Kim Hunter
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Kim Hunter | |
![]() in A Matter of Life and Death with David Niven |
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Birth name | Janet Cole |
Born | November 12, 1922 Detroit, Michigan, USA |
Died | September 11, 2002 aged 79 New York, New York, USA |
Notable roles | Zira in Planet of the Apes Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire June in A Matter of Life and Death |
Academy Awards | |
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Best Supporting Actress 1951 A Streetcar Named Desire |
Kim Hunter (November 12, 1922 – September 11, 2002) was an Academy Award-winning American film and stage actress.
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[edit] Early life
Hunter was born Janet Cole in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Donald Cole and Grace Lind. She attended Miami Beach High School.
[edit] Career
Hunter performed in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), playing the role of Stella Kowalski. She appeared in the 1951 film, for which she won both the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture.
She was blacklisted from film and television during the Hollywood communism paranoia created by McCarthyism.
Her other major film roles include David Niven's fiancee in the classic film A Matter of Life and Death (1946), and Zira the chimpanzee scientist in the first three of the Planet of the Apes series. She also appeared in several soap operas, most notably as Nola Madison on The Edge of Night, for which she received a Daytime Emmy Nomination in 1980 as Best Actress.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Kim Hunter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1617 Vine Street and a second star at 1715 Vine Street.
Many may not realize that Kim Hunter also played the role of Betty Harty in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Although her role was small, her presence in this landmark film, that featured the unique culture of Savannah, Georgia as the backdrop for a real-life drama and murder trial of James "Jim" Wilson, was undoubtedly a surprise for her committed fans. In Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Hunter played alongside other notable actors such as Kevin Spacey, John Cusack, and Jude Law.
[edit] Death
In 2002, Kim Hunter died of cardiac arrest in New York City at the age of 79.
[edit] Selected Filmography
- Born Innocent (1974) (TV movie)
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
- The Swimmer (1968)
- Planet of the Apes (1968)
- A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
- A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
- A Canterbury Tale (1944) (US version only)
- When Strangers Marry (1944)
- The Seventh Victim (1943)
Awards | ||
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Preceded by Josephine Hull for Harvey |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 1951 for A Streetcar Named Desire |
Succeeded by Gloria Grahame for The Bad and the Beautiful |