29 Facts About Ann Blyth

1.

Ann Marie Blyth was born on August 16,1928 and is an American retired actress and singer.

2.

Ann Blyth is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema, and became the earliest living Academy Award nominee for acting upon the death of Angela Lansbury in October 2022.

3.

Ann Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five.

4.

Ann Blyth's first acting role was on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine.

5.

Ann Blyth played the part of Paul Lukas's daughter, Babette.

6.

Ann Blyth made her film debut in 1944, teamed with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teenager musical Chip Off the Old Block.

7.

Ann Blyth followed it with two similar films: The Merry Monahans, with O'Connor and Ryan again, and Babes on Swing Street with Ryan.

8.

Ann Blyth had a supporting role in the bigger-budgeted Bowery to Broadway, a showcase of Universal musical talent.

9.

On loan to Warner Brothers, Ann Blyth was cast "against type" as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce.

10.

Ann Blyth was only 16 when she made the Michael Curtiz film.

11.

Ann Blyth recovered and made two films for Mark Hellinger's unit at Universal: Swell Guy, with Sonny Tufts, and Jules Dassin's Brute Force with Burt Lancaster.

12.

Back at Universal, Ann Blyth did a film noir with Charles Boyer and Jessica Tandy, A Woman's Vengeance, affecting a British accent.

13.

Ann Blyth was then cast in the part of Regina Hubbard in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest, an adaptation of the 1946 play wherein Regina had been played by Patricia Neal.

14.

Ann Blyth followed it with Mr Peabody and the Mermaid with William Powell.

15.

Ann Blyth was top-billed in Red Canyon, a Western with Howard Duff.

16.

Ann Blyth did a comedy with Robert Cummings, Free for All.

17.

Ann Blyth was borrowed by MGM for The Great Caruso opposite Mario Lanza, which was a massive box-office hit.

18.

Ann Blyth appeared on TV in Family Theater in an episode called "The World's Greatest Mother" alongside Ethel Barrymore.

19.

Ann Blyth was top-billed in the comedy Sally and Saint Anne and was borrowed by RKO for One Minute to Zero, a Korean War drama with Robert Mitchum, wherein she replaced Claudette Colbert, who came down with pneumonia.

20.

Ann Blyth was the leading lady in All the Brothers Were Valiant with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor, stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor, who had to drop out due to pregnancy.

21.

On television, Ann Blyth appeared in The Lux Video Theatre version of A Place in the Sun with John Derek and Marilyn Erskine.

22.

Back at MGM, Ann Blyth had the lead in the remake of Rose Marie with Howard Keel, which earned over $5 million, but lost money due to high costs.

23.

Ann Blyth was meant to be reteamed with Lanza in The Student Prince, but he was fired from the studio and replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom; the film did well at the box office.

24.

Ann Blyth was teamed again with Keel on the musical Kismet ; despite strong reviews, the film was a financial flop.

25.

Ann Blyth was named as the female lead in The Adventures of Quentin Durward, but Kay Kendall was cast in the film, instead.

26.

Several of these appearances were for Four Star Television, with whom Ann Blyth signed a multiple-appearance contract.

27.

Ann Blyth performed live in concert tours for many years with Harper MacKay serving as her accompanist and music director.

28.

In 1953, Ann Blyth married obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, who had introduced them.

29.

Ann Blyth was widowed when Dr McNulty died on May 13,2007, in La Jolla, California, aged 89.