Gale Sondergaard

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 had 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 1949, her screen work came to an abrupt end for 20 years, primarily due to the Hollywood blacklist.

Married to director Herbert Biberman, Sondergaard supported him when he was accused of communism and imprisoned as one of the Hollywood Ten in the early 1950s. She moved with Biberman to New York City and worked in theater. She only returned to occasional acting in film and television beginning in 1969, when she moved back to Los Angeles. She died from cerebrovascular thrombosis in 1985.

Early life

Sondergaard was born in Litchfield, Minnesota, to Danish immigrants, Hans Sondergaard (born Hans Tjellesen Schmidt Søndergaard) and Anna Kirstine Søndergaard (née Holm). Her father taught at the University of Minnesota, where she was a drama student.<ref name="Nissen2007">Template:Cite book</ref>

Stage and film career

Until the late 1940s

Sondergaard 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 joining the Theatre Guild, she began performing on the New York stage.<ref name=IBDB>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Gale Sondergaard in Dramatic School trailer.JPG

in the trailer for Dramatic School (1938)

She made her first film appearance in Anthony Adverse (1936) as Faith Paleologus, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.<ref name="Nissen2007"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her career flourished during the 1930s, notably as the steadfastly loyal wife of disgraced innocent Alfred Dreyfus in The Life of Emile Zola starring Paul Muni (1937).<ref name="AFICatalog"/>

File:Gale Sondergaard in The Letter trailer.jpg

in the trailer for The Letter (1940)

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).<ref name="Nissen2007"/> Sondergaard was cast as the witch and photographed for two wardrobe tests, both of which survive—one as a glamorous witch, and another as a conventionally ugly one. After the decision was made to have an ugly 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Sondergaard was cast as the sultry and slinky Tylette, a magically humanized but devious cat, in The Blue Bird (1940),<ref name="Lev2013">Template:Cite book</ref> and played the exotic, sinister Eurasian wife in The Letter (1940) starring Bette Davis.<ref name="Nissen2007"/> She had a supporting role in The Spider Woman (aka Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman, 1943),<ref name="Folkart">Template:Cite news</ref> 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).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name="Hogan2014">Template:Cite book</ref> With her career stalled, she supported her husband during the production of Salt of the Earth (1954).<ref name="Eagan2009">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Baker2007">Template:Cite book</ref> They 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 theater.<ref name="Hogan2014"/>

Later career

In 1969, she appeared in an off-Broadway one-woman show, Woman. She resumed her career in film and television around the same time.<ref name="Folkart"/> Her revived career extended into the early 1980s.

Personal life

Her younger sister Hester Sondergaard was also an actress who featured in Seeds of Freedom (1943), The Naked City (1948), Jigsaw (1949) and The Big Break (1953).<ref name="Hester">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Sondergaard married actor Neill O'Malley in 1922; they divorced in 1930. On May 15, 1930, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she married director Herbert Biberman, who was then associated with the Theatre Guild Acting Company. He became a film director and died in 1971.<ref>"A Theatre Guild Wedding: Gale Sondergaard, Actress, Bride of H.J. Biberman, Executive", The New York Times, May 16, 1930.</ref> They adopted two children, Joan Kirstine Biberman (married name Campos, 1940) and Daniel Hans Biberman.<ref name="Nissen2007"/>

Following several strokes, Sondergaard died from cerebral vascular thrombosis in the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California in 1985, aged 86. She had been admitted to the hospital in 1982.<ref name="Nissen2007"/><ref name="Folkart"/>

Acting credits

Stage

Opening date	Closing date	Title	Role	Theatre	Refs
Oct 08, 1928	Nov 1928	Faust	The Witch	Guild Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Nov 19, 1928	Jan 1929	Major Barbara	Sarah Undershaft, Lady Britomart's daughter	Guild Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Oct 7, 1929	Nov 1929	Karl and Anna	Marie's sister	Guild Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Dec 17, 1929	Feb 1930	Red Rust	Nina	Martin Beck Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
May 11, 1931	May 23, 1931	Alison's House	Elsa - Replacement	Ritz Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Feb 21, 1933	March 1933	American Dream	Lydia Kimball, The First Play, 1650	Guild Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
May 17, 1934	Jul 1934	Invitation to a Murder	Lorinda Channing	Theatre Masque	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Nov 6, 1933	Nov 1933	Doctor Monica	Anna	Playhouse Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Dec 19, 1940	Dec 28, 1940	Cue for Passion	Frances Chapman	Royale Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Apr 02, 1980	April 26, 1980	Goodbye Fidel	Prudencia	Ambassador Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Refs
1936	Anthony Adverse	Faith Paleologus	first winner of Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1937	Maid of Salem	Martha Harding		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Seventh Heaven	Nana, Diane's Sister		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	The Life of Emile Zola	Lucie Dreyfus		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1938	Lord Jeff	Doris Clandon		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Dramatic School	Madame Therese Charlot		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1939	Never Say Die	Juno Marko		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Juarez	Empress Eugenie		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Sons of Liberty	Rachel Salomon	short	<ref name="Steer2009">Template:Cite book</ref>
	The Cat and the Canary	Miss Lu		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	The Llano Kid	Lora Travers		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1940	The Blue Bird	Tylette (the cat)		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	The Mark of Zorro	Inez Quintero		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	The Letter	Mrs. Hammond		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1941	The Black Cat	Abigail Doone		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Paris Calling	Colette		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1942	My Favorite Blonde	Madame Stephanie Runick		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen	Mrs. Van Dorn		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1943	A Night to Remember	Mrs. Devoe		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Appointment in Berlin	Gretta Van Leyden		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Isle of Forgotten Sins	Marge Willison		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler	Anna Huber		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Crazy House	Herself	uncredited	<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1944	The Spider Woman	Adrea Spedding	aka Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman	<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Follow the Boys	Herself	uncredited	<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	The Invisible Man's Revenge	Lady Irene Herrick		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Christmas Holiday	Mrs. Monette		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Gypsy Wildcat	Rhoda		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	The Climax	Luise		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Enter Arsène Lupin	Bessie Seagrave		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1946	The Spider Woman Strikes Back	Zenobia Dollard		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Night in Paradise	Queen Attossa		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Anna and the King of Siam	Lady Thiang	nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress	<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	The Time of Their Lives	Emily		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1947	Pirates of Monterey	Señorita De Sola		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Road to Rio	Catherine Vail		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1949	East Side, West Side	Nora Kernan		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1969	Slaves	New Orleans lady		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	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		<ref name="LenburgMaurer2012">Template:Cite book</ref>
1971	Night Gallery	Abigail Moore	episode: "The Dark Boy"	<ref name="SkeltonBenson1999">Template:Cite book</ref>
	The Bold Ones: The Lawyers	Mrs. Marley	episode: "The Letter of the Law"
1973	The Cat Creature	Hester Black	TV movie	<ref name="McKenna2013">Template:Cite book</ref>
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		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
	Pleasantville	Ora
	Hollywood on Trial	Herself	documentary	<ref name="AFICatalog"/>
1977	Visions	Ora Drummond	Episode: "Pleasantville"	<ref name="Roberts2009">Template:Cite book</ref>
1978	Centennial	Aunt Augusta	TV miniseries
1981	The Fall Guy	Mrs. Jackson	episode: "The Human Torch"
1983	Echoes	Mrs. Edmunds		<ref name="AFICatalog"/>

See also

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Further reading

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External links

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