Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown (October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Her career lasted for almost 70 years. Known as the "First Lady of the American Theatre", she is one of only thirteen people to win all four main American entertainment awards - Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.[1] Hayes also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1986, the National Medal of Arts in 1988 and was awarded at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1981.[2] Two Broadway theaters are named after her.
Helen Hayes | |
|---|---|
 from What Every Woman Knows (1934) | |
| Born | Helen Hayes Brown October 10, 1900 |
| Died | March 17, 1993 (aged 92) New York, United States |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1917–1985 |
| Spouse(s) | Charles MacArthur (m. 1928–1956) (his death) |
Early life
Hayes was born in Washington D.C. on October 10, 1890. She was an only child. Her mother, Catherine Estelle Hayes, was an actress of Irish ancestry. Her father, Francis van Arnum Brown, was a meat salesman.[3]
Hayes was an accomplished child. She went to a dancing school and sang very well. She began a stage career at the age of five, pushed by her mother. She also took her mother's maiden name as her stage name. By the age of ten, she had made a short movie. In 1917 Hayes graduated from the Academy of the Sacred Heart Convent in Washington.[4]
Career
Her first sound movie The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) brought her Academy Award for Best Actress. The part she played in it was written by her husband, Charles MacArthur. Among her other successful movies of that time were Arrowsmith (1931), A Farewell to Arms (1932), What Every Woman Knows (1934).
Hayes liked working in theatre. Her most famous performance on Broadway was the role of Queen Victoria in a play Victoria Regina (1938). She played leading parts in Coquette (1928) and Mary Of Scotland (1933) as well. Harvey (1970) became her last hit on stage. Hayes had to retire from theatre because of her asthma condition.
She continued her work in movies. Hayes won her second Academy Award in 1970 for Airport. This time for Supporting role. During the later part of her career she was often in series and movies made for television. She successfully portrayed legendary character Miss Marple in several movies in 80s.
Personal life
Hayes met her husband, Charles MacArthur, a playwright, in 1927. They married in August of 1928. They had a daughter, Mary, born in 1930. She became involved in acting, but died from polio at age 19. In 1938 Hayes and Charles adopted a son, James MacArthur, who grew up to be an actor.
Charles MacArthur died in 1956. He had many years of illness and grief caused by his daughter's untimely death. Hayes never married again.
She published four autobiographies: A Gift of Joy (1965), On Reflection (1968), Twice Over Lightly (1972), and My Life in Three Acts (1990).[5]
Death
Hayes died on March 17, 1993 from heart failure in the hospital of Nyack, New York. She was 92. She was buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery, next to her husband and daughter.[6]
Movies
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | The Weavers of Life | Peggy | |
| 1928 | The Dancing Town | (leading role) | short film |
| 1931 | The Sin of Madelon Claudet | Madelon Claudet | Academy Award for Best Actress |
| Arrowsmith | Leora Arrowsmith | ||
| 1932 | A Farewell to Arms | Catherine Barkley | |
| The Son-Daughter | Lian Wha 'Star Blossom' | ||
| 1933 | The White Sister | Angela Chiaromonte | |
| Another Language | Stella 'Stell' Hallam | ||
| Night Flight | Madame Fabian | ||
| 1934 | Crime Without Passion | Extra in hotel lobby | (uncredited) |
| What Every Woman Knows | Maggie Wylie | ||
| 1935 | Vanessa: Her Love Story | Vanessa Paris | |
| 1938 | Hollywood Goes to Town | Herself | Short film |
| 1943 | Stage Door Canteen | Herself | |
| 1952 | My Son John | Lucille Jefferson | |
| 1953 | Main Street to Broadway | Herself | |
| 1956 | Anastasia | Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna | Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama |
| 1959 | Third Man on the Mountain | Tourist | uncredited |
| 1961 | The Challenge of Ideas | Herself - Narrator | Short movie, documentary |
| 1969 | Arsenic and Old Lace | Abby Brewster | TV movie |
| 1970 | Airport | Ada Quonsett | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1971 | Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate | Sophie Tate Curtis | TV movie; Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1972 | Harvey | Veta Louise Simmons | TV movie |
| 1974 | Herbie Rides Again | Mrs. Steinmetz | Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in Musical or Comedy |
| 1975 | One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing | Hettie | |
| 1976 | Victory at Entebbe | Etta Grossman-Wise | TV movie |
| 1977 | Candleshoe | Lady St.Edmund | |
| 1978 | A Family Upside Down | Emma Long | TV movie; Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1982 | Murder Is Easy | Lavinia Fullerton | TV movie |
| 1983 | A Caribbean Mystery | Miss Jane Marple | TV movie |
| 1985 | Murder with Mirrors | Miss Jane Marple | TV movie |
Helen Hayes Media
Hayes and a young patient at Helen Hayes Hospital 1945
Hayes at Helen Hayes Hospital in the 1950s
References
- ↑ Nicole Lyn Pesce; Joe Dziemianowicz and Margaret Eby (3 March 2014). "Oscars 2014: Bobby Lopez becomes youngest person to get an EGOT with Best Original Song win for 'Let It Go'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ↑ Helen Hayes - Awards http://www.helenhayes.com/about/awards2.html Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Rick Jean.Helen HAYES (1900-1993) -- The "First Lady of Theater." Archived 2007-10-18 at the Wayback Machine. Rootsweb.com. 1 Feb 2003.
- ↑ "Helen Hayes Biography". Retrieved July 17, 2012.
- ↑ Columbia Encyclopedia: Helen Hayes.
- ↑ Helen Hayes at Find a Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1798