- Mercedes McCambridge
-
Mercedes McCambridge 
Born Carlotta Mercedes McCambridge
March 16, 1916
Joliet, Illinois, U.S.Died March 2, 2004 (aged 87)
La Jolla, California, U.S.Occupation Actress Years active 1949–92 Spouse William Fifield (m. 1941–1946)
Fletcher Markle (m. 1950–1962)Carlotta Mercedes McCambridge[1] (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress."[2]
Contents
Early life
McCambridge was born in Joliet, Illinois, the daughter of Irish American Catholic parents Marie (née Mahaffry) and John Patrick McCambridge.[1][3][4] She graduated from Mundelein College in Chicago before embarking on a career.[4]
Career
Radio
She began her career as a radio actor during the 1940s while also performing on Broadway. Her radio work in this period included her portrayal of Rosemary Levy on Abie's Irish Rose and various characters on the radio series I Love A Mystery in both its West Coast and East Coast incarnations (most notably as "Charity Martin" in The Thing That Cries in the Night, "Nasha" and "Laura" in Bury Your Dead, Arizona, "Sunny Richards" in both The Million Dollar Curse and The Temple of Vampires and "Jack 'Jacqueline' Dempsey Ross" in The Battle of the Century). She frequently did feature roles on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, and was an original cast member on The Guiding Light, before the Bauers took over as the central characters. She also starred in her own show, The Defense Attorney as Martha Ellis Bryant.
Films
Her Hollywood break came when she was cast opposite Broderick Crawford in the 1949 film All the King's Men. McCambridge won the 1949 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, which won Best Picture for that year. McCambridge also won the Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress and New Star of the Year - Actress for her performance.
In 1954, the actress co-starred with Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden in the offbeat western drama, Johnny Guitar, now regarded as a cult classic. McCambridge and Hayden publicly declared their dislike of Crawford, with McCambridge labeling the film's star "a mean, tipsy, powerful, rotten-egg lady."[4]
McCambridge played the supporting role of "Luz" in the 1956 George Stevens classic Giant, which starred Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean. She was nominated for another Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress but lost to Dorothy Malone in Written on the Wind. In 1959, McCambridge appeared opposite Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor in Joseph L. Mankiewicz' film adaptation of Tennessee Williams' Suddenly, Last Summer.
McCambridge was well-known for providing the dubbed-in voice of the demonically possessed character in The Exorcist, acted by Linda Blair. McCambridge was promised a screen credit for the film's initial release, but she discovered at the premiere that her name was absent. Her dispute with director William Friedkin and the Warner Bros. brass over her exclusion ended when, with the help of the Screen Actors Guild, she was properly credited for her vocal work in the film.[4]
In the 1970s, she toured in a road company production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as Big Mama, opposite John Carradine as Big Daddy. She appeared as a guest artist in college productions such as El Centro College's 1979 The Mousetrap, in which she received top billing despite her character being murdered (by actor Jim Beaver) less than 15 minutes into the play. El Centro brought her back the following year in the title role of The Madwoman of Chaillot. In the mid-1970s, McCambridge briefly took a position as director of Livingrin, a Pennsylvania rehabilitation center for alcoholics. She was at the same time putting the finishing touches on her soon-to-be released autobiography, The Quality of Mercy: An Autobiography (Times Books, 1981), ISBN 0-8129-0945-3.
Personal life
McCambridge married her first husband, William Fifield, in 1939 when she was 23 years old.[4] The couple had a son, John Lawrence Fifield. The couple divorced in 1946, after seven years of marriage.
