Ann Baxter
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Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and a
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, and was nominated for an
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
. A granddaughter of
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
, Baxter studied acting with Maria Ouspenskaya and had some stage experience before making her film debut in ''
20 Mule Team ''20 Mule Team'' (also known as ''Twenty Mule Team'') is a 1940 American Western film about Death Valley, and Daggett, California borax miners, directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Wallace Beery, Marjorie Rambeau and Anne Baxter. The film ...
'' (1940). She became a contract player of
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
and was loaned to
RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
for the role of Lucy Morgan in Orson Welles' ''
The Magnificent Ambersons ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after ''The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for fict ...
'' (1942), one of her earlier films. In 1947, she won both the Academy Award and the
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sophie MacDonald in ''
The Razor's Edge ''The Razor's Edge'' is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. The story beg ...
'' (1946). In 1951, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for the title role in '' All About Eve'' (1950). She worked with several of Hollywood's greatest directors, including Billy Wilder in '' Five Graves to Cairo'' (1943),
Alfred 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 ...
in '' I Confess'' (1953), Fritz Lang in ''
The Blue Gardenia ''The Blue Gardenia'' is a 1953 American film noir directed by Fritz Lang from a screenplay by Charles Hoffman, based on the novella ''The Gardenia'' by Vera Caspary. The film stars Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, and Ann Sothern. An independent p ...
'' (1953), and Cecil B. DeMille in '' The Ten Commandments'' (1956), for which she won a
Laurel Award The Laurel Awards was an American cinema awards system established to honor films, actors, actresses, producers, directors, and composers. This award was created by the ''Motion Picture Exhibitor'' magazine, and ran from 1948 to 1971 (with the e ...
for Topliner Female Dramatic Performance.


Early life

Baxter was born May 7, 1923, in
Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined sta ...
, to Catherine Dorothy ( Wright; 1894–1979), whose father was architect
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
, and Kenneth Stuart Baxter (1893–1977), an executive with the
Seagram Company The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the lar ...
. When Baxter was five, she appeared in a school play. When she was six, her family moved to New York, where she continued to act. She was raised in Westchester County, New York and attended
Brearley Brearley is a surname that may refer to: * David Brearley (1745–1790), delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. * Giles Brearley (born 1955), South Yorkshire local historian * Harry Brearley (1871–1948), British chemist who invented sta ...
. At age 10, Baxter attended a Broadway play starring
Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...
, and she was so impressed that she declared to her family that she wanted to become an actress. By age 13, she had appeared on Broadway in ''Seen but Not Heard''. During this period, Baxter learned her acting craft as a student of actress and teacher Maria Ouspenskaya. In 1939, she was cast as
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
's younger sister in the play '' The Philadelphia Story'', but Hepburn did not like Baxter's acting style, and Baxter was replaced during the show's pre-Broadway run. Rather than giving up, she turned to Hollywood.


