Mercedes McCambridge

<p> American actress Mercedes McCambridge is an Academy Award-winning star of radio television film and the stage active in all four entertainment mediums between 1936 and 1991. Publicly she was active in politics a lecturer at several colleges and an important activist in the fight against alcoholism; privately she suffered from divorces miscarriages suicide attempts the death of her only child and a hard-won battle with her own alcoholism. From roles on such radio shows as <I>Lights Out!</I> at 19 to her starring role in Neil Simon's play <I>Lost in Yonkers</I> at 75 this biography both reveals her personal life and career and gives insight into an important period of show business history.</p><p> Part I is a full biography from McCambridge's birth in Illinois in 1916 to her 1998 appearance at the Academy Awards. Part II gives McCambridge's radio television film and theatre performances each entry listing the name of the show name of the character dates other performers directors and an indication of which were sustained short- or long-running roles and which single performances on a radio or television series. Research is drawn from books periodicals and personal interviews with McCambridge's peers.</p>