Judith Anderson | |
|---|---|
 Anderson in the 1940s | |
| Born | Frances Margaret Anderson (1897-02-10)10 February 1897 |
| Died | 3 January 1992(1992-01-03) (aged 94) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1915–1987 |
| Spouses | |
Dame Frances Margaret Anderson (10 February 1897 – 3 January 1992), known professionally asJudith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film, and television.
A well-known stage actress in her era, she won twoEmmy Awards and aTony Award, and was also nominated for aGrammy Award and anAcademy Award.
Frances Margaret Anderson was born in 1897 inAdelaide, South Australia,[1] the youngest of four children born to Jessie Margaret (née Saltmarsh; 19 October 1862 – 24 November 1950), a former nurse, and Scottish-born James Anderson Anderson, a sharebroker and pioneering prospector.[2][3]
She attended a private school, Norwood, where her education ended before graduation.[4]
She made her professional debut (as Francee Anderson) in 1915, playing Stephanie at theTheatre Royal, Sydney, inA Royal Divorce. Leading the company was Scottish actorJulius Knight, whom she later credited with laying the foundations of her acting skills.[5] She appeared alongside him in adaptations ofThe Scarlet Pimpernel,The Three Musketeers,Monsieur Beacauire, andDavid Garrick. In 1917, she toured New Zealand.[6]
Anderson was ambitious and wanted to leave Australia. Most local actors went to London, but the war made this difficult, so she decided on the U.S.[7] She travelled to California, but was unsuccessful for four months, then moved to New York, with an equal lack of success.[8][6]
After a period of poverty and illness, she found work with the Emma Bunting Stock Company at theFourteenth Street Theatre in 1918–19. She then toured with other stock companies.[6]
She made herBroadway debut inUp the Stairs (1922) followed byThe Crooked Square (1923), and she went to Chicago withPatches (1923). She appeared inPeter Weston (1923), which only had a short run.[9]
One year later, she had changed her acting forename (albeit not for legal purposes) to Judith and had her first triumph with the playCobra (1924) co-starringLouis Calhern, which ran for 35 performances. Anderson then went on toThe Dove (1925), which went on for 101 performances and really established her on Broadway.[10][6]
She toured Australia in 1927 with three plays:Tea for Three,The Green Hat, andCobra.[11][12][13] Back on Broadway, she was inBehold the Bridegroom (1927–28) by George Kelly, and had the lead role inAnna (1928).[14] She replacedLynn Fontanne during the successful run ofStrange Interlude (1929).
Anderson made her film debut in a short for Warner Bros., "Madame of the Jury" (1930). She made her feature-film debut with a role inBlood Money (1933).
In 1931, she played the Unknown Woman in the American premiere ofPirandello'sAs You Desire Me, which ran for 142 performances. (It wasfilmed the following year withGreta Garbo in the same role.) She was in a short-lived revival ofMourning Becomes Electra (1932), then didFirebird (1932),Conquest,The Drums Begin (both 1933), andThe Mask and the Face (1933, withHumphrey Bogart). Anderson then focused on Broadway withCome of Age (1934) andDivided By Three (1934).[15]
She had a big hit with the lead inZoe Akins'The Old Maid (1935) from the novel byEdith Wharton, in the role later playedon film byMiriam Hopkins. It ran for 305 performances.
In 1936, Anderson playedGertrude toJohn Gielgud'sHamlet in a production that featuredLillian Gish as Ophelia.[16] In 1937, she joined theOld Vic Company in London and playedLady Macbeth oppositeLaurence Olivier in a production byMichel Saint-Denis, at the Old Vic and theNew Theatre.[17]
She returned to Broadway withFamily Portrait (1939), which she adored, but only it had a short run. She later toured in the show.[18][7]
Anderson then received a career boost when she was cast inAlfred Hitchcock'sRebecca (1940). As the housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, she was required to mentally torment the young bride, the "second Mrs. de Winter" (Joan Fontaine), even encouraging her to commit suicide, and to taunt her husband (Laurence Olivier) with the memory of his first wife, the never-seen "Rebecca" of the title. The film was a huge critical and commercial success, and Anderson was nominated forBest Supporting Actress at the13th Academy Awards.
Anderson was second billed in anEddie Cantor comedy,Forty Little Mothers (1940) atMGM. She stayed at that studio forFree and Easy (1941), then went over toRKO to play the title role inLady Scarface (1941).
In 1941, she played Lady Macbeth again in New York City oppositeMaurice Evans in a production staged byMargaret Webster, a role she was to reprise with Evans on television,firstly in 1954 andthen again in 1960 (the second version was released as a feature film in Europe). This ran for 131 performances.
