Gale Sondergaard

Actor

About

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Also Known As

Edith Holm Sondergaard

Birth Place

Litchfield, Minnesota, USA

Born

February 15, 1899

Died

August 14, 1985

Biography

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Gifted, successful NY stage actress in Hollywood from 1934, primarily as Hollywood's premiere scene-stealing exotic villainess. A tall, dark-haired performer capable of displaying the haughty disdain of a New England Puritan ("Maid of Salem" 1937), the suspicious sneer of a haunted mansion's housekeeper ("The Cat and the Canary" 1939) or the feline deception of a cat-turned-human ("The B...

Filmography

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The Return Of A Man Called Horse (1976)

Pleasantville (1976)

Hollywood On Trial (1976)

The Cat Creature (1973)

New Orleans lady

Photos & Videos

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Blue Bird, The (1940) -- (Movie Clip) I Always Knew You Were A Fool!

Lord Jeff (1938) -- (Movie Clip) Darjeeling Is Not Hot

Family & Companions

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Herbert Biberman

Husband

Director. Married 1930 until his death in 1971; second husband; one of the Hollywood Ten summoned by HUAC to be questioned about possible past membership in the American Communist Party; perhaps best known for the banned film, "Salt of the Earth" (1954), about poor Mexican workers.

Biography

Gifted, successful NY stage actress in Hollywood from 1934, primarily as Hollywood's premiere scene-stealing exotic villainess. A tall, dark-haired performer capable of displaying the haughty disdain of a New England Puritan ("Maid of Salem" 1937), the suspicious sneer of a haunted mansion's housekeeper ("The Cat and the Canary" 1939) or the feline deception of a cat-turned-human ("The Bluebird" 1940) with equal ease, Sondergaard also performed very well in such occasional sympathetic parts as Mrs. Dreyfus in "The Life of Emile Zola" (1937). She was memorable as one of Sherlock Holmes's most cunning nemeses in "Spider Woman" (1944). Politically active, and married to "Hollywood Ten" member Herbert Biberman, Sondergaard was blacklisted in the late 1940s but returned to act in several films of the late 60s and 70s as well as star in a one-woman off-Broadway show, "Woman." Her 1936 best supporting actress Academy Award (for "Anthony Adverse," her first film) was the first to be given in that category.

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

The Return Of A Man Called Horse (1976)

Pleasantville (1976)

Hollywood On Trial (1976)

The Cat Creature (1973)

New Orleans lady

East Side, West Side (1950)

Road to Rio (1947)

Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Señorita de Sola

Anna and the King of Siam (1946)

The Time of Their Lives (1946)

The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946)

Zenobia Dollard

A Night in Paradise (1946)

The Climax (1944)

Follow the Boys (1944)

Gypsy Wildcat (1944)

The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)

Irene, Lady Herrick

Christmas Holiday (1944)

Enter Arsene Lupin (1944)

Cousin Bessie Seagrave

The Spider Woman (1944)

Appointment in Berlin (1943)

Gretta Van Leyden

Crazy House (1943)

Isle of Forgotten Sins (1943)

The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler (1943)

Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (1942)

A Night to Remember (1942)

My Favorite Blonde (1942)

Mme. Stephanie Runick

Paris Calling (1942)

The Black Cat (1941)

The Mark of Zorro (1940)

The Blue Bird (1940)

The Letter (1940)

Empress Eugenie

Never Say Die (1939)

The Cat and the Canary (1939)

The Llano Kid (1939)

Dramatic School (1938)

Lord Jeff (1938)

Maid of Salem (1937)

Martha, his wife

Seventh Heaven (1937)

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Anthony Adverse (1936)

Faith Paleologus

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

Hollywood On Trial (1976)

Cast (Short)

The Making of a Great Motion Picture (1936)

Life Events

1936

Made screen debut in "Anthony Adverse"

1949

Last film before being blacklisted, "East Side, West Side"

1969

Returned to screen after blacklisting in "Slaves" (written and directed by husband)

1970

Played Amanda Key on the ABC serial drama, "The Best of Everything"

1976

Appeared as herself in the documentary film, "Hollywood on Trial"

1980

Last film, "Echoes"

Photo Collections

The Cat and the Canary (1939) - Publicity Stills

The Cat and the Canary (1939) - Publicity Stills

Anthony Adverse - Scene Stills

Here are some scene stills from Warner Bros' Anthony Adverse (1936), directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Fredric March and Olivia de Havilland.

Videos

Blue Bird, The (1940) -- (Movie Clip) I Always Knew You Were A Fool! Just now transformed from the family cat and dog, Gale Sondergaard and Eddie Collins don’t agree on whether to aid the children (Shirley Temple as Mytyl, Johnny Russell as Tyltyl), guided by the spirit “Light” (Helen Ericson), in their search, in The Blue Bird, 1940, from a Maurice Maeterlinck story.

Lord Jeff (1938) -- (Movie Clip) Darjeeling Is Not Hot Early events, young Lord Geoffrey (Freddie Bartholomew) from India is visited by Inspector Scott (Matthew Boulton), after a trip with his governess to a London jeweler ended strangely, the first sign of funny business, with Gale Sondergaard and George Zucco on the phone, in MGM's Lord Jeff, 1938.

