Maureen Paula O'Sullivan (May 17, 1911 – June 23, 1998) was an Irish and American actress. She played Jane in the Tarzan series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She also starred in dozens of feature films across a span of more than half a century and performed with such stars as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, Fredric March, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, the Marx Brothers and Woody Allen. In 2020, she was listed at number eight on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.
O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. After attending schools in Dublin, England, and France, she moved to Hollywood to work for Fox Film Corporation. Her film career began in the 1930s, and she eventually became a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She is best known for playing Jane Parker in six Tarzan films between 1932 and 1942, alongside Johnny Weissmuller. She also appeared in films such as The Thin Man (1934), Anna Karenina (1935), A Day at the Races (1937), Pride and Prejudice (1940), and Maisie Was a Lady (1941). She took a break from acting to care for her family but later returned to the screen in films directed by her husband, John Farrow. She continued to work in film and theatre throughout her life, including appearances in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), and in Stranded (1987).
O'Sullivan was married twice, first to John Farrow, with whom she had seven children, including actress Mia Farrow, and later to businessman James Cushing. She became a U.S. citizen in 1947 and was a registered Democrat. O'Sullivan died in 1998 at the age of 87. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is remembered for her contributions to the art of film, including receiving the George Eastman Award in 1982.
Early life O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, on May 17, 1911,; one of five children of Mary (née Fraser or Frazer; 1884–1969) and Major Charles Joseph O'Sullivan (1880–1974), an officer in the Connaught Rangers who served in World War I.Profile, filmreference.com. Retrieved 22 September 2015. Maureen O'Sullivan returned to Boyle in 1988 to be honoured by the town.
Raised Catholic, O'Sullivan attended a convent school in Dublin, then the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Roehampton, England (now Woldingham School). One of her school friends there was Vivian Mary Hartley, two years her junior, the future Academy Award-winning actress Vivien Leigh. After attending finishing school in France, O'Sullivan returned to Dublin to work with the poor. In October 1929, she sailed to New York with her mother on the British steamer , on the way to Hollywood to work for the Fox Film Corporation.
Film career
O'Sullivan's film career began when she met motion picture director Frank Borzage, who was doing location filming on Song o' My Heart (released in 1930) for Fox Film Corporation. He suggested she take a screen test which won her a part in the movie that starred Irish tenor John McCormack. She travelled to the United States to complete the movie in Hollywood. She appeared in six movies at Fox, then made three more at other studios.
In 1932, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After several roles there and for other studios, she was chosen by Irving Thalberg to appear as Jane Parker in Tarzan the Ape Man, with costar Johnny Weissmuller. One of MGM's more popular ingenues through the 1930s, she appeared in a number of other productions with various stars. She played Jane in six Tarzan features between 1932 and 1942.
She was featured with William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man (1934) and played Kitty in Anna Karenina (1935) with Greta Garbo, Fredric March, and Basil Rathbone. After costarring with the Marx Brothers in A Day at the Races (1937), she appeared as Molly Beaumont in A Yank at Oxford (1938), written partly by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
She appeared in Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, and supported Ann Sothern in Maisie Was a Lady (1941). After appearing in Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942), O'Sullivan asked MGM to release her from her contract so she could care for her husband, John Farrow, who had just left the Navy with typhoid. She retreated from show business, devoting her time to her family. In 1948, she reappeared on the screen in The Big Clock, directed by her husband for Paramount Pictures. She continued to appear occasionally in her husband's movies and on television.
By 1960, O'Sullivan believed she had permanently retired. However, actor Pat O'Brien encouraged her to take a part in summer stock, and the play A Roomful of Roses opened in 1961. It led to her Broadway debut in Never Too Late with costar Paul Ford. Shortly after it opened, John Farrow died of a heart attack. O'Sullivan stuck with acting after Farrow's death; she was the Today Girl for NBC for a while, then made the movie version of Never Too Late (1965) for Warner Bros. She was also an executive director of a bridal consulting service, Wediquette International.
In June and July 1972, O'Sullivan was in Denver, Colorado, to star in the Elitch Theatre production of Butterflies are Free with Karen Grassle and Brandon deWilde. The show ended on July 1, 1972.McLean, Patrisha, All Fall Down, The Brandon deWilde Story c. 2012, Faces, Incorporated, pp. 170, 173;
When her daughter, actress Mia Farrow, became involved with Woody Allen both professionally and romantically, she appeared in Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters, playing Farrow's mother. She had roles in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and the science fiction oddity Stranded (1987). In 1994, she appeared with Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers in Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is, a feature-length made-for-TV movie with the wealthy husband-and-wife team from the popular weekly detective series Hart to Hart.
Personal life
O'Sullivan's first husband was Australian-American writer, award-winning director and Catholic convert John Villiers Farrow, from September 12, 1936, until his death on January 27, 1963. She and Farrow had seven children: Michael Damien, Patrick Joseph (Patrick Villiers Farrow), Maria de Lourdes Villiers (Mia Farrow), John Charles, Prudence Farrow, Stephanie Farrow and Theresa Magdalena "Tisa" Farrow. Mia Farrow gave two of her children, Dylan and Ronan, the middle name of O'Sullivan.
