American actress (1928?2014)
Marian Seldes
|
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Marian_Seldes.jpg/220px-Marian_Seldes.jpg) |
Born
| Marian Hall Seldes
(
1928-08-23
)
August 23, 1928
New York City, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| October 6, 2014
(2014-10-06)
(aged 86)
New York City, U.S.
|
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Occupation
| Actress
|
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Years active
| 1948?2011
|
---|
Spouses
|
(
m.
1953;
div.
1961)
(
m.
1990; died 1999)
|
---|
Children
| 1
|
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Parent
| Gilbert Seldes
(father)
|
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Relatives
| George Seldes
(uncle)
|
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Marian Hall Seldes
(August 23, 1928 ? October 6, 2014) was an American actress. 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 include
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.
Early life
[
edit
]
Seldes was born in Manhattan, the daughter of Alice Wadhams Hall, a socialite, and
Gilbert Seldes
, a journalist, author, and editor.
[1]
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."
[2]
[3]
She grew up in a creative environment, studying acting at the
Neighborhood Playhouse
. Her maternal aunt, Marian Wells Hall, was a prominent interior decorator.
[4]
Career
[
edit
]
Trained for the stage, Seldes made her
Broadway
debut in 1948 in a production of
Medea
. She went on to an illustrious career in which she earned five Tony Award nominations, winning her first time out in 1967 for
A Delicate Balance
. In addition to performing in live theatre, Seldes began acting in television in 1952 in a
Hallmark Hall of Fame
production that marked the first of many guest star roles. She also performed in a number of movies and in radio plays. In the mid-1960s, Seldes recorded five albums for
Folkways Records
of famous works of literature, including two recordings of poetry by
Robinson Jeffers
.
[5]
Between 1974 and 1982, she appeared in 179 episodes of the
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
. In 1992, she appeared in an episode of
Murphy Brown
as the title character’s eccentric Aunt Brooke.
Seldes studied with
Sanford Meisner
,
Katharine Cornell
, and
Martha Graham
. Actor
Laura Linney
said "Marian is our touchstone to those theatrical ancestors. She provides an inspiration that makes you want to reach outside of yourself to something more potent and powerful."
[6]
Seldes was a member of the drama faculty of
The Juilliard School
from 1967 to 1991. Her students included
Christopher Reeve
,
Robin Williams
,
Kelsey Grammer
,
Kevin Kline
,
William Hurt
,
Patti LuPone
,
[6]
Val Kilmer
, and
Kevin Spacey
.
[7]
In 2002, Seldes began teaching at Fordham University,
Lincoln Center
.
Seldes acted in
Half Hour to Kill
playing Played Joyce Field.
Half Hour to Kill
was a proposed but unrealized television series mystery show with episodes hosted by
Vincent Price
and planned to occasionally star him as well. Released to the home movie market as
Freedom to Get Lost
, with Price playing scientist Gene Wolcott and Seldes playing an undercover security agent tracking him. The episode is available on the DVD titled
Vincent Price ? The Sinister Image
. (1958)
[
citation needed
]
Seldes appeared in every one of the 1,809 Broadway performances of
Ira Levin
's play
Deathtrap
, a feat that earned her a mention in the
Guinness Book of World Records
as "most durable actress".
[8]
[9]
Seldes was also well known for her readings of short stories in the "
Selected Shorts
" series hosted by
Isaiah Sheffer
at New York City's
Symphony Space
.
In December 2008, for their annual birthday celebration to "The Master",
Noel Coward
, the
Noel Coward Society
invited Seldes as the guest celebrity to lay flowers in front of Coward's statue at New York's
Gershwin Theatre
, thereby commemorating the playwright’s 109th birthday. Seldes was the recipient of a 2010 Tony Lifetime Achievement Award.
[10]
"All I've done is live my life in the theater and loved it ... If you can get an award for being happy, that's what I've got."
[11]
In 2012, Seldes played the knife-wielding socialite Mabel Billingsly in the film adaptation of
Wendy Mass
' popular children's book
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
, written and directed by
Tamar Halpern
.
[12]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Seldes had one child, Katharine, by her first marriage to
Julian Claman
. They were divorced in 1961. Seldes stated that the marriage to Claman was violent. "If I sound a little vague about that marriage, it's because I don't understand the person in it. Me. I literally didn't know that people could be abusive." Seldes left the marriage after her father noticed marks on her face.
[6]
Seldes was married to screenwriter/playwright
Garson Kanin
from 1990 until his death in 1999.
[6]
Death
[
edit
]
Seldes died at age 86 on October 6, 2014, in Manhattan.
[11]
The cause of her death was not released. However, in 2017, it was reported that a documentary about her life,
Marian
, by director R.E. "Rick" Rodgers, chronicling Seldes' last years, had created "consternation in the theater world" as a "horrific, intrusive depiction of her slide into dementia".
