Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes MacArthur (née Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993)[1] was an American actress whose career spanned 82 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award (an EGOT). She was also the first person to win the Triple Crown of Acting. Hayes also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, from President Ronald Reagan in 1986.[2] In 1988, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
For other people named Helen Hayes, see Helen Hayes (disambiguation).
Helen Hayes
October 10, 1900
March 17, 1993 (aged 92)
Actress
1905–1987
The annual Helen Hayes Awards, which have recognized excellence in professional theatre in greater Washington, D.C., since 1984, are her namesake. In 1955, the former Fulton Theatre on 46th Street in New York City's Theatre District was renamed the Helen Hayes Theatre. When that venue was torn down in 1982, the nearby Little Theatre was renamed in her honor. Helen Hayes is regarded as one of the greatest leading ladies of the 20th-century theatre.[3]
Early life[edit]
Helen Hayes Brown was born in Washington, D.C., on October 10, 1900. Her mother, Catherine Estelle "Essie" (née Hayes), was an aspiring actress who worked in touring companies.[4][5] Her father, Francis van Arnum Brown, worked at a number of jobs, including as a clerk at the Washington Patent Office and as a manager and salesman for a wholesale butcher.[5][6] Hayes's Catholic maternal grandparents emigrated from Ireland during the Great Famine.[7] Hayes attended Dominican Academy's prestigious primary school, on Manhattan's Upper East Side, from 1910 to 1912, appearing there in The Old Dutch, Little Lord Fauntleroy, and other performances. She attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart Convent in Washington and graduated in 1917.[8]
Personal life[edit]
Hayes was a Catholic[16][17] and a Republican who attended many Republican National Conventions (including the one held in New Orleans in 1988), but she was not as politically vocal as several other Republicans (e.g., Adolphe Menjou, Ginger Rogers, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, etc.) in the Hollywood community of that time.
Hayes delivered a seconding speech to George H. W. Bush's nomination during the roll call at the 1988 Republican National Convention.[18]
Hayes wrote three memoirs: A Gift of Joy, On Reflection, and My Life in Three Acts. Some of these books' themes include her return to Roman Catholicism (she had been denied communion from the Church for the duration of her marriage to Charles MacArthur, who was a divorced Protestant); and the polio-related death of her 19-year-old daughter, Mary (1930–1949), an aspiring actress. Hayes's adopted son, James MacArthur (1937–2010), had a successful career in acting, including as co-star to Jack Lord in Hawaii Five-O.[19] Hayes guest-starred on Hawaii Five-O in the 1975 episode "Retire in Sunny Hawaii... Forever". She and her son appeared in The Love Boat episode "No Girls for Doc/Marriage of Convenience/The Caller/The Witness".
Hayes was hospitalized a number of times for asthma, which was aggravated by stage dust, forcing her to retire from theater in 1971, at age 71.[20][1]
Her last Broadway show was a 1970 revival of Harvey, in which she co-starred with James Stewart. Clive Barnes wrote, "She epitomizes flustered charm almost as if it were a style of acting ... She is one of those actors ... where to watch how she is doing something is almost as pleasurable as what she is doing."[21] She spent most of her last years writing and raising money for organizations that fight asthma.
Death[edit]
Hayes died on March 17, 1993, of congestive heart failure in Nyack, New York. Hayes's friend Lillian Gish, the "First Lady of American Cinema", was the designated beneficiary of her estate, but Gish had died only 18 days earlier. Hayes was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Nyack[25] and was survived by her son, James Gordon MacArthur, and four grandchildren: Charles P. MacArthur, Mary McClure, Juliette Rappaport, and James D. MacArthur.[19] In 2011, she was honored with a US postage stamp.[26]