Gale Sondergaard (born Edith Holm Sondergaard; February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985) was an American actress.

 

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Sunday, December 20. 2020. 11:36. AM.
Gale Sondergaard - Actress.

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Profile :

*in the trailer for Dramatic School (1938)

Born Edith Holm Sondergaard, February 15, 1899, Litchfield, Minnesota, U.S.

Died August 14, 1985 (aged 86), Woodland Hills, California, U.S.

Resting place Cremains scattered into the Pacific Ocean

Occupation Actress

Years active 1936–1983

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Spouse(s) -

1.  Neill O'Malley, ?(m. 1922; div. 1930)?

2. Herbert J. Biberman - ?(m. 1930; died 1971)?

Children 2

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2. Introduction:

Gale Sondergaard (born Edith Holm Sondergaard; February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985) was an American actress.

Sondergaard began her acting career in theater and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her film debut in Anthony Adverse (1936). She regularly played supporting roles in films during the late 1930s and 1940s, including The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Mark of Zorro (1940) and The Letter (1940). For her role in Anna and the King of Siam (1946), she was nominated for her second Best Supporting Actress Academy Award. After the late 1940s, her screen work came to an abrupt end for the next 20 years.

Married to the director Herbert Biberman, Sondergaard supported him when he was accused of communism and named as one of the Hollywood Ten in the early 1950s. She moved with Biberman to New York City and worked in theatre, and acted in film and television occasionally from the late 1960s. She moved back to Los Angeles where she died from cerebrovascular thrombosis.

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3. Early life :

She was born Edith Holm Sondergaard on February 15, 1899 in Litchfield, Minnesota to Danish-American parents, Hans and Christin (Holm) Sondergaard. Her father taught at University of Minnesota, where she was a drama student.

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4. Stage and film career :

4.1 Until the late-1940s:

She studied acting at the Minneapolis School of Dramatic Arts before joining the John Keller Shakespeare Company. She later toured North America in productions of Hamlet, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth. After becoming a member of the Theatre Guild, she began performing on the New York stage.

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*in the trailer for The Letter (1940)

Sondergaard made her first film appearance in Anthony Adverse (1936) as Faith Paleologus and became the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. Her career as an actress flourished during the 1930s, including a role with Paul Muni in The Life of Emile Zola (1937).

During pre-production of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's classic The Wizard of Oz (1939), an early idea was to have the Wicked Witch of the West portrayed as a slinky, glamorous villainess in a black, sequined costume, inspired by the Evil Queen in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Sondergaard originally was cast as the witch and was photographed for two wardrobe tests, both of which survive. One was as a glamorous wicked witch and another as a conventionally ugly wicked witch. After the decision was made to have an ugly wicked witch, Sondergaard, reluctant to wear the disfiguring makeup and fearing it could damage her career, withdrew from the role, and it went to veteran character actress Margaret Hamilton. Sondergaard was, however, cast as the sultry and slinky Tylette (a magically humanized but devious cat) in The Blue Bird (1940).

Around the same time, she played the role of the exotic, sinister wife in The Letter (also 1940), a film starring Bette Davis. She featured in a supporting role in The Spider Woman (aka Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman, 1943), part of the Universal cycle, followed by the non-canonical The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946), also for Universal.

She received a second Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her role as the king's principal wife in Anna and the King of Siam (1946).

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4.2 House Un-American Activities Committee :

Sondergaard's career suffered irreparable damage during the United States Congressional HUAC Red Scare of the early 1950s when her husband was accused of being a communist and named as one of the Hollywood Ten.[8] (In the 2000 movie One of the Hollywood Ten, Sondergaard was portrayed by actress Greta Scacchi while Jeff Goldblum was cast as Biberman.) With her career stalled, she supported her husband during the production of Salt of the Earth (1954).

One of the Hollywood Ten (2000) chronicled Sondergaard's relationship with Biberman and her role in the making of Salt of the Earth. The Bibermans sold their home in Hollywood shortly after they completed Salt of the Earth, and moved to New York where Sondergaard was able to work in theatre.

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4.3 Later career :

In 1969, she appeared in an off-Broadway one-woman show entitled Woman. Sondergaard resumed her career in film and television around the same time.[6] Her revived career extended into the early 1980s.

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5. Personal life :

Her younger sister Hester Sondergaard was also an actress who featured in Seeds of Freedom (1943) The Naked City (1948) and Jigsaw (1949) and The Big Break (1953).