In 1950, when she was 34 years old, McCambridge married Canadian Fletcher Markle, a radio director. Her son, John, later took Markle's name, thereafter being known as John Markle.[4] During the marriage and afterward, McCambridge battled alcoholism, often being hospitalized after episodes of heavy drinking.[4] She and Markle divorced in 1962, after twelve years of marriage. In 1969, after years with Alcoholics Anonymous, she achieved sobriety.[4]
McCambridge's son, John Markle, a UCLA graduate, had a PhD in Economics.[5] After being fired from his position as a futures trader at Stephens and Company for mishandling funds, a $5 million lawsuit was filed against him and McCambridge. Although some of the mishandled funds had been handled under McCambridge's name through Markle's power of attorney, she was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing.[4] Markle killed his family, wife Christine and daughters Amy (age 13) and Suzanne (age 9), and then himself in a murder/suicide in 1987.[4] He left a note taking responsibility for his crimes as well as a long, bitter letter to his mother.[5]
Death
McCambridge died on March 2, 2004 in La Jolla, California, of natural causes.[4]
For her contribution to television and motion picture industry, Mercedes McCambridge has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for motion pictures, located at 1722 Vine Street, and one for television located at 6243 Hollywood Boulevard.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes 1949 All the King's Men Sadie Burke Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Golden Globe1951 Inside Straight Ada Stritch 1951 The Scarf Connie Carter 1951 Lightning Strikes Twice Liza McStringer 1951 Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Awards Herself short subject 1954 Johnny Guitar Emma Small 1956 Giant Luz Benedict Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 1957 A Farewell to Arms Miss Van Campen 1958 Touch of Evil Gang leader Uncredited 1959 Suddenly, Last Summer Mrs. Grace Holly 1959 Rawhide Mrs Miller Episode: "Incident of the Curious Street" 1960 Cimarron Mrs. Sarah Wyatt 1961 Angel Baby Sarah Strand 1962 Bonanza Melinda Banning Episode: "Lady From Baltimore" 1965 Run Home Slow Nell Hagen 1966 Lost in Space Cybilla Episode: "The Space Croppers" 1968 The Counterfeit Killer Frances 1969 99 Women Thelma D 1969 Justine Madame Dusbois 1971 The Last Generation Archive footage 1972 The Other Side of the Wind Maggie Unreleased 1973 Sixteen Ma Irtley 1973 The Exorcist Pazuzu Voice only 1977 Thieves Street Lady 1978 Charlie's Angels Norma Episode: "Angels in Springtime" 1979 The Concorde ... Airport '79 Nelli 1983 Echoes Lillian Gerben 1986 Amazing Stories Miss Lestrange (Voice) Episode: "Family Dog" Further reading
- Lackmann, Ronald W. Mercedes Mccambridge: A Biography And Career Record. McFarland & Company. 2005. ISBN 0786419792.
- McCambridge, Mercedes. The Quality of Mercy: An Autobiography. Times Books, 1981. ISBN 0-8129-0945-3.
- Terrace, Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924-1984. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9.
References
- ^ a b Lackmann, Ronald W. (2005). Mercedes Mccambridge: A Biography And Career Record. McFarland. pp. 7–10. ISBN 0786419792.
- ^ "Mercedes McCambridge, 87, Actress Known for Strong Roles," The New York Times, March 18, 2004.
- ^ Mercedes McCambridge Biography (1918-)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The Exorcist actress Mercedes McCambridge dies at 85. USA Today. 17 March 2004.
- ^ a b Lackmann, Ronald W. Mercedes Mccambridge: A Biography And Career Record. McFarland & Company. 2005. ISBN 0786419792.
External links
- Mercedes McCambridge at the Internet Movie Database
- Mercedes McCambridge at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mercedes McCambridge at Find a Grave
- Tarple, J. "Run Home, Slow". Grim Little Movies in Black & White. Fade2Black. http://jtarple.tripod.com/runhomeslow.html. Retrieved 2009-07-16.[dead link]
- Moritz, Gwen. "15 years later, murder-suicide fades from view". Arkansas Business. Journal Publishing, Inc.. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/15+years+later,+murder-suicide+fades+from+view.-a092808043.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (1941–1960) Mary Astor (1941) · Teresa Wright (1942) · Katina Paxinou (1943) · Ethel Barrymore (1944) · Anne Revere (1945) · Anne Baxter (1946) · Celeste Holm (1947) · Claire Trevor (1948) · Mercedes McCambridge (1949) · Josephine Hull (1950) · Kim Hunter (1951) · Gloria Grahame (1952) · Donna Reed (1953) · Eva Marie Saint (1954) · Jo Van Fleet (1955) · Dorothy Malone (1956) · Miyoshi Umeki (1957) · Wendy Hiller (1958) · Shelley Winters (1959) · Shirley Jones (1960)
Complete list · (1936–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–2020) Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (1943–1960) Katina Paxinou (1943) · Agnes Moorehead (1944) · Angela Lansbury (1945) · Anne Baxter (1946) · Celeste Holm (1947) · Ellen Corby (1948) · Mercedes McCambridge (1949) · Josephine Hull (1950) · Kim Hunter (1951) · Katy Jurado (1952) · Grace Kelly (1953) · Jan Sterling (1954) · Marisa Pavan (1955) · Eileen Heckart (1956) · Elsa Lanchester (1957) · Hermione Gingold (1958) · Susan Kohner (1959) · Janet Leigh (1960)
Complete List · (1943–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present) Categories:- Actors from Illinois
- American film actors
- American radio actors
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners
- Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- American people of Irish descent
- People from Joliet, Illinois
- People self-identifying as alcoholics
- 1916 births
- 2004 deaths
- American memoirists
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