Betsy Blair (b. Elizabeth Winifred Boger on December 11, 1923 in Cliffside Park, New Jersey) is an Oscar-nominated American character actress. December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map highlighting Cliffside Parks location within Bergen County. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996), better known as Gene Kelly, was an American dancer, actor, singer, director, producer, and choreographer. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Karel Reisz (born 1926, Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, died London, United Kingdom, 2002) was a Jewish refugee who became one of the most important film-makers in post war Britain. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map highlighting Cliffside Parks location within Bergen County. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...

Early life

Her father was William Kidd Boger, a partner in a small insurance brokerage firm; her mother, Frederica Ammon, was a schoolteacher, both were Episcopalians.^[1] At the age of eight she was enrolled in the Swift Sisters School of Dance, and recalls performing before Eleanor Roosevelt in 1933, winning an amateur contest shortly thereafter, joining a touring amateur show and performing on local radio, as motivating influences in her desire to pursue a dance career.^[1] She joined the John Robert Powers modelling agency and by the age of twelve was in regular demand. She enrolled in the Professional Children's School but, as it was not accredited, her mother returned her to her local school so that she might eventually attend college. She graduated at fifteen years of age, securing a scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College. However the Board of Admission considered her too immature for entry and requested she wait one year. The word Episcopal is derived from the Greek επισκοπος epískopos, which literally means overseer; the word however is used in religious terms to mean bishop. ... Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962) was an American political leader who used her stature as First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 to promote her husbands (Franklin D. Roosevelts) New Deal, as well as civil rights. ... John Robert Powers (April 16, 1892 - November, 1977) was an American actor and founder of a prominent New York City modelling agency. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college located in metropolitan New York City, about a thirty-minute train ride north of Manhattan. ...

Stage career

In the interim she successfully applied for a position in the chorus at the International Casino in New York, and when that closed down, secured a position in January, 1940 in the chorus of Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe where Gene Kelly was working as choreographer.^[2] Kelly befriended Blair and over the course of a year the relationship blossomed, culminating in their marriage in September 1941 - they remained married for sixteen years and had one child together before divorcing in 1957. She left Rose's show to take up an offer from Robert Alton^[3] - who had previously discovered Gene Kelly - to join the chorus of Panama Hattie, where she joined an illustrious line-up which included June Allyson, Doris and Constance Dowling, and Vera-Ellen. During this period she developed a strong interest in Marxism, having been introduced to Lloyd Gough by Kelly, and attended Gough's weekly Marxist study group, which Kelly did not attend.^[4] “NY” redirects here. ... Billy Rose (September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American theatrical showman. ... Robert Alton (January 28, 1906 – June 12, 1957) was a Tony Award-winning American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals during from the 1930s through to the early 1950s. ... Panama Hattie is a theater musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. ... June Allyson (October 7, 1917 – July 8, 2006) was an American film and television actress, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. ... After serving her time as a chorus-girl on Broadway, Doris followed her elder sister Constance Dowling to Hollywood. ... Constance Dowling (July 21, 1920 - October 28, 1969) was a film actress of the 1940s. ... Vera-Ellen Westmeyer Rohe (February 16, 1921 - 30 August 1981) was an American actress and dancer known best by just her hyphenated first name. ... Marxism is both the theory and the political practice (that is, the praxis) derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ... Lloyd Gough (September 21, 1907 – July 23, 1984) was an American theater, film, and television actor. ...

In early 1941 she secured her first role in a stage play when Kelly's friend William Saroyan chose her to play the female lead role of St. Agnes of the Mice in his play The Beautiful People at the Lyceum Theatre, playing opposite Eugene Loring, and securing excellent reviews from leading critics George Jean Nathan and Richard Watts. ^[5] William Saroyan, 1940 William Saroyan (August 31, 1908 - May 18, 1981) was an American author who wrote many plays and short stories about growing up impoverished as the son of Armenian immigrants. ... The Lyceum Theatre is a Broadway theatre, located at 149 West 45th Street. ... Eugene Loring (August 2, 1911-August 30, 1982) was an American ballet dancer and choreographer, best remembered as the choreographer of Billy the Kid (1938). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Richard Watts, Jr. ...