Career


20th Century Fox

At 16, Baxter screen-tested for the role of Mrs. DeWinter in ''
Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
''. Director
Alfred 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 ...
deemed Baxter too young for the role, but she soon secured a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox. In 1940, she was loaned to MGM for her first film ''
20 Mule Team ''20 Mule Team'' (also known as ''Twenty Mule Team'') is a 1940 American Western film about Death Valley, and Daggett, California borax miners, directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Wallace Beery, Marjorie Rambeau and Anne Baxter. The film ...
'', in which she was billed fourth after Wallace Beery, Leo Carrillo, and Marjorie Rambeau. She worked with John Barrymore in her next film ''
The Great Profile ''The Great Profile'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Walter Lang and starring John Barrymore, Mary Beth Hughes, Gregory Ratoff and John Payne. Synopsis Barrymore lampoons himself. A famous actor, given to drink, nearly destroys the ...
'' (1940) and appeared as the ingénue in the Jack Benny vehicle '' Charley's Aunt'' (1941). She received star billing in ''
Swamp Water ''Swamp Water'' is a 1941 American film noir crime film directed by Jean Renoir and starring Walter Brennan and Walter Huston. Based on the novel by Vereen Bell, it was produced at 20th Century Fox. The film was shot on location at Okefenokee ...
'' (1941) and ''
The Pied Piper The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...
'' (1942), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Baxter was loaned to RKO to appear in director Orson Welles' ''
The Magnificent Ambersons ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after ''The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for fict ...
'' (1942). She was Tyrone Power's leading lady in '' Crash Dive'' (1943), her first Technicolor film. In 1943, she played a French maid in a North African hotel (with a French accent) in Billy Wilder's '' Five Graves to Cairo'', a Paramount production. She became a popular star in World War II dramas and received top billing in '' The North Star'' (1943), '' The Sullivans'' (1944), ''
The Eve of St. Mark ''The Eve of St Mark'' is a 1942 play by Maxwell Anderson set during World War II. It later became a 1944 film by 20th Century Fox that featured some of the same actors who repeated their roles in the film. The title is derived from the legend of ...
'' (1944), and '' Sunday Dinner for a Soldier'' (1944), co-starring her future husband John Hodiak. Baxter later recalled, "I was getting almost as much mail as Betty Grable. I was our boys' idealized girl next door." She was loaned to United Artists for the leading role in the
film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
'' Guest in the House'' (1944), and appeared in '' A Royal Scandal'' (1945), with Tallulah Bankhead and Charles Coburn; '' Smoky'' (1946), with
Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...
; '' Angel on My Shoulder'' (1946), with
Paul Muni Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund; September 22, 1895– August 25, 1967) was an American stage and film actor who grew up in Chicago. Muni was a five-time Academy Award nominee, with one win. He started his acting career in ...
and
Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...
. Baxter co-starred with Tyrone Power and
Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, she became established as a leading lady. Tierney was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the ...
in 1946's ''
The Razor's Edge ''The Razor's Edge'' is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. The story beg ...
'', for which she won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. Baxter later recounted that ''The Razor's Edge'' contained her only great performance, a hospital scene where the character Sophie "loses her husband, child and everything else." She said she relived the death of her brother, who had died at age three. She was loaned to Paramount for a top-billed role opposite William Holden in ''
Blaze of Noon ''Blaze of Noon'' is a 1947 aviation adventure film directed by John Farrow and based on writer and aviator Ernest K. Gann's best-selling novel ''Blaze of Noon'' (1946), a story about early air mail operations. The screenplay was from well-known w ...
'' (1947) and to MGM for a supporting role as Clark Gable's wife in '' Homecoming'' (1948). Back at 20th Century Fox, she played a wide variety of roles: a lawyer in love with Cornel Wilde in '' The Walls of Jericho'' (1948); Tyrone Power's Irish romantic interest in '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948); a tomboy in ''
Yellow Sky ''Yellow Sky'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Gregory Peck, Richard Widmark, and Anne Baxter. The story is believed to be loosely adapted from William Shakespeare's '' The Tempest''. The screenplay ...
'' (1948), with
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
and Richard Widmark; a 1920s flapper in '' You're My Everything'' (1949), with Dan Dailey; and another tomboy in ''
A Ticket to Tomahawk ''A Ticket to Tomahawk'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Richard Sale and starring Dan Dailey and Anne Baxter. It was released by 20th Century Fox. Marilyn Monroe appeared in one of her earliest roles. Plot In 1876, Johnny Jameson ...
'' (1950), again with Dailey. In 1950, Baxter was chosen to co-star in '' All About Eve'' largely because of a resemblance to Claudette Colbert, who originally was cast but dropped out and was replaced by Bette Davis. The original idea was to have Baxter's character gradually come to mirror Colbert's over the course of the film. Baxter received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for the title role of Eve Harrington. She said she modeled the role on a bitchy understudy she had for her debut performance in the Broadway play ''Seen but Not Heard'' at the age of 13 and who had threatened to "finish her off." Her next Fox film '' Follow the Sun'' (1951) co-starred Glenn Ford as champion golfer Ben Hogan; Baxter played Hogan's wife Valerie. She was top-billed in the western '' The Outcasts of Poker Flat'' (1950), with Dale Robertson, and was part of an ensemble cast in ''
O. Henry's Full House ''O. Henry's Full House'' is a 1952 American anthology film made by 20th Century Fox, consisting of five films, each based on a story by O. Henry. The film was produced by André Hakim and directed by five directors from five screenplays with di ...
'' (1952), her last project for Fox. The comedy '' My Wife's Best Friend'', with MacDonald Carey, was her second and last Fox film released in 1952. Baxter left 20th Century Fox in 1953.


