Constance Cummings (1910-2005)
Signed Original portrait photo also signed by photographer (?) Mitchell probably just after she was discovered by Samuel Goldwyn.
"The photograph of Constance Cummings is not mine. It appears to me to be a portrait from the late 30s, because of the soft-focus and reverse vignette effect. " Jack Mitchell (photographer)
Awarded the C.B.E. (Commander of the order of the British Empire) in 1974.
Won Broadway's 1979 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for "Wings" in a tie with Carole Shelley for "The Elephant Man." Ms. Cummings recreated her Tony-winning performance in a television version with the same title, Wings (1983) (TV).
Coming from a musical family - her mother was a concert soprano - Constance Cummings made her show business debut in 1926 in regional stock theater, and by 1928 had appeared in her first Broadway play. Appeared in The Little Show (1929), which debuted on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre on April 30th. Production featured sketches by Fred Allen, Howard Dietz and George S. Kaufman. Cast included: Clifton Webb, Libby Holman, Erik Rhodes, Fred Allen, Portland Hoffa and Peggy Conklin. This was one of the major Broadway hits of 1929 and propelled Clifton Webb and Libby Holman into top-ranked stars. Her success in the theater resulted in an invitation by Samuel Goldwyn while she was appearing on Broadway to Hollywood where she went in 1931. Although she played in more than 20 films, she was never really comfortble in Hollywood nor satisfied with the parts she was getting, and in 1934 she left for England, UK. She continued her stage and film career herein the U.K.
She appeared in "Long Day's Journey into Night" opposite Laurence Olivier. In 1938, she played Katherine in "Goodbye, Mr Chips" on the London stage. She was acclaimed for her work in Oliver Goldsmith's "Good-Natured Man"; the lead role in Shaw's "Saint Joan"; and Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet". In the 1960s, she played the cruel Inez in Sartre's "Huis Clos".
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