Matinee Classics - Margaret Sullavan Biography & Filmography

Margaret Sullavan ACTOR

PHOTOS

MARGARET SULLAVAN BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Margaret Sullavan was born on May 16th, 1909 in Norfolk, Virginia with the birth name Margaret Brooke Sullavan Hancock, born to Cornelius Hancock Sullavan and Garland Council Sullavan.

She grew up attending private schools and later became involved in drama performing as a stage actress with the University Players at Harvard. She also studied dance at the Boston Denishawn studio and drama at Copley Theatre. After gaining some experience in Off-Broadway she made her Broadway debut in 1926 in a production of, "Hello, Lola".

Other early stage credits included, "The Devil in the Cheese", "A Modern Virgin", "Strictly Dishonorable" and the Broadway productions, "If Love Were All", "Happy Landing", "Chrysalis" and "Bad Manners".

Sullavan continued working as a stage actress until she caught the attention of Hollywood film director, John M. Stahl and was cast in the film, "Only Yesterday" (1933) starring with John Boles, Edna May Oliver, Billie Burke and Reginald Denny. As her career progressed she did take on a couple film roles, but for the most part, her preference was performing live as a stage actress.

In 1938 she performed in the film, "Three Comrades" starring alongside Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone, Robert Young, Guy Kibbee, Henry Hull and Lionel Atwill, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Other film roles included, "Little Man, What Now?" (1934) also starring Douglass Montgomery and Alan Hale, "The Good Fairy" (1935) co-starring Herbert Marshall, Frank Morgan and Reginald Owen, "So Red the Rose" (1935) starring Randolph Scott and Walter Connolly, "Next Time We Love" (1936) starring with James Stewart and Ray Milland and "The Moon is Our Home" (1936) starring alongside Henry Fonda, Charles Butterworth, Walter Brennan and Beulah Bondi.

She continued to alternate between stage and film roles with some of her last films roles being in, "The Mortal Storm" (1940) starring James Stewart, Frank Morgan, Robert Young and Robert Stack and So Ends Our Night" (1941) starring Fredric March and Glenn Ford. She then took a break from films between 1943 and 1950 and finished up with, her final film role was in 1950 in, "No Sad Songs For Me" co-starring Wendell Corey, Natalie Wood and Viveca Lindfors.

Margaret did not return to the film industry but did participate in a couple more stage productions adding to her credits roles in, "The Voice of the Turtle", "The Deep Blue Sea", "Janus" and "Sweet Love Remembered".

Her personal life was filled with turmoil. Married a total of four times, first to Henry Fonda for only one year from 1931 through 1932. She then married director William Wyler in 1934 and by 1936 this marriage also came to an end. Her third husband was Leland Hayward whom she wed in 1936 and they had three children before divorcing in 1949. Her fourth time to wed was to Kenneth Wagg in 1950 and they were together for ten years before she passed away at the age of fifty on January 1st, 1960 in New Haven, Connecticut after committing suicide with drug overdose. Although her cause of death was ruled as unknown, all signs pointed to suicide.

Along with her unsuccessful relationships, two out of her three children also spent some time in mental institutions and later committed suicide as well. Her son from a gunshot wound and her daughter eleven months after she passed was found in New York dead from drug overdose.

Filmography

1954 Producers' Showcase

1951 Schlitz Playhouse

1951 The Ford Theatre Hour

1950 No Sad Songs for Me

1949 The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre

1948 Studio One in Hollywood

1943 Cry 'Havoc'

1941 Appointment for Love

1941 Back Street

1941 So Ends Our Night

1940 The Mortal Storm

1940 The Shop Around the Corner

1938 The Shining Hour

1938 The Shopworn Angel

1938 Three Comrades

1936 The Moon's Our Home