Shirley Booth

Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford, August 30, 1898 – October 16, 1992) was an American actress. One of only 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awards

Shirley Booth
Booth in 1950
Born	Marjory Ford[1] (1898-08-30)August 30, 1898 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	October 16, 1992(1992-10-16) (aged 94) North Chatham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Hebron Cemetery, Montclair, New Jersey
Education	P.S. 152
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1925–1974
Spouse(s)	Ed Gardner ​ ( m. 1929; div. 1942) William H. Baker Jr. ​ ( m. 1943; died 1951)

Primarily a theater actress, Booth began her career on Broadway in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received her first Tony Award in 1950 (she would go on to win two more). She made her film debut, reprising her role in the 1952 film version, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance. Despite her successful entry into films, she preferred acting on the stage, and made only four more films.

From 1961 to 1966, she played the title role in the sitcom Hazel, for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards. She was later acclaimed for her performance in the 1966 television production of The Glass Menagerie. Her final role was Mrs. Claus in the 1974 animated Christmas television special The Year Without a Santa Claus.

Early life

Booth was born in New York City[2][3][1] to Albert James and Virginia M. (née Wright) Ford. In the 1905 New York state census, she was listed as Thelma Booth Ford. She had one sibling, a younger sister, Jean (1914-2010). Her early childhood was spent in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where she attended Public School 152.[4][5][6]

When she was seven, Booth's family moved to Philadelphia where she first became interested in acting after seeing a stage performance. When Booth was a teenager, her family moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where she became involved in summer stock. She made her stage debut in a production of Mother Carey's Chickens. Against her father's protests, she dropped out of school and traveled to New York City to further pursue a career. She initially used the name "Thelma Booth" when her father forbade her to use the family name professionally. She eventually changed her name to Shirley Booth.[5]

Career

Booth began her career onstage as a teenager, acting in stock company productions. She was a prominent actress in Pittsburgh theatre for a time, performing with the Sharp Company.[7] Her debut on Broadway was in the play, Hell's Bells, opposite Humphrey Bogart on January 26, 1925.[5][8] Booth first attracted major notice as the female lead in the comedy hit Three Men on a Horse, which ran almost two years from 1935 to 1937.[9] During the 1930s and 1940s, she achieved popularity in dramas, comedies and, later, musicals. She acted with Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story (1939), originated the role of Ruth Sherwood in the 1940 Broadway production of My Sister Eileen and performed with Ralph Bellamy in Tomorrow the World (1943).[10]

Booth also starred on the popular radio series Duffy's Tavern, playing the lighthearted, wisecracking, man-crazy daughter of the unseen tavern owner on CBS radio from 1941 to 1942 and on NBC Blue from 1942 to 1943. Her then-husband, Ed Gardner, created and wrote the show, as well as played its lead character, Archie, the malapropping manager of the tavern; Booth left the show not long after the couple divorced.[6] She auditioned unsuccessfully for the title role of Our Miss Brooks in 1948; she had been recommended by Harry Ackerman, who was to produce the show, but Ackerman told radio historian Gerald Nachman that he felt Booth was too conscious of a high school teacher's struggles to have full fun with the character's comic possibilities. Our Miss Brooks became a radio and television hit when the title role went to Eve Arden.[11]

Booth received her first Tony Award, for Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic), for her performance as Grace Woods in Goodbye, My Fancy (1948).[12] Her second Tony was for Best Actress in a Play, which she received for her widely acclaimed performance as the tortured wife Lola Delaney in the poignant drama Come Back, Little Sheba (1950). Her leading man, Sidney Blackmer, received the Tony for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as her husband, Doc.[13]

Her success in Come Back, Little Sheba was immediately followed by the musical A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1951), (based on the popular novel) in which she played the feisty, but lovable Aunt Sissy, which proved to be another major hit. Her popularity was such that, at the time, the story was skewed from the original so that Aunt Sissy was the leading role (rather than Francie). Booth then went to Hollywood and reprised her stage role in the 1952 film version of Come Back, Little Sheba with Burt Lancaster playing Doc.[14] After that movie, her first of only five films in her career, was completed,[15] she returned to New York and played Leona Samish in The Time of the Cuckoo (1952) on Broadway.[16]

