Ann Blyth graces the cover of Modern Screen this April 1955 edition. Still a top star in Hollywood, there were two more films to be released in that year: The King's Thief in August, and the lavish musical Kismet in December. Her second child, her daughter Maureen, was born in December as well, so we can assume that the year 1955 was a fairly busy one for Ann.
The cover does, however, intimate that the climate was changing in Hollywood, as we note the references to two other up-and-coming -- and major -- stars, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. Monroe's career ended with her tragic death, but her stardom -- which we may argue is something different than a career -- continues to this day. Audrey Hepburn's career slowed in the early 1960s due to her preference to remain at home and raise her children, but she did continue to work in films sporadically through the rest of her life and devoted her last years to UNICEF.
Ann quietly managed to be active in raising her children, participating in charitable causes, and dabbling in her career, which took a sharp turn from films to television and most notably, theatre. How funny not to achieve the icon status those other two talented ladies did through their screen magnetism, and yet we may smile at her magnificent success in accomplishing so much and without fanfare.
Was her forgotten status due, perhaps, to a combination of circumstances
unique to Hollywood—that because the quiet stability of her private life did
not make headlines she therefore couldn’t be exploited for profit; because
the bulk of her films are hardly, if ever, shown today or available on DVD; and
because, unlike those tragic stars who died young, or younger, she outlived all
her co-stars?
Had she done more television, she might have regained recognition among
younger audiences. (For instance, like
Angela Lansbury, who without Murder She Wrote might be known only to
classic film buffs and theatre fans, but not have household name recognition in
the U.S. and around the world.) Still,
though her staunch fans might mourn her lack of icon status, probably Ann would
not. Truly, she got the best of the bargain in a rich and rewarding
private life—long and happy marriage, five children, ten grandchildren,
life-long friends in and out of the entertainment industry, charitable work—and
a satisfying career in proportions she could deal with...
