Ann Blyth

Ann Blyth
Blyth in 1952.
Born	Ann Marie Blyth (1928-08-16) August 16, 1928 Mount Kisco, New York, U.S.
Other names	Anne Blyth
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1941–1985
Spouse(s)	Dr. James McNulty (m. 1953–2007; his death, 5 children)

Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an American actress and singer, often cast in Hollywood musicals, but also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Life and career

Blyth was born to parents who divorced shortly after her birth. She has been a devout Roman Catholic all her life. Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth," but changed the spelling of her first name back to "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, Blyth 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 (with Mario Lanza), One Minute to Zero (with Robert Mitchum), The World in His Arms (with Gregory Peck), Rose Marie, The Student Prince, Kismet, The Buster Keaton Story, and The Helen Morgan Story (with Paul Newman). Even though her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, her vocals were dubbed by Gogi Grant, a popular singer at the time. That soundtrack was much more successful than the film itself. It also turned out to be Blyth's final film role.

During the late 1950s and 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 guest-starred on October 8, 1958, on NBC The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, the episode in which the 1959 Ford vehicles were introduced to the public. She appeared as Martha in Suspected in December 1959 in the CBS anthology series, The DuPont Show with June Allyson. Blyth also became the spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes. Her last television appearances were in episodes of Quincy, M.E. in 1983 and Murder, She Wrote in 1985.

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

Blyth married James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, in 1953. In 1973, she and McNulty, both of whom were Catholic, received the rank of Lady and Knight of the Holy Sepulchre by Cardinal Cook. McNulty died May 13, 2007, in La Jolla. The couple had five children: Timothy Patrick was born June 10, 1954; daughter Maureen Ann was born December 14, 1955; daughter Kathleen Mary was born December 23, 1957; son Terence Grady was born December 9, 1960; and daughter Eileen Alana was born April 10, 1963. She is known as one of the more famous residents of the celebrity enclave of Toluca Lake, California.

In the December 1952 edition of Motion Picture and Television Magazine Ann Blyth stated in an interview that she endorsed Dwight D. Eisenhower for president the month before in the 1952 presidential election.

Filmography

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	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nomination
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 Benjamin
	Thunder on the Hill	Valerie Carns	Alternative title: Bonaventure
	The Golden Horde	Princess Shalimar	Alternative title: The Golden Horde of Genghis Khan
	The House in the Square	Helen Pettigrew/Martha Forsyth	Alternative titles: I'll Never Forget You (USA) Man of Two Worlds
1952	Sally and Saint Anne	Sally O'Moyne
	One Minute to Zero	Mrs. Landa Day
	The World in His Arms	Countess Marina Selanova
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
1956	Slander	Connie
1957	The Buster Keaton Story	Gloria Brent
	The Helen Morgan Story	Helen Morgan	Alternative titles: Both Ends of the Candle Why Was I Born?

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Lux Video Theatre		1 episode
1958–1963	The Christophers		2 episodes
1959	The DuPont Show with June Allyson	Martha	1 episode
1959–1963	Wagon Train	Various roles	5 episodes
1960	The Citadel	Christine	Television movie
1962	The Dick Powell Show	Lizzie Hogan	1 episode
1963	Saints and Sinners	Edith Berlitz	1 episode
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	1 episode
1969	The Name of the Game	Kay Martin	1 episode
1975	Switch	Miriam Estabrook	1 episode
1979–1983	Quincy, M.E.	Velma Whitehead Dorothy Blake	2 episodes
1985	Murder, She Wrote	Francesca Lodge	1 episode

Radio appearances

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

Award nominations

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

External links

• Ann Blyth at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ann Blyth at the Internet Movie Database
• Ann Blyth at AllMovie
• Ann Blyth "Women's International Centre" biography and more recent photograph
• Photographs of Ann Blyth