Anderson made her appearance inRobinson Jeffers'The Tower Beyond Tragedy at the outdoorForest Theater inCarmel-by-the-Sea, California, on July 2–5, 1941. This was the first time it played in a professional manner. John Burr'sCarmel Pine Cone review admired Anderson's performance and proclaimed the production was “an unqualified success." DirectorCharles O'Neal persuaded Anderson to appear in bothThe Tower Beyond Tragedy and theFamily Portrait.[19][20]
She returned to films to make four movies at Warner Bros.:All Through the Night andKings Row (both 1942), andEdge of Darkness andStage Door Canteen (both 1943).
In 1942–43, on stage she played Olga inChekhov'sThree Sisters, in a production, which also featuredKatharine Cornell,Ruth Gordon,Edmund Gwenn,Dennis King, andAlexander Knox. (Kirk Douglas, playing an orderly, made his Broadway debut in the production.) It ran for 123 performances.[21] The production was so illustrious, it was featured on the cover ofTime.[22]
Anderson returned to Hollywood to appear inLaura (1944). She briefly returned to Australia to tour American army camps.[23] She was back in Hollywood to appear inAnd Then There Were None (1945),The Diary of a Chambermaid (1946), andThe Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). Anderson had rare top billing inSpecter of the Rose (1946), written and directed byBen Hecht. She returned to support roles forPursued (1947),The Red House (1947), andTycoon (1947).
In 1947, she triumphed asMedea in a version ofEuripides' eponymous tragedy, written by poet Robinson Jeffers and produced by John Gielgud, who played Jason. She was a friend of Jeffers and a frequent visitor to his homeTor House in Carmel.[24] She won theTony Award forBest Actress for her performance. The show ran for 214 performances. Anderson then toured throughout the country with it.[25]
On the big screen, Anderson played a golddigger inAnthony Mann's WesternThe Furies (1950) and made her TV debut in a 1951 adaptation ofThe Silver Cord forPulitzer Prize Playhouse. She guest-starred on TV shows such asThe Billy Rose Show andSomerset Maugham TV Theatre.
She returned to Broadway withThe Tower Beyond Tragedy by Jeffers (1950), and touredMedea in German in 1951.[25] She was in a New York revival ofCome of Age in 1952. She was Herodias inSalome (1953) and played inBlack Chiffon onThe Motorola Television Hour.
In 1953, she was directed byCharles Laughton in his own adaptation ofStephen Vincent Benét'sJohn Brown's Body with a cast also featuringRaymond Massey andTyrone Power. Then, she didIn the Summer House (1953–54) on Broadway.
On television, she was inMacbeth (1954) with Maurice Evans, for which she won an Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Single Performance,[26] andThe Elgin Hour. She was in several episodes ofThe Star and the Story and an episode ofClimax!, as well as playing Memnet inCecil B. DeMille's epicThe Ten Commandments (1956).[27]
In 1955, she toured Australia withMedea.[28] In 1956, she was in a production ofCaesar and Cleopatra forProducers' Showcase.
Anderson appeared in a 1958 adaptation ofThe Bridge of San Luis Rey forThe DuPont Show of the Month and played the memorable role of Big Mama, alongsideBurl Ives as Big Daddy, in the screen adaptation ofTennessee Williams's play,Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). She followed it with a return to Broadway, in the short-livedComes a Day by Speed Lampkin (1958). "I don't profess to know much about films", she said around this time. "I seldom see one."[29]
Anderson reprised her performance asMedea for TV in 1959; in the same year, she appeared in a small-screen adaptation ofThe Moon and Sixpence with Laurence Olivier. She had a role in theWagon Train episode "The Felizia Kingdom Story", and appeared in several episodes ofPlayhouse 90 and one ofOur American Heritage.
In 1960, she played Madame Arkadina in Chekhov'sThe Seagull first at theEdinburgh Festival, and then at the Old Vic, withTom Courtenay,Cyril Luckham andTony Britton.[citation needed]
That year she also performed inCradle Song andMacbeth (both 1960) for TV. She won The Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, for once again playing Lady MacBeth. She had support roles inCinderfella (1960) andWhy Bother to Knock (1961).
In 1961, she toured an evening in which she performedMacbeth,Medea andTower.[30] Anderson was inThe Ghost of Sierra de Cobre (1964) for TV.
In 1966, she did a performance on stage inElizabeth the Queen, which received poor reviews.[31][32]
She received acclaim for her lead performance in a TV version ofElizabeth the Queen (1968, withCharlton Heston). She followed it withThe File on Devlin (1969) andA Man Called Horse (1970). The latter was her first feature sinceWhy Bother to Knock.[33]
In 1970, she realised a long-held ambition to play the title role ofHamlet on a national tour of the United States and at New York City'sCarnegie Hall.[34]
Anderson also recorded manyspoken-word record albums forCaedmon Audio from the 1950s to the 1970s, including scenes fromMacbeth with Maurice Anderson (Victor, in 1941), an adaption ofMedea,Robert Louis Stevenson verses, and readings fromthe Bible. She received a Grammy nomination for her work on theWuthering Heights recording.
