The original Desdemona is no more

[Glenn Anders]

Elizabeth Owen Wilson was the daughter of Myrtle Owen, a silent film actress. She was a graduate of Hollywood High, and met our secret touchstone to Welles activities, John Huston, when she was working at a popular LA bookstore. Whether or not that was any connection to her subsequent marriage to Richard Wilson during the making of IT'S ALL TRUE in 1942, I cannot say, Alan, but she seems to "have grown up in the business."

Elizabeth Wilson had her first writing credit in 1951, which is about the time Betsy Blair's political troubles began. What, if any, motivation Elizabeth alleged HUAC informing may have given to Ms. Blair's leaving America is also murky. (I note many Wilson's mentioned in the hearings, but none by Elizabeth.) It is my impression that Blair's black listing had come, or at least begun, before she signed on to Welles' OTHELLO. She had gone to Europe in 1951, perhaps like Welles, to escape the troubles, hoping they would blow over. Several sources list Director Anatole Litvak, who had given her a small but remarked upon part in THE SNAKE PIT (1948), as the person who brought her to Welles' attention. She didn't work again until she made a BBC TV production of Othello (playing Bianca), four years later. It appears that Gene Kelly got her the Oscar nominated part in MARTY (also, 1955), after which she returned to Europe, divorcing Kelly in 1957.

I couldn't find an awful lot about Elizabeth Wilson, but I did come across an informative autobiographical piece by Richard Wilson, among a number of other such features, here:

http://groversmill.wordpress.com/2008/0 ... rd-wilson/

And, in general, about the 70th Anniversary Tribute here in San Francisco to Welles' "The War of the Worlds," which I missed completely:

http://groversmill.wordpress.com/

I did learn that Richard Wilson got his first Network Radio job as the loyal barking sled dog in the serial, "Re-n-n-FREW of the MOUNTED!" That program was a favorite of mine, as a kid.

[Alan, we have added to the tribute for Betsy Blair, I think.]

Glenn

[Alan Brody]

Thanks Glenn. We'll have to start a Richard Wilson thread one of these days.

[Harvey Chartrand]

Unlike Dorothy Comingore (Citizen Kane) and Philip Loeb (The Goldbergs) – both actors succumbed to despair... Loeb committed suicide and Comingore struggled with alcoholism, dying at age 58 after years of being denied work due to the Hollywood blacklist... Betsy Blair was financially independent and could ride out the Red Scare. She was married to Gene Kelly for 16 years. In fact, Kelly got her the role in Marty after the studio turned her down several times. But even though Betsy Blair was nominated for an Academy Award and Marty was a huge hit, she still couldn't find work in Hollywood. For "political reasons", she divorced Kelly and moved to Europe. A fascinating career arc somewhat reminiscent of that other "Hollywood lefty" Orson Welles, whose paths crossed when Welles also relocated to Europe, cast Blair as Desdemona in his film of Othello and then dropped her for the gorgeous blonde babe from Ottawa, Canada – Suzanne Cloutier.