Kim Hunter (born Janet Cole; November 11, 1922 – September 11, 2002) was an American theatre, film, and television

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She achieved prominence for portraying Stella Kowalski in the original production of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

' ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of per ...

'', which she reprised for the 1951 film adaptation, and won both an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

for Best Supporting Actress. Decades later, she was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for her work on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

'' The Edge of Night''. She also portrayed the

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative t ...

Zira in ''Planet of the Apes'' (1968), and its sequels '' Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' (1970) and '' Escape from the Planet of the Apes'' (1971).

Early life

Hunter was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, the daughter of Grace Lind, who was trained as a concert pianist, and Donald Cole, a refrigeration engineer. She was of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

descent. Hunter attended Miami Beach High School.

Career

Hunter's first film role was in the 1943

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

'' The Seventh Victim'', and her first starring role was in the 1946 British fantasy film '' A Matter of Life and Death''. In 1947, she was Stella Kowalski on stage in the original Broadway production of ''A Streetcar Named Desire.'' Recreating that role in the 1951 film version, Hunter won both the Academy and

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

awards for Best Supporting Actress. In the interim, however, in 1948, she had already joined with ''Streetcar'' co-stars

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

, Karl Malden, and 47 others, to become one of the first members accepted by the newly created Actors Studio. In 1952, Hunter became

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

's leading lady in '' Deadline USA.'' Hunter was blacklisted from film and television in the 1950s, amid suspicions of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

in Hollywood, during the era of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). In 1956, with the HUAC's influence subsiding, she co-starred in

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ...

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

-winning teleplay on ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of th ...

'', "

Requiem for a Heavyweight "Requiem for a Heavyweight" is a teleplay written by Rod Serling and produced for the live television show ''Playhouse 90'' on 11 October 1956. Six years later, it was adapted as a 1962 feature film starring Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey R ...

". The telecast won multiple

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s, including Best Single Program of the Year. She appeared opposite

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

in the 1957 live CBS-TV broadcast of '' The Comedian,'' another drama written by Rod Serling and directed by John Frankenheimer. In 1959, she appeared in '' Rawhide'' in "Incident of the Misplaced Indians" as Amelia Spaulding. In 1962, she appeared in the NBC

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the characters' jobs and portray som ...

'' The Eleventh Hour'' in the role of Virginia Hunter in the episode "Of Roses and Nightingales and Other Lovely Things". In 1963, Hunter appeared as Anita Anson on the ABC medical drama '' Breaking Point'' in the episode "Crack in an Image". In 1964 Hunter appeared in the 'Alfred Hitchcock Hour' episode "The Evil of Adelaide Winters" in the title role. In 1965, she appeared twice as Emily Field in the NBC TV medical series '' Dr. Kildare''. In 1967, she appeared in the pilot episode of '' Mannix''. On February 4, 1968, she appeared as Ada Halle in the NBC TV Western series ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

'' in the episode "The Price of Salt". Her other major film roles include the love interest of David Niven's character in the film '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946), and Zira, the sympathetic

scientist in the 1968 film ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'' and two sequels. She also appeared in several radio and TV soap operas, most notably as Hollywood actress Nola Madison in ABC's '' The Edge of Night,'' for which she received a

nomination as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1980. In 1979, she appeared as First Lady Ellen Axson Wilson in the serial drama '' Backstairs at the White House.'' Hunter starred in the controversial TV movie '' Born Innocent'' (1974) playing the mother of

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The film ...

's character. She also starred in several episodes of the '' CBS Radio Mystery Theater'' during the mid-1970s. In 1971, she appeared in an episode of ''

Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

.'' In the same year, she starred in a ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC fr ...

'' episode "Suitable for Framing". In 1973, she appeared twice on Lorne Greene's short-lived ABC crime drama '' Griff,'' including the episode "The Last Ballad", in which she portrayed Dr. Martha Reed, a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

held by police in the death of a patient. In 1974, she appeared on Raymond Burr's '' Ironside''. In 1977, she appeared on the NBC Western series '' The Oregon Trail'' starring

Rod Taylor Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including '' The Time Machine'' (1960), '' One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and '' ...

, in the episode "The Waterhole", which also featured

Lonny Chapman Lon Leonard Chapman (October 1, 1920 – October 12, 2007) was an American actor best known for his numerous guest star appearances on television drama series. Early years Chapman was the son of Elmer and Eunice Chapman, He was born on Oc ...

. Hunter's last film role in a major motion picture was in

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

's 1997 film, ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil''. In it, Hunter portrayed Betty Harty, legal secretary for real-life

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

lawyer Sonny Seiler.

Personal life

Hunter was married twice, first to William Baldwin, a Marine Corps pilot, in 1944. The couple had a daughter, Kathryn Deirdre (b. 1944), before divorcing two years later. She wed Robert Emmett in 1951. They had a son, Sean Robert, in 1954. Hunter and Emmett would occasionally perform together in stage plays; he died in 2000. Hunter was a lifelong progressive Democrat. She died in New York City on September 11, 2002, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at the age of 79. Her ashes were given to her daughter—an attorney, civic leader, and former judge in Connecticut—after cremation.

Legacy

Hunter received two stars on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

, one for motion pictures at 1615 Vine Street and a second for television at 1715 Vine Street.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * *
Kim Hunter scripts and rehearsal notes, 1957–1993
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Kim Hunter papers, Additions 1925-2000
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Kim 1922 births 2002 deaths American film actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American people of English descent American people of Welsh descent Art Students League of New York alumni Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Donaldson Award winners Hollywood blacklist Miami Beach Senior High School alumni Actresses from Detroit 20th-century American actresses New York (state) Democrats Michigan Democrats California Democrats