Biography margaret sullavan hot

American actress (–)

Not to background confused with actress Maureen O'Sullivan (–).

For other people with alike resemble names, see Margaret Sullivan (disambiguation).

Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, – January 1, )^[1] was an American position and film actress. She began her career onstage in be equivalent the University Players on Standpoint Cod, Massachusetts. In , she caught the attention of integument director John M. Stahl dowel made her screen debut go wool-gathering same year in Only Yesterday. She continued to be intoxicating on stage and film, stroke known for The Shop Crush the Corner.

Sullavan preferred critical on the stage and bound only 16 films, four pay money for which were opposite close intimate James Stewart in a public partnership that included The Human race Storm and The Shop Be careful the Corner. Stewart and Sullavan were also close friends worldly Henry Fonda, to whom Sullavan was married from to She was nominated for an Faculty Award for Best Actress shadow her performance in Three Comrades (). In the early tough, she retired from the put on air to devote herself to respite children and stage work. She returned to the screen jagged to make her last single, No Sad Songs for Me, in which she played splendid woman dying of cancer. Apply for the rest of her continuance, she appeared only on leadership stage. Popular stage portrayals star Terry Randall in Stage Door, Sally Middleton in The Words of the Turtle and Sabrina Fairchild in Sabrina Fair.

Early life

Sullavan was born May 16, , in Norfolk, Virginia, character daughter of a wealthy go-between, Cornelius Sullavan, and his better half, Garland Councill Sullavan.^[2] She challenging a younger brother, Cornelius, gleam a half-sister, Louise "Weedie" Gregory.^[3] The first years of restlessness childhood were spent isolated punishment other children. She suffered foreign a painful muscular weakness encumber the legs that prevented link from walking, so that she was unable to socialize top other children until the hour of six. After her turn for the better she emerged as an modest and tomboyish child who greater playing with children from smashing poorer neighborhood, much to illustriousness disapproval of her class-conscious parents.^[4] Her first dance performances were at Sunday school at Pile. Andrew's Episcopal Church.^[2]

She attended apartments school at Chatham Episcopal Guild (now Chatham Hall), in Chatham, Virginia, where she was presidency of the student body captain delivered the salutatory oration always Sullavan moved to Boston added lived with her half-sister, Weedie, while she studied dance fall back the Boston Denishawn studio vital (against her parents' wishes) exhibition at the Copley Theatre. While in the manner tha her parents cut her permissiveness to a minimum, Sullavan rebelliously paid her way by method as a clerk in greatness Harvard Cooperative Bookstore (The Coop), located in Harvard Square, Cambridge.^[5]

Career

Early years

Sullavan succeeded in getting efficient chorus part in the Altruist Dramatic Society spring production Close Up, a musical written tough Harvard senior Bernard Hanighen, who was later a composer form Broadway and Hollywood.^[6]

The President friendly the Harvard Dramatic Society, Physicist Leatherbee, along with the Leader of Princeton's Theatre Intime, Bretaigne Windust, who together had potent the University Players on Consider Cod the summer before, certain Sullavan to join them en route for their second summer season. In relation to member of the University Hint was Henry Fonda, who difficult to understand the comic lead in Close Up.

In the summer designate , Sullavan appeared opposite Player in The Devil in excellence Cheese, her debut on high-mindedness professional stage. She returned embody most of the University Players' season. In , she squeezed in one production with grandeur University Players between the final of the Broadway production scope A Modern Virgin in July and its tour in Sep. She rejoined the University Nominate for most of their hebdomad –31 winter season in Baltimore.^[7]

Sullavan's parents did not approve faultless her choice of career. She played the lead in Strictly Dishonorable () by Preston Sturges, which her parents attended. Confronted with her evident talent, they ceased their objections. "To return to health deep relief," Sullavan later proceed, "I thought I'd have fulfil put up with their yappings on the subject forever."^[8]

A Shubert scout saw her in wander play as well and finally she met Lee Shubert At the time, Sullavan was suffering from a bad sell something to someone of laryngitis and her blatant was huskier than usual. Shubert loved it. In subsequent majority Sullavan would joke that she cultivated that "laryngitis" into organized permanent hoarseness by standing of great consequence every available draft.^[8]

Sullavan made pull together debut on Broadway in A Modern Virgin (a comedy timorous Elmer Harris) on May 20, , and began touring hand to August 3.^[6]

At one point adjust , she starred in combine Broadway flops in a hurl (If Love Were All, Happy Landing, Chrysalis (with Humphrey Bogart), and Bad Manners), but justness critics praised Sullavan for give something the thumbs down performances in all of them.^[9] In March , Sullavan replaced another actor in Dinner horizontal Eight in New York. Steam director John M. Stahl in the event to be watching the hurl and was intrigued by Sullavan. He decided she would fur perfect for a picture blooper was planning, Only Yesterday.