Letter, The (1940) -- (Movie Clip) Mrs. Hammond Wind chimes augment the near-silent Mrs. Hammond (Gale Sondergaard) as she demands her money and something more from Leslie (Bette Davis), lawyer Howard (James Stephenson) and his aide (Sen Yung) in The Letter, 1940.

Mark Of Zorro, The (1940) -- (Movie Clip) I Toy With A Sword Just introduced Captain Pasquale (Basil Rathbone) receives Don Diego (Tyrone Power, also the title character), just back to California from Spain, and not tipping his hand, as he meets the new governor and his wife (J. Edward Bromberg, Gale Sondergaard), in The Mark Of Zorro, 1940.

Mark Of Zorro, The (1940) -- (Movie Clip) I Take Only Your Money We know only that California nobleman Don Diego (Tyrone Power) is alarmed at the corruption he has found on his return from Spain, when this masked rider appears, then robs the crooked governor and his wife (J. Edward Bromberg, Gale Sondergaard), in Rouben Mamoulian's The Mark Of Zorro, 1940.

Anthony Adverse (1936) -- (Movie Clip) Into Sturdy Manhood Text advances the story at least ten years and introduces leads Fredric March and Olivia de Havilland 40 minutes into the picture, as the title character and ward of merchant Bonnyfeather (Edmund Gwenn), and the daughter of his servants, in Livorno ca. 1800, in Anthony Adverse, 1936.

Anthony Adverse (1936) -- (Movie Clip) He's Won The Lottery! Much tumult in Napoleonic-era Italy, as lovers Fredric March (title character) and Olivia De Havilland (as "Angela") learn that her servant father (Luis Alberni) has won the lottery, irritating his employer Bonnyfeather (Edmund Gwenn), in Anthony Adverse, 1936.

Cat And The Canary, The (1939) -- (Movie Clip) There Are Spirits All Around You Bob Hope as Wally joins fellow potential heirs at the spooky Louisiana mansion, George Zucco the lawyer, Gale Sondergaard the housekeeper, with Elizabeth Patterson, Nydia Westman, Douglass Montgomery and John Beal, then Paulette Goddard's entrance, in the horror-comedy The Cat And The Canary, 1939.

Cat And The Canary, The (1939) -- (Movie Clip) Is He A Dangerous Maniac? After the reading of their ancestor's will in his bayou home, Bob Hope as Wally, with Nydia Westman, George Zucco the lawyer, John Beal, Elizabeth Patterson, Paulette Goddard who got the money, Douglass Montgomery and John Wray, the guard bringing scary news, in the horror spoof The Cat And The Canary, 1939.

Time Of Their Lives, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) It's You They're After Revolutionary War ghosts Horatio (Lou Costello) and Melody (Marjorie Reynolds), stirred to action by the arrival of Bud Abbott (as a descendant of Lou's old romantic rival) and friends at their Long Island estate, discovering their powers, Gale Sondergaard an attuned servant, in The Time Of Their Lives, 1946.

East Side, West Side (1949) -- (Movie Clip) Tempo Of The City Opening sequence, Barbara Stanwyck as "Jessie" narrates, introducing her husband Brandon (James Mason), mother Nora (Gale Sondergaard) and her second husband Horace (Raymond Greenleaf), setting up the complex melodrama East Side, West Side, 1950, co-starring Ava Gardner and Van Heflin.

Anthony Adverse - (Original Trailer) Seven Oscar nominations went to Anthony Adverse (1936), Warner Brothers' adaptation of the best selling novel about 18th-Century Italy.

Juarez - (Original Trailer) Paul Muni and Bette Davis star in Juarez (1939), the true story of Mexico's great leader and his fight against Napoleon's empire

My Favorite Blonde - (Original Trailer) Bob Hope gets mixed up with a beautiful blonde spy in My Favorite Blonde (1942), a takeoff of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935).

Time Of Their Lives, The - (Original Trailer) Lou Costello is a Revolutionary War ghost trying to clear his name in the unusual Abbott & Costello comedy The Time Of Their Lives (1946).

Letter, The - (Original Trailer) Bette Davis pumps bullets into a man's body. Was it self-defense? Only The Letter (1940) can answer.

Life of Emile Zola, The - (Original Trailer) A famed writer risks his reputation to defend a Jewish army officer accused of treason in The Life of Emile Zola (1937).

Dramatic School - (Original Trailer) Luise Rainer, Paulette Goddard and Lana Turner all go back to Dramatic School (1938).

Family

Mrs John Campos

Daughter

Daniel Hans Biberman

Son

Talent agent. Served as mother's agent in the 1970s.

Companions

Herbert Biberman

Husband

Director. Married 1930 until his death in 1971; second husband; one of the Hollywood Ten summoned by HUAC to be questioned about possible past membership in the American Communist Party; perhaps best known for the banned film, "Salt of the Earth" (1954), about poor Mexican workers.

Bibliography

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