In 1953, Booth received the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Come Back, Little Sheba, becoming the first actress ever to win both a Tony and an Oscar for the same role.[17] The film also earned Booth Best Actress awards from The Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Globe Awards, The New York Film Critics Circle Awards, and National Board of Review.[18] She also received her third Tony, her second in the Best Actress in a Play category, for her performance in the Broadway production of Arthur Laurents' play The Time of the Cuckoo.[12]

Booth was 54 years old when she made her first movie, although she had successfully shaved almost a decade off her real age, with her publicity stating 1907 as the year of her birth. Her correct year of birth was known by only her closest associates until her correct year of birth, 1898, was announced at the time of her death.[19] Her second starring film, a romantic drama About Mrs. Leslie opposite Robert Ryan, was released in 1954 to good reviews, but was poorly received by audiences.[20] In 1953, Booth had made a cameo appearance as herself in the all-star comedy/drama movie Main Street to Broadway. She spent the next few years commuting between New York and California. On Broadway, she scored personal successes in the musical By the Beautiful Sea (1954) and the comedy Desk Set (1955). Although Booth had become well known to moviegoers during this period, the movie roles for both The Time of the Cuckoo (re-titled as Summertime for the film in 1955),[21] and Desk Set (1957), both went to Katharine Hepburn.[22]

In 1957, Booth won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work on the stage in Chicago.[23] She returned to the Broadway stage in 1959, starring as the long-suffering title character in Marc Blitzstein's musical Juno, an adaptation of Seán O'Casey's 1924 classic play, Juno and the Paycock.[24][25] In 1961, director Frank Capra approached Booth about starring in Pocketful of Miracles, an updated version of Capra's 1933 comedy-drama Lady for a Day starring May Robson. Booth informed him that she was unable to match Robson's Oscar-nominated performance in the original film and declined the role. Capra instead cast Bette Davis, who was unfavorably compared to Robson by most reviewers when the film was released.[26]

Booth returned to motion pictures to star in two more films for Paramount Pictures, playing Dolly Gallagher Levi in the 1958 film adaptation of Thornton Wilder's romance/comedy The Matchmaker (the source text for the musical Hello, Dolly!), and to play Alma Duval in the drama Hot Spell (1958).[27][28] For her performances in both films, Booth was nominated as the year's Best Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle (Susan Hayward won for her portrayal of executed murderer Barbara Graham in I Want to Live!).[29]

Hazel

Shirley Booth as Hazel, 1962.

In 1961, Booth was cast in the title role on the NBC situation comedy Hazel, based on Ted Key's popular single-panel cartoon from the Saturday Evening Post about the domineering yet endearing housemaid named Hazel Burke who works for the Baxter family. The series also starred Don DeFore as George Baxter, Whitney Blake as Dorothy "Missy" Baxter and Bobby Buntrock as the Baxters' young son Harold (whom Hazel called "Sport"). Upon its premiere, Hazel was an immediate hit with audiences and drew high ratings.[30]

In 1963, Booth told the Associated Press, at the height of Hazel's popularity, "I liked playing Hazel the first time I read one of the scripts, and I could see all the possibilities of the character—the comedy would take care of itself. My job was to give her heart. Hazel never bores me. Besides, she's my insurance policy."[4] Over the course of its five-year run, Booth won two Primetime Emmy Awards for her work in the series and was nominated for a third.[31] Booth is one of the few performers to win all three major entertainment awards (Oscar, Tony, Emmy).