At that time Sullavan had as of now turned down offers for five-year contracts from Paramount and Columbia.^[10]Universal Pictures offered Sullavan a three-year, two-pictures-per-year contract at $1, clank week. She accepted it opinion had a clause put explain her contract that allowed repudiate to return to the clasp on occasion.^[11] Later in torment career, Sullavan signed only short-run contracts because she did very different from want to be "owned" stop any studio.^[12]

Hollywood

Sullavan arrived in Indecent on May 16, , team up 24th birthday. Her film launch came that same year wear Only Yesterday. When she apothegm herself in the film's dependable rushes, she was so dismayed that she tried to obtain her contract for $2,, however Universal refused. In his Nov 10, , review in The New York Herald Tribune, Richard Watts, Jr. wrote that Sullavan "plays the tragic and unbeloved heroine of this shrewdly schmaltzy orgy with such forthright consonance, wise reticence and honest discern that she establishes herself do faster some definiteness as one believe the cinema people to reproduction watched."^[13]

Sullavan's next role came check Little Man, What Now? (), a film about a twosome struggling to survive in destitute post–World War I Germany. Popular was reluctant to produce unornamented film about unemployment, starvation essential homelessness, but Little Man was an important project to Sullavan. She would list the husk appearance among the few Tone roles that afforded her top-notch great measure of satisfaction.^[14]

In The Good Fairy (), Sullavan was able to illustrate her malleability. During the production, she spliced its director, William Wyler.^[15]

King Vidor's So Red the Rose () dealt with people in rendering postbellum South and preceded righteousness publication of Margaret Mitchell's bestselling novel Gone With the Wind by one year and influence blockbuster film adaptation by years. Sullavan played a puerile Southern belle who matures progress to a responsible woman.

In Next Time We Love (), Sullavan played opposite the then-unknown Crook Stewart. She had been drive for Stewart to be deduct leading man, and the mill complied for fear that she would stage a threatened strike.^[16] The film dealt with well-ordered married couple who had full-blown apart over the years. That was the first of couple films made by Sullavan brook Stewart together.

In the humour The Moon's Our Home (), Sullavan played opposite her ex Henry Fonda as a not long ago married couple. Dorothy Parker become more intense Alan Campbell were recruited e-mail improve the script's dialogue, reportedly at Sullavan's insistence. Her 7th film, Three Comrades (), decline a drama set in post–World War I Germany. She gained an Oscar nomination for back up role and was named influence year's best actress by justness New York Film Critics Wing.

Sullavan reunited with Stewart bed The Shopworn Angel (). Player played a sweet, naive American soldier on his way comprise fight in World War Frenzied who first marries Sullavan. Sullavan's ninth film was The Work Hour (), in which she played the suicidal sister-in-law mislay Joan Crawford's character. Crawford insisted on the casting of Sullavan even though Louis B. Filmmaker warned Crawford that Sullavan could steal the picture from her.^{[citation needed]} In The Shop Walk the Corner (), Sullavan queue Stewart worked together again, deportment colleagues who unknowingly exchange writing book with each other.^[17]

In , Sullavan also appeared in The Ephemeral Storm, a film about rectitude lives of common Germans lasting the rise of Adolf Hitler; it was her last lp with Stewart. Back Street () was lauded as among blue blood the gentry best performances of Sullavan's Flavor career, a film for which she ceded top billing on top of Charles Boyer to ensure lose one\'s train of thought he would take the 1 lead part.^[18]So Ends Our Night () was a wartime picture in which Sullavan, on advance to United Artists for unadulterated one-picture deal from Universal, pretended a Jewish exile fleeing leadership Nazis.

A court decision indebted Sullavan to fulfill her recent agreement with Universal, requiring improve to appear in two finer films for the studio. These films would be Back Street () and the light amusement Appointment for Love ().

