Zamah Cunningham (November 29, 1892 – June 2, 1967) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She began her career appearing in uncredited bit parts for

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

, making her film debut in his 1924 silent feature, ''

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

''. She later had an extensive career on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, making her stage debut there in 1933's ''Give Us This Day''. Cunningham went on to appear in numerous stage plays over the following several decades, though she publicly commented that most of her plays were "flops." In her later career, she appeared in several films, including '' Dream Girl'' (1948), '' Here Come the Girls'' (1953), and ''

Baby the Rain Must Fall ''Baby the Rain Must Fall'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Lee Remick, Steve McQueen and Don Murray. Dramatist Horton Foote, who wrote the screenplay, based it on his 1954 play ''The Traveling Lady. ...

'' (1965). Beginning in 1956, she made several guest appearances as Angelina Manciotti, neighbor of the Kramdens on the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It f ...

''. Cunningham died at

Roosevelt Hospital Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The fa ...

in Manhattan in June 1967, aged 74.

Life and career

Cunningham was born in 1892 in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. At age two, she relocated with her family to

Carthage, Missouri Carthage is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,522 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jasper County and is nicknamed "America's Maple Leaf City." History Jasper County was formed in 1841. ...

. She began her career as a singer before relocating to New York City to study acting. After appearing in local stage productions, she was secured a working contract with

, appearing in uncredited bit parts in his films. In 1924, she made her film debut in Germany, appearing in Griffith's ''

''. She subsequently studied music in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and was given opportunity to appear in productions at the

Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, located between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and K ...

. She later returned to the United States, where she joined the Chicago Playhouse and appeared in regional productions. Cunningham made her

debut in 1933's ''Give Us This Day''. She went on to appear in over 20 Broadway productions over the following two decades, including '' On the Town'' (1944) and ''

The Shadow of a Gunman ''The Shadow of a Gunman'' is a 1923 tragicomedy play by Seán O'Casey set during the Irish War of Independence. It centres on the mistaken identity of a building tenant who is thought to be an IRA assassin. It is the first in O'Casey's "Dubli ...

'' (1958). Reflecting on her stage career in 1944, she commented: "In the past 20 years I've been in fifty plays—mostly flops." Later film roles included '' Dream Girl'' (1948), '' Key to the City'' (1950), and '' Here Come the Girls'' (1953). She made her final film appearance in ''

'' (1965). Cunningham spent her later life living at the Park Royal Hotel on 23 West 73rd Street in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

. In her early seventies, she suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

Death

Cunningham died at

in Manhattan on June 2, 1967. She was interred at Avilla Cemetery in

Avilla, Missouri Avilla is a rural village in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 103 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. Avilla is the fourth-oldest settlement in Jasper County today, fo ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Select stage credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Zamah 1892 births 1967 deaths Actresses from Portland, Oregon American film actresses American silent film actresses American stage actresses People from Carthage, Missouri Actresses from Missouri 20th-century American actresses