In 1965, NBC canceled the series.[32] CBS picked up and retooled the series; Don DeFore (George Baxter) and Whitney Blake (Dorothy Baxter) were written out of the series, while Bobby Buntrock (Harold "Sport" Baxter) remained a cast member. Ray Fulmer was cast as Steve Baxter, the brother of DeFore's character George.[33] Booth, who owned the rights to the series, hired Lynn Borden, a former Miss Arizona, as Steve's wife Barbara.[34] Julia Benjamin was cast as Barbara and Steve's daughter, Susie. In the retooled version, George and Dorothy Baxter have moved to Baghdad leaving Harold to live with Steve and Barbara. Hazel remains on as the new Baxters' housekeeper.[33] While ratings for the fifth season were still strong (Hazel ranked #26 for the season), Booth decided to end the show due to health issues.[35]

Later career and retirement

Shortly after the end of Hazel, Booth appeared in the television production of The Glass Menagerie that aired on the anthology series CBS Playhouse. She won critical acclaim for her performance and was nominated for another Primetime Emmy Award.[36]

Booth's final Broadway appearances were in a revival of Noël Coward's play Hay Fever and the musical Look to the Lilies, both in 1970. In 1971, she returned to Chicago to star opposite Gig Young in a revival of Harvey at the Blackstone Theater.[37] In 1973, Booth returned to episodic television in the ABC series A Touch of Grace. The series was based on the British sitcom For the Love of Ada.[38] A Touch of Grace was canceled after one season.[39]

In 1974, Booth provided the voice for the character of Mrs. Claus in the animated television special The Year Without a Santa Claus.[40] It was Booth's final acting role after which she retired to her home in Cape Cod.[4]

Personal life

On November 23, 1929, Booth married Ed Gardner, who later gained fame as the creator and host of the radio series Duffy's Tavern. They divorced in 1942.[6] She married William H. Baker Jr., a corporal in the U.S. Army, the following year. Booth and Baker remained married until his death from heart disease in 1951. She never remarried and had no children from either marriage.[4]

Later years and death

After retiring from acting in 1974, Booth moved to North Chatham, Massachusetts, where she lived with her pet poodle and two cats.[19][31] She maintained contact with her friends via telephone and spent her time painting and doing needlework.[19] In November 1979, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.[41] Booth did not attend the ceremony and the award was accepted on her behalf by Celeste Holm.[19]

By the 1980s, Booth's health began to decline. She reportedly suffered a stroke that caused mobility issues and blindness. After her death, Booth's sister said she had broken her hip in 1991, which further inhibited her mobility.[19] On October 16, 1992, Booth died at age 94 at her home in North Chatham.[4][42] After a private memorial service, Booth was interred in the Baker family plot in Mount Hebron Cemetery in Montclair, New Jersey.[19]

For her contributions to the film industry, Booth has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6850 Hollywood Boulevard.[43]

Works and accolades

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	Come Back, Little Sheba	Lola Delaney	Academy Award for Best Actress Cannes Film Festival – Award for Best Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama National Board of Review Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Nominated–BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1953	Main Street to Broadway	Herself
1954	About Mrs. Leslie	Mrs. Vivien Leslie	Nominated–BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1958	Hot Spell	Alma Duval
1958	The Matchmaker	Dolly 'Gallagher' Levi	Final feature film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954–1961	The United States Steel Hour		2 Episodes
1957	Playhouse 90	Perle Mesta	Episode: "The Hostess With the Mostess"
1961–1966	Hazel	Hazel Burke	154 Episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1962 and 1963) Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1964)
1966	CBS Playhouse	Amanda Wingfield	Episode: "The Glass Menagerie" Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television
1967	CBS Playhouse	Heloise Michaud	Episode: "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"
1968	The Smugglers	Mrs. Hudson	TV movie
1969	The Ghost & Mrs. Muir	Spiritualist Madame Tibaldi	Episode: "Medium Well Done"
1973	A Touch of Grace	Grace Simpson	13 Episodes
1974	The Year Without a Santa Claus	Mrs. Claus (voice)	TV movie – (Final role)