Freelance

In 1953, Baxter contracted a two-picture deal for Warner Brothers. Her first was opposite Montgomery Clift in
Alfred 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 ...
's '' I Confess''; the second was the Fritz Lang whodunit ''
The Blue Gardenia ''The Blue Gardenia'' is a 1953 American film noir directed by Fritz Lang from a screenplay by Charles Hoffman, based on the novella ''The Gardenia'' by Vera Caspary. The film stars Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, and Ann Sothern. An independent p ...
'', in which she played a woman accused of murder. In June 1954, Baxter won the part of the Egyptian princess and queen
Nefertari Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Meritmut, was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wife, Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses II, Ramesses the Great.Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. ''The Complete Royal Families o ...
in Cecil B. DeMille's award-winning '' The Ten Commandments''. Her scenes were shot on Paramount's sound stages in 1955, and she attended the film's New York and Los Angeles premieres in November 1956. Despite criticisms of her interpretation of Nefertari, DeMille and '' The Hollywood Reporter'' both thought her performance was "very good," and ''The New York Daily News'' described her as "remarkably effective." For her work in ''The Ten Commandments'', she won a
Laurel Award The Laurel Awards was an American cinema awards system established to honor films, actors, actresses, producers, directors, and composers. This award was created by the ''Motion Picture Exhibitor'' magazine, and ran from 1948 to 1971 (with the e ...
for Topliner Female Dramatic Performance. She later remembered the film in an interview: In 1960, Baxter received a motion pictures star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
at 6741 Hollywood Boulevard.


Later career

Baxter worked regularly in television in the 1960s. She appeared as one of the mystery guests on '' What's My Line?'' She also starred as guest villain
Zelda The Great "Zelda the Great" is the ninth episode of the '' Batman'' television series in its first season, first airing on February 9 and rerun on June 22, 1966. It begins the story of Zelda the Great, a magician whose fading career has led her to crime. T ...
in episodes 9 and 10 of the ''
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' series. She appeared as another villain, Olga, Queen of the Cossacks, opposite Vincent Price's
Egghead In the U.S. English slang, egghead is an epithet used to refer to intellectuals or people considered out-of-touch with ordinary people and lacking in realism, common sense, sexual interests, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. It wa ...
in three episodes of the show's third season. She played an old flame of Raymond Burr on his crime series '' Ironside''. Baxter made a guest appearance on '' My Three Sons'' season 8 episode 10, aired on November 4, 1967, called "Designing Woman", portraying a glamorous female engineer who wanted Steve Douglas (
Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...
) as a love interest and possible future husband. Baxter returned to Broadway during the 1970s in ''
Applause Applause (Latin ''applaudere,'' to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences usually applaud after a performance ...
'', the musical version of '' All About Eve'', but this time as Margo Channing (succeeding
Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...
). In the 1970s, Baxter was a frequent guest and guest host on '' The Mike Douglas Show''. She portrayed a murderous film star on an episode of ''
Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...
'', titled " Requiem for a Falling Star". In 1971, she had a role in ''
Fools' Parade ''Fools' Parade'' is a 1971 American crime-drama period film directed by Andrew McLaglen, with top-billed stars James Stewart and George Kennedy, and second-tier stars Strother Martin, Kurt Russell, William Windom (actor), William Windom, Mike Kel ...
'' as an aging prostitute. In 1983, Baxter starred in the television series '' Hotel'', ironically replacing iconic former film costar Bette Davis ('' All About Eve'') after Davis became ill.


