Anne Revere (June 25, 1903 – December 18, 1990) was an American actress and a member of the board of the Screen Actors Guild. She was best known for her work on Broadway and her portrayals of mothers in a series of critically acclaimed films. An outspoken critic of the House Un-American Activities Committee, her name appeared in Red Channels: The Report on Communist Influence in Radio and Television in 1950 and she was subsequently blacklisted.

Revere won an Academy Award for her supporting role in the film National Velvet (1944). She was also nominated in the same category for The Song of Bernadette (1943) and Gentleman's Agreement (1947). She won a Tony Award for her performance in Lillian Hellman's play Toys in the Attic in 1960.

Early life Born in New York City, Revere was a direct descendant of American Revolution hero Paul Revere.Robertson, Patrick, The Guinness Book of Almost Everything You Didn't Need to Know About the Movies. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. 1986. , p. 34 Her father, Clinton, was a stockbroker, and she was raised on the Upper West Side and in Westfield, New Jersey, where she graduated from Westfield High School."Miss Anne Revere, Westfield, Works In Picture of Her Stage Success", Courier News, March 5, 1934. Accessed March 5, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Miss Revere is a graduate nf Westfield High School and of Wellesley College, and has had a most interesting career." In 1926, she graduated from Wellesley College. Despite her unsuccessful attempts to join dramatic groups in high school and (initially) in college, she eventually was successful at Wellesley and studied dramatics there. She went on to enroll at the American Laboratory School to study acting with Maria Ouspenskaya and Richard Boleslavsky.

Career

Revere gained early acting experience in regional and stock theater troupes. She made her Broadway debut in 1931 in The Great Barrington. Three years later, she went to Hollywood to reprise her stage role in the film adaptation of Double Door. She returned to Broadway to create the role of Martha Dobie in the original 1934 production of The Children's Hour, and in later years, she appeared on the New York stage in As You Like It, The Three Sisters, and Toys in the Attic, for which she won the 1960 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.

Revere worked steadily as a character actress in films, appearing in nearly three dozen between 1934 and 1951. She was frequently cast in the role of a matriarch and played mother to Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, John Garfield, and Montgomery Clift. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress three times and won for her performance in National Velvet. Additional screen credits included The Song of Bernadette, Gentleman's Agreement, The Keys of the Kingdom, Body and Soul, and A Place in the Sun.

In 1951, Revere resigned from the board of the Screen Actors Guild. At the time, she was an active member of the American Communist Party. She later pleaded the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. A Place in the Sun was her last film role for two decades. She returned to the screen in Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon.

In 1962, television director Joseph Hardy fought for Revere to appear in the popular soap opera A Time for Us. ABC finally agreed to cast Revere in the role and after that Revere appeared frequently in television soap operas like A Flame in the Wind, The Edge of Night, Search for Tomorrow, and Ryan's Hope.

Revere and her husband, theatre director Samuel Rosen, moved to New York and opened an acting school, and she continued to work in summer stock and regional theater productions and on television.

Personal life Revere married Rosen on April 11, 1935, and they remained wed until his death in 1984. Revere supported Progressive Party candidate Henry A. Wallace's campaign in 1948.Revere Blasts Filmland Ban; The Harvard Crimson, February 20, 1952. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1952/2/20/revere-blasts-filmland-ban-pactress-anne/

Illness and death Revere died of pneumonia in her home at Locust Valley, New York, on December 18, 1990, at the age of 87.Obituary Variety, December 24, 1990. She was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1934 Double Door Caroline Van Brett1940One Crowded NightMae AndrewsThe Howards of VirginiaMrs. Betsy Norton1941The Devil CommandsMrs. Blanche WaltersMen of Boys TownMrs. FenelyThe Flame of New OrleansGiraud's SisterH.M. Pulham, Esq.Miss Redfern, John's SecretaryUncreditedRemember the DayMiss Nadine PriceDesign for ScandalNettie, Porter's MaidUncredited1942Meet the StewartsGeraldine StewartThe Falcon Takes OverJessie FlorianUncreditedAre Husbands Necessary?AnnaThe Gay SistersMiss Ida OrnerStar Spangled RhythmSarahUncredited1943The Meanest Man in the WorldKitty Crockett, Clark's SecretaryShantytownMrs. GortyOld AcquaintanceBelle CarterThe Song of BernadetteLouise SoubirousNominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress1944Standing Room OnlyMajor Harriet CromwellRainbow IslandQueen OkalanaThe Thin Man Goes HomeCrazy MarySunday Dinner for a SoldierAgatha ButterfieldNational VelvetMrs. BrownAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActressThe Keys of the KingdomAgnes Fiske1945Don Juan QuilliganMrs. Cora RostigaffFallen AngelClara Mills1946DragonwyckAbigail Wells1947The Shocking Miss PilgrimAlice PritchardCarnival in Costa RicaMama Elsa MolinaForever AmberMother Red CapBody and SoulAnna DavisGentleman's AgreementMrs. GreenNominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressSecret Beyond the DoorCaroline Lamphere1948Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!Judith DominyDeep WatersMary McKay1949You're My EverythingAunt Jane1951The Great Missouri RaidMrs. SamuelsA Place in the SunHannah Eastman1970Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie MoonMiss FarberMacho CallahanCrystal1976Birch IntervalMrs. Tanner

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