Ann Blyth

At 95 years old, Ann Blyth has this physical status:

Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an American actress and singer, often cast in Hollywood musicals, but also successful in dramatic roles.

For her performance as Veda Pierce in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce, Blyth was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Personal life

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.

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

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Life and career

Anne Marie Blythe (she later stripped the letter "e" from her first name and surname) was born in Mount Kisco, New York, on August 16, 1928. After her father died, she, her elder sister (Dorothy), and their mother all migrated to a walk-up apartment on East 31st Street in New York City, where her mother took in ironing.

For six years, Blyth appeared on children's radio shows in New York, making her first appearance when she was five years old. She appeared in the New York Children's Opera Company when she was nine years old.

In Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine, she was her first acting appearance (from 1941 to 1942). Babette, Paul Lukas' daughter, appeared on the soap opera. The play lasted for 378 performances and received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. The play went on tour after the New York premieres, and Blyth, who appeared at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, was offered a job with Universal Studios.

Blyth began her acting career as "Anne Blyth," but she changed the spelling of her first name to "Ann" at the start of her film career. She made her film debut in 1944, co-starring Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teen-age film Chip Off the Old Block (1944). She followed it with two films: The Merry Monahans (1944) with O'Connor and Ryan, and Babes on Swing Street (1944) with Ryan. She was involved in the larger Bowery to Broadway (1944), a showcase of Universal musical talent.

Blyth was cast "against type" as Veda Pierce, Joan Crawford's scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford (1945). Her dramatic portrayal received rave reviews, and she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. When she made the Michael Curtiz film, Blyth was just 16 years old. (Crawford received the Best Actress award for that film).

Mildred Pierce, Blyth, suffered a broken back while snowboarding in Snow Valley and was not able to fully capitalize on the film's success.

She recovered and produced two films for Mark Hellinger's team at Universal: Swell Guy (1946), Sonny Tufts (1946), Jules Dassin's Brute Force (1947) with Burt Lancaster. Her father died at this time. She was loaned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to appear as the female lead in Killer McCoy (1947), a boxing film starring Mickey Rooney that was a box office smash.

Blyth Film Noir (1948), affecting a British accent, was a film noir at Universal Studios. Regina Hubbard was then cast in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), an adaptation of Patricia Neal's 1946 play Regina. The play was a prequel to The Little Foxes. With William Powell, Blyth followed it. She was top billed in Red Canyon (1949), a Western with Howard Duff.

In Top of the Morning (1949), a daughter of Barry Fitzgerald who is romanced by Bing Crosby, Blyth loaned him to play the female lead. It was the first time she had performed on film. In Once More, My Darling (1949), she was partnered with Robert Montgomery, meaning she was forced to drop out of Desert Legion. Free for All (1949), she appeared in a comedy with Robert Cummings. Universal suspended her in April 1949 for refusing to play a lead role in Abandoned (1949). Gale Storm made it.

Sam Goldwyn was loaned to play Farley Granger in Our Very Own (1950). Katie Did It (1951), Universal's highest-ranking in a romantic comedy. MGM used Blyth for The Great Caruso (1951), opposite Mario Lanza, which was a major box office hit. With Claudette Colbert (1951) she made Thunder on the Hill (1951) and had the female lead in The Golden Horde (1951) with David Farrar. In "I'll Never Forget You," a last-minute replacement for Constance Smith, she was loaned to actress Miranda Blake in the 20th Century Fox loaned her to act opposite Tyrone Power in I'll Never Forget You (1952). She appeared on television in a series called "The World's Greatest Mother" alongside Ethel Barrymore.

In The World in His Arms (1952), Universal teamed Blyth with Gregory Peck. 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 in which she replaced Claudette Colbert who died of pneumonia, but not before she was withdrawn.

Since she worked at The Great Caruso studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had been interested in Blyth. She left Universal in December 1952 and committed to MGM for a long time. She was the leading lady in All the Brothers Were Vain (1953) with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor, who had to be forced to leave due to pregnancy.

On television, she appeared in The Lux Video Theatre version of A Place in the Sun with John Derek and Marilyn Erskine. Blyth, a MGM part, was involved in the restoration of Rose Marie (1954) with Howard Keel, but the company lost money due to high costs. Other MacDonald-Eddy films (such as The Girl of the Golden West) were considered for reimagining, but no plans were accepted.

Blyth was supposed to be reunited with Lanza in The Student Prince (1954), but he was kicked from the studio and replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom; the film did well at the box office. Blyth and Purdom were reunited in a swashbuckler called The King's Thief (1955), starring David Niven. Despite good reviews, she was paired with Keel (1955) on the film Kismet (1955), a financial flop. She was chosen as the female protagonist in The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955), but instead, Kay Kendall was cast in the film. MGM brought Blyth in Slander (1957) opposite Van Johnson in her final photograph at the studio.

In The Buster Keaton Story (1957) with O'Connor at Paraphrase, Sidney Sheldon cast Blyth. She was then cast in the title role of The Helen Morgan Story (1957), directed by Michael Curtiz with Paul Newman. According to reports, Blyth defeated 40 others for the role. Despite the fact that her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, Gogi Grant dubbed her vocals. That soundtrack was much more popular than the film itself. Blyth's other films were not released.

In 1957, she sued Benedict Bogeaus for $75,000 for failing to make the film Conquest.

Blyth worked in musical theater and summer stock, appearing in the films The King and I, The Sound of Music, and Show Boat from the 1950s to the 1970s. She also appeared on television, co-starring James Donald in A.J.'s 1960 version. The Citadel, Cronin's book, is about the citadel.

June Allyson, The Dick Powell Theatre, Saints and Sinners, Wagon Train (several episodes), The Twilight Zone ("Queen of the Nile"), 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's appearance was part of a multi-appearance deal. Blyth became a Hostess Cupcakes spokesperson.

M.E.'s last television appearances were in episodes of Switch and Quincy, M.E. She Wrote in 1983 and 1985, and she died in 1983 and Murder. She officially resigned after that.

Blyth has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard, thanks to her contribution to the film industry.

During Harper MacKay's time as her accompanist and music producer, Blyth appeared on concert tours for many years.

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