Marian Seldes

Marian Seldes
Seldes as Bertha in Ondine, 1954
Born	(1928-08-23)August 23, 1928 New York City
Died	October 6, 2014(2014-10-06) (aged 86) New York City
Spouse(s)	Julian Claman (1953–1961; divorced) Garson Kanin (1990–1999; his death)
Children	Katharine Claman

Marian Hall Seldes (August 23, 1928 – October 6, 2014) was an American stage, film, radio and television actress whose career spanned over 60 years. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for A Delicate Balance in 1967, and received subsequent nominations for Father's Day (1971), Deathtrap (1978–82), Ring Round the Moon (1999) and Dinner at Eight (2002). She also won a Drama Desk Award for Father's Day. Her other Broadway credits included Equus (1974–77), Ivanov (1997) and Deuce (2007). She was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010.

Seldes was born in Manhattan, the daughter of Alice Wadhams Hall, a socialite, and Gilbert Seldes, a journalist, author and editor. Her uncle was journalist George Seldes. She had one brother, Timothy. Seldes's paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants, and her mother was from a "prominent WASP family," the "Episcopalian blue-blooded Halls." She grew up in a creative environment, studying acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Her maternal aunt, Marian Wells Hall (died 1972), was a prominent interior decorator.