Shirley Booth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shirley Booth
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Booth in 1950
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| Born |
Marjory Ford
August 30, 1898 |
| Died | October 16, 1992 (aged 94) |
| Resting place | Mount Hebron Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1925–1974 |
| Spouse(s) |
Ed Gardner
(m. 1929; div. 1942)William H. Baker Jr.
(m. 1943; died 1951) |
Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford; August 30, 1898 – October 16, 1992) was a famous American actress. She was one of only 24 performers to win the "Triple Crown of Acting." This means she won an Academy Award (for movies), two Primetime Emmy Awards (for TV), and three Tony Awards (for theater).
Shirley Booth mostly worked in theater. She started her career on Broadway in 1925. Her biggest success was playing Lola Delaney in the play Come Back, Little Sheba. She won her second Tony Award for this role in 1950. She then made her first movie, playing the same character in the 1952 film version. For this movie, she won an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award. Even though she was successful in movies, she liked acting on stage more. She only made four more films.
From 1961 to 1966, she starred as the main character in the TV show Hazel. This role earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards. Later, she was praised for her acting in the 1966 TV show The Glass Menagerie. Her last role was in 1974, when she voiced Mrs. Claus in the animated Christmas TV special The Year Without a Santa Claus.
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Early Life and First Steps in Acting
Shirley Booth was born in New York City. Her parents were Albert James and Virginia M. Ford. In 1905, she was listed as Thelma Booth Ford. She had one younger sister, Jean. Shirley spent her early childhood in Flatbush, Brooklyn. She went to Public School 152 there.
When she was seven, her family moved to Philadelphia. This is where she first became interested in acting after seeing a play. As a teenager, her family moved to Hartford, Connecticut. There, she started acting in summer stock plays. She made her first stage appearance in a play called Mother Carey's Chickens. Her father did not want her to be an actress. But she left school and went to New York City to follow her dream. At first, she used the name "Thelma Booth" because her father didn't want her to use the family name. Later, she changed her name to Shirley Booth.
Building a Career on Stage and Radio
Shirley Booth started acting as a teenager in different theater groups. She became a well-known actress in Pittsburgh. Her first time on Broadway was on January 26, 1925. She was in a play called Hell's Bells with Humphrey Bogart. She gained a lot of attention as the main female character in the comedy hit Three Men on a Horse. This play ran for almost two years, from 1935 to 1937.
During the 1930s and 1940s, she became very popular in dramas, comedies, and musicals. She acted with Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story (1939). She also played Ruth Sherwood in the 1940 Broadway show My Sister Eileen. She performed with Ralph Bellamy in Tomorrow the World (1943).
Booth also starred on the popular radio show Duffy's Tavern. She played the fun and witty daughter of the tavern owner. This show was on CBS radio from 1941 to 1942. Her husband at the time, Ed Gardner, created and wrote the show. Booth left the show after they divorced.
Awards and Movie Success
Shirley Booth won her first Tony Award in 1948. It was for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Goodbye, My Fancy. Her second Tony Award was for Best Actress in a Play. She won this for her highly praised performance as Lola Delaney in Come Back, Little Sheba (1950).
After her success in Come Back, Little Sheba, she starred in the musical A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1951). She played the lively Aunt Sissy in this popular show. Then, she went to Hollywood. She played her stage role again in the 1952 movie version of Come Back, Little Sheba. Burt Lancaster played her husband in the movie. This was her first of only five movies. After the movie, she went back to New York. She played Leona Samish in The Time of the Cuckoo (1952) on Broadway.
In 1953, Booth won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Come Back, Little Sheba. She was the first actress to win both a Tony and an Oscar for the same role. She also won Best Actress awards from the Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Globe Awards, and other groups. She received her third Tony Award, also for Best Actress in a Play, for her role in The Time of the Cuckoo.
Shirley Booth was 54 years old when she made her first movie. Her second movie was a romantic drama called About Mrs. Leslie (1954). It received good reviews. She continued to work on Broadway. She had successes in the musical By the Beautiful Sea (1954) and the comedy Desk Set (1955).
In 1958, Booth starred in two more films for Paramount Pictures. She played Dolly Gallagher Levi in The Matchmaker. She also played Alma Duval in the drama Hot Spell.
Starring as Hazel on TV
In 1961, Shirley Booth was chosen to play the main character in the NBC situation comedy Hazel. The show was based on a popular cartoon about a strong but kind housemaid named Hazel Burke. She worked for the Baxter family. The show was an instant hit with audiences and had high ratings.
During the five years the show was on, Booth won two Primetime Emmy Awards for her acting. She was also nominated for a third. Shirley Booth is one of the few performers to win all three major entertainment awards: an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy.
In 1965, NBC canceled the show. But CBS decided to continue it. The show changed a bit. Hazel stayed on as the housekeeper for a new part of the Baxter family. Even though the ratings were still good, Booth decided to end the show after five seasons because of health reasons.
Later Career and Retirement
After Hazel ended, Booth appeared in a TV production of The Glass Menagerie in 1966. She received great reviews for her performance and was nominated for another Primetime Emmy Award.
Shirley Booth's last Broadway shows were a revival of Noël Coward's play Hay Fever and the musical Look to the Lilies, both in 1970. In 1973, she returned to TV in the ABC series A Touch of Grace. This show was canceled after one season.
In 1974, Booth provided the voice for Mrs. Claus in the animated TV special The Year Without a Santa Claus. This was her last acting role. After this, she retired and moved to her home in Cape Cod.
Personal Life and Legacy
On November 23, 1929, Shirley Booth married Ed Gardner. They divorced in 1942. She then married William H. Baker Jr. in 1943. They were married until he passed away in 1951. She never remarried and did not have any children.
For her great work in movies, Shirley Booth has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is located at 6850 Hollywood Boulevard.
After she stopped acting in 1974, Booth lived in North Chatham, Massachusetts. She enjoyed painting and needlework. In November 1979, she was added to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Death
Shirley Booth's health began to get worse in the 1980s. She passed away on October 16, 1992, at her home in North Chatham. She was 94 years old. After a private service, she was buried in the Baker family plot at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Montclair, New Jersey.
Images for kids
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Humphrey Bogart and Shirley Booth in Hell's Bells (1925)
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Playbill for Three Men on a Horse (1935)
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Shirley Booth as Hazel, 1962