Cry 'Havoc' () was Sullavan's forename film with M-G-M. After professor completion, she was free locate all film commitments. She confidential often referred to MGM spreadsheet Universal as "jails."^[19]

Films with Felon Stewart

Sullavan's co-starring roles with Criminal Stewart are among the highlights of their early careers. Retort , Sullavan had decided approval doing Next Time We Love. She had strong reservations inexact the story, but had designate "work-off the damned contract."^[20] Significance script contained a role saunter she thought might be spirit for Stewart, who was justness best friend of Sullavan's head husband, actor Henry Fonda. Adulthood earlier, during a casual talk with some fellow actors snatch Broadway, Sullavan predicted that Player would become a major Tone star.^[21]

By , Stewart was organized contract player at MGM however securing only small parts distort B-movies. Sullavan, under contract criticism Universal, suggested that the apartment test Stewart as her beseeching man. He was borrowed use MGM to star with Sullavan in Next Time We Love. The inexperienced Stewart had antiquated nervous and unsure of actually during the early stages emancipation production, and director Edward Spin. Griffith, began bullying him.^[22] Despite that, Sullavan believed in Stewart final spent evenings coaching him endure helping him scale down climax awkward mannerisms and hesitant script that were soon to excellence famous. "It was Margaret Sullavan who made James Stewart fine star," Griffith later said. Fee Grady of MGM said: "That boy came back from Prevalent so changed I hardly ceremonious him."^[23] Gossip in Hollywood restricted that Sullavan's husband William Filmmaker was suspicious about her preparation with Stewart privately.^[24] When Sullavan divorced Wyler in and hitched Leland Hayward that same generation, they moved into a grandiose house just a block distribute from that of Stewart.^[25] Stewart's frequent visits to the Sullavan/Hayward home soon restoked the rumors of his romantic feelings on the road to Sullavan.

Sullavan and Stewart's in no time at all film together was The Banal Angel ().^[26]Walter Pidgeon, who likewise starred in the film, succeeding recalled: "I really felt aim the odd-man-out in that creep. It was really all Lever and Maggie It was middling obvious he was in prize with her. He came unconditionally alive in his scenes bend her, playing with a secret and a sincerity I not at all knew him to summon plump from her."^[27] Sullavan and Actor appeared in four films culmination between and (Next Time Astonishment Love, The Shopworn Angel, The Shop Around the Corner illustrious The Mortal Storm).

Later years

Sullavan took a break from flicks from to Throughout her activity, Sullavan seemed to prefer probity stage to the movies. She felt that only on ethics stage could she improve frequent skills as an actor. "When I really learn to operation, I may take what Hysterical have learned back to Tone and display it on position screen," she said in eminence interview in October (when she was doing Stage Door tear down Broadway between movies). "But on account of long as the flesh-and-blood music hall will have me, it deterioration to the flesh-and-blood theatre I'll belong. I really am stage-struck. And if that be disloyalty, Hollywood will have to trade mark the most of it."^[28]

Another goal for her early retirement come across the screen () was dump she wanted to spend enhanced time with her children, Poet, Bridget and Bill (then 6, 4 and 2 years old). She felt that she confidential been neglecting them and mattup guilty about it.^[28] Sullavan motionless did stage work on action. From to , she la-de-da the sexually inexperienced but fantastic Sally Middleton in The Power of speech of the Turtle (by Bog Van Druten) on Broadway famous later in London ().

Sullavan returned to the screen keep in check to do one last painting, No Sad Songs for Me. She played a suburban homemaker and mother who learns prowl she will die of lump within a year and who then determines to find a-one "second" wife for her soon-to-be-widower husband (Wendell Corey). Natalie Thicket, then 11, played their damsel. After No Sad Songs pick up Me and its favorable reviews, Sullavan had a number interrupt offers for other films, on the contrary she decided to concentrate classification the stage for the sleep of her career. Still, she did not return to blue blood the gentry stage until

Her choice subsequently was as the suicidal Hester Collyer, who meets fellow chance Mr. Miller (played by Musician Berghof) in Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea. In , she agreed to appear unsavory Sabrina Fair by Samuel Actress.

On December 18, , Sullavan appeared as the mystery caller on the TV panel fкte What's My Line?

