Hollywood Mourns: Iconic 'Mildred Pierce' Star Ann Blyth Dead at 98

Ann Blyth, a dark beauty and acclaimed actress, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 98, as reported by KABC’s George Pennachio. Blyth garnered an Oscar nomination in 1946 for her memorable portrayal of Veda Pierce, the spoiled and selfish daughter to Joan Crawford’s character in the classic film “Mildred Pierce.” This pivotal role, which saw Crawford win the best actress Oscar, brought Blyth significant recognition in Hollywood.

Born Ann Marie Blyth in Mount Kisco, New York, she moved to New York City with her mother and sister after her parents’ split. Initially aspiring to an opera career, Blyth trained with the San Carlo Opera Company. Her single Broadway appearance was in the original 1941-42 production of Lillian Hellman’s WWII drama “Watch on the Rhine.” While touring with the show in Los Angeles, she was noticed and secured a screen test at Universal. She made her big screen debut in 1944’s “Chip Off the Block,” a swing-era teen musical where she showcased her singing abilities, followed by roles in similar films like “The Merry Monahans” and “Babes on Swing Street.”

Her career trajectory significantly shifted with her role in Warner Bros.’ “Mildred Pierce” in 1945. Blyth later recounted for Turner Classic Movies that despite their characters’ on-screen animosity, she and Joan Crawford got along very well, making it difficult for her to perform the required slap in one of the movie’s crucial scenes. Prior to this, in 1945, while on vacation from filming “Danger Signal,” Blyth suffered a broken back in a sledding accident, spending a year and a half in convalescence. Universal famously cast her in the excellent prison drama “Brute Force” (1947), starring Burt Lancaster, while she was still confined to a wheelchair. After her recovery, Universal gave her first starring role in “Swell Guy,” and she also starred opposite Mickey Rooney in the film noir “Killer McCoy.”

Blyth’s diverse filmography includes notable performances in “Another Part of the Forest” (1948), a prequel to Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes,” where she played a younger Regina Hubbard. She also starred in the 1950 melodrama “Our Very Own” as an adopted child searching for her birth mother, and played a woman wrongly convicted of murder in “Thunder on the Hill.” She was Mario Lanza’s wife, Enrico Caruso, in “The Great Caruso” (1951), and appeared in lighter fare such as “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid” and “Katie Did It.” Her last film for Universal was “The World in His Arms” (1952), opposite Gregory Peck. At MGM, she featured in a series of operettas, including “Kismet,” though her career, like many others, was impacted by the fading era of grand film musicals. She concluded her major film career on a high note, portraying the tragic title character in 1957’s “The Helen Morgan Story,” an alcoholic torch singer, notably with her singing voice dubbed.

Following the conclusion of her primary film career around 1957, the devout Catholic focused on her family and musical theater. She graced the stage in beloved productions such as “The Sound of Music,” “The King and I,” “Carnival,” “Bittersweet,” “South Pacific,” “Show Boat,” and “A Little Night Music.” Blyth also made occasional television appearances starting in the 1950s, including a “Lux Video Theatre” adaptation of “A Place in the Sun” (1954), “The DuPont Show With June Allyson” (1959), and “The Dick Powell Theatre” (1962). She appeared multiple times on the TV Western “Wagon Train” in the early 1960s and starred in “The Twilight Zone” episode “Queen of the Nile” (1964). Later television credits include a couple of appearances on “Quincy, M.E.” before her final television role on “Murder, She Wrote” in 1985.

Ann Blyth was married to Dr. James McNulty from 1953 until his death in 2007. They raised five children and were blessed with ten grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, a testament to her dedication to family.