Oscar-winning actress Eva Marie Saint, who starred in such unforgettable classic films as “On the Waterfront” and “North by Northwest,” died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. He was 102 years old.
One of the breakthrough talents of early television, the slender, small-boned actress won the Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1955 for “On the Waterfront,” making her the oldest living Oscar winner. She played Edie Doyle in the movie starring Marlon Brando; “Amidst scenes of carnage, it lends tenderness and tenderness to true romance,” the New York Times review read.
While raising her family from the late 1950s, Saint returned to acting intermittently, making many later stage and television appearances; most notably in the ABC series “Moonlighting” and later as Clark Kent’s stepmother in the 2006 film “Superman Returns.”
One of her most memorable roles was as the cool but seductive blonde spy in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 spy thriller “North by Northwest.” “Not only does she provide the requisite icy sex appeal as shady undercover agent Eve Kendall, but she also proves to be much more than your standard damsel in distress.” Diversity He wrote a thank you note on his 97th birthday.
The tribute continues: “Saint’s character has the ability to pull the wool over the eyes of malevolent villains and often stays two or three steps ahead of Grant’s hapless Madison Avenue executive Roger Thornhill.”
Saint made his television debut on “Camp Hoop La,” then became a series regular on “One Man’s Family.” He expanded his dramatic range with anthology series such as “Philco Playhouse,” “Robert Montgomery Presents” and “Studio One.” Highlights from this period include Paddy Chayevsky’s “Middle of the Night” (1954) and the musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” (1955), starring Paul Newman and Frank Sinatra (both shows earned him Emmy nominations); “Yellow Jack,” directed by Sidney Howard; and the drama “Claudia.”
In 1953, Saint starred opposite Lillian Gish in Horton Foote’s television play “The Trip to Bountiful,” which became the first TV series to be brought to Broadway (for 39 performances). Her “touching and beautifully sensitive performance,” as one New York critic described it, won the praise of Elia Kazan, who took on a role coveted by many veteran actresses opposite Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront.”
The 1954 Budd Schulberg drama was nominated for 12 Oscars and won eight, including best picture, actor, director and supporting actress for Saint.
But instead of tying himself to a studio contract, he returned to the theater with stock productions of “The Rainmaker” and “Desire Under the Elms.”
In 1956, she took the glamorous female lead role in “That Different Feeling” opposite Bob Hope, followed by “A Hatful of Rain” and the 1957 film version of “Raintree County.”
After “North by Northwest,” he starred in “Exodus” and “All Fall Down.” The last, directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Warren Beatty, saw him give one of his best dramatic performances.
In 1965, she was the enigmatic but scorned wife in the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton adultery tale “The Sandpiper,” and then in 1966 she appeared in a better vehicle in Norman Jewison’s comedy “The Russians Are Coming.” Her performance in the movie “Loving”, starring George Segal, was highly appreciated and considered her best work. Other roles include “36 Hours” and “Grand Prix”. With the exception of another Hope comedy, “Cancel My Reservation,” he spent most of the next two decades on television and on stage.
On Broadway, she starred in “The Lincoln Mask” in 1972, then in “The First Monday in October” with Henry Fonda in 1979. In 1983, he starred in the Chicago production of “Duet for One.” Her television credits include “School for Bachelors,” “A Carol for Another Christmas,” “The First Woman President,” “Mrs. Epenshade,” “Taxi” and the miniseries “How the West Was Won.” The last two roles also earned Emmy nominations.
Saint received critical acclaim for her roles in “A Christmas to Remember” opposite Jason Robards, “When Hell Was in Session”, “The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb”, “The Best Little Girl in the World”, “Malibu”, “My Antonia” and “Jane Doe”, among other roles.
The actress had a recurring role as Shepherd’s mother on the ABC series “Moonlighting,” starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis.
He returned to the big screen in 1986 with a role in the Tom Hanks-Jackie Gleason vehicle “Nothing in Common.”
Saint appeared in many TV movies throughout the 1990s; these included roles in “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Kiss of a Killer,” “After Jimmy” and “Open House,” as well as her role as Roz’s mother in “Frasier.” After four previous Emmy nominations, Saint finally received the statuette in 1990, winning a supporting actress Emmy for her role in the NBC miniseries “People Like Us.”
Saint returned to film in the 2000s, appearing in films such as “I Dreamed of Africa” (2000), “Because of Winn-Dixie” and “Don’t Knock on the Door” (2005), and 2006’s “Superman Returns,” in which she played Martha Kent. In 2014, he made his last appearance on the big screen in “Winter’s Tale”, written and directed by Akiva Goldsman.
Saint was born in Newark, NJ; The family later moved to Delmar, NY, near Albany. Planning to become a teacher, Saint attended Bowling Green State U. in Ohio, where he became interested in acting. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he began looking for acting work full-time, first in radio. He received his first paycheck ($10) by clapping on camera on “The Borden Show.” She did some modeling to make ends meet and then appeared in radio dramas such as “Rosemary” and “Young Doctor Malone.”
In 1947, he appeared in the movie “Mister Roberts,” but remained an understudy because director Joshua Logan thought he did not have enough experience. Jocelyn Brando played the roles. A year later he started working at the Actors Studio.
A testament to his talent in both film and television, Saint has two separate stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film and the other for TV. In 2000, Saint took time to pay homage to “North by Northwest” by hosting the TCM documentary “The Making of North by Northwest.”
He also starred in the documentary “Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There” in 2003 and “Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age” in 2011.
Nearly 55 years after winning “Waterfront,” Saint took the stage to present the Oscar for Supporting Actress at the 81st Academy Awards in 2009.
He was a long-time supporter of the Motion Picture and Television Fund and the Epilepsy Foundation of Los Angeles. An early proponent of the idea of no cellphones in cars, he created and distributed his own bumper sticker: “Get Off Your Phone or Get Off the Road.” He also served on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship Committee.
Her husband, TV director Jeffrey Hayden, died in 2016.
Survivors include his two children, Darrell and Laurette, his four grandchildren, Eli, Tyler, Molly and Stella, and his two great-grandchildren, Arlo and Finley.