Ann Blyth

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Ann Blyth with Japanese Crown Prince Akihito and director Mervyn LeRoy (1953)

Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928 in Mount Kisco , New York ) is an American actress and singer . Blyth gained notoriety primarily through music films and comedies of the 1940s, but was also able to record success in serious roles. For her appearance as Veda Pierce in the film noir As long as a heart beats , she received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress in 1946 . Her creative time in Hollywood extended from 1944 to 1985 and includes nearly 50 appearances in films and television series.

Career

Ann Blyth was born in Mount Kisco in 1928. After her parents Harry and Nan Lynch Blyth separated, she moved with her mother († 1946) and her sister to New York , where Ann attended St. Patrick's Catholic School in Manhattan .

Blyth appeared as a singer on radio shows in the New York area at the age of five. She developed into a light soprano as a teenager and became a choir singer at New York's Children's Opera in 1937 at the age of nine . This gave Blyth the chance to appear on Broadway shows. She made her debut there in 1941 in the role of Babette in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine , which she played until 1942.

At the age of 15, Blyth came to Hollywood and from 1944 received his first roles in musicals and comedies such as Chip Off the Old Block and Babes on Swing Street . She became known in 1945 as the selfish, psychopathic daughter of Joan Crawford in Michael Curtiz's drama As long as a heart beats . For this performance, Blyth received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress , but otherwise she was mostly set to roles in musicals and comedies. Although Blyth subsequently took on leading roles in numerous Hollywood films such as The Great Caruso , Alt Heidelberg or Sturmfahrt nach Alaska , she never made her big breakthrough into the top ranks of Hollywood stars.

1957 played Blyth in the role of Connie Martin, the film partner of Van Johnson in the film noir Deadly Scandal . Her last feature film was the biography A Life in Rush in the same year , in which she played the eponymous Helen Morgan at the side of Paul Newman . In later years, Blyth was still at regional theaters, appearing occasionally in television roles, including In Incredible Stories and two episodes of the crime series Quincy . Her last appearance was in 1985 in an episode of the crime series Murder is Her Hobby , before she ended her film and television career. However, she remained active as a stage actress.

In addition to her acting career, Ann Blyth was also active as a singer. She performed her vocal appearances in films such as Solange ein Herz Beats and A Life in the Smoke herself, while many other actresses had a singing double at the time. In 1963, Blyth released an album called Hail Mary , on which she sang sacred songs.

In 1953, Blyth married James McNulty, a physician who was eleven years her senior and with whom she had five children. The marriage lasted until McNulty's death in 2007. She now lives near San Diego . For her services as an actress, Ann Blyth received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Even in old age she appears as a star guest at film festivals. In 2013 she was a guest at the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival together with Jane Withers .

Filmography (selection)

literature

  • Jacqueline T. Lynch: Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston 2015, ISBN 978-1-5118-0156-0

Web links

Commons : Ann Blyth  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ann Blyth. In: glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved October 26, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Happy 90th Birthday, Ann Blyth! In: sistercelluloid.com. August 17, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Blyth, Ann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blyth, Ann Marie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH August 16, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Mount Kisco , New York , United States