Cathy O'Donnell: Difference between revisions

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Ann was the daughter of [[Grady Steely]], a school teacher who also owned a cinema in town. They moved to [[Greensboro]] when she was 7, and from there to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when she was 12.
Ann was the daughter of [[Grady Steely]], a school teacher who also owned a cinema in town. They moved to [[Greensboro]] when she was 7, and from there to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when she was 12.


She attended Harding Junior High School and Classen High School there, then took a job at a U.S. Army induction center as a stenographer. She left to study acting at Oklahoma City University, starring in a production of "Romeo and Juliet". She saved money and made a two-week trip to Hollywood in hopes of landing a movie career. An agent working for Samuel Goldwyn came across her at a drug store and brought her in for a screen test. Goldwyn offered her a contract, assigning her to a speech tutor to minimize her southern accent and to local theaters to gain experience. She was part of a Pasadena Playhouse production of "Little Women". At the suggestion of Goldwyn's wife, she changed her name to Cathy O'Donnell.
She attended Harding Junior High School and Classen High School there, then took a job at a U.S. Army induction center as a stenographer. She left to study acting at Oklahoma City University, starring in a production of "Romeo and Juliet". She saved money and made a two-week trip to Hollywood in hopes of landing a movie career. An agent working for Samuel Goldwyn came across her at a drug store and brought her in for a screen test. Goldwyn offered her a contract, assigning her to a speech tutor to minimize her southern accent and to local theaters to gain experience. She was part of a Pasadena Playhouse production of "Little Women" and was part of the cast of "Life With Father" in Boston, Massachusetts in [[1944]]. At the suggestion of Goldwyn's wife, she changed her name to Cathy O'Donnell.


==Career==
O'Donnell made her film début as an uncredited extra in the 1945 film ''Wonder Man''. A year later she was picked to star opposite Harold Russell in ''The Best Years of Our Lives'', directed by William Wyler. In April [[1948]] she married Wyler's brother, Robert.
O'Donnell appeared on stage in Boston in ''[[Life with Father]]'' in 1944, and made her film début in an uncredited role as an extra in ''[[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]]'' (1945).


O'Donnell's first major film role was in 1946's highly acclaimed ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]'', playing Wilma Cameron, the high-school sweetheart of Navy veteran Homer Parrish. Homer was played by real-life World War II veteran and double amputee [[Harold Russell]].
O'Donnell was lent to RKO Pictures for the film noir ''They Live by Night'' in [[1948]]. She reunited with Farley Granger in the [[1950]] film, ''Side Street''.  Her husband co-wrote the script for the [[1951]] film "Detective Story", directed by William Wyler, in which she played the role of Susan Carmichael. She played Jimmy Stewart's love interest in the [[1955]] western "The Man from Laramie" and concluded her film career with the role of Tirzah, Judah Ben-Hur's sister, in the [[1959]] William Wyman epic "Ben-Hur".


O'Donnell was loaned to [[RKO]] for ''[[They Live by Night]]'' (1948), one of her more memorable films. [[Farley Granger]] played her love interest. The film is widely considered a classic of the [[film noir]] genre, and is on ''The Guardian''{{'s}} list of the top 10 noir films. The two actors were later re-teamed for ''[[Side Street (1950 film)|Side Street]]'' (1950).
During the 1960s, O'Donnell appeared on several television series, including "Perry Mason", "The Rebel", "Man Without a Gun" and "Bonanza". She died of a cerebral hemorrhage related to cancer in April [[1970]]. She is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
 
Later O'Donnell starred in ''[[The Miniver Story]]'' (also 1950), as Judy Miniver and had a [[Supporting actor|supporting role]] in ''[[Detective Story (1951 film)|Detective Story]]'' (1951). She appeared as Barbara Waggoman, the love interest of [[James Stewart]]'s character in the [[Western (genre)|western]] ''[[The Man from Laramie]]'' (1955). Her final film role, and perhaps her most famous part, was in ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959). She played the part of Tirzah, the sister to [[Judah Ben-Hur]].
 
In the 1960s, she appeared in TV shows, appearing on shows such as ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'', ''[[The Rebel (American TV series)|The Rebel]]'' and ''[[Man Without a Gun]]''. Her last screen appearance was in 1964 in an episode of ''[[Bonanza]]''.
 
==Personal life and death==
Then 24-year-old O'Donnell married 47-year-old [[Robert Wyler]], the elder brother of film director [[William Wyler]], on April 11, 1948. She had met her husband two years earlier while being directed by his brother in ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]].'' He also directed her in ''[[Detective Story (1951 film)|Detective Story]]'' (co-written by Robert Wyler) and ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]].'' She died on her 22nd wedding anniversary, April 11, 1970, of a cancer-related [[cerebral hemorrhage]] following a long illness.<ref name=Slice/> Her husband died nine months later. The couple had no children. She is interred at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale]], California.
 
