Barbara O'Neil

Actor: Barbara O'Neil

Born: Jul 10, 1909 in St. Louis, Missouri
Died: Sep 03, 1980 in Cos Cob, Connecticut
Occupation: Actor
Active: '30s-'50s
Major Genres: Drama
Career Highlights: Stella Dallas, All This and Heaven Too, Whirlpool
First Major Screen Credit: Stella Dallas (1937)

Biography

Descended from a well-established New England family, St. Louis-born Barbara O'Neil was educated at Sarah Lawrence College and launched her acting career with the Cape Cod-based University Players. The co-founder of this prestigious group was Joshua Logan, who became O'Neil's husband (they were later divorced). She made her Broadway debut in 1930's Saint's Parade and came to Hollywood in 1937 to appear in Samuel Goldwyn's Stella Dallas. Signed to a Universal contract, O'Neil was rather wasted in antiseptic roles in Tower of London (1939) and The Sun Never Sets (1939), although she was given ample opportunity to shine as Charles Boyer's self-destructive wife in When Tomorrow Comes (1939). Her best 1939 assignment, however, was while on loan-out to David O. Selznick. The 29-year-old O'Neil played Eileen O'Hara, the strong-willed mother of Scarlett O'Hara, in Gone With the Wind. The following year, she was re-teamed with Charles Boyer as the maniacally possessive Duchess de Praslin in All This and Heaven Too, a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination. While she continued making films until 1959, the actress seemed happiest and most fulfilled as a Broadway actress. She retired in 1960 after appearing in the original New York production of Little Moon of Alban. O'Neil died in 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Barbara O'Neil
in All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
Born	July 17, 1910(1910-07-17) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died	September 3, 1980 (aged 70) Cos Cob, Connecticut, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Joshua Logan

Barbara O'Neil (July 17, 1910 – September 3, 1980) was an American actress.

Career

O'Neil was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She began her acting career in summer stock. In July 1931 Bretaigne Windust, Charles Leatherbee (the grandson of Charles Richard Crane), and Joshua Logan, the three directors of the University Players, a three-year old summer stock company at West Falmouth on Cape Code, were looking for a leading lady type for their repertory season that winter in Baltimore. At the suggestion of George Pierce Baker, they auditioned and hired O'Neil, one of his talented students at the Yale School of Drama. Romances born of the University Players led to three significant marriages: O'Neil to Joshua Logan for a few years in the 1930s, Logan's younger sister Mary Lee Logan to Charles Leatherbee, and between actress Margaret Sullavan and actor Henry Fonda of a few months in 1932.

In 1937, O'Neil debuted in the film Stella Dallas and in 1939 she was cast in the role of Ellen O'Hara, Scarlett O'Hara's mother, in Gone with the Wind. The following year, she appeared in All This and Heaven Too; she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role of the domineering and jealous Duchesse de Praslin.

Her later films include Shining Victory (1941), I Remember Mama (1948), and Otto Preminger's Whirlpool (1949) and The Nun's Story (1959).

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1937	Stella Dallas	Helen Morrison Dallas
1938	Love, Honor and Behave	Sally Painter
	The Toy Wife	Louise Brigard
	I Am the Law	Jerry Lindsay
1939	The Sun Never Sets	Helen Randolph
	When Tomorrow Comes	Madeleine Chagal
	Tower of London	Koningin Elyzabeth
	Gone with the Wind	Ellen O'Hara
1940	All This, and Heaven Too	Hertogin de Praslin	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1941	Shining Victory	Miss Leeming
1948	Secret Beyond the Door...	Miss Robey
1948	I Remember Mama	Jessie Brown
1949	Whirlpool	Theresa Randolph
1952	Angel Face	Mrs. Catherine Tremayne
1956	Flame of the Islands	Mrs. Duryea
1959	The Nun's Story	Moeder Didyma
1970	Lions of St. Petersburg	Tamila	aka Leoni di Petersburgo

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Barbara O'Neil

Barbara O'Neil at the Internet Movie Database
Barbara O'Neil at the Internet Broadway Database

Persondata
NAME	O'Neil, Barbara
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actor
DATE OF BIRTH	July 17, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH	September 3, 1980
PLACE OF DEATH	Cos Cob, Connecticut, U.S.

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