Ann Blyth

Ann Blyth
Blyth in 1952
Born	Anne Marie Blythe (1928-08-16) August 16, 1928 (age 96) Mount Kisco, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	1933–1985
Known for	Mildred Pierce
Spouse	James McNulty ​ ​ (m. 1953; died 2007)​
Children	5
Family	Dennis Day (brother-in-law)

Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. She began her acting career on Broadway in Watch on the Rhine (1941–42), and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Veda in the 1945 Michael Curtiz film Mildred Pierce. Her other notable film roles include Brute Force (1947), Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), Once More, My Darling (1949), The World in His Arms (1952), All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953), Rose Marie (1954), The Student Prince (1954), Kismet (1955), and The Helen Morgan Story (1957).

Blyth retired from film acting after the 1950s, but continued to appear on stage and television until 1985. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five.^[3][4] When she was nine, she joined the New York Children's Opera Company.^[5]

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,^[6] 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.^[5]

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).^[3] 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.^[7]

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.^[1] Blyth was only 16 when she made the Michael Curtiz film.^[3] (Crawford won the Best Actress award.)

After Mildred Pierce, Blyth sustained a broken back while tobogganning in Snow Valley in the Southern California mountains^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11] 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.^[12]

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.^[13] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[14] 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.^[15]

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.^[10] Plans to remake other MacDonald-Eddy films (such as The Girl of the Golden West) were discussed,^[16] 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;^[17] 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.^[10] She was named as the female lead in The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955), but Kay Kendall was cast in the film, instead.^[18] For her final picture at the studio, MGM put Blyth in Slander (1957) opposite Van Johnson.

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.^[19] 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.^[20]

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.^[21][22] 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"),^[23] 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.^[24] Blyth became a spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes.

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.^[25]

Blyth performed live in concert tours for many years with Harper MacKay serving as her accompanist and music director.^[26][27][28]

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.^[29]

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.^[30] After her marriage, Blyth took a hiatus from her career to focus on raising their five children.^[31][32] In 1955, an armed man who had written her fan letters was arrested near her house.^[33]

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.^[34]

In 2003, Blyth was the recipient of the Living Legacy Award by the Women's International Center.^[34]

Blyth was widowed when Dr. McNulty died at 79 on May 13, 2007, in La Jolla, California.^[34]

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1944	Chip Off the Old Block	Glory Marlow III
	The Merry Monahans	Sheila DeRoyce
	Babes on Swing Street	Carol Curtis
	Bowery to Broadway	Bessie Jo Kirby
1945	Mildred Pierce	Veda Pierce Forrester	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1946	Swell Guy	Marian Tyler
1947	Brute Force	Ruth
	Killer McCoy	Sheila Carrson
1948	A Woman's Vengeance	Doris Mead	Alternative title: The Gioconda Smile
	Another Part of the Forest	Regina Hubbard
	Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid	Lenore the Mermaid
1949	Red Canyon	Lucy Bostel
	Top o' the Morning	Conn McNaughton
	Once More, My Darling	Marita Connell
	Free for All	Ann Abbott
1950	Our Very Own	Gail Macaulay
1951	Katie Did It	Katherine Standish
	The Great Caruso	Dorothy Park Benjamin
	Thunder on the Hill	Valerie Carns	Alternative title: Bonaventure
	I'll Never Forget You	Helen Pettigrew / Martha Forsyth	Alternative titles: The House in the Square (USA) Man of Two Worlds
	The Golden Horde	Princess Shalimar	Alternative title: The Golden Horde of Genghis Khan
1952	The World in His Arms	Countess Marina Selanova
	Sally and Saint Anne	Sally O'Moyne
	One Minute to Zero	Mrs. Landa Day
1953	All the Brothers Were Valiant	Priscilla "Pris" Holt
1954	Rose Marie	Rose Marie Lemaitre
	The Student Prince	Kathie Ruder
1955	The King's Thief	Lady Mary
	Kismet	Marsinah
1957	Slander	Connie Martin
	The Buster Keaton Story	Gloria Brent
	The Helen Morgan Story	Helen Morgan	Alternative titles are Both Ends of the Candle and Why Was I Born? Vocals dubbed by Gogi Grant

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Lux Video Theatre	Angela	Episode: "A Place in the Sun"
1958–1963	The Christophers		2 episodes
1959	The DuPont Show with June Allyson	Martha	Episode: "Suspected"
1959–1963	Wagon Train	Nancy Winters / Eve Newhope / Clementine Jones / Martha Barham / Jenny / Phoebe Tannen	5 episodes
1960	The Citadel	Christine	Television movie
1962	The Dick Powell Show	Lizzie Hogan	Episode: "Savage Sunday"
1963	Saints and Sinners	Edith Berlitz	Episode: "The Year Joan Crawford Won the Oscar"
1964	The Twilight Zone	Pamela Morris / Constance Taylor	Episode: "Queen of the Nile"
1964–1965	Burke's Law	Deidre DeMara Valerie	2 episodes
1965	Kraft Suspense Theatre	Lady Mei	Episode: "Jungle of Fear"
1969	The Name of the Game	Kay Martin	Episode: "Swingers Only"
1975	Switch	Miriam Estabrook	Episode: "Mistresses, Murder and Millions"
1979–1983	Quincy, M.E.	Velma Whitehead Dorothy Blake	2 episodes
1985	Murder, She Wrote	Francesca Lodge	Episode: "Reflections of the Mind", (final appearance)

Year	Program	Episode/source
1948	Lux Radio Theatre	A Woman's Vengeance[35]
1952	Family Theater	The Presentation[36]
1952	Lux Radio Theatre	Top o' the Morning[37]
1953	Family Theater	The Finding in the Temple[38]

Year	Result	Category	Film	Award
1946	Academy Award	Best Supporting Actress	Mildred Pierce	Nominated
1958	Laurel Awards	Top Female Musical Performance	The Helen Morgan Story	Nominated

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

• * Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest, Ann Blyth
• Ann Blyth at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ann Blyth at IMDb
• Ann Blyth at the TCM Movie Database
• Ann Blyth at Rotten Tomatoes
• Ann Blyth at AllMovie
• Ann Blyth "Women's International Centre" biography and more recent photograph
• Photographs of Ann Blyth