Barbara Bel Geddes
| Barbara Bel Geddes | |
|---|---|
Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1955
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| Born |
October 31, 1922 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 8, 2005 (aged 82) Northeast Harbor, Maine, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Lung cancer |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1947–1990 |
| Spouse(s) | Carl Sawyer (né Schreuer) (m.1944–1951; divorced) Windsor Lewis (m.1951–1972; his death) |
| Children | Susan Schreuer McLellan Betsy Lewis |
| Website | www |
Barbara Bel Geddes (October 31, 1922 – August 8, 2005) was an American actress, artist, and children's author, whose career spanned six decades. She was best known for her starring role in the television drama series Dallas as matriarch Miss Ellie Ewing. Bel Geddes also starred in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the role of Maggie. Her notable films included Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) and I Remember Mama (1948). She was the recipient of several acting awards and nominations throughout her career.
Bel Geddes was born on October 31, 1922, in New York City, the daughter of Helen Belle (née Schneider) and stage and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes. She married theatrical manager Carl Sawyer (né Schreuer) in 1944; they had one daughter, Susan. They divorced in 1951. Later that year, she married stage director Windsor Lewis, with whom she had a daughter, Betsy. When Lewis became ill in 1967, Bel Geddes suspended her career to care for him until his death in 1972.
Bel Geddes came to prominence in the 1946 Broadway production of Deep Are The Roots. The performance garnered her the Clarence Derwent Award, and the Donaldson Award (forerunner of the Tony Awards) presented to her by Laurette Taylor, for "Outstanding Achievement in The Theatre". From 1951 to 1953, Bel Geddes played 924 performances of the F. Hugh Herbert hit comedy The Moon Is Blue. In 1955, she created the role of Maggie "The Cat" in Elia Kazan's original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and in 1961 created the title role in the Jean Kerr comedy Mary, Mary which became Broadway's longest-running show with over 1,500 performances. Both roles earned her Tony Award nominations. Other highlights include John Steinbeck's Burning Bright, Edward Albee's Everything in the Garden, and Silent Night, Lonely Night with Henry Fonda.
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