Constance Cummings

Constance Cummings CBE
Cummings in 1934
Born	Constance Cummings Halverstadt[1] (1910-05-15)May 15, 1910 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Died	November 23, 2005(2005-11-23) (aged 95) Wardington, Oxfordshire, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1928–1999
Spouse	Benn Levy ​ ​ (m. 1933; died 1973)​
Children	2

Constance Cummings CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years.

Early life

Cummings was born on 15 May 1910 in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child[2] of Kate Logan (née Cummings), a concert soprano, and Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer.[2][3]

Cummings' parents separated when she was 10 years old, and she never saw her father again. She attended St. Nicholas Girls' School in Seattle.[2]

Career

The San Diego Stock Company gave Cummings her initial acting opportunity in a "walk-on part" playing a prostitute in a 1926 production of Seventh Heaven.[2] She debuted on Broadway as a chorus girl,[4] a member of the ensemble[5] in Treasure Girl (1928) by the age of 18. While appearing on Broadway, she was discovered by Samuel Goldwyn, who brought her to Hollywood in 1931. Between 1931 and 1934, Cummings appeared in more than 20 films, including Movie Crazy opposite Harold Lloyd, and American Madness, directed by Frank Capra.[6]

Cummings was married to the playwright and screenwriter Benn Levy from July 3, 1933 until his death in 1973.[2][7] As Levy was from the UK, Cummings moved there and continued acting in films and on the stage. Few of her films were hits in the U.S., but Blithe Spirit, adapted from the Noël Coward play, was popular. Levy wrote and directed films for Cummings, such as The Jealous God (1939); he also served in the UK Parliament from 1945 to 1950 as the Labour MP for Eton and Slough. They had a son and a daughter.^[citation needed] She played Mary Tyrone in the Royal National Theatre's production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night opposite Laurence Olivier and later recreated the role for television. She took over the role of Martha in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in its first London run.[8]

Recognition

In 1979, Cummings won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Emily Stilson in the drama Wings (1978–1979) (written by Arthur Kopit), a play about a former aviator (Stilson) who has suffered a stroke, from which she struggles to recover.[6] This role also brought her Obie and Drama Desk awards and an Olivier Award nomination.[9] In 1982, she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her work in The Chalk Garden.[10]

She received an Evening Standard Best Actress Award for her performance in Long Day's Journey into Night.[11]

On January 1, 1974, Cummings, who resided in Britain for many decades until her death, was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her contributions to the British entertainment industry.^[citation needed]

She was a committee member of the Royal Court Theatre and the Arts Council. She has a star in the Motion Pictures section on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard. It was dedicated on February 8, 1960.[12]

Death

Constance Cummings Levy died in Wardington, Oxfordshire, England on November 23, 2005, aged 95,[7] from natural causes.

Acting credits

Filmography

• The Criminal Code (1931) as Mary Brady
• The Last Parade (1931) as Molly Pearson
• Lover Come Back (1931) as Connie Lee
• Traveling Husbands (1931) as Ellen Wilson
• The Guilty Generation (1931) as Maria Palmero
• Behind the Mask (1932) as Julie Arnold
• The Big Timer (1932) as Honey Baldwin
• Attorney for the Defense (1932) as Ruth Barry
• American Madness (1932) as Helen
• Movie Crazy (1932) as Mary Sears
• The Last Man (1932) as Marian
• Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932) as Alice
• Night After Night (1932) as Miss Jerry Healy
• The Billion Dollar Scandal (1933) as Doris Masterson
• The Mind Reader (1933) as Sylvia
• Heads We Go (1933) as Betty Smith / Dorothy Kay
• Channel Crossing (1933) as Marion Slade
• Broadway Through a Keyhole (1933) as Joan Whelan
• Looking for Trouble (1934) as Ethel Greenwood
• Glamour (1934) as Linda Fayne
• This Man Is Mine (1934) as Francesca Harper
• Remember Last Night? (1935) as Carlotta Milburn
• Seven Sinners (1936) as Caryl Fenton
• Strangers on Honeymoon (1936) as October
• Cyrano de Bergerac (1938, TV movie) as Roxane
• Busman's Honeymoon (1940) as Harriet Vane
• This England (1941) as Ann
• The Foreman Went to France (1942) as Anne Stafford, the American girl
• Blithe Spirit (1945) as Ruth Condomine
• Into the Blue (1950) as Mrs. Kate Fergusson
• Trial and Error (1953, TV movie) as Andrea
• John and Julie (1955) as Mrs. Davidson
• The Intimate Stranger (1956) as Kay Wallace
• The Trial of Mary Dugan (1957, TV movie) as Mary Dugan, known as Mona Tree
• Craig's Wife (1957, TV movie) as Harriet Craig
• The Battle of the Sexes (1960) as Angela Barrows
• Sammy Going South (1963) as Gloria van Imhoff
• In the Cool of the Day (1963) as Mrs. Nina Gellert
• Love Song (1985, TV movie) as Dame Philippa Hatchard
• Dead Man's Folly (1986, TV movie) as Amy Folliat
• The Understanding (1986, TV movie) as Acton (final film role)

