Mercedes McCambridge
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| Mercedes McCambridge | |||||||||||
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| Born | Mercedes Agnes Carlotta McCambridge March 16, 1916 Joliet, Illinois, United States |
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| Died | March 2, 2004 (aged 87) La Jolla, California, United States |
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| Spouse(s) | William Fifield (1941-1946) Fletcher Markle (1950-1962) |
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Mercedes Agnes Carlotta McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004), nicknamed Mercy, was an Academy Award-winning American film actress, also known for her acting in radio dramas.
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[edit] Early life
McCambridge was born in Joliet, Illinois, the daughter of Irish Catholic immigrants[1] Marie (née Mahaffry) and John Patrick McCambridge.[2] She graduated from Mundelein College in Chicago before embarking on a career.[1]
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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."[1]
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.[1]
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 being murdered (by actor Jim Beaver) less than 15 minutes into the play. El Centro brought her back the following year as title role in "The Madwoman of Chaillot."
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. She told the story of her life in The Quality of Mercy: An Autobiography (Times Books, 1981), ISBN 0-8129-0945-3.
[edit] Personal life
McCambridge married her first husband, William Fifield, when she was 23 years old.[1] The couple had a son, John Lawrence Fifield. The couple divorced in 1946.
In 1950, McCambridge married Canadian Fletcher Markle, a radio director. Her son, John, later took Markle's name, thereafter being known as John Markle.[1] During the marriage and afterward, McCambridge battled alcoholicism, often hospitalized after episodes of heavy drinking.[1] She and Markle divorced in 1962. In 1969, after years with Alcoholics Anonymous, she achieved sobriety.[1]
McCambridge's son, John Markle, a UCLA graduate, had a PhD in Economics.[3] 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.[1] Markle killed his family and then himself in a murder/suicide in 1987.[1] He reportedly left a bitter thirteen page note to his mother.[3]
McCambridge died on March 2, 2004 in La Jolla, California, of natural causes, aged 87.[1]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | All the King's Men | Sadie Burke | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; Golden Globe |
| 1951 | Inside Straight | Ada Stritch | |
| The Scarf | Connie Carter | ||
| Lightning Strikes Twice | Liza McStringer | ||
| 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 | |
| 1960 | Cimarron | Mrs. Sarah Wyatt | |
| 1961 | Angel Baby | Sarah Strand | |
| 1965 | Run Home Slow | Nell Hagen | |
| 1968 | The Counterfeit Killer | Frances | |
| 1969 | 99 Women | Thelma Diaz | |
| Justine | Madame Dusbois | ||
| 1971 | The Last Generation | archive footage | |
| 1972 | The Other Side of the Wind | Maggie | unreleased - scheduled for 2008 release |
| 1973 | Sixteen | Ma Irtley | |
| The Exorcist | Pazuzu | voice only | |
| 1977 | Thieves | Street Lady | |
| 1979 | The Concorde: Airport '79 | Nelli | |
| 1983 | Echoes | Lillian Gerben | |
| 1992 | Amazing Stories: Book Two | Miss Lestrange | voice - segment "Family Dog" |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Claire Trevor for Key Largo |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 1949 for All the King's Men |
Succeeded by Josephine Hull for Harvey |
| Preceded by Ellen Corby for I Remember Mama |
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture 1950 for All the King's Men |
Succeeded by Josephine Hull for Harvey |
[edit] 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.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The Exorcist actress Mercedes McCambridge dies at 85. USA Today. 17 March 2004.
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/17/Mercedes-McCambridge.html
- ^ a b Lackmann, Ronald W. Mercedes Mccambridge: A Biography And Career Record. McFarland & Company. 2005. ISBN 0786419792.
[edit] External links
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