Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen Paula O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress. She was best known for playing Jane in the Tarzan series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. In 2020, she was listed at number 8 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.[1] She was also the mother of actress Mia Farrow. When told Frank Sinatra wanted to marry Mia, she famously remarked "At his age, he should marry me."
Maureen O'Sullivan | |
|---|---|
 O'Sullivan in 1930s | |
| Born | Maureen Paula O'Sullivan 17 May 1911 Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland |
| Died | 23 June 1998 (aged 87) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Resting place | Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery, Niskayuna, New York |
| Occupation | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1930–1994 |
| Known for | Jane Parker in Tarzan films |
| Spouse(s) | James Cushing
(m. 1983) |
| Children | 7, including Patrick, Mia, Prudence, and Tisa Farrow |
| Relatives | Ronan Farrow (grandson) |
Early life
O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, in 1911, the daughter of Mary Eva Lovatt (née Frazer)[2] and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in the Connaught Rangers who served in World War I.[3][4] Maureen returned to Boyle in 1988 to be honoured by the town. She attended a convent school in Dublin, then the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Roehampton (now Woldingham School), England. One of her classmates there was Vivian Mary Hartley, future Academy Award-winning actress Vivien Leigh. After attending finishing school in France, O'Sullivan returned to Dublin to work with the poor. In October 1929, she sailed to New York with her mother on the British steamer RMS Baltic, on the way to Hollywood to work for the Fox Film Corporation.
Film career
O'Sullivan's film career began when she met motion picture director Frank Borzage, who was doing location filming on Song o' My Heart (released in 1930) for 20th Century Fox. He suggested she take a screen test. She did and won a part in the movie, which starred Irish tenor John McCormack. She traveled to the United States to complete the movie in Hollywood. O'Sullivan appeared in six movies at Fox, then made three more at other movie studios.
In 1932, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After several roles there and at other movie studios, she was chosen by Irving Thalberg to appear as Jane Parker in Tarzan the Ape Man, opposite co-star Johnny Weissmuller. She was one of the more popular ingenues at MGM throughout the 1930s and appeared in a number of other productions with various stars. In all, O'Sullivan played Jane in six features between 1932 and 1942.[5]
She was featured with William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man (1934) and played Kitty in Anna Karenina (1935) with Greta Garbo, Fredric March, and Basil Rathbone. After co-starring with the Marx Bros in A Day at the Races (1937), she appeared as Molly Beaumont in A Yank at Oxford (1938), which was written partly by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
She appeared in Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, and supported Ann Sothern in Maisie Was a Lady (1941). After appearing in Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942), O'Sullivan asked MGM to release her from her contract so she could care for her husband, John Farrow, who had just left the Navy with typhoid. She retreated from show business, devoting her time to her family. In 1948, she re-appeared on the screen in The Big Clock, directed by her husband for Paramount Pictures. She continued to appear occasionally in her husband's movies and on television. By 1960 she believed she had permanently retired. In 1958, Michael O'Sullivan, Farrow and O'Sullivan's eldest son, died in a plane crash in California.
Actor Pat O'Brien encouraged her to take a part in summer stock, and the play A Roomful of Roses opened in 1961. That led to another play, Never Too Late, in which she co-starred with Paul Ford in what was her Broadway debut. Shortly after it opened on Broadway, Farrow died of a heart attack. O'Sullivan stuck with acting after Farrow's death; she was the Today Girl for NBC for a while, then made the movie version of Never Too Late (1965) for Warner Bros. She was also an executive director of a bridal consulting service, Wediquette International. In June and July 1972, O'Sullivan was in Denver, Colorado, to star in the Elitch Theatre production of Butterflies are Free with Karen Grassle and Brandon deWilde. The show ended on 1 July 1972.[6][7]
When her daughter, actress Mia Farrow, became involved with Woody Allen both professionally and romantically, she appeared in Hannah and Her Sisters, playing Farrow's mother. She had roles in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and the science fiction oddity Stranded (1987). Mia Farrow named one of her own sons Satchel Ronan O'Sullivan Farrow for her mother. In 1994, she appeared with Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers in Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is, a feature-length made-for-TV movie with the wealthy husband-and-wife team from the popular weekly detective series Hart to Hart.
