Margaret Helen Stevenson (February 8, 1912 – January 2, 2011) was an American film, stage, and radio actress, known for her role as Margo Lane in the radio adaptation of The Shadow, opposite Orson Welles in 1938.
Early life Stevenson was born in Manhattan on February 8, 1912, the daughter of Irish-born actor Charles Alexander Stevenson, who was 60 years old when she was born, and his second wife Frances Riley, who was 22 years old at the time. She graduated from Brearley School in Manhattan. Stevenson was about to enroll at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, when the Great Depression began. She decided to pursue acting to earn an income instead of attending Bryn Mawr.
Career Stevenson made her Broadway debut in The Firebird in 1932. Her other Broadway credits included The Royal Family (1975), Hostile Witness (1966), One by One (1964), Big Fish, Little Fish (1961), Triple Play (1959), The Young and Beautiful (1955), The Leading Lady (1948), The Rugged Path (1945), Little Women (1944), Golden Wings (1941), You Can't Take It With You (1936), Stage Door (1936), Call It a Day (1936), Truly Valiant (1936), Symphony (1935), The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1935), A Party (1933), and Evensong (1933). She also acted in a West End production of The Seven Year Itch in London in the 1950s in addition to performing frequently in summer stock theatre and regional theater in the United States.
In addition to her work on The Shadow, Stevenson acted on Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories on old-time radio. She also acted on television and for more than a decade did TV commercials.
Personal life Her second husband, Val Avery, whom she married in 1953, died on December 12, 2009, at age 85.
By the late 1990s, Stevenson was blind as a result of macular degeneration. She died at her home in Manhattan on January 2, 2011, at the age of 98.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1934 Come to Dinner Miss Jurgen - Oliver's Daughter Short film 1939 Smashing the Money Ring Peggy 1939 Invisible Stripes Sue 1940 Calling Philo Vance Hilda Lake 1940 Granny Get Your Gun Julie Westcott 1940 Castle on the Hudson Ann Rockford 1940 Saturday's Children Mrs. MacReady (voice) Uncredited 1940 Flight Angels Rita 1967 Valley of the Dolls Anne's Mother Uncredited 1968 The Brotherhood Uncredited 1970 Rabbit, Run Mrs. Tothero 1979 Going in Style Store Cashier
Television Year Title Role Notes 1954 Douglas Fairbanks Presents Myra Episode: "Myra and the Moneyman" 1954 Macbeth Lady Macduff Television film 1954–1955 The Philco Television Playhouse Mary Venner 2 episodes 1965 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Betty Episode: "Escape from Venice" 1983 How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days Old Lady Television film
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