Theatre

Date	Production	Role	Notes
January 26 – May 1925	Hell's Bells	Nan Winchester
November 2, 1925 – June 1926	Laff That Off	Peggy Bryant
October 7 – October 1926	Buy, Buy Baby	Betty Hamilton
October 6 – October 1927	High Gear	Mary Marshall
September 24 – December 1928	The War Song	Emily Rosen
April 21 – April 1931	School for Virtue	Marg
October 2 – October 1931	The Camels are Coming	Bobby Marchante
November 30, 1931 – January 1932	Coastwise	Annie Duval
May 8 – June 1933	The Mask and the Face	Elisa Zanotti	Revival
February 7 – February 1934	After Such Pleasures
January 30, 1935 – January 9, 1937	Three Men on a Horse	Mabel
April 9 – July 1937	Excursion	Mrs. Loschavio
November 15 – November 1937	Too Many Heroes	Carrie Nolan
March 28, 1939 – March 30, 1940	The Philadelphia Story	Elizabeth Imbrie
December 26, 1940 – January 16, 1943	My Sister Eileen	Ruth Sherwood
April 14, 1943 – June 17, 1944	Tomorrow the World	Leona Richards
May 31 – July 14, 1945	Hollywood Pinafore	Louhedda Hopsons
December 11–14, 1946	Land's End	Susan Pengilly
January 16–17, 1948	The Men We Marry	Maggie Welch
November 17 – December 24, 1949	Goodbye, My Fancy	Grace Woods	Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play[44]
November 7–19, 1949	Love Me Long	Abby Quinn
February 15 – July 29, 1950	Come Back, Little Sheba	Lola	Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play[44]
April 19 – December 8, 1951	A Tree Grows in Brooklyn	Cissy
October 15, 1952 – May 30, 1953	The Time of the Cuckoo	Leona Samish	Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play[21]
April 8 – November 27, 1954	By the Beautiful Sea	Lottie Gibson
October 24, 1955 – July 5, 1956	Desk Set	Bunny Watson
December 26, 1957 – February 8, 1958	Miss Isobel	Mrs. Ackroyd
March 9–21, 1959	Juno	Juno Boyle
April 13 – May 7, 1960	A Second String	Fanny
March 29 – April 18, 1970	Look to the Lilies	Mother Maria
November 9–28, 1970	Hay Fever	Judith Bliss	Revival

See also

• List of actors with Academy Award nominations

Bibliography

• Tucker, David C. (2008). Shirley Booth: A Biography and Career Record. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3600-2.
• Manago, Jim; Manago, Donna (2008). Love is the Reason for It All: The Shirley Booth Story. Albany, GA: BearManorMedia. ISBN 978-1-59393-146-9.
• Manago, Jim (2010). For Bill His Pinup Girl: The Shirley Booth & Bill Baker Story. U.S.: Jim & Donna Manago Books. ISBN 978-0-615-42181-0.