Personal life
O'Sullivan's first husband was the Australian-American writer, award-winning director and Catholic convert John Villiers Farrow, from 12 September 1936 until his death on 28 January 1963. She and Farrow were the parents of seven children: Michael Damien (1939–1958), Patrick Joseph (Patrick Villiers Farrow, 1942–2009), Maria de Lourdes Villiers (Mia Farrow, b. 1945), John Charles (b. 1946),[8] Prudence Farrow (b. 1948), Stephanie Farrow (b. 1949) and Theresa Magdalena "Tisa" Farrow (b. 1951).
O'Sullivan married James Cushing, a wealthy businessman, on 22 August 1983; they remained wed until her death in 1998. Maureen O'Sullivan became a U.S. citizen on 22 October 1947 (Petition for Naturalization #133033), Los Angeles, California.[9]
She was a Catholic.[10]
A Democrat, she supported Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election.[11]
Death
Maureen O'Sullivan died in Scottsdale, Arizona, of complications from heart surgery on 23 June 1998, at age 87. O'Sullivan is buried at Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery, Niskayuna, New York, Cushing's hometown.[12]
Legacy
O'Sullivan has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, facing the star of Johnny Weissmuller. A black plaque marks her home on Main Street in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. Just around the corner from there, opposite King House, is a tree, ceremonially planted by O'Sullivan to mark her return to her birthplace.
In 1982, O'Sullivan was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film.
Filmography
Feature films
Short subjects
- Hollywood Extra: The First Step (1936) as Herself
- Hollywood – The Second Step (1936)
- Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday (1947)
- Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Shower of Stars (1955)
- Mandy's Grandmother (1978) as Grandmother
Television work
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| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Jukebox Jury | ||
| 1957 | Crossroads | Mrs. Day | Episode: "The Man Who Walked on Water" |
| Playhouse 90 | Julia Williams | Episode: "The Edge of Innocence " | |
| 1965 | What's My Line? | Contestant | Episode: "14 November 1965" |
| 1972 | The Crooked Hearts | Lillian Stanton | TV Movie |
| 1976 | The Great Houdini | Lady Conan Doyle | TV Movie |
| 1982 | Morning's at Seven | Esther Crampton | TV Movie |
| 1983 | All My Children | Olive Whelan | |
| 1984 | Guiding Light | Miss Emma Witherspoon | |
| 1985 | Search for Tomorrow | Elaine Descot | |
| 1992 | With Murder in Mind | Aunt Mildred | TV Movie |
| The Habitation of Dragons | Helen Taylor | TV Movie | |
| 1994 | Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is | Eleanor Biddlecomb | final film role |
Radio appearances
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Philip Morris Playhouse | Night Must Fall[13] |
References
- Clarke, Donald; Brady, Tara (13 June 2020). "The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time – in order". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- "Maureen O'Sullivan genealogy, showing mother's true maiden name". Familysearch.org.
- Profile, filmreference.com. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- "Mia Farrow's Interactive Family Tree". Finding Your Roots. PBS. 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- Child, Ben (28 December 2011). "Chimp claimed as Cheetah from the Tarzan films dies". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- "Remembering Brandon.net/A Word on the Elitch Theatre". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013.
- McLean, Patrisha, All Fall Down, The Brandon deWilde Story c. 2012, Faces, Incorporated, pp. 170, 173; ISBN 978-1936447121
- "Free Family Tree, Genealogy and Family History – MyHeritage". Familytreelegends.com.
- O'Sullivan Petition for Naturalization #133033, ancestry.com. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- Myrna Oliver. "From the Archives: Maureen O'Sullivan; Film and TV Actress Played Jane in 'Tarzan' Films of 1930s, '40s". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
- "Maureen O'Sullivan, Movie Tarzan's 'Jane,' Dies at 87". The New York Times. 24 June 1998.
- ""Playhouse" Star". Harrisburg Telegraph. 18 October 1941. p. 27. Retrieved 21 July 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maureen O'Sullivan. |
- Official website
- Maureen O'Sullivan at IMDb
- Maureen O'Sullivan at the Internet Broadway Database
- Maureen O'Sullivan at Find a Grave
- Maureen O'Sullivan as "Jane" Photo Gallery
- Photographs of Maureen O'Sullivan
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