Mercedes McCambridge | |
|---|---|
 McCambridge inAll the King's Men (1949) | |
| Born | Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (1916-03-16)March 16, 1916 Joliet, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | March 2, 2004(2004-03-02) (aged 87) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Mundelein College |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1938–1988 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge[1] (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress of radio, stage, film, and television.Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress".[2] She won anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her screen debut inAll the King's Men (1949) and was nominated in the same category forGiant (1956). She voiced the majority of dialogue for demonPazuzu inThe Exorcist (1973).[1]
McCambridge was born inJoliet, Illinois, the daughter ofIrish-American Catholic parents Marie (née Mahaffry) and John Patrick McCambridge, a farmer.[3][4] She graduated fromMundelein College in Chicago.[3]
McCambridge began her career as a radio actress in 1938 while also performing onBroadway. In 1941, she played Judy's friend inA Date with Judy.[5] She had the title role inDefense Attorney, a crime drama broadcast onABC in 1951–52.[6] Her other work on radio included:
She frequently performed feature roles on theCBS Radio Mystery Theater, and was an original cast member onGuiding Light (before the Bauers took over as the central characters). She also starred in her own show,Defense Attorney, onABC 1951–52, as Martha Ellis Bryan.[8]
From June 22, 1953, to March 5, 1954, she starred in the soap operaFamily Skeleton onCBS.[9]
McCambridge played Katherine Wells inWire Service, a drama series that aired on ABC during 1956–57, produced byDesilu Productions.The series starred McCambridge, George Brent, and Dane Clark as reporters for the fictional Trans Globe Wire Service.
In the season one episode of the originalLost in Space series "The Space Croppers", aired on CBS in March 1966, McCambridge played Sybilla, the matriarch of a family of supernatural space farmers.
In an episode ofBewitched titled "Darrin Gone! and Forgotten," which aired on ABC in October 1968, McCambridge played a powerful witch named Carlotta (McCambridge's real first name), a frenemy of Endora. Endora and Carlotta had made a pact "at the turn of the century" that their first-born children would one day marry. When, according to the pact terms, certain celestial phenomena signaled it was time for the marriage, Carlotta (McCambridge) disappeared Darrin and pushed for Samantha to marry her coddled son Juke (played by veteran character actorSteve Franken).
McCambridge's film career took off when she was cast as Sadie Burke oppositeBroderick Crawford inAll the King's Men (1949). McCambridge won the 1949Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role, while the film wonBest Picture for that year. McCambridge also won theGolden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress andNew Star of the Year – Actress for her performance.[citation needed]
In 1954, she co-starred withJoan Crawford andSterling Hayden in the offbeat western drama,Johnny Guitar, now regarded as a cult classic.[10] McCambridge and Hayden publicly declared their dislike of Crawford, with McCambridge labeling her "a mean, tipsy, powerful, rotten-egg lady."[3]
McCambridge played the supporting role of Luz in theGeorge Stevens classicGiant (1956), which starredElizabeth Taylor,Rock Hudson, andJames Dean. She was nominated for another Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress but lost toDorothy Malone inWritten on the Wind. In 1959, McCambridge appeared oppositeKatharine Hepburn,Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor in theJoseph L. Mankiewicz film adaptation ofTennessee Williams'Suddenly, Last Summer.
McCambridge appeared as a leather jacket-wearing hoodlum inTouch of Evil, reuniting with her former radio colleague Orson Welles, who directed the 1958 film.
McCambridge provided the dubbed voice of Pazuzu, thedemon possessing the young girl Regan (played byLinda Blair) inThe Exorcist. To sound as disturbing as possible, McCambridge insisted on swallowing raw eggs, chain smoking and drinking whiskey to make her voice harsh and her performance aggressive. DirectorWilliam Friedkin also arranged for her to be bound to a chair during recordings, so that the demon seemed to be struggling against its restraints. Friedkin claimed that she initially requested no credit for the film—fearing it would take away from the attention of Blair's performance—but later complained about her absence of credit during the film's premiere.[11] Her dispute with Friedkin and theWarner Bros. over her exclusion ended when, with the help of theScreen Actors Guild, she was properly credited for her vocal work in the film.[3]
In the 1970s, she toured in a road company production ofCat on a Hot Tin Roof as Big Mama, oppositeJohn Carradine as Big Daddy.
