Ann Blyth

Infobox actor
name = Ann Blyth


imagesize = 220px
caption = in "The Student Prince" (1954)
birthname = Ann Marie Blyth
birthdate = birth date and age|1928|8|16
location = Mount Kisco, New York U.S.
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername =
yearsactive =
spouse = Dr. James McNulty (1953-2007)
homepage =
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tonyawards =

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

Early life

Blyth was born in Mount Kisco, New York to parents who divorced shortly after her birth. She was raised a devout churchgoing Roman Catholic by her mother.

Career

Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth", changing the spelling of her name back to the original (Ann) at the beginning of her film career. Her first acting role was on Broadway in "Watch on the Rhine" (from 1941 until 1942). She was signed to a contract with Universal Studios, and made her film debut in "Chip Off the Old Block" in 1944. In musical films such as "Babes on Swing Street" and "Bowery to Broadway" (both 1944), she played the part of the sweet, and demure teenager.

On loan to Warner Brothers, Blyth was cast against type as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in the 1945 film "Mildred Pierce". Her dramatic portrayal won her outstanding reviews and she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. (Crawford won the Best Actress award for that film.)

Having injured her back after "Mildred Pierce" the young actress was not able to capitalize on its success completely, although she was still able to make a few films. She played the part of Regina Hubbard in "Another Part of the Forest" (a 1948 prequel to "The Little Foxes"), and achieved success playing a mermaid in "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid". Her other films include : "Our Very Own" (with Farley Granger), "The Great Caruso", "One Minute to Zero" (with Robert Mitchum), "Rose Marie" (1954), "The Student Prince", "Kismet", "The Buster Keaton Story", and "The Helen Morgan Story".

Blyth raised eyebrows in 1954 at the Academy Awards show when she sang Doris Day's song "Secret Love" from "Calamity Jane" while seven months pregnant.

During the 1960s, Blyth worked in musical theater, summer stock and television, including a starring role in a 1960 adaptation of A. J. Cronin's "The Citadel". She also became the spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes. Her most recent TV appearances came in episodes of "Quincy" in 1983 and "Murder, She Wrote" in 1985.

Blyth has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to motion pictures at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard.

She was featured in a comic book story with Superman in Action Comics No. 130, March 1949: "Superman and the Mermaid!"

Private life

Blyth married James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, in 1953. The couple had five children and remained together until McNulty's death in 2007.

Filmography

*"Chip Off the Old Block" (1944)
*"The Merry Monahans" (1944)
*"Babes on Swing Street" (1944)
*"Bowery to Broadway" (1944)
*"Mildred Pierce" (1945)
*"Swell Guy" (1946)
*"Brute Force" (1947)
*"Killer McCoy" (1947)
*"A Woman's Vengeance" (1948)
*"Another Part of the Forest" (1948)
*"Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid" (1948)
*"Red Canyon" (1949)
*"Top o' the Morning" (1949)
*"Once More, My Darling" (1949)
*"Free for All" (1949)
*"Our Very Own" (1950)
*"You Can Change the World" (Short subject, 1951)
*"Katie Did It" (1951)
*"The Great Caruso" (1951)
*"Thunder on the Hill" (1951)
*"The Golden Horde" (1951)
*"The House in the Square", also known as "I'll Never Forget You" (1951)
*"Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Night Life" (Short subject, 1952)
*"Sally and Saint Anne" (1952)
*"One Minute to Zero" (1952)
*"The World in His Arms" (1952)
*"Crusade for Prayer" (1952)
*"All the Brothers Were Valiant" (1953)
*"Rose Marie" (1954)
*"The Student Prince" (1954)
*"The King's Thief" (1955)
*"Kismet" (1955)
*"Slander" (1956)
*"The Buster Keaton Story" (1957)
*"The Helen Morgan Story" (1957)

External links

*imdb name|id=0001955|name= Ann Blyth
*amg name|2:6922
* [http://www.wic.org/bio/ablyth.htm Ann Blyth "Women's International Centre" biography and more recent photograph]
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=1981 Photographs of Ann Blyth]