References

1. A copy of her birth certificate reflecting the true birth name and date is located in Booth's clippings file on the third floor of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
2. "Ancestry Library Edition". Search.ancestrylibrary.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
3. "Ancestry Library Edition". Search.ancestrylibrary.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
4. "Actress Shirley Booth, Star of TV's Hazel, Dies". The Seattle Times. October 21, 1992.
5. Coughlan, Robert (December 1, 1952). "New Queen of the Drama". Life. 33 (22): 129. ISSN 0024-3019.
6. Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. p. 213. ISBN 0-199-84045-8. Retrieved 2019-08-16. Booth.
7. Conner, Lynne (2007). Pittsburgh In Stages: Two Hundred Years of Theater. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-8229-4330-3.
8. "Hell's Bells on Broadway". Playbill. June 28, 2015.
9. The Encyclopedia Americana. 8. Grolier Incorporated. 1998. p. 262. ISBN 978-0717201303.
10. Meegan, Jean (May 16, 1943). "Shirley Booth Never Lets Herself Get Into Stage Roles". St. Petersburg Times. p. 14. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
11. Nachman, Gerald (August 23, 2000). Raised on Radio. University of California Press. p. 218. ISBN 978-0520223035.
12. Buck, Jerry (April 7, 1973). "Shirley Booth Has Lots of Character". Schenectady Gazette. p. 17. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
13. Botto, Louis; Viagas, Robert, eds. (2002). At this Theatre: 100 Years of Broadway Shows, Stories and Stars. Stokes Mitchell, Brian. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 93. ISBN 978-1557835666. sheba.
14. Bean, Margaret (March 18, 1953). "Shirley Booth Scores In Role". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 5. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
15. Monush, Barry, ed. (2003). Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965. 1. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 78. ISBN 978-1557835512.
16. Parsons, Louella O. (May 15, 1953). "Warm, Friend Shirley Booth Dubious About Oscar; Cites Effect On Stars". St. Petersburg Times. p. 11C. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
17. "Shirley Booths Adds 'Tony' To 'Oscar'". The Milwaukee Sentinel. March 30, 1953. p. 8. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
18. "Actress Shirley Booth Dies". The Prescott Courier. October 21, 1992. p. 3A. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
19. Tucker, David C. (March 20, 2008). Shirley Booth: A Biography and Career Record. McFarland. p. 136. ISBN 978-0786436002.
20. Dick, Bernard F. (2015). Hal Wallis: Producer to the Stars. University Press of Kentucky. p. 93. ISBN 978-0813159515.
21. Lentz, Harris M., III (2012). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2011. McFarland. p. 198. ISBN 978-0786491346.
22. Thomas, Bob (February 12, 1957). "New School Of Acting Old Hat Says Shirley". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. p. 20. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
23. Dorothy, Kilgallen. "The Voice of Broadway". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. July 21, 1957. p. 4. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
24. Dietz, Dan (July 20, 2014). The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 340. ISBN 978-1442235045.
25. Glover, William (July 15, 1958). "Actress Shirley Booth Is Getting Her First Cinema Chance At Comedy". Ocala Star-Banner. p. 11. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
26. Mell, Eila (January 6, 2005). Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others. McFarland. p. 189. ISBN 978-0786420179.
27. Patinkin, Sheldon (May 31, 2008). "No Legs, No Jokes, No Chance": A History of the American Musical Theater. Northwestern University Press. p. 370. ISBN 978-0810119949.
28. Dick 2015, p. 139
29. Nash, Jay Robert; Ross, Stanley Ralph (1987). The Motion Picture Guide. 1–2. Cinebooks. p. A–64.
30. Thomas, Bob (January 24, 1962). "Shirley Booth's 'Hazel' One Of the Big Hits Of Year". The Sumter Daily Item. p. 4–C. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
31. "Actress Shirley Booth dies; Tony, Emmy, Oscar winner". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. October 21, 1992. p. 4–A. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
32. Tucker 2015, p. 116 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTucker2015 (help)
33. Fanning, Win (August 25, 1965). "Hazel's New Family Are Baxters, Too". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
34. Hall, Ken (November 2007). "Lynn Borden Collects Frog and Elephant Figures". Southeastern Antiquing and Collectng. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
35. Tucker 2015, p. 120 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTucker2015 (help)
36. "Miss Booth Is Moved By Emmy Honor". The Gettysburg Times. May 4, 1967. p. 16. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
37. Jack, Gaver (October 22, 1971). "Two stage hits beginning tours". Rome News-Tribune. p. 7. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
38. "Shirley Booth Lured Into New TV Series". Reading Eagle. January 25, 1973. p. 37. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
39. Leszczak, Bob (November 2, 2012). Single Season Sitcoms, 1948-1979: A Complete Guide. McFarland. p. 188. ISBN 978-0786493050.
40. Cox, Jim (September 4, 2007). The Great Radio Sitcoms. McFarland. p. 103. ISBN 978-0786431465.
41. Johnston, Laurie (November 19, 1979). "Theater Hall of Fame Enshrines 51 Artists". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
42. Flint, Peter B. (October 21, 1992). "Shirley Booth, Star of TV, Radio, Stage and Screen, Is Dead at 94". The New York Times.
43. Folkart, Burt A. "Hollywood Star Walk: Shirley Booth". Los Angeles Times.
44. Levy, Emanuel (January 30, 2001). Oscar Fever: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 284. ISBN 978-0826412843.

External links

• Shirley Booth at the Internet Broadway Database
• Shirley Booth on IMDb
• Shirley Booth at AllMovie
• Shirley Booth infosite
• Historic film footage of Booth at the American Theatre Wing Merchant Seaman's Club, New York, during World War II, criticalpast.com; accessed May 18, 2014.