Margaret Leighton (26 February 1922 – 13 January 1976) was an English actress. Known for her work on stage and screen,Obituary Variety, 21 January 1976, page 111. her film appearances included Anthony Asquith's The Winslow Boy (her first credited film role), Alfred Hitchcock's Under Capricorn, Powell and Pressburger's The Elusive Pimpernel, George More O'Ferrall's The Holly and the Ivy, Martin Ritt's The Sound and the Fury, John Guillermin's Waltz of the Toreadors, Franklin J. Schaffner's The Best Man, Tony Richardson's The Loved One, John Ford's 7 Women, and Joseph Losey's The Go-Between and Galileo. For The Go-Between, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Leighton began her career on stage in 1938, before joining the Old Vic and making her Broadway debut in 1946. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she twice won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play: for the original Broadway productions of Separate Tables (1957) and The Night of the Iguana (1962). She also won an Emmy Award for the 1970 Hallmark Hall of Fame television presentation of “Hamlet” starring Richard Chamberlain, which aired in November 1970 on NBC.
Life and career Born in Barnt Green, Worcestershire, Leighton made her stage debut as Dorothy in Laugh with Me (1938), which also was performed that year for BBC Television. She became a star of the Old Vic. Her Broadway debut was as the Queen in Henry IV (1946), starring Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson during a visit of the Old Vic to the U.S., and the company performed a total of five plays from its repertoire before returning to London.
After appearing in two British films, including the starring role of Flora MacDonald opposite David Niven in Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948) and in the popular The Winslow Boy (also 1948), the actress appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Under Capricorn (1949) and the crime/mystery Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951). In the U.S., she portrayed the wife of a presidential candidate in The Best Man (1964).
Leighton won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in Separate Tables (1956); she won another Tony in that category for The Night of the Iguana (1962), playing Hannah Jelkes (a role played by Deborah Kerr in the film version) opposite Bette Davis's Maxine Faulk. Leighton was nominated for Best Actress in a Play for Much Ado About Nothing (1959) and for Tchin-Tchin (1962). Her last appearance on Broadway was as Birdie Hubbard in a revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes (1967).
She had a noteworthy list of TV appearances, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Ben Casey and Burke's Law. She won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Drama for Hamlet (1970) and she was nominated for an Emmy in 1966 for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama for four episodes of Dr. Kildare. Her final TV performance was in the first season of Space: 1999 where she played Queen Arra in the episode "Collision Course."
For her film role as Mrs Maudsley in The Go-Between (1971), Leighton won the British BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the role. She received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Actress for her role as Valerie Carrington in Carrington V.C. (1954).
Leighton can be heard in Caedmon recordings of Noel Coward's Brief Encounter and scenes from Blithe Spirit and Present Laughter, all co-starring Coward himself; excerpts from George Bernard Shaw's The Apple Cart, again with Coward; Jean Cocteau's The Infernal Machine; and The Taming of the Shrew.
Personal life Leighton was married three times, to publisher Max Reinhardt from 1947 to 1955, to actor Laurence Harvey from 1957 to 1961, and to actor Michael Wilding from 1964 until her death in 1976. She had no children by any of the marriages.
She was appointed a CBE in 1974. Leighton died of multiple sclerosis in 1976, aged 53, in Chichester, Sussex.
