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Margaret Hayes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Margaret Hayes
In Blackboard Jungle (1955)
Born
Florette Regina Ottenheimer

(1913-12-05)December 5, 1913
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedJanuary 26, 1977(1977-01-26) (aged 63)
Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Alma materJohns Hopkins University
OccupationActress
Years active1939–1964
Spouses
  • Charles DeBuskey (m. 193?; div. 1939)
​
​
(m. 1942; div. 1942)​
Herbert B. Swope Jr.
​
​
(m. 1947; div. 1973)​
Children3

Margaret Hayes (born Florette Regina Ottenheimer; December 5, 1913[1] – January 26, 1977) was an American film, stage, and television actress.

Early years

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A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Hayes was one of four children born to Clara Bussey and Jacob Lewis "Jack" Ottenheimer, erstwhile songwriter, joke-book writer, radio performer turned real estate broker, who had, at one time, reportedly provided much of the material for the famous magician, Howard Thurston.[2]

While a student at Forest Park High School,[3] she joined the Emerson Cook Stock Company to gain more acting experience.[4] She entered Johns Hopkins University to become a nurse, but stuck to her dramatic ambitions. At the school, she joined "The Barnstormers", a theatrical organization, becoming the first female member of that group.[4]

Changing names

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Using the name "Dana Dale" (reportedly at the suggestion of columnist Walter Winchell[2]), Hayes found work as a model, "featured in the best cigarette, auto, and fashion advertisements".[5] Her screen test for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind was unsuccessful, but she received a movie contract, anyway. Publicists at her studio recommended "Dana Edwards" as a better name for movies, so she began using it. Eventually, she changed to Margaret Hayes for public purposes, and was called Maggie by her friends.[5]

Film

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Hayes' initial contract was with Warner Bros. Having little success there, she signed with Paramount Pictures.[6]

Hayes was often billed as Maggie Hayes in her film credits. She is perhaps best known for her Oscar-nominated performance as schoolteacher Lois Judby Hammond in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle.[7] In 1956, she guest-starred as Dora Hand in three episodes of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. She appeared in the episode "The San Saba Incident" (October 18, 1957) of Trackdown, playing a female convict, named Abby Lindon.[8]

Hayes' films included The Glass Key, Sullivan's Travels, and Good Day for a Hanging. In 1958, in the film Damn Citizen, Hayes appeared opposite Keith Andes in the role of a real person, Dorothy Maguire Grevemberg, the wife of the crusading Louisiana State Police superintendent Francis Grevemberg. She made four guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason, including as defendant Sybil Granger in 1957 episode "The Case of the Nervous Accomplice". She co-starred on Tombstone Territory season 1 episode 24 'Cave-In' which aired March 26, 1958. In 1961, she portrayed Mrs. North in the episode "Incident of the Night on the Town" on CBS"s Rawhide.[9] In the same year, she also guest-starred in an episode of Bonanza, "The Countess", as Lady Linda Chadwick.

Journalism

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After marrying Herbert Bayard Swope in 1946, Hayes temporarily retired from acting and turned to journalism, eventually becoming assistant fashion editor for Life.[10]

Radio

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In her later years, Hayes lived in Palm Beach, Florida, and was the host of a daily radio talk show[10] on WPBR.[11]

Personal life

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Hayes had her first child, a daughter Nan (born 1937), from her brief first marriage to Charles DeBuskey. The couple divorced in 1939, and Hayes subsequently married actor Leif Erickson on June 12, 1942,[12] eloping with him to Minden, Nevada. They separated 28 days later, and Hayes received a divorce on October 2, 1942.[13] In 1947 she married a third time, to producer Herbert B. Swope, Jr. (son of three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Reporting, journalist Herbert Swope[14]), with whom she had a daughter, actress Tracy Brooks Swope, and a son, Herbert Swope III. They divorced in 1973.[10]

Death

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On January 26, 1977, aged 63, Hayes died of cancer in Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida.[7][10]

Partial filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1957 Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre Rose S2:E01, "The Deserters"
1961 Rawhide Mrs. North S3:E29, "Incident of the Night on the Town"

S1:Ep3 1957 "Perry Mason" Sybil Granger "The Case of the Nervous Accomplice"

References

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  1. ^ Aaker, Everett (2006). Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters: All Regular Cast Members in American Crime and Mystery Series, 1948-1959. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 263. ISBN 9780786424764.
  2. ^ a b "Dana Dale Got Her Name From Walter Winchell at Stork Club". Portland Press Herald. March 11, 1945. p. 12. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "Margaret Hayes" (PDF). Radio-TV Mirror. 41 (1): 85. December 1953. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Margaret Decides To Stay Miss Hayes". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 14, 1943. p. 31.
  5. ^ a b "Saga of Dana Dale, Margaret Hayes, Fleurette Ottenheimer". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 11, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved August 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Harrison, Paul (March 11, 1945). "Saga of Dana Dale, Margaret Hayes, Fleurette Ottenheimer". Portland Evening Express. p. 12. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ a b "Margaret Hayes Is Dead". Boxoffice. February 7, 1977. p. 11. ProQuest 1476115023. MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — Margaret Hayes, who received an Academy Award nomination in 1956 for her portrayal of a school teacher in the film 'Blackboard Jungle,' died January 26 of cancer in Mount Sinai Hospital. Ms. Hayes was 61.
  8. ^ Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 105-06
  9. ^ Margaret Hayes at IMDb
  10. ^ a b c d "Margaret Hayes, actress, is dead". Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson Daily Citizen. January 28, 1977. p. 12. Retrieved August 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ "Actress Margaret Hayes of TV, films succumbs at 61". Valley News. Valley News. January 30, 1977. p. 45. Retrieved August 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ "Star, Actress Wed". The Circleville Herald. The Circleville Herald. June 13, 1942. p. 1. Retrieved August 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  13. ^ "Good Actor, Poor Hubby, Says Wife". Medford Mail Tribune. Medford Mail Tribune. October 2, 1942. p. 9. Retrieved August 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ^ Hadjin, Jim (June 21, 1958). "Herbert Swope Dead at 76". New York Newsday. p. 18. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  15. ^ Walker, Paul (March 20, 1942). "Dime Novel Action in New Colonial Film; "Valley of Sun" Due at Senate Tomorrow". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg Telegraph. p. 21. Retrieved August 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  16. ^ "(Orpheum ad)". The Havre Daily News. The Havre Daily News. March 12, 1943. p. 5. Retrieved August 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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