Anderson returned briefly to Australia. She guest-starred inMatlock Police and was in the filmInn of the Damned (1974).
Her other credits that decade includedThe Borrowers (1973) andThe Chinese Prime Minister (1974)
In 1982, she returned toMedea, this time playing the Nurse oppositeZoe Caldwell in the title role. Caldwell had appeared in a small role in the Australian tour ofMedea in 1955–56. She was nominated for theTony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.
In 1984, she appeared inStar Trek III: The Search for Spock as theVulcan High Priestess T'Lar.
That same year, she commenced a three-year stint as matriarch Minx Lockridge on the daytime NBC soap operaSanta Barbara elapsing from 1984 until 1987. When asked why, she replied "Why not? It's practically the same as doing a play."[35] She had professed to be a fan of the daytime genre – she had watchedGeneral Hospital for 20 years – but after signing withSanta Barbara, she complained about her lack of screen time. The highlight of her stint was when Minx tearfully revealed the horrific truth that she had switched the late Channing Capwell with Brick Wallace as a baby, preventing her illegitimate grandson from being raised as a Capwell. This resulted in her receiving aSupporting Actress Emmy nomination although her screen time afterwards diminished to infrequent appearances. After leaving the series, she was succeeded in the role by the quarter-century younger American actressJanis Paige.[citation needed]
Her last movies wereThe Booth andImpure Thoughts (both 1985).
Anderson was married twice and declared that "neither experience was a jolly holiday":[36]
Anderson spent much of her life inSanta Barbara, California, where she died ofpneumonia in 1992, aged 94.[42]
Anderson was created aDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1960 and thereafter was often billed as "Dame Judith Anderson".[43]
On 10 June 1991, in the1991 Australian Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed aCompanion of the Order of Australia (AC), "in recognition of service to the performing arts".[44]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Madame of the Jury | Short | |
| 1933 | Blood Money | Ruby Darling | |
| 1940 | Rebecca | Mrs. Danvers | |
| Forty Little Mothers | Madame Madeleine Granville | ||
| 1941 | Free and Easy | Lady Joan Culver | |
| Lady Scarface | Slade | ||
| 1942 | All Through the Night | Madame | |
| Kings Row | Mrs. Harriet Gordon | ||
| 1943 | Edge of Darkness | Gerd Bjarnesen | |
| Stage Door Canteen | Judith Anderson | ||
| 1944 | Laura | Ann Treadwell | |
| 1945 | And Then There Were None | Emily Brent | |
| 1946 | The Diary of a Chambermaid | Madame Lanlaire | |
| The Strange Love of Martha Ivers | Mrs. Ivers | ||
| Specter of the Rose | Madame La Sylph | ||
| 1947 | Pursued | Mrs. Callum | |
| The Red House | Ellen Morgan | ||
| Tycoon | Miss Braithwaite | ||
| 1950 | The Furies | Flo Burnett | |
| 1953 | Salome | Queen Herodias | |
| 1956 | The Ten Commandments | Memnet | |
| 1958 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Big Momma Pollitt | |
| 1960 | Cinderfella | Wicked Stepmother | |
| 1961 | Don't Bother to Knock | Maggie Shoemaker | |
| 1970 | A Man Called Horse | Buffalo Cow Head | |
| 1975 | Inn of the Damned | Caroline Straulle | |
| 1984 | Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | T'Lar | |
| 1986 | Impure Thoughts | The Sister of Purgatory |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Pulitzer Prize Playhouse | Mrs. Phelps | Episode: "The Silver Cord" |
| 1954 | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | TV movie |
| The Motorola Television Hour | Alicia | Episode: "Black Chiffon" | |
| 1958 | The DuPont Show of the Month | Marchioness of Montemayor | Episode: "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" |
| 1959 | Wagon Train | Felizia Kingdom | Episode: "The Felizia Kingdom Story" |
| The Moon and Sixpence | Tiare | TV movie | |
| A Christmas Festival | Narrator of the final offering | ||
| 1960 | Cradle Song | The Prioress | |
| Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | ||
| Our American Heritage | Margaret Morrison Carnegie | Episode: "Millionaire's Mite" | |
| 1964 | The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre | Paulina | TV movie |
| 1968 | Elizabeth the Queen | Queen Elizabeth I | |
| 1969 | The File on Devlin | Elizabeth Devlin | |
| 1973 | The Borrowers | Aunt Sophy | |
| 1974 | The Underground Man | Mrs. Snow | |
| The Chinese Prime Minister | She | ||
| 1983 | Medea | Nurse | |
| 1984–1987 | Santa Barbara | Minx Lockridge | 66 episodes |
| 1985 | The Booth | TV movie |
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Theatre Guild on the Air | Black Chiffon[45] |
Judith Anderson was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the ... to give the girl eight years of good schooling at two private institutions in South Australia, Rose Park and Norwood.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