[13]
[14]
Acting credits
[
edit
]
George Nader
and Seldes in
The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen
, 1959
Films
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Theatre
[
edit
]
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Venue
|
Ref.
|
1947
|
Medea
|
Attendant to Medea
|
National Theatre, Broadway
|
[15]
|
1947
|
Crime and Punishment
|
Dounia
|
National Theatre, Broadway
|
[16]
|
1949
|
Medea
|
Second Woman of Corinth
|
City Center, Broadway
|
[17]
|
1949
|
That Lady
|
Anichu at 18
|
Martin Beck Theatre
, Broadway
|
[18]
|
1950
|
The Tower Beyond Tragedy
|
Electra
|
ANTA Playhouse
, Broadway
|
[19]
|
1951
|
The High Ground
|
Nurse Phillips
|
48th Street Theatre, Broadway
|
[20]
|
1954
|
Ondine
|
Bertha
|
46th Street Theatre, Broadway
|
[21]
|
1955
|
The Chalk Garden
|
Olivia
|
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
, Broadway
|
[22]
|
1960
|
The Wall
|
Sympka Berson
|
Billy Rose Theatre
, Broadway
|
[23]
|
1962
|
A Gift of Time
|
Susan Loring
|
Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway
|
[24]
|
1964
|
The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore
|
Blackie
|
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
, Broadway
|
[25]
|
1964
|
Tiny Alice
|
Miss Alice
|
Billy Rose Theatre, Broadway
|
[26]
|
1966
|
A Delicate Balance
|
Julia
|
Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway
|
[27]
|
1968
|
Before You Go
|
Woman
|
Henry Miller's Theatre
, Broadway
|
[28]
|
1969
|
Mercy Street
|
Daisy
|
Theater at St. Clement's Church, Off-Broadway
|
1971
|
Father's Day
|
Marian
|
John Golden Theatre
, Broadway
|
[29]
|
1974
|
Next Time I'll Sing You
|
Director
|
Billy Rose Theatre
, Broadway
|
[30]
|
1974
|
Equus
|
Hester Saloman
|
Plymouth Theatre
, Broadway
|
[31]
|
1977
|
The Merchant
|
Rivka Folner
|
Plymouth Theatre, Broadway
|
[32]
|
1978
|
Deathtrap
|
Myra Bruhl
|
Music Box Theatre
, Broadway
|
[33]
|
1983
|
Painting Churches
|
Fanny Church
|
South Street Theatre, Off-Broadway
|
|
1983
|
Richard II
|
Margaret
|
Delacorte Theatre
, Off-Broadway
|
|
1986
|
Gertrude Stein and a Companion
|
Alice B. Toklas
|
Lucille Lortel Theatre
, Off-Broadway
|
|
1993
|
Three Tall Women
|
A
|
Vineyard Theatre
, Off-Broadway
|
|
1997
|
Ivanov
|
Zinaida Savishna
|
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
, Broadway
|
[34]
|
1999
|
Ring Round the Moon
|
Madame Desmermortes
|
Belasco Theatre
, Broadway
|
[35]
|
2000
|
The Torch-Bearers
|
J. Duro Pampinelli
|
Greenwich House
, Off-Broadway
|
|
2001
|
The Play About the Baby
|
Woman
|
Century Center For The Performing Arts
|
|
2001
|
45 Seconds from Broadway
|
Rayleen
|
Richard Rodgers Theatre
, Broadway
|
[36]
|
2002
|
Helen
|
Servant
|
The Public Theatre
, Off-Broadway
|
[37]
|
2003
|
Dinner at Eight
|
Carlotta Vance
|
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
, Broadway
|
[38]
|
2004
|
The Royal Family
|
Fannie Cavandish
|
Ahmanson Theatre
, Los Angeles
|
[39]
|
2005
|
It's a Wonderful Life
|
Mrs. Hatch
|
Sam S. Shubert Theatre
, Broadway
|
[40]
|
2005
|
Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams
|
Annabelle Willard
|
59E59 Theatre
, Off-Broadway
|
|
2007
|
Deuce
|
Midge Barker
|
Music Box Theatre
, Broadway
|
[41]
|
2008
|
La fille du regiment
|
The Duchess
|
Metropolitan Opera
,
Lincoln Center
|
[42]
|
Radio
[
edit
]
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
- The Roan Stallion
by
Robinson Jeffers
(1963)
- The Making of Americans
by
Gertrude Stein
(1963
- Theodore Bikel
:
"Songs of Songs" and other Bible Prophecies
featuring Marian Seldes as Shulamite (1964))
- Tower Beyond Tragedy
by Robinson Jeffers (1964)
- Phedre
by
Jean Racine
(1964)
- Prayers from the Ark: French and English Poems
(1964)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930 Population", enumeration page including household of Gilbert Seldes and documentation relating to his 19-month-old daughter Marian H. Seldes, Manhattan Borough, New York City, April 11, 1930; digital image of original 1930 enumeration page, U.S. Bureau of the Census. Retrieved image of cited document via
FamilySearch
online archive, January 7, 2023.
