Mary Astor was born, Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke, on May 3, 1906 in Quincy, Illinois to a German immigrant father, Otto Ludwig Langhanke, and an American mother from Illinois, Helen Marie Vasconcellos, of Portuguese and Irish ancestry. Her parents were very ambitious for her as they recognized Mary's beauty and knowing if they played their cards right, they could make her famous. They understood that they wanted something better for their daughter than they had, so they made it happen by pushing Mary into various beauty contests. Luck was with Mary and her parents because one contest came to the attention of Hollywood moguls who signed her at the age of 14. Her first movie was a bit part in _The Scarecrow . Even though this was her final film, she had appeared in a phenomenal 123 motion pictures. Mary lived out her remaining days confined to the Motion Picture Country Home where she died of a heart attack on September 25, 1987 at the age of 81.
WAMPAS Baby Star on 1926.
Attended and graduated from Kenwood-Loring School in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1959, she penned her frank autobiography, "My Story", which was a bestseller, a tell-all in which she openly discussed her battle with alcohol and her failed marriages, but, interestingly, avoided the subject of her film career. In 1971, she also wrote five novels and came out with a memoir, "A Life on Film", in which she DID discuss her film career. This was also a bestseller.
Sister-in-law of Howard Hawks and William B. Hawks , cousin-in-law of Carole Lombard.
Acording to an August 1924 Topeka Capital article, Mary Astor (Lucille Langhanke) grew up and attended school in Topeka. Her father was a window dresser at the Crosby Brothers store.
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 38-40. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1999.
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6701 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
Gave birth to her daughter Marylyn two months premature on her yacht in Honolulu, Hawaii. Both mother and daughter almost lost their lives.
Lived with her close friend Florence Eldridge and her husband Fredric March following the sudden death of her husband Kenneth Hawks.
Her father Otto died in February 1943 of a heart attack and her mother Helen died in January 1947 of a heart ailment.
After shooting Little Women , Astor decided against renewing her contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as she had grown tired of playing humdrum mothers.
Lived with her son Tono in Fountain Valley, California after filming Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte until 1971 when she moved to a small cottage on the grounds of the Motion Picture and Television Country House in Woodland Hills due to her chronic heart condition.
Having suffered from alcoholism for 20 years, Astor finally checked into a sanitarium for alcoholics in 1949.
Converted to Roman Catholicism in 1951 following a suicide attempt.
Was almost fired from Dodsworth following the revelation of her affair with George S. Kaufman , but Samuel Goldwyn insisted she remain in the picture.
Bette Davis was originally cast as Sandra Kovak, the hot-tempered but talented pianist, in The Great Lie but instead opted for the smaller role of Maggie Van Allen in a bid to let her good friend Astor save her film career. As a result, Astor won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance.
Thanked both Bette Davis and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in her acceptance speech for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 1941 for The Great Lie .
According to "Reel Facts: The Movie Book of Records", Astor earned $500 per week in the early 1920s at Famous Players and rose to $3750 per week at 20th Century Fox during the 40 week 1928-1929 season.
She was a staunch liberal Democrat who was active in the womens chapter of the Hollywood Democratic Committee as well as the campaigns of such liberal presidents as Franklin D. Roosevelt , Harry Truman , Lyndon Johnson , John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter.
Had appeared with Henry ONeill in five films: The Kennel Murder Case , The World Changes , The Man with Two Faces , Upper World and Dinky (1935) .
Was the 17th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Great Lie at The 14th Academy Awards on February 26, 1942.
She died only seven days before her The Prisoner of Zenda co-star Madeleine Carroll.
Following her death, she was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Her nickname "Rusty" came from her dark auburn hair. One fan magazine described her hair color as "Titian, which photographs black, and her eyes are very dark".
In March 2014, she was honored as Turner Classic Movies Star of the Month.
Although "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte" will show as Miss Astors final film on a chronological list of her work, "Youngblood Hawke" was actually the last film she worked on. "Hawke" was released on November 4, 1964, before "Charlotte"; which was released about 7 weeks later, on December 24.
Became pregnant by her 1st husband Kenneth Hawks in July 1928 but she underwent an abortion.
Gave birth to her 1st child at age 26, a daughter Marylyn Hauoli Thorpe two months early in Hawaii on June 15, 1932. Childs father is her 2nd [ex] husband, Dr. Franklyn Thorpe.
Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 33, a son Anthony "Tono" Paul Del Campo five weeks early in California on June 5, 1939. Childs father is her 3rd [ex] husband, Manuel Del Campo.
Grandmother to Frances (b. March 11, 1951), Clare (b. July 16, 1955), Gabrielle (b. October 15, 1957) and John (b. November 28, 1961) via daughter Marylyn and her husband, Frank Roh.
Grandmother to Krystin (b. August 29, 1970) and Michael (b. December 11, 1974) via son Tono and his wife, Patrica Leuty.
Is one of 4 actresses to have won an Oscar for a movie where they acted out a labor, Astors being for The Great Lie . The others are Luise Rainer for The Good Earth , Kim Hunter for A Streetcar Named Desire and Brenda Fricker for My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown .
Is one of 6 actresses to have won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing a character who is pregnant at some point during the film, hers being for The Great Lie . The others are Kim Hunter for A Streetcar Named Desire , Mary Steenburgen for Melvin and Howard , Brenda Fricker for My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown , Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener , and Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls .
A painter paints, a musician plays, a writer writes - but a movie actor,waits.
[on her early Hollywood roles] I was as two-dimensional as the screen,itself: cool, indifferent, looking lovely in close-ups. Period. Period.
Once you start asking questions, innocence is gone.
A person without memory is either a child or an amnesiac. A country,without memory is neither a child nor an amnesiac, but neither is it a,country.
I admire nudity and I like sex, and so did a lot of people in the Thirties. But, to me, overexposure blunts the fun…Sex as something beautiful may soon disappear. Once it was a knife so finely honed the edge was invisible until it was touched and then it cut deep. Now it is so blunt that it merely bruises and leaves ugly marks. Nudity is fine in the privacy of my own bedroom with the appropriate partner. Or for a model in life class at art school. Or as portrayed in stone and paint. But I don’t like it used as a joke or to titillate. Or be so bloody frank about.
Once you start asking questions innocence is gone.
The man who goes fishing gets something more than the fish he catches. .
