Geraldine Fitzgerald
Geraldine Fitzgerald | |
---|---|
Born | Geraldine Mary Fitzgerald November 24, 1913 Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland |
Died | July 17, 2005 | (aged 91)
Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1932–1991 |
Spouses | |
Children | 2, including Michael Lindsay-Hogg |
Geraldine Mary Fitzgerald (November 24, 1913 – July 17, 2005)[1] was an Irish stage, film, and television actress. She was an Academy Award and Tony Award nominee, and an Emmy Award winner. She was a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame[2] and, in 2020, was listed at number 30 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.[3]
Early life
Fitzgerald was born in
She studied painting at the Dublin School of Art. Inspired by her aunt, actress Shelah Richards, Fitzgerald began her acting career in 1932 at Dublin's Gate Theatre. After two seasons in Dublin, she moved to London,[7]: 12 where she found success in British films including The Mill on the Floss, Turn of the Tide, and Cafe Mascot.[5]
Career
Fitzgerald's success led her to New York and the Broadway stage in 1938. She made her American debut opposite Orson Welles in the Mercury Theatre production of Heartbreak House. Hollywood producer Hal B. Wallis saw her in this production and subsequently signed her to a contract with Warner Bros.[8] She had two significant successes in 1939: a role in the Bette Davis film Dark Victory,[9] and an Academy Award nomination for her supporting performance as Isabella Linton in William Wyler's Wuthering Heights.[5]
She then appeared in
In 1946, shortly after completing work on
The 1950s provided her with few opportunities in film, but during the 1960s she asserted herself as a
Fitzgerald returned to stage acting, and won acclaim for her performance in the 1971 revival of
She appeared on television, in such series as
On February 8, 1960, Fitzgerald was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6353 Hollywood Boulevard, for her contributions to motion pictures.[15]
Personal life
Fitzgerald married Sir Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 4th Bt., in London on November 18, 1936. She was granted a divorce in Reno on August 30, 1946, after three years of separation.[16] She had one son, director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, by her first marriage, and a daughter, Susan Scheftel, by her second marriage[5] to American businessman Stuart Straus Scheftel,[5] grandson of Ida and Isidor Straus.[17]
Her son's resemblance to
A 2015 biography of Welles by Patrick McGilligan argues that Welles's paternity is unlikely; Fitzgerald left the United States for Ireland in late May 1939, and her son, born early May 1940, was conceived before her return to the U.S. in late October. Welles did not travel overseas during that period.[20]
English actress Tara Fitzgerald is Fitzgerald's great-niece.[8][21]
Death
Fitzgerald died at age 91 in New York City, following a long battle with
Awards and nominations
- Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - Wuthering Heights (1939)
- Winner — NBC Special Treat(1975)
- Nominated — Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play - Mass Appeal (1982)
- Nominated — Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy Series - The Golden Girls (Episode "Mother's Day") (1988)
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1934 | Blind Justice | Peggy Summers | |
Open All Night | Jill | ||
1935 | The Lad | Joan Fandon | |
Three Witnesses | Diana Morton | ||
Department Store | Jane Grey | ||
The Ace of Spades | Evelyn Daventry | ||
Turn of the Tide | Ruth Fosdyck | ||
Lieutenant Daring R.N. | Joan Fayre | ||
1936 | Debt of Honour | Peggy Mayhew | |
Cafe Mascot | Moira O'Flynn | ||
The Mill on the Floss | Maggie Tulliver | ||
1939 | Wuthering Heights | Isabella | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
Dark Victory | Ann King | ||
A Child Is Born | Grace Sutton | ||
1940 | 'Til We Meet Again | Bonny Coburn | |
1941 | Flight from Destiny | Betty Farroway | |
Shining Victory | Dr. Mary Murray | ||
1942 | The Gay Sisters | Evelyn Gaylord | |
1943 | Watch on the Rhine | Marthe de Brancovis | |
1944 | Ladies Courageous | Virgie Alford | |
Wilson | Edith Bolling Galt | ||
1945 | The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry | Lettie Quincey | |
1946 | Three Strangers | Crystal Shackleford | |
O.S.S. | Ellen Rogers / Elaine Duprez | ||
Nobody Lives Forever | Gladys Halvorsen | ||
1948 | So Evil My Love | Susan Courtney | |
1951 | The Late Edwina Black | Elizabeth | |
1958 | Ten North Frederick | Edith Chapin | |
1961 | The Fiercest Heart | Tante Maria | |
1964 | The Pawnbroker | Marilyn Birchfield | |
1968 | Rachel, Rachel | Rev. Wood | |
