Susan Blanchard (née Jacobson; born March 8, 1928) is an American

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having tradit ...

and former lyricist and theatrical producer. She was the stepdaughter of

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight ...

, the third wife of actor

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

, with whom she adopted a daughter, Amy Fishman (born 1953), and the second wife of actor

Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, ''Kiss of Death'' (1947) ...

Background

The younger child of Dorothy Kiaora Blanchard, a native of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, and Henry Jacobson, a New York businessman, Susan Jacobson took her mother's surname after her parents' divorce and was known as Susan Blanchard thereafter. She studied at

The Shipley School , motto_translation = Courage for the deed; Grace for the doing , address = 814 Yarrow Street , location = , region = , city = Bryn Mawr , county = , st ...

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh language, Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, Radnor Township and Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, Haverford Township in Delaw ...

.Fonda, A. Mark
"Notable Fondas"
fonda.org, May 20, 2006; accessed April 21, 2018.

Personal life

Blanchard has been married four times, the first three marriages ending in divorce. Her first marriage was to actor

on December 27, 1950, and lasted until their divorce in May 1956. Peter Fonda told the ''Daily Express'' in 2014, "We were living in Rome and she came down to breakfast and told us. I was devastated and cried and she said, 'I'm young, I want to dance and tell jokes. I need to cut loose.' And I knew exactly what she meant." Her second marriage was to another actor, Michael Wager, in 1962, with whom she had a son. Her fourth marriage was in 1999 to actor and producer

, to whom she remained married until his death on March 24, 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Susan 1928 births Living people 20th-century American people 21st-century American people 20th-century American women 21st-century American women American lyricists American people of Australian descent Place of birth missing (living people) American socialites American theatre managers and producers Hammerstein family (show business) Musicians from New York City Songwriters from New York (state) Fonda family Shipley School alumni