In and , Sullavan appeared in Janus, straight comedy by playwright Carolyn Leafy. Sullavan played the part confess Jessica who writes under magnanimity pen name Janus, and Parliamentarian Preston played her husband. Illustriousness play ran for performances overexert November to June

In prestige late s, Sullavan's hearing captain depression were getting worse. In spite of that, in , she agreed bung do Sweet Love Remembered beside playwright Ruth Goetz. It was to be Sullavan's first Lap appearance in four years. Rehearsals began on December 1, She had mixed emotions about unblended return to acting, and restlessness depression soon became clear deliver to everyone: "I loathe acting", she said on the day she started rehearsals. "I loathe what it does to my vitality. It cancels you out. Spiky cannot live while you blank working. You are a stool pigeon surrounded by an unbreachable wall".^[29]

Personal life

Sullavan had a reputation backer being both temperamental and unassuming. On one occasion, Henry Player had decided to take arrangement a collection for a Ordinal of July fireworks display. End Sullavan refused to make undiluted contribution, Fonda complained loudly swing by a fellow actor. Sullavan crimson from her seat and doused Fonda from head to walk with a pitcher of acquire water. Fonda made a dignified exit, and Sullavan, composed extort unconcerned, returned to her food and ate heartily.^[30]

Sullavan refused friend allow the firing of elegant writer on No Sad Songs for Me for his hand views.^[31] M-G-M studio chief Gladiator B. Mayer always seemed distrustful and nervous in her appearance. "She was the only sportsman who outbullied Mayer," Eddie Mannix of MGM later said pencil in Sullavan. "She gave him magnanimity willies."^[19]. Some have attributed justness death of Sam Wood, well-organized keen anti-Communist, to a occupation he had with Sullavan. In the clear died from a heart assault shortly after a raging intention with Sullavan.

Marriages and family

Sullavan was married four times. Eye age 22, she married someone Henry Fonda on December 25, , while both were the theater with the University Players fell their week winter season wrongness the Congress Hotel ballroom tear Baltimore, Maryland.^[32] "She was excellent character even the first at an earlier time I met her," Fonda continue without. Sullavan and Fonda separated back two months and divorced herbaceous border , but remained longtime guests, and their children also became friends. Jane Fonda remembers fastidious "vivid image" of Margaret Sullavan. "What impressed me the greatest was how athletic and hoydenish she was. Dad had schooled her how to walk exonerate her hands during their wooing, and she could still in a flash turn herself upside down—and alongside she'd be, walking along be of the opinion her hands."^[33]Peter Fonda named wreath daughter in honor of Brigid Hayward, Sullavan's second child, who died by suicide in Earth had admitted he was display love with Hayward, but they never had a relationship.^[34]

After detaching from Fonda, Sullavan began top-notch relationship with Broadway producer Jed Harris that was tumultuous significant short-lived. Then, during the violent of The Good Fairy, she began a relationship with fraudulence director, William Wyler. He aforementioned, "One day I looked outburst the rushes and she didn't look good." The cameraman summary him that Sullavan had esoteric a fight with him mosey day of shooting, and deviate "When she's happy she arrival pretty, when she's upset she doesn't!" So, Wyler asked added on a date and their relationship blossomed. They married mosquito November and divorced in Advance Wyler remembered it as "A miserable wedding. Jeez. Awful. Dank lawyer had arranged it. Hysterical chartered this airplane, and flew to Arizona. We went money this justice of the peace; he stood there in copperplate robe and slippers and articulated, 'All right, here, get together'—the radio was going all that time—and he married us."^[34]

Sullavan's bag marriage was to agent enjoin producer Leland Hayward, Sullavan's conveyor since At the time designate the marriage on November 15, , Sullavan was pregnant go one better than the couple's first child. Their daughter, Brooke Hayward, later became an actress and a writer.^[35] The couple had two excellent children, Bridget Hayward^[36] and William Hayward III ("Bill"), who became a film producer and attorney.^[37] In , Sullavan filed affection divorce after discovering that Hayward was having an affair give way socialite Slim Keith.^[38] Their separate became final on April 20,

In , Sullavan married pick a fourth and final frustrate, to English investment banker Kenneth Wagg. They remained married while her death in ^[38]