Acting credits Film Year Title Role Notes 1948Catherine WinslowFirst credited featureBonnie Prince CharlieFlora MacDonald1949Under CapricornMilly 1950Leonora VailThe Elusive PimpernelMarguerite Blakeney1951Calling Bulldog DrummondHelen Smith 1952Home at SevenJanet PrestonMargaret Gregory 1954Eve RavenscourtHelen TeckmanCarrington V.C.Valerie1955The Constant HusbandCounsel for the Defence1957Judith Wynter / Leonie Hathaway1959Caddy Compson1962Waltz of the ToreadorsEmily Fitzjohn1964Alice Russell1965Helen Kenton19667 WomenAgatha Andrews1969The Madwoman of ChaillotConstance1971Mrs. Maudsley 1972X Y & ZeeGladysLady Caroline LambLady Melbourne1973Bequest to the NationFrances Nelson1974From Beyond the GraveMadame OrloffSegment: "The Elemental"1975GalileoElderly Court Lady1976Trial by CombatMa Gore Final film role; posthumous release
Television Year Title Role Notes1938Laugh with MeDorothy BBC TV play1947EverymanBeauty BBC TV play1948Arms and the ManRaina Petkoff BBC TV adaptation1951, 1953Sunday Night TheatreCatherine Bailey, Rosalind, Lucasta AngelEpisodes: "Release (I)", "As You Like It", "The Confidential Clerk"1955ITV Opening Night at the GuildhallGwendolen FairfaxTV film1955, 1960ITV Play of the WeekNatalya Petrovna, Mrs. ManninghamEpisodes: "A Month in the Country", "Gaslight"1956Theatre RoyalMarionEpisode: "The Triumphant"1957SuspicionMiss PerryEpisode: "The Sparkle of Diamonds"1958Alfred Hitchcock PresentsIris TeletonSeason 4 Episode 10: "Tea Time"1959Playhouse 90Miss KerrisonEpisode: "The Second Man"1959DuPont Show of the MonthMillie Crocker-HarrisEpisode: "The Browning Version"1964Ben CaseyLeila FarrEpisode: "August Is the Month Before Christmas"1964Burke's LawConnie HansonEpisode: "Who Killed Everybody?"1965The Alfred Hitchcock HourNell SnyderSeason 3 Episode 13: "Where the Woodbine Twineth"1965Dr. KildareChris BeckerGuest role (season 5)1966Amy HunterEpisode: "The Chameleon"1966Gita VolanderEpisode: "The Lethal Eagle Affair"1968RosemaryEpisode: "All on Her Own"1968–69Play of the MonthHelen Lancaster, Mrs. CheveleyEpisodes: "Waters of the Moon", "An Ideal Husband"1969Judd, for the DefenseMary WrightEpisode: "The Crystal Maze"1969Florence LancasterEpisode: "The Vortex"1970Amelia RaynerEpisode: "The King of Denmark"1970ITV Sunday Night TheatreGertrudeEpisode: "Hamlet"1972Armchair TheatreLady HuntercombeEpisode: "Hot Summer: Do Not Sell"1973Lady SeacroftTV series1973Frankenstein: The True StoryFrancoise DuValTV film1974Great ExpectationsMiss HavishamTV film1975Space: 1999ArraEpisode: "Collision Course"
Select theatre credits Robert's Wife (1942) – Birmingham Rep Major Barbara (1942) – Birmingham Rep The Farmer's Wife (1942) – Birmingham Rep The Little Minister (1943) – Birmingham Rep Elusive Straw Hat (1943) – Birmingham Rep Ladies in Retirement (1943) – Birmingham Rep Robert's Wife (1943) – Birmingham Rep Heartbreak House (1943) – Birmingham Rep The Taming of the Shrew (1943) – Birmingham Rep The Beggar Prince (1943) – Birmingham Rep You Never Can Tell (1944) – Birmingham Rep As You Like It (1944) – Birmingham Rep Six Characters in Search of an Author (1944) – Birmingham Rep Uncle Vanya (1945) – New Theatre, London Richard III (1944–45) – New Theatre, London Henry IV, Part I and II (1945–46) – New Theatre, London Henry IV Part I and II (1946) – New York Uncle Vanya (1946) – New York Oedipus Rex (1946) – New York The Critic (1946) – New York Separate Tables (1954–57) – London, New York Variation on a Theme (1958) – London Much Ado About Now (1959) – New York The Wrong Side of the Park (1960) – London The Night of the Iguana (1961–62) – New York Tchin-Tchin (1962–63) – New York The Chinese Prime Minister (1964) – New York Slapstick Tragedy (1966) – New York Cactus Flower (1967) – Lyric Theatre, London The Little Foxes (1967–68) – New York Antony and Cleopatra (1969) – Chinchester Festival Michael Codron (1970) – Apollo Theatre, London Reunion in Vienna (1972) – London A Family and a Fortune (1974–75) – Theatre Royal, Bath, then Apollo Theatre, London.
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Results Ref. 1971 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actress The Go-Between 1954 British Academy Film Awards Best British Actress Carrington V.C. 1971 Best Actress in a Supporting Role The Go-Between 1971 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actress 1966 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama Dr. Kildare 1971 Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Drama Hamlet 1957 Tony Awards Best Leading Actress in a Play Separate Tables 1960 Much Ado About Nothing 1962 The Night of the Iguana 1963 Tchin-Tchin
See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Great Britain List of actors with Academy Award nominations List of British actors List of Primetime Emmy Award winners
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