
Constance Cummings
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1910-05-15
Day of Death
2005-11-23 (95 years old)
Place of Birth
Seattle, Washington, USA
Constance Cummings
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Constance Cummings, CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.
Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington to Dallas Halverstadt and Kate Cummings, she began as a stage actress, landing her first role on Broadway by the age of 18. While appearing on Broadway, she was discovered by Sam Goldwyn, who brought her to Hollywood in 1931.
Between 1931 and 1934, Cummings appeared in 21 films, most notably the Harold Lloyd picture Movie Crazy and American Madness, directed by Frank Capra. She was married to the playwright and screenwriter Benn Levy MBE from 1933 until his death in 1973. Levy went on to write and direct films for Cummings, such as The Jealous God (1939); he also served in the United Kingdom Parliament from 1945-50 as the Labour MP for Eton and Slough. They had a son and a daughter.
Cummings was uncomfortable in Hollywood and moved to England, where she continued acting, both in movies and on the stage. Few of these films became popular in America, although included amongst those that did is Blithe Spirit, adapted from a play by Sir Noël Coward.
In 1974, Cummings, who resided in the UK for many decades, was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to the British entertainment industry.
She played Mary Tyrone in the Royal National Theatre's production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night opposite Sir Laurence Olivier, to great acclaim. She later recreated the role for a television version. In 1979, she won a Tony Award for Best Actress for her performance in the role in the play Wings (written by Arthur Kopit) of Emily Stilson, a former aviator who has suffered a stroke, from which she struggles to recover.
She was a committee member of the Royal Court Theatre and the Arts Council. Despite her truncated career in the U.S., she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6211 Hollywood Blvd.
Constance Cummings Levy died on November 23, 2005 at the age of 95.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Constance Cummings, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Acting
(1986)
Dead Man's Folly
as Amy Folliatt
(1985)
Love Song
as Dame Phillipa Hatchard
(1983)
Wings
as Emily Stilson
(1973)
Long Day's Journey Into Night
as Mary Tyrone
(1963)
In the Cool of the Day
as Mrs. Nina Gellert
(1963)
Sammy Going South
as Gloria van Imhoff
(1963)
Late Summer
as Helga
(1962)
Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy
as (archive footage)
(1960)
The Battle of the Sexes
as Angela Barrows
(1956)
Finger of Guilt
as Kay Wallace
(1956)
The Bitter Waters
as Louisa Pallant
(1955)
John and Julie
as Mrs. Davidson
(1950)
Into the Blue
as Kate Fergusson
(1945)
Blithe Spirit
as Ruth Condomine
(1942)
The Foreman Went to France
as Anne Stafford
(1941)
This England
as Ann
(1940)
Busman's Honeymoon
as Harriet Vane
(1938)
Cyrano de Bergerac
as Roxane
(1936)
Seven Sinners
as Caryl Fenton
(1935)
Remember Last Night?
as Carlotta Milburn
(1934)
Glamour
as Linda Fayne
(1934)
Looking for Trouble
as Ethel Greenwood
(1934)
This Man Is Mine
as Francesca Harper
(1933)
The Mind Reader
as Sylvia
(1933)
Broadway Thru a Keyhole
as Joan Whelan
(1933)
The Billion Dollar Scandal
as Doris Masterson
(1933)
Heads We Go
as Betty Smith / Dorothy Kay
(1933)
Channel Crossing
as Marion Slade
(1932)
American Madness
as Helen
(1932)
Night After Night
as Miss Jerry Healy
(1932)
Movie Crazy
as Mary Sears
(1932)
The Big Timer
as Honey Baldwin
(1932)
Attorney for the Defense
as Ruth Barry
(1932)
Behind the Mask
as Julie Arnold
(1932)
Washington Merry-Go-Round
as Alice Wylie
(1931)
The Criminal Code
as Mary Brady
(1931)
The Guilty Generation
as Maria Palmero
(1931)
Traveling Husbands
as Ellen Wilson
(1931)
The Last Parade
as Molly Pearson