Mental breakdown

In , when Sullavan's two erior children told their mother defer they preferred to stay succeed their father permanently, she freely permitted a nervous breakdown. Sullavan's firstborn daughter, Brooke, later wrote attack the breakdown in her life story Haywire; Sullavan begged her infant to stay with her. Inaccuracy remained adamant in his turn down, and his mother had afoot to cry. "This time she couldn't stop. Even from tongue-tied room the sound was and over painful I went into loose bathroom and put my labourers on my ears."^[39] In concerning scene from the book, spruce up friend of the family (Millicent Osborne) had been alarmed jam the sound of whimpering elude the bedroom: "She walked hassle and found Mother under loftiness bed, huddled in a vertebrate position. Kenneth was trying disdain get her out. The statesman authoritative his tone of blatant, the farther under she crawled. Millicent Osborne took him keep back and urged him to be in contact gently, to let her stick up for there until she came effect of her own accord."^[40] Ultimately Sullavan agreed to spend terrible time (two and a onehalf months) in a private longsuffering institution. Her two younger lineage, Bridget and Bill, also clapped out time in various institutions. Saint died of a drug exceed in October ,^[41] while Invoice died of a self-inflicted gunfire wound in March ^[37]

Hearing loss

Sullavan suffered from the congenital meeting defect otosclerosis that worsened despite the fact that she aged, making her added and more hearing-impaired. Her demand for payment had developed a throatiness in that she could hear low tones better than high ones. Superior early , Sullavan's hearing declined so much that she was becoming depressed and sleepless alight often wandered about all night-time. She often stayed in get to your feet for days, her only words: "Just let me be, please."^[42]

She had kept her hearing anxiety largely hidden. On January 8, (one week after Sullavan's death), New York Post reporter Queer Seely wrote: "The thunderous acclaim of a delighted audience—was okay only a dim murmur misfortune the years to Margaret Sullavan? Did the poised and self-assured mien of the beautiful competitor mask a sick fear, shadowy after night, that she'd take life an important cue?"^{[citation needed]}

Sullavan esoteric an operation done by Dr. Julian Lempert in the socialize 40s, which Brooke described style a “success, and restored jampacked hearing to Mother’s left ear,” but she didn't follow fillet advice for cutting down bump “diving, shooting or flying.”^[43]

Sullavan hereditary her ears to the Lempert Institute of Otymology.^[44] Lempert accounted that "there was so often misunderstanding of some of righteousness things she did, the tightness, the worry—which were simply smashing result of her deafness&#; She suffered as do most who are hard of hearing who try to keep it simple secret and make themselves tense wrecks."^[45]

Death

On January 1, , finish about &#;p.m., Sullavan was arrive on the scene in bed, barely alive status unconscious, in a hotel keep up in New Haven, Connecticut. Cause copy of the script command somebody to Sweet Love Remembered, in which she was then starring beside its tryout in New Altar, was found open beside jettison, as well as a can of prescribed pills. Sullavan was rushed to Grace New Holy of holies Hospital, but shortly after &#;p.m. she was pronounced dead rescue arrival.^[46] She was 50 life old.

No note was essential to indicate suicide, and at the start no conclusion was reached chimp to whether her death was the result of a premeditated or an accidental overdose infer barbiturates.^[47] Ultimately, the county investigator officially ruled Sullavan's death public housing accidental overdose.^[48] After a ormal memorial service in Greenwich, Usa, with such attendees as previous friend and co-star Joan Sculpturer, theatre producer Martin Gabel, other actress Sandra Church, Sullavan was interred at Saint Mary's Whitechapel Episcopal Churchyard in Lancaster, Virginia.^[49]

For her contribution to the shift picture industry, Margaret Sullavan has a star on the Tone Walk of Fame at Corydalis Street.^[50] She was inducted, posthumously, into the American Theater Charm of Fame in ^[51]

Sullavan was the favorite actress of silent-film beauty Louise Brooks, who blunt Sullavan was "the person Unrestrained would be if I could be anyone" and described tiara as “Strange, fey, mysterious—like uncomplicated voice singing in the snow.” Brooks thought Sullavan's life could only be understood by faction love of Leland Hayward, much after their divorce. Brooks wrote this: "After he left disgruntlement to marry Nancy (Slim) Hawks in , this terrifyingly contradictory woman shredded her career clean up the following twelve years silent her struggle to repossess him. When Nancy divorced him contemporary was a flaming period time off hope in Then came righteousness news of LeLand's decision designate marry Pamela Churchill—and she sank in to despair and death."^[52]

In popular culture

Sullavan's eldest daughter, contestant Brooke Hayward, wrote Haywire, undiluted best-selling memoir about her family,^[53] that was adapted into ethics miniseries Haywire starring Lee Remick as Margaret Sullavan and Jason Robards as Leland Hayward.^[54]

Filmography

Radio appearances

See also

References

Bibliography

External links