Theatre

Year	Play	Character	Type	Comments
1926	Seventh Heaven	prostitute		Stage debut in Seattle, Washington
1928	Treasure Girl	chorus ensemble	Musical comedy	Broadway debut
1930	June Moon	Miss Rixey	Tin Pan Alley comedy	[11]
1930	This Man's Town	Carrie	Drama
1934	Sour Grapes			first appearance on London stage
1934	Accent on Youth	Linda Brown	Comedy
1936	Young Madame Conti	Nella Conti	Melodrama
1937	Madame Bovary Revival	Emma Bovary	Restoration Comedy
1938	If I Were You	Nellie Blunt	Farce
1938	Goodbye, Mr Chips	Katherine	Drama
1939	The Jealous God
1939–1940	Romeo and Juliet	Juliet	Tragedy
1939–1940	Old Vic Theatre Season
1939	Joan of Arc	Joan	Drama
1939	The Good Natur'd Man	Miss Richland	Drama
April 22, 1940	Shakespeare Birthday Festival
1942	Skylark	Lydia	Drama
1943	The Petrified Forest	Gabby	Drama
1945	One Man Show	Racine Gardner	Drama
1946	Clutterbuck		Comedy
1948	Don't Listen Ladies		Farce
1948	Happy with Either	Annaluise Klopps	Comedy
1949	Before the Party	Laura	Comedy
1950	Return to Tyassi
1952	Winter's Journey
1953	The Shrike		Drama
1957	Lysistrata		Greek Comedy
1957	The Rape of the Belt	Antiope		played at Piccadilly Theatre (1957), and then Martin Beck Theatre, NY (1960).[11]
1961	J.B.	Sarah
1962	Social Success
1964	Huis Clos	Inez	Drama
1965	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	Martha
1966	Public and Confidential
1967	Fallen Angels	Jane Banbury	Comedy
1969	Hamlet	Gertrude	Shakespearean Tragedy
1969	The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore	Mrs Flora Goforth	Tragedy
1970	The Visit	Claire Zachanassian	Tragi-comedy
1971	Amphitryon 38	Leda	Greek Drama
1971	Long Day's Journey into Night	Mary Tyrone	Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford, UK with Laurence Olivier as James Tyrone
1971–1972	National Theatre, London, Repertoire Season		Classical drama
1972–1973	National Theatre, London, Repertoire Season
1973	The Cherry Orchard	Madame Ranevsky
1974	National Theatre, London, Repertoire Season
1974	Children
1979	Wings	Emily Stilson		Tony Award, Obie Award, Drama Desk Award
1979	National Theatre, London, Repertoire Season
1980	Hay Fever		Comedy
1981	The Golden Age
1985	The Glass Menagerie
1986	Fanny Kemble at Home
1992	The Chalk Garden	Mrs St Maugham		Her last appearance on Broadway
1996–1999	Uncle Vanya	Maman		Her last stage appearance

References

1. Room, Adrian (2012). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 127. ISBN 9780786457632. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
2. Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B.; Goldman, L., eds. (September 23, 2004), "Constance Cummings", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/96197, retrieved November 9, 2024
3. Hanford, Cornelius Holgate (1924). Seattle and Environs, 1852-1924: Biographical. Pioneer Historical Publishing Company. p. 222.
4. Monush, Barry (2003). Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 163. ISBN 9781557835512. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
5. "("Constance Cummings" search results)". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
6. Shorter, Eric (November 25, 2005). "Obituary: Constance Cummings". The Guardian. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
7. Willis, John; Hodges, Ben (July 1, 2008). Theatre World 2005-2006: The Most Complete Record of the American Theatre. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 341. ISBN 9781557837080.
8. "Cast change at the Piccadilly", The Stage, 30 April 1964, p. 1
9. Kennedy, Dennis (2003). Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-19-860672-7.
10. "("Constance Cummings" search results)". Drama Desk. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
11. Strachan, Alan (November 26, 2005). "Constance Cummings". Independent. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
12. "Constance Cummings". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017.

External links

• Constance Cummings at the Internet Broadway Database
• Constance Cummings at IMDb