McCambridge appeared as a guest artist in college productions. In May 1977, she helped dedicate the theater building ofEl Centro College by starring in a production ofThe Madwoman of Chaillot.[3] Director Eddie Thomas had known her for many years and she conducted an actors' workshop for the college students during the week prior to the opening night. She returned in 1979 for El Centre's production ofThe Mousetrap, in which she received top billing despite her character being murdered (by actorJim Beaver) fewer than 15 minutes into the play. She also starred with longtime character actorLyle Talbot (ofABC'sThe Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) in the 1970 production ofCome Back, Little Sheba in theUniversity of North Alabama Summer Theatre Productions.
In the mid-1970s, McCambridge briefly took a position as director ofLivengrin, aPennsylvania 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.
McCambridge married her first husband,William Fifield, a writer, in 1939.[3] They had a son, John Lawrence Fifield, born in December 1941. The couple divorced in 1946 after seven years of marriage.[citation needed]
In 1950 McCambridge married CanadianFletcher Markle, an actor/producer/director who directed her in productions onFord Theater andStudio One. Her son, John, later took Markle's name, thereafter being known as John Markle. During the marriage and afterward, McCambridge battled alcoholism, often being hospitalized after episodes of heavy drinking. She and Markle divorced in 1962, after twelve years of marriage. In 1969, after years withAlcoholics Anonymous, she achieved sobriety.[citation needed]
From 1975 to 1982, McCambridge devoted her time to the nonprofit Livengrin Foundation ofBensalem, Pennsylvania. She first served as a volunteer member of the Board of Directors, then as president and CEO, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the treatment center, which at the time was a 76-bed residential program for both male and female alcoholics. Livengrin still operates today, and has 129 beds and eight outpatient clinics throughout southeastern Pennsylvania, treating both alcoholism and drug addiction. McCambridge, through her celebrity and larger-than-life personality, helped bring public recognition to, and acceptance of the disease of addiction, as well as the benefits of seeking treatment for the disease. She freely shared her own story of addiction and recovery as a means of reaching others in need of help.[citation needed]
She was a staunch outspoken liberalDemocrat who campaigned forAdlai Stevenson.[1]
McCambridge died on March 2, 2004, at age 87 inLa Jolla in San Diego, California, ofnatural causes.[3][12][13]
McCambridge's son John Markle, aUCLA graduate with a PhD in Economics,[1] joined theLittle Rock, Arkansas, investment firmStephens Inc. in 1979, after working forSalomon Brothers in New York City.[14] Markle was a successful futures trader, and quickly rose through the company's ranks. McCambridge gave Markle $604,000 ($2.1 million in 2024[15]) to manage for her, but in the fall of 1987, the company discovered that Markle had opened a secret account in McCambridge's name.[14] Soon the company found that Markle had been charging trading losses to the Stephens house account, while crediting profitable trades to McCambridge's account.[14] Markle was later shown to have forged his mother's signature in opening the account.[14]
Markle was placed on medical leave, then fired from his position at Stephens. McCambridge refused to cooperate with Markle and the company in instituting a repayment scheme that would have kept the matter from becoming public, saying that she had done nothing wrong and that Stephens Inc. owed her money.[14] Shortly thereafter, in November 1987, Markle killed his family—his wife Christine, 45, and daughters Amy, 13, and Suzanne, 9—and then himself.[3] He left a note taking responsibility for his crimes and a long, bitter letter to his mother.[1] The letter contained the following: "Initially you said, 'well, we can work it out' but NO, you refused… You called me a liar, a cheat, a criminal, a bum. You said I have ruined your life… You were never around much when I needed you, so now I and my whole family are dead—so you can have the money… 'Night, Mother."[16]