In 1958, Michael Farrow, eldest son of John Farrow and Maureen O'Sullivan, died in a plane crash in California.
Twenty years after the death of Farrow, O'Sullivan married James Cushing, a wealthy businessman, on August 22, 1983, and they remained wed until her death in 1998. O'Sullivan became a U.S. citizen on October 22, 1947 (Petition for Naturalization #133033) in Los Angeles, California.O'Sullivan Petition for Naturalization #133033, ancestry.com. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
O'Sullivan was a Catholic.
Death O'Sullivan died in Scottsdale, Arizona, of complications from heart surgery, on June 23, 1998, at age 87.
Legacy O'Sullivan has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard, facing the star of Johnny Weissmuller. A black plaque marks her home on Main Street in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. Just around the corner from there, opposite King House, is a tree, ceremonially planted by O'Sullivan to mark her return to her birthplace.
In 1982, O'Sullivan received the George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film.
Filmography
Feature films Year Title Role1930 So This Is London Elinor WorthingSong o' My Heart EileenJust Imagine LN-18The Princess and the Plumber Princess Louise1931 A Connecticut Yankee Alisande / Woman in MansionSkyline Kathleen KearnyThe Big Shot Doris Thompson1932Tarzan the Ape Man Jane ParkerThe Silver Lining Joyce MooreFast Companions SallyStrange Interlude MadelineSkyscraper Souls Lynn HardingOkay, America! Sheila BartonPayment Deferred Winnie MarbleRobbers' Roost Helen Herrick1933 The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble Molly KellyTugboat Annie Patricia 'Pat' SevernStage Mother Shirley Lorraine1934 Tarzan and His Mate Jane ParkerThe Thin Man Dorothy WynantHide-Out Pauline MillerThe Barretts of Wimpole Street Henrietta Barrett1935 David Copperfield DoraWest Point of the Air 'Skip' CarterCardinal Richelieu Lenore di BrissacThe Flame Within Linda BeltonWoman Wanted Ann GrayAnna Karenina KittyThe Bishop Misbehaves Hester1936 The Voice of Bugle Ann Camden TerryThe Devil-Doll Lorraine LavondTarzan Escapes Jane Parker1937 A Day at the Races Judy StandishThe Emperor's Candlesticks Maria OrlichBetween Two Women Claire DonahueMy Dear Miss Aldrich Martha Aldrich1938 A Yank at Oxford Molly BeaumontHold That Kiss June EvansPort of Seven Seas MadelonThe Crowd Roars Sheila CarsonSpring Madness Alexandra Benson1939 Let Us Live Mary RobertsTarzan Finds a Son! Jane Parker1940 Sporting Blood Linda LockwoodPride and Prejudice Jane Bennet1941 Maisie Was a LadyAbby RawlstonTarzan's Secret Treasure Jane Parker1942 Tarzan's New York Adventure Jane Parker1948 The Big Clock Georgette Stroud1950 Where Danger Lives Julie1951 No Resting PlaceNan Kyle1952 Bonzo Goes to College Marion Gateson Drew1953All I Desire Sara HarperMission Over Korea Nancy Slocum1954 Duffy of San Quentin Gladys DuffyThe Steel Cage Gladys Duffy1957 The Tall T Doretta Mims1958 Wild Heritage Emma Breslin1965 Never Too Late Edith Lambert1970 The Phynx Maureen O'Sullivan1985 Too Scared to Scream Inez Hardwick1986 Hannah and Her Sisters NormaPeggy Sue Got MarriedElizabeth Alvorg1987 Stranded Grace Clark1988 Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood Aunt Sue
Short subjects Hollywood Extra: The First Step (1936) as Herself Hollywood – The Second Step (1936) Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday (1947) Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Shower of Stars (1955) Mandy's Grandmother (1978) as Grandmother
Television work
Year Title Role Notes1953 Jukebox Jury 1957 Crossroads Mrs. Day Episode: "The Man Who Walked on Water" Playhouse 90 Julia Williams Episode: "The Edge of Innocence "1963 Candid Camera Self Episode: "19 May 1963"1965 What's My Line? Contestant Episode: "14 November 1965"1972 The Crooked Hearts Lillian Stanton TV movie1976 The Great Houdini Lady Conan Doyle TV movie1982 Morning's at Seven Esther CramptonTV movie1983 All My Children Olive Whelan 1984 Guiding Light Miss Emma Witherspoon 1985 Search for Tomorrow Elaine Descot 1992 With Murder in Mind Aunt MildredTV movieThe Habitation of Dragons Helen Taylor TV movie1994 Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is Eleanor Biddlecomb Final film role
Radio appearances Year Program Episode/source 1941 Philip Morris Playhouse Night Must Fall 1944 Suspense The Black Shawl
References
External links
Maureen O'Sullivan as "Jane" Photo Gallery Photographs of Maureen O'Sullivan