Helen Craig (May 13, 1912 – July 20, 1986) was an American actress, perhaps best known for her role on Broadway as the main character, Belinda, in ''
Johnny Belinda''.
Early years
The daughter of copper executive Edward A. Craig, Helen Craig was born on May 13, 1912 in San Antonio, Texas. She had a sister, Marian, and two brothers, Robert and Edward Jr.
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Television
As well as films, Craig appeared in numerous plays, and on television she had frequent appearances in ''The Waltons
''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...
'', '' Kojak'' and '' The Bionic Woman''.
Stage
Craig was "a graduate of the Orson Welles' celebrated Mercury Theatre". Her Broadway credits include ''Russet Mantle'' (1936), ''Soliloquy'' (1938), '' The Unconquered'' (1940), ''Johnny Belinda'' (1940), ''As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 h ...
'' (1941), '' Lute Song'' (1946), ''Land's End'' (1946), ''The House of Bernarda Alba
''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not incl ...
'' (1951), ''Diamond Orchid'' (1965), and '' More Stately Mansions'' (1967).
Her work in ''Johnny Belinda'' required her to learn sign language, which she used throughout the play as she portrayed the deaf title character. She also had to learn to not react to lines spoken by other actors in the play. Preparation for the role included four weeks' study with a teacher who read the script and taught Craig the appropriate signs.
Personal life
Craig was married to actor John Beal from 1934 until her death.[ ][ ]
Death
Craig died of cardiac arrest on July 20, 1986 in New York City, aged 74.[ ]
Partial filmography
* '' The Snake Pit'' (1948)
* '' They Live by Night'' (1948)
* ''The Sporting Club
''The Sporting Club'' is the 1968 debut novel of author Thomas McGuane.
Plot summary
''The Sporting Club'' chronicles the friendship and rivalry of Vernor Stanton, an unstable patrician iconoclast, and the protagonist, Stanton's lifelong friend, J ...
'' (1971)
* '' Rancho Deluxe'' (1975)
* '' The Legend of Lizzie Borden'' (1975)
* '' Heroes'' (1977)
References
External links
*
1912 births
1986 deaths
Actresses from San Antonio
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
20th-century American actresses
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