In 1986, McCambridge had played the mother of a child who plans to take their own life in anArkansas Repertory Theatre production of'night, Mother.[14]
For her contributions to television and the motion picture industry, Mercedes McCambridge has two stars on theHollywood Walk of Fame: one for motion pictures at 1722 Vine Street, and one for television at 6243 Hollywood Boulevard.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | All the King's Men | Sadie Burke | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female |
| 1951 | 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 | |
| 1955 | Front Row Center | Nicole Diver | Episode: "Tender is the Night" |
| 1956 | Giant | Luz Benedict | Nominated –Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1957 | A Farewell to Arms | Miss Van Campen | |
| 1957 | Wagon Train | Emily Rossiter | Episode: "The Emily Rossiter Story" |
| 1958 | Touch of Evil | Gang leader | Uncredited |
| 1959 | Suddenly, Last Summer | Mrs. Grace Holly | |
| 1960 | Rawhide | Mrs Martha Mushgrove | S3:E9, "Incident of the Captive" |
| 1960 | Rawhide | Mrs Miller | Episode: "Incident of the Curious Street" |
| 1959 | Riverboat | Jessie Quinn | Episode: "Jessie Quinn" |
| 1960 | Cimarron | Mrs. Sarah Wyatt | |
| 1961 | Angel Baby | Sarah Strand | |
| 1962 | Rawhide | Ada Randolph | Episode: "The Greedy Town" |
| 1962 | Bonanza | Deborah Banning | Episode: "The Lady from Baltimore" |
| 1963 | The Dakotas | Jay French | Episode: "Trouble at French Creek" |
| 1965 | Run Home, Slow | Nell Hagen | |
| 1965 | Rawhide | Ma Gufler | Episode: "Hostage for Hanging" |
| 1966 | Lost in Space | Sybilla | Episode: "The Space Croppers" |
| 1968 | The Counterfeit Killer | Frances | |
| 1968 | Bewitched | Carlotta | Episode: "Darrin Gone! and Forgotten?" |
| 1969 | 99 Women | Thelma Diaz | |
| 1969 | Justine | Madame Dusbois | |
| 1970 | Bonanza | Matilda Curtis | Episode: "The Law and Billy Burgess" |
| 1971 | Gunsmoke | Rubilee Mather | Episode: "The Lost" |
| 1971 | The Last Generation | (archive footage) | |
| 1973 | The President's Plane Is Missing | Hester Madigan | TV movie |
| 1973 | Sixteen | Ma Irtley | |
| 1973 | The Exorcist | Pazuzu | Voice |
| 1975 | Who Is the Black Dahlia? | Grandmother | TV movie |
| 1977 | Thieves | Street Lady | |
| 1978 | Charlie's Angels | Norma | Episode: "Angels in Springtime" |
| 1978 | Flying High | Claire | Episode: "In the Still of the Night" |
| 1979 | The Concorde... Airport '79 | Nelli | |
| 1979 | The Sacketts | Ma Sackett | TV movie |
| 1981 | Magnum, P.I. | Agatha Kimball | Episode: "Don't Say Goodbye" |
| 1983 | Echoes | Lillian Gerben | |
| 1986 | Amazing Stories | Miss Lestrange | Voice, Episode: "Family Dog" |
| 1988 | Cagney & Lacey | Sister Elizabeth | Episode: "Land of the Free" |
| 2018 | The Other Side of the Wind | Maggie | Previously unreleased (final film role) |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actress | All the King's Men | Won | [17] |
| 1956 | Giant | Nominated | [18] | ||
| 1949 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | All the King's Men | Won | [19] |
| Most Promising Newcomer – Female | Won | ||||
| 1956 | Laurel Awards | Top Female Supporting Performance | Giant | Nominated | |
| 1972 | Tony Awards | Best Supporting or Featured Actress in a Play | The Love Suicide at Schofield Barracks | Nominated | [20] |
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