- ^
"Marian Seldes to headline her latest stage return"
.
The Villager
. New York. Archived from
the original
on September 2, 2013
. Retrieved
March 27,
2013
.
- ^
"Marian Seldes"
.
Yahoo! Movies
. April 20, 2011. Archived from
the original
on May 22, 2011
. Retrieved
March 27,
2013
.
- ^
"Marian Wells Hall, Decorator, Was 76".
The New York Times
. March 2, 1972.
- ^
"Seldes discography"
.
Smithsonian Folkways
. Retrieved
April 11,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Witchel, Alex (June 14, 2010).
"The 60-Year Stage Life of Marian Seldes"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
Spacey, Kevin
(October 10, 2014).
"Kevin Spacey pays tribute to the Juilliard teacher who gave him 'wings'
"
.
New York Post
. Archived from
the original
on April 28, 2016.
- ^
Simonson, Robert
(November 13, 2007).
"Ira Levin, Author of Hit Mystery Play Deathtrap, Dies at 78"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
August 22,
2017
.
- ^
"No. 4 in Long Play Runs, 'Deathtrap' Will Close"
.
The New York Times
. June 8, 1982.
- ^
"Spotlight On: The 2012?2013 Broadway Season"
.
TonyAwards.com
. Retrieved
March 27,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Berkvist, Robert (October 7, 2014).
"Theater: Marian Seldes, Regal Presence of Broadway, Dies"
.
The New York Times
. No. 56647
. Retrieved
October 6,
2017
.
- ^
Buckwald, Bethany (October 6, 2014).
"Tony Award and American Theatre Hall of Fame Inductee Marian Seldes Has Died"
.
Theatermania
. Retrieved
April 28,
2020
.
- ^
Riedel, Michael (September 26, 2017).
"Broadway insiders horrified by documentary on theater icon's sad final days"
.
New York Post
. Retrieved
October 7,
2017
.
- ^
Rosky, Nicole.
"Rick McKay Pens Open Letter to Marian Seldes Documentary Filmmaker"
.
BroadwayWorld
. Retrieved
October 7,
2017
.
- ^
"Medea (Broadway, 1947)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Crime and Punishment (Broadway, 1947)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Medea (Broadway, 1949)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"That Lady (Broadway, 1949)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"The Tower Beyond Tragedy (Broadway, 1950)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"The High Ground (Broadway, 1951)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Ondine (Broadway, 1954)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"The Chalk Garden (Broadway, 1955)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"The Wall (Broadway, 1960)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"A Gift of Time (Broadway, 1962)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (Broadway, 1964)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Tiny Alice (Broadway, 1964)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"A Delicate Balance (Broadway, 1966)"
.
April 18, 2024
.
- ^
"Before You Go (Broadway, 1968)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Father's Day (Broadway, 1971)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Next Time I'll Sing You (Broadway, 1974)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Equus (Broadway, 1974)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"The Merchant (Broadway, 1977)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Deathtrap (Broadway, 1978)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Ivanov (Broadway, 1997)"
.
April 18, 2024
.
- ^
"Ring Round the Moon (Broadway, 1999)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"45 Seconds from Broadway (Broadway, 2001)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Helen"
.
Abouttheartist
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Dinner at Eight (Broadway, 2003)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"The Royal Family"
.
Abouttheartist
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"It's a Wonderful Life (Broadway, 2005)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Deuce (Broadway, 2007)"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"7 Scene-Stealing Performances in the Comic Opera "La Fille du Regiment"
"
.
PBS
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"Those Were the Days".
Nostalgia Digest
.
41
(2): 32?41. Spring 2015.
- ^
"1967 Tony Awards Nominees"
.
American Theatre Wing
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"1971 Tony Awards Nominees"
.
American Theatre Wing
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"1978 Tony Awards Nominees"
.
American Theatre Wing
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"1999 Tony Awards Nominees"
.
American Theatre Wing
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"2003 Tony Awards Nominees"
.
American Theatre Wing
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
- ^
"2010 Tony Awards Nominees"
.
American Theatre Wing
. Retrieved
April 18,
2024
.
External links
[
edit
]
Awards for Marian Seldes
|
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|
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1947?1975
| |
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1976?2000
| |
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2001?present
| |
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|
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1947?1975
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1976?2000
| |
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2001?present
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International
| |
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National
| |
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Artists
| |
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Other
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