Sondergaard first married in 1922 to actor Neill O'Malley; they divorced in 1930. On May 15, 1930, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she married Herbert Biberman, a theater director then associated with the Theatre Guild Acting Company; he became a film director and died in 1971. They had two children, Daniel Hans Biberman and Mrs. Joan Campos.

Following several strokes, she died from cerebral vascular thrombosis in the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, in 1985, aged 86. She had been admitted to the hospital in 1982.

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6. Acting credits :

6.1 Stage :

Opening date Closing date Title Role Theatre Refs

Oct 08, 1928 Nov 1928 Faust The Witch Guild Theatre

Nov 19, 1928 Jan 1929 Major Barbara Sarah Undershaft, Lady Britomart's daughter Guild Theatre

Oct 7, 1929 Nov 1929 Karl and Anna Marie's sister Guild Theatre

Dec 17, 1929 Feb 1930 Red Rust Nina Martin Beck Theatre

May 11, 1931 May 23, 1931 Alison's House Elsa - Replacement Ritz Theatre

Feb 21, 1933 March 1933 American Dream Lydia Kimball, The First Play, 1650 Guild Theatre

May 17, 1934 Jul 1934 Invitation to a Murder Lorinda Channing Theatre Masque

Nov 6, 1933 Nov 1933 Doctor Monica Anna Playhouse Theatre [20]

Dec 19, 1940 Dec 28, 1940 Cue for Passion Frances Chapman Royale Theatre

Apr 02, 1980 April 26, 1980 Goodbye Fidel Prudencia Ambassador Theatre

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6.2 Film and television :

Year Title Role Notes Refs

1936 Anthony Adverse Faith Paleologus First winner of Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

1937 Maid of Salem Martha Harding

Seventh Heaven Nana, Diane's Sister

The Life of Emile Zola Lucie Dreyfus

1938 Lord Jeff Doris Clandon

Dramatic School Madame Therese Charlot

1939 Never Say Die Juno Marko

Juarez Empress Eugenie A historical drama starring Paul Muni and Bette Davis

Sons of Liberty Rachel Salomon Short

The Cat and the Canary Miss Lu

The Llano Kid Lora Travers

1940 The Blue Bird Tylette (the cat) A Shirley Temple fantasy

The Mark of Zorro Inez Quintero

The Letter Mrs. Hammond A Bette Davis drama

1941 The Black Cat Abigail Doone

Paris Calling Colette

1942 My Favorite Blonde Madame Stephanie Runick

Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen Mrs. Van Dorn

1943 A Night to Remember Mrs. Devoe

Appointment in Berlin Gretta Van Leyden

Isle of Forgotten Sins Marge Willison

The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler Anna Huber

Crazy House Herself Uncredited

1944 The Spider Woman Adrea Spedding aka, Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman

Follow the Boys Herself Uncredited

The Invisible Man's Revenge Lady Irene Herrick

Christmas Holiday Mrs. Monette

Gypsy Wildcat Rhoda

The Climax Luise

Enter Arsène Lupin Bessie Seagrave

1946 The Spider Woman Strikes Back Zenobia Dollard

Night in Paradise Queen Attossa

Anna and the King of Siam Lady Thiang nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

The Time of Their Lives Emily

1947 Pirates of Monterey Señorita De Sola

Road to Rio Catherine Vail A Bob Hope-Bing Crosby-Dorothy Lamour comedy in the Road to ... series

1949 East Side, West Side Nora Kernan

1969 Slaves New Orleans lady

It Takes a Thief Madame Olga Millard Episode: "The Scorpio Drop"

1970 Get Smart Hester Van Hooten Episode: "Rebecca of Funny-Folk Farm"

Tango TV movie

The Best of Everything Amanda Key 2 episodes

Savage Intruder Leslie

1971 Night Gallery Abigail Moore Episode: "The Dark Boy"

The Bold Ones: The Lawyers Mrs. Marley TV, episode "The Letter of the Law"

1973 The Cat Creature Hester Black TV movie

1974 Medical Center Myra Episode: "Adults Only"

Nakia Bert Episode: "The Quarry"

Police Story Marge White Episode: "A World Full of Hurt"

1976 Ryan's Hope Marguerite Beaulac 6 episodes

The Return of a Man Called Horse Elk Woman

Pleasantville Ora

Hollywood on Trial Herself Documentary

1977 Visions Ora Drummond Episode: "Pleasantville"

1978 Centennial Aunt Augusta TV mini series

1981 The Fall Guy Mrs. Jackson Episode: "The Human Torch"

1983 Echoes Mrs. Edmunds

End. 

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