From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/ann-blyth-dead-mildred-
pierce-1236790987/
Ann Blyth, Who Played Joan CrawfordrCOs Daughter in rCyMildred Pierce,rCO Dies at 98
By Carmel Dagan
Ann Blyth, who drew a 1946 Oscar nomination for her memorable performance
as the spoiled, selfish daughter of Joan CrawfordrCOs hard-working, devoted title character in the classic film rCLMildred Pierce,rCY died Wednesday. She was 98.
KABCrCOs George Pennachio reported her death.
The dark beauty was also noted for her roles in prison drama rCLBrute ForcerCY (1947), Mario Lanza vehicle rCLThe Great CarusorCY (1951) and 1957rCOs rCLThe Helen Morgan StoryrCY with Paul Newman.
In an interstitial recorded many decades later for Turner Classic Movies, Blyth recalled shooting rCLMildred PiercerCY with Crawford and declared that despite their charactersrCO fraught relationship on screen, she and Crawford got along very well, and it was hard for her to slap Crawford for one of
the movierCOs pivotal scenes.
Crawford won the best actress Oscar for rCLMildred Pierce,rCY which was also nominated for best picture, among other categories.
rCLMildred Pierce,rCY based on the James M. Cain novel, was remade by Todd Haynes as an HBO miniseries in 2011 that starred Kate Winslet, with Evan Rachel Wood playing the ungrateful daughter Veda.
While briefly on vacation from filming rCLDanger Signal,rCY in 1945, Blyth broke her back in a sledding accident, and she spent a year and a half convalescing in a back brace, after which Universal used her in the
excellent prison drama rCLBrute Force,rCY starring Burt Lancaster, while she was still confined to a wheelchair. After she recovered, Universal gave
Blyth her first starring role in rCLSwell Guy.rCY She also starred opposite Mickey Rooney in the film noir rCLKiller McCoy.rCY
The actress had an interesting and challenging role in 1948rCOs rCLAnother Part of the Forest,rCY a prequel to Lillian HellmanrCOs rCLThe Little FoxesrCY in
which she played a younger version of the Regina Hubard character
immortalized on film by Bette Davis.
In 1950 melodrama rCLOur Very Own,rCY she played an adopted child searching for her birth mother, and Blyth played a woman wrongly convicted of murder
in rCLThunder on the Hill.rCY She was wife to Mario LanzarCOs Enrico Caruso in 1951rCOs rCLThe Great Caruso,rCY and she also appeared in lighter fare such as rCLMr. Peabody and the MermaidrCY and rCLKatie Did It.rCY In 1952 she starred opposite Gregory Peck in rCLThe World in His Arms,rCY her last film for Universal.
At MGM she appeared in a series of operettas, including rCLKismet,rCY but the era of the grand film musicals was ending, and she was not the only star
whose career suffered as a result.
Going out on a high note, she played the tragic title character in 1957rCOs rCLThe Helen Morgan Story,rCY about an alcoholic torch singer; strangely, her singing voice was dubbed.
Ann Marie Blyth was born in Mount Kisco, New York. She was young when her parents split, and her mother moved Blyth and her sister to New York City.
For a time aiming for an opera career, Blyth trained with the San Carlo
Opera Company.
She made her single Broadway appearance in the original production of
Lillian HellmanrCOs WWII drama rCLWatch on the RhinerCY in 1941-42. She toured with the show in Los Angeles, where she was noticed and given a screen
test at Universal.
The young actress made her big screen debut in 1944rCOs swing-era teen
musical rCLChip Off the Block,rCY a B musical starring Donald OrCOConnor in which she got to show off her pipes. Roles in similar fare followed: rCLThe Merry MonahansrCY and rCLBabes on Swing Street,rCY also 1944 films. But she didnrCOt really get noticed until her role in Warner Bros.rCO rCLMildred PiercerCY
in 1945.
The devout Catholic focused on family after her film career essentially
ended in 1957 as well as musical theater, appearing in rCLThe Sound of Music,rCY rCLThe King and I,rCY rCLCarnival,rCY rCLBittersweet,rCY rCLSouth Pacific,rCY
rCLShow BoatrCY and rCLA Little Night Music.rCY
Blyth had started making occasional appearances on television in the
1950s, appearing, for example, in a rCLLux Video TheatrerCY adaptation of rCLA Place in the SunrCY in 1954, on rCLThe DuPont Show With June AllysonrCY in 1959
and rCLThe Dick Powell TheatrerCY in 1962. She made several appearances on the TV Western rCLWagon TrainrCY in the early 1960s and starred in the rCLQueen of the NilerCY episode of rCLTwilight ZonerCY in 1964. Later she appeared a couple
of times on rCLQuincy, M.E.rCY before her final television appearance on rCLMurder, She WroterCY in 1985.
The actress was married to Dr. James McNulty from 1953 until his death in 2007. They had five children, 10 grandchildren and five great-
grandchildren.
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