1973 | The Last American Hero | Mrs. Jackson | |
1974 | Harry and Tonto | Jessie | |
1976 | Echoes of a Summer | Sara | |
Diary of the Dead | Maud Kennaway | ||
1977 | The Mango Tree | Grandma Carr | |
1978 | Bye Bye Monkey | Mrs. Toland | |
1981 | Arthur | Martha Bach | |
Lovespell | Bronwyn | ||
1982 | Blood Link | Mrs. Thomason | |
1983 | Easy Money | Mrs. Monahan | |
1986 | Poltergeist II: The Other Side | Gramma-Jess | |
1988 | Arthur 2: On the Rocks | Martha Bach |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1951–1955 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Elizabeth | 4 episodes |
1960 | Shirley Temple's Storybook | Aunt Rosa | Episode: "The Black Sheep" |
1961 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Elizabeth Burton | Season 6 Episode 24: "A Woman's Help" |
1964 | The Nurses | Nurse Carrie Bruno | 1 episode |
1965 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour |
Agatha Tomlin | Season 3 Episode 24: "Power of Attorney" |
1970 | The Best of Everything | Violet Jordan | |
1973 | Me | Ma | aka Untold Damage |
1975 | NBC Special Treat |
Ella McCune | Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming |
1977 | The Quinns | Peggy Quinn | TV movie |
Yesterday's Child | Emma Talbot | TV movie | |
1983 | Kennedy | Rose Kennedy | TV Miniseries |
1985 | Do You Remember Love | Lorraine Wyatt | TV movie |
1986 | Circle of Violence: A Family Drama | Charlotte Kessling | TV movie |
1988–1989 | The Golden Girls | Anna / Martha | 2 episodes: "Mothers' Day" - Season 3 (Nominated – Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy Series) "Not Another Monday" - Season 5 |
1991 | Bump in the Night | Mrs. Beauchamps | TV movie, (final film role) |
Radio appearances
Year | Program | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1941 | Philip Morris Playhouse | Stage Door[24] |
References
- ^ "Geraldine Fitzgerald - Gifted actor who re-emerged as a stage director when her film fame faded". The Guardian. July 20, 2005.
- ^ "Members". Theater Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ Clarke, Donald; Brady, Tara (June 13, 2020). "The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time –in order". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ "Geraldine Fitzgerald". Biography. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Adams, Bernard (July 19, 2005). "Geraldine Fitzgerald: Independent-minded actress". The Independent. London. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ "Geraldine Fitzgerald". The Irish Law Times and Solicitors' Journal. 99. J. Falconer: 89. May 29, 1966 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Heartbreak House". Playbill. May 2, 1938. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
- ^ a b Lyman, Rick (July 19, 2005). "Geraldine Fitzgerald, 91, Star of Stage and Film, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ a b "Geraldine Fitzgerald". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ "Grealdine Fitzgerald Scheftel naturalization papers". Ancestry.com. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- ^ "Streetsongs: Geraldine Fitzgerald". CastAlbums. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ "Geraldine Fitzgerald". Tony Awards. Archived from the original on August 31, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Everyman at La MaMa (1972)". Accessed May 14, 2018.
- ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Francis-Day, The (1973)". Accessed May 14, 2018.
- ^ "Geraldine Fitzgerald". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ "Geraldine Fitzgerald Divorced". The New York Times. August 31, 1946. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
- ^ Lyons, Richard D. (January 21, 1994). "Stuart Scheftel, 83; Executive Took Part In Many Civic Posts". The New York Times.
- ^ Witchel, Alex (September 30, 2011). "Are You My Father, Orson Welles?". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-0-307-59468-6.
- ISBN 978-0-06-211248-4.
- ^ "Geraldine Fitzgerald, Irish Actress and Director Who Acted in O'Neill and Directed Mass Appeal, Dead at 91". Playbill. July 19, 2005. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7– via Google Books.
- Newspapers.com.
External links
- Geraldine Fitzgerald at IMDb
- Geraldine Fitzgerald at the TCM Movie Database
- Geraldine Fitzgerald at the Internet Broadway Database
- Geraldine Fitzgerald at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Portrait of Geraldine Fitzgerald c. 1936 by George Hurrell
- Portrait of Geraldine Fitzgerald c. 1939 by Hurrell
- Geraldine Fitzgerald at Find a Grave
- Fitzgerald's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections
- Geraldine Fitzgerald papers, 1944-1990s (bulk 1970s-1980s), held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.