Ann Blyth, who earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the classic 1945 film noir Mildred Pierce at age 16, has passed away.
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Blyth died of natural causes on June 24, just two months shy of her 99th birthday, KABC’s George Pennacchio reported.
Born in Mount Kisco, New York, on August 16, 1928, Blyth started her career at age 6, performing on children’s radio shows. She made her Broadway debut in Lillian Hellman’s Watch on the Rhine in 1941. While touring with the show in Los Angeles, she secured a contract with Universal Studios, per Deadline.
She made her big-screen debut in the 1944 teen musical Chip Off the Old Block. But it was her very next role that would make her a star. In 1945, Blyth gave her breakout performance in Mildred Pierce as Veda, the conniving daughter of Joan Crawford’s title character. The role snagged the 16-year-old an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Five days after wrapping Mildred Pierce, Blyth broke her back in a sledding accident near Lake Arrowhead, California, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The accident landed her in a body cast for seven months and a wheelchair for several more. But a little thing like a broken back wasn’t going to stop her from attending the 1946 Oscars, where she rocked a custom gown designed to fit over her back brace.
Ann Blyth Went on to Appear in Beloved Shows Like ‘The Twilight Zone’ and ‘Murder, She Wrote’
Blyth went on to land roles in films like Killer McCoy (1947), Brute Force (1947), Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), Our Very Own (1950), and The Great Caruso (1951). On the small screen, she also acted in episodes of Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, Quincy M.E., and Murder, She Wrote.
In the 1970s, Blyth gained a new kind of fame as the official mom of Hostess, pitching Twinkies, Crumb Cakes, and Ding Dongs to a new generation of TV viewers.
She also starred in stage productions of The King and I, The Sound of Music, and Show Boat.
In 1953, Blyth married Los Angeles obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day. They had five children: Timothy, Maureen, Kathleen, Terence, and Eileen. They remained married until McNulty’s death in 2007 at the age of 89.