Shirley Booth

 Shirley Booth, born Marjory Ford (August 30, 1898 – October 16, 1992)

Primarily a theater actress, Booth began her career on Broadway in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received her first Tony Award in 1950 (she would go on to win two more). She made her film debut, reprising her role in the 1952 film version, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance. Despite her successful entry into films, she preferred acting on the stage, and made only four more films. From 1961-66, she played the title role in the sitcom Hazel, for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards. She was later acclaimed for her performance in the 1966 television production of The Glass Menagerie. Her final role was Mrs. Claus in the 1974 animated Christmas television special The Year Without a Santa Claus. Booth's final Broadway appearances were in a revival of Noël Coward's play Hay Fever and the musical Look to the Lilies, both in 1970. In 1971, she returned to Chicago to star opposite Gig Young in a revival of Harvey at the Blackstone Theater. Booth was married twice, and had no children. By the 1980s, Booth's health began to decline. She reportedly suffered a stroke that caused mobility issues and blindness. On October 16, 1992, Booth died at age 94 at her home in North Chatham, Massachusetts. After a private memorial service, Booth was interred with her second husband (U.S. Army Corporal William H. Baker, Jr.) in the Baker family plot in Mount Hebron Cemetery in Montclair, New Jersey.