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Margaret Leighton
Margaret Leighton 1959.JPG
Leighton in 1959
Born (1922-02-26)26 February 1922
Barnt Green, Worcestershire, England
Died 13 January 1976(1976-01-13) (aged 53)
Years active 1938–1976
Spouse(s)
Max Reinhardt
(m. 1947; div. 1955)

(m. 1957; div. 1961)

(m. 1964)

Margaret Leighton, CBE (26 February 1922 – 13 January 1976) was an English actress, active on stage and television, and in film. Her film appearances included (her first credited debut feature) in Anatole de Grunwald's The Winslow Boy (1948). For The Go-Between (1971), she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Leighton began her career on stage in 1938, before joining the Old Vic and making her Broadway debut in 1946. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she twice won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play: for the original Broadway productions of Separate Tables (1957) and The Night of the Iguana (1962). She also won an Emmy Award for a 1970 television version of Hamlet.

Life and career

Born in Barnt Green, Worcestershire, Leighton made her stage debut as Dorothy in Laugh with Me (1938), which also was performed that year for BBC Television. She became a star of the Old Vic. Her Broadway debut was as the Queen in Henry IV (1946), starring Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson during a visit of the Old Vic to the U.S., and the company performed a total of five plays from its repertoire before returning to London.

After appearing in two British films, including the starring role of Flora MacDonald opposite David Niven in Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948) and in the popular The Winslow Boy (also 1948), the actress appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Under Capricorn (1949) and the crime/mystery Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951). In the U.S., she portrayed the wife of a presidential candidate in The Best Man (1964).

Leighton won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in Separate Tables (1956); she won another Tony in that category for The Night of the Iguana (1962), playing Hannah Jelkes (a role played by Deborah Kerr in the film version) opposite Bette Davis's Maxine Faulk. Leighton was nominated for Best Actress in a Play for Much Ado About Nothing (1959) and for Tchin-Tchin (1962). Her last appearance on Broadway was as Birdie Hubbard in a revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes (1967).

She had a noteworthy list of TV appearances, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Ben Casey and Burke's Law. She won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Drama for Hamlet (1970) and she was nominated for an Emmy in 1966 for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama for four episodes of Dr. Kildare. Her final TV performance was in the first season of Space: 1999 where she played Queen Arra in the episode "Collision Course."

For her film role as Mrs Maudsley in The Go-Between (1971), Leighton won the British BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the role. She received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Actress for her role as Valerie Carrington in Carrington V.C. (1954).

Personal life

Leighton was married three times, to publisher Max Reinhardt from 1947 to 1955, to actor Laurence Harvey from 1957 to 1961, and to actor Michael Wilding from 1964 until her death. She had no children by any of the marriages.

She was appointed a CBE in 1974. Leighton died of multiple sclerosis in 1976, aged 53, in Chichester, Sussex.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1948 Winslow Boy, TheThe Winslow Boy Catherine Winslow First credited feature
1948 Bonnie Prince Charlie Flora MacDonald
1949 Under Capricorn Milly
1950 Astonished Heart, TheThe Astonished Heart Leonora Vail
1950 The Elusive Pimpernel Marguerite Blakeney
1951 Calling Bulldog Drummond Helen Smith
1952 Home at Seven Janet Preston
1952 Holly and the Ivy, TheThe Holly and the Ivy Margaret Gregory
1954 Good Die Young, TheThe Good Die Young Eve Ravenscourt
1954 Teckman Mystery, TheThe Teckman Mystery Helen Teckman
1954 Carrington V.C. Valerie
1955 The Constant Husband Counsel for the Defence
1957 Passionate Stranger, TheThe Passionate Stranger Judith Wynter / Leonie Hathaway
1959 Sound and the Fury, TheThe Sound and the Fury Caddy Compson
1962 Waltz of the Toreadors Emily Fitzjohn
1964 Best Man, TheThe Best Man Alice Russell
1965 Loved One, TheThe Loved One Helen Kenton
1966 7 Women Agatha Andrews
1969 The Madwoman of Chaillot Constance
1971 Go-Between, TheThe Go-Between Mrs. Maudsley
1972 X, Y, and Zee Gladys
1972 Lady Caroline Lamb Lady Melbourne
1973 Bequest to the Nation Frances Nelson
1974 From Beyond the Grave Madame Orloff Segment: "The Elemental"
1975 Galileo Elderly Court Lady
1976 Trial by Combat Ma Gore

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1938 Laugh with Me Dorothy BBC TV play
1947 Everyman Beauty BBC TV play
1948 Arms and the Man Raina Petkoff BBC TV adaptation
1951, 1953 Sunday Night Theatre Catherine Bailey, Rosalind, Lucasta Angel Episodes: "Release (I)", "As You Like It", "The Confidential Clerk"
1955 ITV Opening Night at the Guildhall Gwendolen Fairfax TV film
1955, 1960 ITV Play of the Week Natalya Petrovna, Mrs. Manningham Episodes: "A Month in the Country", "Gaslight"
1956 Theatre Royal Marion Episode: "The Triumphant"
1957 Suspicion Miss Perry Episode: "The Sparkle of Diamonds"
1958 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Iris Teleton Episode: "Tea Time"
1959 Playhouse 90 Miss Kerrison Episode: "The Second Man"
1959 DuPont Show of the Month Millie Crocker-Harris Episode: "The Browning Version"
1964 Ben Casey Leila Farr Episode: "August Is the Month Before Christmas"
1964 Burke's Law Connie Hanson Episode: "Who Killed Everybody?"
1965 Alfred Hitchcock Hour Nell Snyder Episode: "Where the Woodbine Twineth"
1965 Dr. Kildare Chris Becker Guest role (season 5)
1966 F.B.I., TheThe F.B.I. Amy Hunter Episode: "The Chameleon"
1966 Girl from U.N.C.L.E., TheThe Girl from U.N.C.L.E. Gita Volander Episode: "The Lethal Eagle Affair"
1968 Touch of Venus, AA Touch of Venus Rosemary Episode: "All on Her Own"
1968–69 Play of the Month Helen Lancaster, Mrs. Cheveley Episodes: "Waters of the Moon", "An Ideal Husband"
1969 Judd, for the Defense Mary Wright Episode: "The Crystal Maze"
1969 Wednesday Play, TheThe Wednesday Play Florence Lancaster Episode: "The Vortex"
1970 Name of the Game, TheThe Name of the Game Amelia Rayner Episode: "The King of Denmark"
1970 ITV Sunday Night Theatre Gertrude Episode: "Hamlet"
1972 Armchair Theatre Lady Huntercombe Episode: "Hot Summer: Do Not Sell"
1973 Upper Crusts, TheThe Upper Crusts Lady Seacroft TV series
1973 Frankenstein: The True Story Francoise DuVal TV film
1974 Great Expectations Miss Havisham TV film
1975 Space: 1999 Arra Episode: "Collision Course"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Work Result
1955 BAFTA Award for Best British Actress Carrington V.C. Nominated
1957 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play Separate Tables Won
1960 Much Ado About Nothing Nominated
1962 The Night of the Iguana Won
1963 Tchin-Tchin Nominated
1966 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance in a Drama Dr. Kildare Nominated
1971 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Hamlet Won
1972 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Go-Between Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Won

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Margaret Leighton para niños

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