Susan Hayward (June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American actress. She first traveled to Hollywood to audition for Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, but did not get the part. Making her film debut in 1937's romantic musical comedy Hollywood Hotel, she had uncredited roles in several more films until she got her first moderately important role in Girls on Probation (1938) for Warner Bros. Her first leading role came when she starred as Isobel in Beau Geste (1939), and she began to land larger roles in films such as Our Leading Citizen (1939), Among the Living (1941), and Reap the Wild Wind (1942), all of which she made for Paramount Pictures.
After acting in several films for United Artists, she signed a seven-year contract with Walter Wanger and reached stardom for her portrayal of Angie Evans in Stuart Heisler's drama Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman (1947), which earned her her first of five nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was nominated again in 1949, for the romantic drama My Foolish Heart.
Switching to 20th Century Fox in the late 1940s, she starred in several successful films such as I'd Climb the Highest Mountain, David and Bathsheba (both 1951), and The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952). Also in 1952, she played Jane Froman in the biographical musical drama With a Song in My Heart, earning her third Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role – Musical or Comedy. She earned her fourth nomination for her performance as alcoholic showgirl and actress Lillian Roth in the biopic I'll Cry Tomorrow. Though the award ultimately went to Anna Magnani for The Rose Tattoo, Hayward won Best Actress at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. In 1956, she played Bortai alongside John Wayne in The Conqueror, which was a commercial success but a critical failure, and is widely considered to be one of the worst films of all time.
In 1958, Hayward played death row inmate Barbara Graham in Robert Wise's film noir I Want to Live!, which succeeded both critically and commercially. Hayward's performance was heavily praised by critics, with some considering it the best Hollywood performance by an actress of all time. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She also received 37% of the film's net profits. The New York Times journalist Bosley Crowther hailed her performance as "so vivid and so shattering ... Anyone who could sit through this ordeal without shivering and shuddering is made of stone."
As her career began to decline, she starred in several unsuccessful films such as Ada (1961), I Thank a Fool (1962), Stolen Hours (1963), and Where Love Has Gone (1964), the latter of which co-starred Bette Davis. In 1967, she acted in The Honey Pot and replaced Judy Garland in Valley of the Dolls, based on Jacqueline Susann's 1966 novel of the same name. The film was panned by critics but was a box office success. She then made her stage debut as the titular character in the Las Vegas production of the musical Mame at Caesars Palace, which she acted in from December 1968 to March 1969.
Hayward's doctor found a lung tumor in 1972, which later metastasized. She was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1973 following a seizure and made her final film appearance in the made-for-television drama Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole (1972). She succumbed to her illness on March 14, 1975.
Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleNotesRef1937Hollywood HotelStarlet at tableUncredited1938The Amazing Dr. ClitterhousePatientScenes deletedThe SistersTelephone operatorUncreditedGirls on ProbationGloria AdamsComet Over BroadwayAmateur ActressUncreditedCampus CinderellaCo-EdShort subject1939Beau GesteIsobel RiversOur Leading CitizenJudith Schofield$1,000 a TouchdownBetty McGlen1941Adam Had Four SonsHester StoddardSis HopkinsCarol HopkinsAmong the LivingMillie Pickens1942Reap the Wild WindDrusilla AlstonThe Forest RangersTana "Butch" MasonI Married a WitchEstelle MastersonStar Spangled RhythmHerself – Genevieve in Priorities SkitA Letter from BataanMrs. Mary LewisShort subject1943Young and WillingKate BensonHit Parade of 1943Jill WrightJack LondonCharmian Kittredge1944The Fighting SeabeesConstance ChesleyThe Hairy ApeMildred DouglasAnd Now TomorrowJanice BlairSkirmish on the Home FrontMolly MillerShort subject1946Deadline at DawnJune GoffeCanyon PassageLucy Overmire1947Smash-Up, the Story of a WomanAngelica "Angie" / "Angel" Evans ConwayThey Won't Believe MeVerna CarlsonThe Lost MomentTina Bordereau1948Tap RootsMorna DabneyThe Saxon CharmJanet Busch1949TulsaCherokee LansingHouse of StrangersIrene BennettMy Foolish HeartEloise Winters1951Screen Snapshots: Hopalong in Hoppy LandHerselfShort subjectI'd Climb the Highest MountainMary Elizabeth Eden ThompsonRawhideVinnie HoltI Can Get It for You WholesaleHarriet BoydDavid and BathshebaBathsheba1952With a Song in My HeartJane FromanThe Snows of KilimanjaroHelenThe Lusty MenLouise Merritt1953The President's LadyRachel DonelsonWhite Witch DoctorEllen Burton1954Demetrius and the GladiatorsMessalinaGarden of EvilLeah Fuller1955UntamedKatie O'Neill (Kildare) (Van Riebeck)Soldier of FortuneMrs. Jane HoytI'll Cry TomorrowLillian Roth1956The ConquerorBortai1957Top Secret AffairDorothy "Dottie" Peale1958I Want to Live!Barbara Graham1959Thunder in the SunGabrielle DauphinWoman ObsessedMary Sharron1961The Marriage-Go-RoundContent DelvilleAdaAda GillisBack StreetRae Smith1962I Thank a FoolChristine Allison1963Stolen HoursLaura PemberUS title: 'Summer Flight'.1964Where Love Has GoneValerie Hayden Miller1967The Honey PotMrs. Lone Star Crockett SheridanValley of the DollsHelen LawsonThink TwentiethHerself1972The RevengersElizabeth Reilly
Television +YearTitleRoleNotesRef.1972Heat of AngerJessie FitzgeraldTV movieSay Goodbye, Maggie ColeDr. Maggie Cole
Stage +Year(s)TitleRoleTheaterRef.1968-69MameMame DennisCaesars Palace
Radio YearProgramEpisode/SourceRef.1938Warner Bros. Academy Theater"The Crowd Roars"1941Lux Radio Theatre"Hold Back The Dawn"1946Duffy's Tavern"Susan Hayward and Frank Buck"1946Suspense"Dame Fortune"1949Bill Stern's Sports Reel"Guest: Susan Hayward"1952Lux Radio Theatre"I Can Get It for You Wholesale" 1952Cavalcade of America"Breakfast at Nancy's"
Awards and nominations Academy Awards +YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.1947Best ActressSmash-Up, the Story of a Woman1949My Foolish Heart1952With a Song in My Heart1955I'll Cry Tomorrow1958I Want to Live!
BAFTA Awards +YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.1957Best Foreign ActressI'll Cry Tomorrow1959I Want to Live!
Cannes Film Festival Awards +YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.1956Best ActressI'll Cry Tomorrow
David Di Donatello Awards +YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.1959Golden PlateI Want to Live!
Golden Globe Awards +YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.1953Best Actress in a Leading Role – Musical or ComedyWith a Song in My HeartWorld Film Favorite—1959Best Actress in a Motion Picture – DramaI Want to Live!
Mar Del Plata International Film Festival Awards +YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.1959Best ActressI Want to Live!
New York Film Critics Circle Awards +YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.1958Best ActressI Want to Live!
Photoplay Awards +YearCategoryNominated workResultRef1953Gold Medal AwardWith a Song in My Heart
References