Personal life

Baxter married actor John Hodiak on July 7, 1946, at her parents' home in
Burlingame, California Burlingame () is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame and is known for its numerous eucalyp ...
. The couple had one daughter, Katrina, born in 1951. They divorced in 1953. At the time, she said they were "basically incompatible", but in her book she blamed herself for the separation: "I had loved John as much", she wrote. "But we'd eventually congealed in the longest winter in the world. Daily estrangement. Things unsaid. Even a fight would have warmed us. To my shame, I'd picked one at last in order to unfreeze the word 'divorce'." In the mid-1950s, Baxter began a relationship with Gambino gangster Filippo Autelitano and later, her publicist Russell Birdwell, who took control of her career and directed her in '' The Come On'' (1956). The couple formed Baxter-Birdwell Productions to make films on a 10-year plan; Baxter would star in the films and Birdwell would work behind the camera. Princeton University Library has a collection of 175 letters by Baxter to Birdwell. In 1960, Baxter married her second husband Randolph Galt, an American owner of a cattle station at Gloucester near
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 ...
, where she was filming '' Summer of the Seventeenth Doll''. After the birth of their second daughter, Maginel, back in California, Galt unexpectedly announced that they were moving to a 4,452 hectare (11,000 acre) ranch south of Grants, New Mexico. They then moved to Hawaii (his home state) before settling back in Brentwood, California. Baxter and Galt were divorced in 1969. In 1976, Baxter recounted her courtship with Galt (whom she called "Ran") in a well-received book called ''Intermission''. Melissa Galt, Baxter's first daughter with Galt, became an interior designer and then a business coach, speaker, and seminar provider. Maginel became a cloistered Catholic nun, reportedly living in Rome. In 1977, Baxter married David Klee, a stockbroker. It was a brief marriage; Klee died unexpectedly from illness. The newlywed couple had purchased a sprawling property in Easton, Connecticut, which they extensively remodeled; however, Klee did not live to see the renovations completed. Although she maintained a residence in West Hollywood, Baxter considered her Connecticut home to be her primary residence. Baxter was a Republican who was active in the campaigns of
Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...
and Dwight D. Eisenhower.


Death

Baxter had a stroke on December 4, 1985, while hailing a taxi on
Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...
in New York City. Baxter remained on life support for eight days in New York's Lenox Hill Hospital, until family members agreed that brain function had ceased. She died on December 12, aged 62. Baxter is buried on the estate of
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
at the
Unity Chapel The Unity Chapel is located in town of Wyoming in Iowa County, Wisconsin United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. History Unity Chapel was designed in Joseph Lyman Silsbee's Chicago architectural office in ...
cemetery in the town of Wyoming, south of Spring Green, Wisconsin. The cemetery is the private cemetery of the Lloyd Jones family, Baxter's mother's side of the family.


Awards and nominations


Filmography


Radio appearances


See also

*
List of actors with Academy Award nominations This list of actors with Academy Award nominations includes all male and female actors with Academy Award nominations for lead and supporting roles in motion pictures, and the total nominations and wins for each actor. Nominations in non-acting c ...


References


External links

* * * *
Photographs and literature
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Anne 1923 births 1985 deaths 20th Century Studios contract players 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Indiana Actresses from New York City American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Burials in Wisconsin People from Michigan City, Indiana Frank Lloyd Wright 20th-century American writers Deaths from intracranial aneurysm People from Brentwood, Los Angeles People from Easton, Connecticut Brearley School alumni California Republicans Connecticut Republicans New York (state) Republicans People from Spring Green, Wisconsin