. Higgins * ''

Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...

'' (1941) - Mary * ''

'' (1941) - Mrs. Morgan * ''

Roxie Hart Roxanne "Roxie" Hart is a fictional character. She is the main character of the 1926 play ''Chicago'' and its various remakes and derivatives. Development The playwright, reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, was inspired by the trials, both of which ...

'' (1942) - Mrs. Morton * '' This Above All'' (1942) - Waitress * ''

It Happened in Flatbush ''It Happened in Flatbush'' is a 1942 American sports film directed by Ray McCarey and starring Lloyd Nolan, Carole Landis and Sara Allgood. The film is a baseball comedy inspired by the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers' pennant win. This film's sets we ...

'' (1942) - Mrs. 'Mac' McAvoy * ''

The Light of Heart ''The Light of Heart'' is a 1940 play by the British writer Emlyn Williams. It ran for 127 performances at the Apollo Theatre in London's West End between 21 February and 8 June 1940. The cast included Godfrey Tearle, Megs Jenkins, Gladys Henso ...

'' (1942) * ''

The War Against Mrs. Hadley ''The War Against Mrs. Hadley'' is a 1942 American drama film directed by Harold S. Bucquet and starring Fay Bainter and Edward Arnold. The plot depicts how wealthy society matron Stella Hadley selfishly refuses to sacrifice her family or materi ...

'' (1942) - Mrs. Michael Fitzpatrick * ''

Life Begins at Eight-Thirty ''Life Begins at Eight-Thirty'' is a 1942 comedy-drama romance film starring Monty Woolley as a washed-up, alcoholic actor, Ida Lupino as his daughter, and Cornel Wilde as her boyfriend. It is based on the West End play ''The Light of Heart'' by ...

'' (1942) - Alma Lothian, Robert's Aunt * ''

City Without Men ''City Without Men'' is a 1943 American film noir crime film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Linda Darnell, Edgar Buchanan and Michael Duane. It was released by Columbia Pictures on January 14, 1943. A group of women lives in a boarding ...

'' (1943) - Mrs. Maria Barton * '' Forever and a Day'' (1943) - Cook (1917) (scenes deleted) * ''

'' (1943) - Bessie * '' The Lodger'' (1944) - Ellen Bonting * '' Between Two Worlds'' (1944) - Mrs. Midget * ''

'' (1944) - Sister Martha * ''

The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry ''The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry'' is a 1945 American film noir drama film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring George Sanders as an aging bachelor who looks after his two sisters, one of whom tries to sabotage his romance with his co-worker ...

'' (1945) - Nona * '' Kitty'' (1945) - Old Meg * '' The Spiral Staircase'' (1946) - Nurse Barker * ''

Cluny Brown ''Cluny Brown'' is a 1946 American romantic comedy made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was written by Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt based on the 1944 novel by Margery Sharp. The mu ...

'' (1946) - Mrs. Maile * ''

'' (1947) - Mrs. Dorsey * ''

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

'' (1947) - Martha Huntley * ''

Mother Wore Tights ''Mother Wore Tights'' is a 1947 Technicolor musical film starring Betty Grable and Dan Dailey as married vaudeville performers, directed by Walter Lang. This was Grable and Dailey's first film together, based on a book of the same name by Miria ...

'' (1947) - Grandmother McKinley * ''

Mourning Becomes Electra ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932, starring Lee Baker ...

'' (1947) - Adam Brant's Landlady * ''

My Wild Irish Rose ''My Wild Irish Rose'' is a 1947 film directed by David Butler. It stars Dennis Morgan and Arlene Dahl (in her debut film). It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1948. Plot A fictionalized biopic of Chauncey Olcott, the movie traces the rise ...

'' (1947) - Mrs. Brennan * '' Man from Texas'' (1948) - Aunt Belle * ''

One Touch of Venus ''One Touch of Venus'' is a 1943 musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the 1885 novella ''The Tinted Venus'' by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygma ...

'' (1948) - Landlady * ''

The Girl from Manhattan ''The Girl from Manhattan'' is a 1948 American comedy film, comedy drama film directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Dorothy Lamour, George Montgomery (actor), George Montgomery, and Charles Laughton.DOROTHY LAMOUR STARS IN FILM MINUS SARONG G K. L ...

'' (1948) - Mrs. Beeler * ''

The Accused Accused or The Accused may refer to: * A person suspected with committing a crime or offence; see Criminal charge ** Suspect, a known person suspected of committing a crime * The Accüsed, a 1980s Seattle crossover thrash band *''The Accused'', a ...

'' (1949) - Mrs. Conner * ''

Challenge to Lassie ''Challenge to Lassie'' is an American drama directed by Richard Thorpe in Technicolor and released October 31, 1949, by MGM Studios. It was the fifth feature film starring the original Lassie, a collie named Pal, and the fourth and final ''La ...

'' (1949) - Mrs. MacFarland * ''

'' (1950) - Mrs. Monahan * '' Sierra'' (1950) - Mrs. Jonas (final film role)

References

External links

* *
NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection
accessed October 26, 2015.
Portrait gallery (University of Washington, Sayre Collection)
accessed October 26, 2015. * (with incorrect year of birth) {{DEFAULTSORT:Allgood, Sara 1880 births 1950 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses Irish emigrants to the United States Irish film actresses Irish stage actresses Actresses from Dublin (city) Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City 20th-century Irish actresses 20th-century American actresses