Film career

She starred in such films as A Double Life (1946) and The Snake Pit (1948) in the late 1940s. She continued to hold extreme political views and admittedly attempted to join the Communist Party.^[1] In her autobiography, she revealed that her application was rejected as the Party felt she would be more valuable as the wife of the progressive Kelly.^[1] He distanced himself from her political views and was insulated from political damage by his Irish Catholic extraction. In the 1950s, she was under investigation from HUAC and almost lost one of her signature roles, that of Marty's girlfriend in Marty (1955), but was restored to the role after Kelly threatened to pull out of It's Always Fair Weather.^[1] For her performance, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and prizes from the Cannes Film Festival. Her career, nonetheless, was damaged during the McCarthy era, and she found work on stage in New York City. A Double Life is a 1947 film noir film which tells the story of an actor whose personal life takes on the characters that he is portraying. ... See also: 1945 in film 1946 1947 in film 1940s in film years in film film // Events Top grossing films North America The Bells of St. ... The Snake Pit is a 1948 film which tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum, and cant remember how she got there. ... The year 1948 in film involved some significant events. ... In modern usage, the term communist party is generally used to identify any political party which has adopted communist ideology. ... This article is about Progressivism. ... Irish Catholics are persons of predominantly Irish descent who adhere to the Roman Catholic faith. ... The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) was an investigating committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... For other uses, see Marty (disambiguation). ... // Events November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts. ... Its Always Fair Weather is a 1955 MGM film scripted by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who also wrote the shows lyrics, scored by Andre Previn and starring Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Michael Kidd, and Dolores Gray. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... Cannes Film Festival logo. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

Following her divorce, Blair moved to Europe where she appeared in various films, including Juan Antonio Bardem's Calle Mayor (1956) and Michelangelo Antonioni's Il Grido (1957). She married director/ producer Karel Reisz in 1963, and would appear sporadically in other films, such as Costa-Gavras' Betrayed (1988) and the mini-series Scarlett in 1994. She was widowed in 2002. Juan Antonio Bardem (2 June 1922 Madrid - 30 October 2002 Madrid) was a Spanish screen writer and director, best known for Muerte de un Ciclista (1955) which won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. ... Calle mayor is a 1956 Spanish drama film directed by Juan Antonio Bardem starring by an international cast leading the American actress Betsy Blair, who was dubbed into Spanish. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Michelangelo Antonioni (September 29, 1912 - July 30, 2007) was an Italian modernist film director whose films are widely considered as some of the most influential in film aesthetics. ... Il grido is a 1957 Italian black-and-white drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Karel Reisz (born 1926, Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, died London, United Kingdom, 2002) was a Jewish refugee who became one of the most important film-makers in post war Britain. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Constantinos Gavras (born February 12, 1933, Loutra-Iraias, Greece), better known as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French filmmaker best known for films with overt political themes. ... Look up betrayed in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... A miniseries, in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ... Scarlett is the sequel to Margaret Mitchells Gone With the Wind. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

Blair filmed scenes for Stephen Daldry's The Hours (2002), playing the older version of Julianne Moore's character. The producers realised it would be too confusing for audiences seeing the same character played by a different actress, so Blair was dropped and her scenes were reshot with Moore in old-age make-up. Stephen David Daldry, CBE (born May 2, 1961 in Dorset, England, United Kingdom) is a British movie director and producer. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Julianne Moore (born Julie Anne Smith on December 3, 1960) in Fayetteville, North Carolina is an American actress. ...

She published her autobiography, "The Memory of All That" in 2003.

Notes and references

The Louisiana Purchase. ...

External links

• Betsy Blair at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Blair in 2005