==Filmography==
===Films===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Director
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]]''
| [[H. Bruce Humberstone]]
| Nightclub Extra
| Uncredited
|-
| 1946
| ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]''
| [[William Wyler]]
| Wilma Cameron
|
|-
| 1947
| ''[[Bury Me Dead]]''
| [[Bernard Vorhaus]]
| Rusty
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[The Amazing Mr. X]]''
| [[Bernard Vorhaus]]
| Janet Burke
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[They Live by Night]]''
| [[Nicholas Ray]]
| Catherine "Keechie" Mobley
|
|-
| 1950
| ''[[Side Street (1950 film)|Side Street]]''
| [[Anthony Mann]]
| Ellen Norson
|
|-
| 1950
| ''[[The Miniver Story]]''
| [[H.C. Potter]]
| Judy Miniver
|
|-
| 1951
| ''[[Never Trust a Gambler]]''
| [[Ralph Murphy]]
| Virginia Merrill
|
|-
| 1951
| ''[[Detective Story (1951 film)|Detective Story]]''
| [[William Wyler]]
| Susan Carmichael
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[The Woman's Angle]]''
| [[Leslie Arliss]]
| Nina Van Rhyne
|
|-
| 1954
| ''[[Eight O'Clock Walk]]''
| [[Lance Comfort]]
| Jill Manning
|
|-
| 1954
| ''[[Loves of Three Queens]]''
| [[Edgar G. Ulmer]]
| Enone
| segment "The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships"
|-
| 1955
| ''Mad at the World''
| [[Harry Essex]]
| Anne Bennett
|
|-
| 1955
| ''[[The Man from Laramie]]''
| [[Anthony Mann]]
| Barbara Waggoman
|
|-
| 1957
| ''[[The Deerslayer (1957 film)|The Deerslayer]]''
| [[Kurt Neumann (director)|Kurt Neumann]]
| Judith Hutter
|
|-
| 1957
| ''[[The Story of Mankind (film)|The Story of Mankind]]''
| [[Irwin Allen]]
| Early Christian Woman
|
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Terror in the Haunted House|My World Dies Screaming]]''
| Harold Daniels
| Sheila Wayne Tierney
| retitled ''Terror in the Haunted House''
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]''
| [[William Wyler]]
| Tirzah
|
|}
 
===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Show
! Episode
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1951
| ''[[Lights Out (radio show)#On television|Lights Out]]''
| ''To See Ourselves''
|
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Orient Express (anthology)|Orient Express]]''
| ''13th Spy''
| Francine Gilman
|
|-
| 1954
| ''[[Philip Morris Playhouse|The Philip Morris Playhouse]]''
| ''Up for Parole''
|
|
|-
| 1954
| ''Center Stage''
| ''Chivalry at Howling Creek''
|
|
|-
| 1955
| ''[[The Best of Broadway]]''
| ''The Best of Broadway''
| Amy Fisher
|
|-
| 1955
| ''[[Climax!]]''
| ''Flight 951''
| Mona Herbert
|
|-
| 1956
| ''[[Matinee Theater]]''
| ''Greybeards and Witches''
| Velna
|
|-
| 1958
|''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater|Zane Grey Theater]]''
| ''Sundown at Bitter Creek''
| Jennie Parsons
|
|-
| 1958
| ''[[The Californians (TV series)|The Californians]]''
| ''Skeleton in the Closet''
| Grace Adams
|
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Man Without a Gun]]''
| ''Accused''
|
|
|-
| 1960
| ''[[The Detectives (1959 TV series)|The Detectives]]''
| ''The Trap''
| Laurie Dolan
|
|-
| 1960
| ''The Rebel''
| ''You Steal My Eyes''
| Prudence Gant
|
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Tate (TV series)|Tate]]''
| ''Quiet After the Storm''
| Amy
|
|-
| 1960
| ''[[The Rebel (American TV series)|The Rebel]]''
| ''The Hope Chest''
| Felicity Bowman
|
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]''
| ''The Case of the Fickle Fortune''
| Norma Brooks
|
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Sugarfoot]]''
| ''Angel''
| Angel
|
|-
| 1964
| ''[[Bonanza]]''
| ''The Lila Conrad Story''
| Sarah Knowles
|
|}


==References==
==References==
Line 255: Line 16:
==External links==
==External links==
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0640732/ Cathy O'Donnell] at IMDB.com
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0640732/ Cathy O'Donnell] at IMDB.com
* [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11479 Cathy O'Donnell]] at Findagrave.com
* [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11479 Cathy O'Donnell] at Findagrave.com


{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Cathy}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Cathy}}

Latest revision as of 12:19, 7 July 2021

Cathy O'Donnell (born Ann Steely, July 6, 1923 in Siluria; died April 11, 1970 in Los Angeles, California) was an actor who appeared in The Best Years of Our Lives and Ben-Hur.

Ann was the daughter of Grady Steely, a school teacher who also owned a cinema in town. They moved to Greensboro when she was 7, and from there to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when she was 12.

She attended Harding Junior High School and Classen High School there, then took a job at a U.S. Army induction center as a stenographer. She left to study acting at Oklahoma City University, starring in a production of "Romeo and Juliet". She saved money and made a two-week trip to Hollywood in hopes of landing a movie career. An agent working for Samuel Goldwyn came across her at a drug store and brought her in for a screen test. Goldwyn offered her a contract, assigning her to a speech tutor to minimize her southern accent and to local theaters to gain experience. She was part of a Pasadena Playhouse production of "Little Women" and was part of the cast of "Life With Father" in Boston, Massachusetts in 1944. At the suggestion of Goldwyn's wife, she changed her name to Cathy O'Donnell.

O'Donnell made her film début as an uncredited extra in the 1945 film Wonder Man. A year later she was picked to star opposite Harold Russell in The Best Years of Our Lives, directed by William Wyler. In April 1948 she married Wyler's brother, Robert.

O'Donnell was lent to RKO Pictures for the film noir They Live by Night in 1948. She reunited with Farley Granger in the 1950 film, Side Street. Her husband co-wrote the script for the 1951 film "Detective Story", directed by William Wyler, in which she played the role of Susan Carmichael. She played Jimmy Stewart's love interest in the 1955 western "The Man from Laramie" and concluded her film career with the role of Tirzah, Judah Ben-Hur's sister, in the 1959 William Wyman epic "Ben-Hur".

During the 1960s, O'Donnell appeared on several television series, including "Perry Mason", "The Rebel", "Man Without a Gun" and "Bonanza". She died of a cerebral hemorrhage related to cancer in April 1970. She is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

References

External links

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