Mercedes Agnes Carlotta McCambridge was born in Joliet on March 16, 1916 and died in La Jolla on March 2, 2004, nicknamed Mercy, was an American film, television, and radio actress who won an Academy Award.
McCambridge was born in Joliet, Illinois, to an Irish immigrant family. She graduated from Mundelein College in Chicago before beginning her acting career. She started her career as a radio actress during the 1940s, although she also performed in Broadway plays. Her most notable role on radio was that of Rosemary Levy in the serial "Abie's Irish Rose," as well as in series such as "I Love A Mystery," "The Thing That Cries in the Night," "Bury Your Dead," "Arizona," "The Million Dollar Curse," "The Temple of Vampires," and "The Battle of the Century." Almost all of these were broadcast on CBS.
Her entry into the film industry was a resounding success. McCambridge played the antagonist opposite Broderick Crawford in the 1949 film "All the King's Men." For this role, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1954, the actress co-starred with Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden in the film "Johnny Guitar," in which she played the villain. Both McCambridge and Hayden expressed their dislike of working with Crawford; she even stated in her memoirs that Crawford "was a rotten egg."
Shortly after, in 1956, McCambridge appeared in the cast of George Stevens' classic film, "Giant." She was nominated again for Best Supporting Actress, but this time the award went to Dorothy Malone for "Written on the Wind." In 1959, McCambridge again portrayed a villain, this time alongside Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift, and Elizabeth Taylor in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film "Suddenly, Last Summer." In any case, one of McCambridge's most significant contributions was a performance in which her face never appeared. The veteran actress provided the voice (in the original English version) for the demonic possession of actress Linda Blair in The Exorcist. McCambridge was promised a credit in the film, but she discovered at the premiere that her name had been omitted. Her dispute with director William Friedkin and Warner Bros. ended up in court. With the help of the Screen Actors Guild, she finally managed to have her name included in the film credits. It is said that to achieve the demonic voice, McCambridge deprived herself of sleep, smoked excessively, and consumed alcohol and raw egg yolks.
McCambridge has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for her acting career, located at 1722 Vine Street, and another for her television work, located at 6243 Hollywood Boulevard. She wrote her memoirs, titled The Quality of Mercy: An Autobiography (Times Books, 1981), ISBN 0-8129-0945-3. McCambridge died on March 2, 2004, in La Jolla, California, of natural causes at the age of 87.
McCambridge was born in Joliet, Illinois, to an Irish immigrant family. She graduated from Mundelein College in Chicago before beginning her acting career. She started her career as a radio actress during the 1940s, although she also performed in Broadway plays. Her most notable role on radio was that of Rosemary Levy in the serial "Abie's Irish Rose," as well as in series such as "I Love A Mystery," "The Thing That Cries in the Night," "Bury Your Dead," "Arizona," "The Million Dollar Curse," "The Temple of Vampires," and "The Battle of the Century." Almost all of these were broadcast on CBS.
Her entry into the film industry was a resounding success. McCambridge played the antagonist opposite Broderick Crawford in the 1949 film "All the King's Men." For this role, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1954, the actress co-starred with Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden in the film "Johnny Guitar," in which she played the villain. Both McCambridge and Hayden expressed their dislike of working with Crawford; she even stated in her memoirs that Crawford "was a rotten egg."
Shortly after, in 1956, McCambridge appeared in the cast of George Stevens' classic film, "Giant." She was nominated again for Best Supporting Actress, but this time the award went to Dorothy Malone for "Written on the Wind." In 1959, McCambridge again portrayed a villain, this time alongside Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift, and Elizabeth Taylor in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film "Suddenly, Last Summer." In any case, one of McCambridge's most significant contributions was a performance in which her face never appeared. The veteran actress provided the voice (in the original English version) for the demonic possession of actress Linda Blair in The Exorcist. McCambridge was promised a credit in the film, but she discovered at the premiere that her name had been omitted. Her dispute with director William Friedkin and Warner Bros. ended up in court. With the help of the Screen Actors Guild, she finally managed to have her name included in the film credits. It is said that to achieve the demonic voice, McCambridge deprived herself of sleep, smoked excessively, and consumed alcohol and raw egg yolks.
McCambridge has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for her acting career, located at 1722 Vine Street, and another for her television work, located at 6243 Hollywood Boulevard. She wrote her memoirs, titled The Quality of Mercy: An Autobiography (Times Books, 1981), ISBN 0-8129-0945-3. McCambridge died on March 2, 2004, in La Jolla, California, of natural causes at the age of 87.
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