Profile of Maureen O'Sullivan on Famous Like Me

Maureen O’Sullivan (May 17, 1911 – June 23, 1998) was an Irish actress.

She was born Maureen Paula O'Sullivan in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Charles Joseph O'Sullivan and Mary Frazer.

She attended a convent school in Dublin, then the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Roehampton in London. One of her classmates there was Vivien Leigh. After attending finishing school in France, O'Sullivan returned to Dublin and began working with the poor.

She then met the motion picture director Frank Borzage, who was doing location filming on Song o' My Heart for 20th Century Fox. He suggested she take a screen test. She did and won a part in the movie, which starred Irish tenor John McCormack. She then traveled to the United States with her mother to complete the movie in Hollywood.

O'Sullivan appeared in six movies at Fox, then made three more at other movie studios. In 1932, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After several roles there and at other movie studios, she was chosen by Irving Thalberg to appear as "Jane Parker" in Tarzan the Ape Man opposite co-star Johnny Weissmuller.

Besides playing Jane, she was one of the more popular ingenues at MGM throughout the 1930s and appeared in a number of other productions with various stars.

O'Sullivan was first married to Australian-born writer, later award-winning director, and Catholic convert John Farrow (September 12, 1936-1963 his death). She was a widow for twenty years, then married James Cushing (August 22, 1983-1998 her death).

She and Farrow were the parents of seven children: Michael Farrow, Patrick Farrow, Maria Farrow (actress Mia Farrow), John Farrow, Prudence Farrow, Theresa "Tisa" Farrow and Stephanie Farrow.

In all, O'Sullivan played Jane, mate of Tarzan, in six features between (1932) and (1942). She did not mind doing the first two jungle movies, but feared being typecast and grew increasingly tired of the role.

She also starred with William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man (1934) and played Kitty in Anna Karenina (1935) with Greta Garbo and Basil Rathbone. She appeared as Molly Beaumont in A Yank at Oxford (1938), which was written partly by F. Scott Fitzgerald. At her request, he rewrote her part to give it substance and novelty. She played another Jane in Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, and supported Ann Sothern in Maisie Was a Lady (1941).

After appearing in Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942), O'Sullivan asked MGM to release her from her contract so she could care for her husband who had just left the Navy with typhoid. She then retired from show business, devoting her time to being a wife and mother.

In (1948), she re-appeared on the screen in The Big Clock for Paramount Studios, which was directed by her husband. She continued to appear occasionally in her husband's movies and on television. By 1960, she believed she had permanently retired. Then fellow Irish thespian Pat O'Brien encouraged her to take a part in summer stock. The play, A Roomful of Roses, opened in 1961. That led to another play, Never Too Late, in which she co-starred with Paul Ford in what was her Broadway debut. Shortly after it opened on Broadway, John Farrow died of a heart attack.

Sadly, O'Sullivan also had to endure being predeceased by her eldest son, Michael, who died in a car crash in California.

O'Sullivan stuck with acting after the death of her husband. She was the Today Girl for NBC for a while, then she made the movie version of Never Too Late (1965) for Warner Bros.. She was also an executive director of a bridal consulting service, Wediquette International.

When her daughter, Mia Farrow, became involved with Woody Allen both professionally and romantically, O'Sullivan appeared in a couple of his movies playing Farrow's mother. She had important roles in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), starring Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage, and the sci-fi oddity Stranded (1987).

In (1994), she appeared with Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers in Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is, a feature-length made for TV movie with the wealthy husband-and-wife team from the popular weekly detective series.

Maureen O'Sullivan died in Scottsdale, Arizona aged 87, of complications from heart surgery. She is buried in the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery at Schenectady, New York.

