Home > Mary Astor

Born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke in Quincy, Illinois, Astor was signed to a Hollywood contract at the age of 14 after winning a beauty contest. She was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926. She achieved success playing opposite John Barrymore in Beau Brummell ( 1924) and Don JuanDon Juan is a legendary fictional libertine, whose story has been told many times by different authors. The name is sometimes used figuratively, as a synonym for " seducer". The story ends dramatically, with Don Juan's descent to Hell. Most agree that Don ( 1926See also 1925 in film 1926 1927 in film 1920s in film years in film film Events August Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan''. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33 1/3 rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Wes), and her stature as a film star continued to grow steadily with the advent of "talking pictures".

By 1936, her career had begun to lose momentum until she became the subject of a widely publicised scandal. During divorce proceedings her estranged husband produced a diary Astor had kept, which detailed among other events, her affair with playwrightA playwright is an author of plays for performance in the theater. The earliest playwrights with surviving works are a group of playwrights from Greece during the 5th century BC, notably Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. The term dramatis George Kaufman. The sexually explicit diary was entered as evidence in court, and extracts were published in newspapers throughout the world. Determined to separate her private and professional lives, Astor refused to apologise and her career was renewed by the huge level of publicity.

She appeared in DodsworthDodsworth is a novel by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1929. It was made into a film in 1936. It is the story of a retired automobile tycoon and his wife. Despite her husband's affection, she falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites during their Europe ( 1936See also 1935 in film 1936 1937 in film 1930s in film years in film film Events January 6 first Porky Pig animated cartoon September 28 The Marx Brothers' Harpo Marx marries actress Susan Fleming Top grossing films # Red River Valley Academy Awards Best P) and The Prisoner of ZendaThe Prisoner of Zenda is an adventure novel by Anthony Hope, first published in 1894. It tells the story of a man who has to impersonate a king, who he happens to closely resemble, when the king is abducted by enemies on the eve of his coronation. The vil ( 1937See also 1936 in film 1937 1937 films 1938 in film 1930s in film years in film film Events Top grossing films # Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs # Conquest # Damaged Lives # Parnell # La Grande illusion # Annapolis Salute # Pepe le Moko # Green Fields Acad) and the success of both films, and the public's acceptance of Astor, assured the studios that she was still a viable commercial property.

In 1941 she played the role for which she would be most famous, as Brigid O'Shaunessy in John Huston's The Maltese Falcon opposite Humphrey Bogart.

At Bette Davis's suggestion she was cast in The Great Lie (also 1941), with Davis deliberately stepping back to allow Astor to shine in her key scenes. An Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress resulted, and for the rest of her life, Astor acknowledged Davis for her generosity.

These successes were not enough to propel Astor into the upper echelon of film stars, but she continued working throughout the 1940s in such films as The Palm Beach Story ( 1942), Across the Pacific (also 1942 and costarring Humphrey Bogart) and Meet Me in St. Louis ( 1944). By the end of the decade she was playing motherly roles such as Mrs March in Little Women ( 1949). By the 1950s her Hollywood career had faded considerably and she made few film appearances, but she found success in the theater and in television.

She published her memoirs in 1959 and the book titled My Story, detailed her troubled personal life and battle with alcoholism, while scarcely mentioning her film career. It was a best seller.

She received good reviews for her role in Return to Peyton Place ( 1961), and played her final film role in Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte ( 1964), in the small but integral role of Jewel Mayhew.

A heart condition had caused Astor ill health since the early 1950s, and by the mid 1960s her health had deteriorated to the point that she was forced to retire. She wrote several novels during this period, and in 1971 published a second memoir that chronicled her Hollywood career, and provided her with another best seller.

She lived her final years in a Motion Picture Home, before dying as a result of a heart attack. She was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.

Mary Astor has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her services to Motion Pictures, at 6701 Hollywood Boulevard.