She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

Filmography

• Song o' My Heart (1930) (20th Century Fox) ... Eileen O'Brien
• Just Imagine (1930) (20th Century Fox) ... LN-18
• So This Is London (1930) (20th Century Fox) ... Elinor Worthing
• Princess and the Plumber (1930) (20th Century Fox) ... Princess Louise
• A Connecticut Yankee (1931) (20th Century Fox) ... Alisande
• Skyline (1931) (20th Century Fox) ... Kathleen Kearny
• The Big Shot (1931) (RKO Pathe) ... Doris
• Okay, America! (1932) (Universal) ... Sheila Barton
• The Silver Lining (1932) (United Artists) ... Joyce Moore
• Skyscraper Souls (1932) (MGM) ... Lynn Harding
• Strange Interlude (1932) (MGM) ... Madeline Arnold
• Fast Companions (1932) (Universal) ... Sally
• Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) (MGM) ... Jane Parker
• Payment Deferred (1932) (MGM) ... Winnie Marble
• Robbers' Roost (1933) (20th Century Fox) ... Helen Herrick
• The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble (1933) (Universal) ... Molly Kelly
• Stage Mother (1933) (MGM) ... Shirley Lorraine
• Tugboat Annie (1933) (MGM) ... Patricia "Pat" Severn
• The Bishop Misbehaves (1933) (MGM) ... Hester Grantham
• The Thin Man (1934) (MGM) ... Dorothy Wynant
• The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) (MGM) ... Henrietta Barrett
• Hide-Out (1934) (MGM) ... Pauline Miller
• Tarzan and His Mate (1934) (MGM) ... Jane Parker
• Woman Wanted (1935) (MGM) ... Ann Gray
• Cardinal Richelieu (1935) (United Artists) ... Lenore
• West Point of the Air (1935) (MGM) ... "Skip" Carter
• Anna Karenina (1935) (MGM) ... Kitty
• The Flame Within (1935) (MGM) ... Linda Belton
• David Copperfield (1935) (MGM) ... Dora
• The Voice of Bugle Ann (1936) (MGM) ... Camden Terry
• The Devil-Doll (1936) (MGM) ... Lorraine Lavond
• Tarzan Escapes (1936) (MGM) ... Jane
• My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937) (MGM) ... Martha Aldrich
• A Day at the Races (1937) (MGM) ... Judy Standish
• The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937) (MGM) ... Maria Orlich
• Between Two Women (1937) (MGM) ... Claire Donahue
• Spring Madness (1938) (MGM) ... Alexandra Benson
• Port of Seven Seas (1938) (MGM) ... Madelon
• Hold That Kiss (1938) ... June "Junie" Evans
• The Crowd Roars (1938) (MGM) ... Sheila Carson
• A Yank at Oxford (1938) (MGM) ... Molly Beaumont
• Let Us Live! (1939) (Columbia) ... Mary Roberts
• Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939) (MGM) ... Jane
• Sporting Blood (1940) (MGM) ... Linda Lockwood
• Pride and Prejudice (1940) (MGM) ... Jane Bennet
• Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941) (MGM) ... Jane
• Maisie Was a Lady (1941) (MGM) ... Abigail "Abby" Rawlston
• Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942) (MGM) ... Jane
• The Big Clock (1948) (Paramount) ... Georgette Stroud
• Where Danger Lives (1950) (RKO) ... Julie Dawn
• No Resting Place (1951) (Classic, Associated British) ... Nan Kyle
• Bonzo Goes to College (1952) (Universal) ... Marion Drew
• All I Desire (1953) (Universal) ... Sara Harper
• Mission Over Korea (1953) (Columbia) ... Nancy Slocum
• Duffy of San Quentin (1954) (Warner Bros.) ... Gladys Duffy
• The Steel Cage (1954) (United Artists) ... Gladys Duffy
• The Tall T (1957) (Columbia) ... Doretta Mims
• Wild Heritage (1958) (Universal) ... Emma Breslin
• Never Too Late (1965) (Warner Bros.) ... Edith Lambert
• The Phynx (1970) (Warner Bros.) ... Cameo
• Mandy's Grandmother (1978) (Film Short) (Andrew Sugarman) ... Grandmother
• Too Scared to Scream (1985) (Movie Store, Doorman) ... Inez Hardwick
• Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) (MGM) ... Norma
• Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) (Tri-Star) ... Elizabeth Alvorg
• Stranded (1987) (New Line) ... Grace Clark

Notable television appearances

• Today (1952) (TV series) ... Herself - Today Girl (1963-1964)
• The Crooked Hearts (1972) (TV) ... Lillian Stanton
• The Great Houdini (1976) (Made for TV) ... Lady Conan Doyle
• All My Children (1970) (TV soap opera) ... Olive Whelan (1981)
• Good Ole Boy: A Delta Boyhood (1988) (Made for TV) ... Aunt Sue
• With Murder in Mind (1992) (TV) ... Aunt Mildred
• The Habitation of Dragons (1992) (Made for TV) ... Helen Taylor
• Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is (1994) (Made for TV) ... Eleanor Biddlecomb

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