Judith Evelyn (born Evelyn Morris;[2] March 20, 1909[2] – May 7, 1967) was an American-born Canadian-reared stage and film actress who appeared in around 50 films and television series.
Evelyn was born Evelyn Morris[2][3] in 1909 (later shaving four years off of her age) in Seneca, South Dakota, United States and raised in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.[3] She attended the University of Manitoba, where she was active in drama, and she developed her acting skills at Hart House at the University of Toronto.[4]
Her early stage experience included being a member of a Canadian Chautauqua unit in 1932. The next year, she performed with the Pasadena Community Playhouse in California.[5]
Evelyn appeared on Broadway in the following plays:
The Shrike as Ann Downs (January 15, 1952 – May 31, 1952)
Craig's Wife (February 12, 1947 – April 12, 1947) (revival)
The Rich Full Life (November 9, 1945 – December 1, 1945)
Angel Street as Bella Manningham (December 5, 1941 – December 30, 1944)
All of the four plays were made into films, but Evelyn did not appear in any of them. She did appear in other films, including the role as Miss Lonelyhearts, the lonely alcoholic in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window.[6] In 1956, Evelyn played the role of Nancy Lynnton in George Stevens' Giant. She had a brief performance as Queen Mother Taia in Michael Curtiz's The Egyptian and was featured with Vincent PriceinThe Tingler (1959).[7]
In the fall of 1958, Evelyn guest-starred as Clara Keller in the episode "Man in the Moon" of the docudrama Behind Closed Doors. The following year, in the episode "Double Reverse" on the Western series Tales of Wells Fargo.
On September 3, 1939, Evelyn and her fiancé, Canadian radio producer Andrew Allan, survived the sinking of the Anchor-Donaldson liner SSAthenia. The Athenia was the first British passenger liner to be torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in World War II. Mr. Allan's elderly father died in the aftermath of the disaster, when the lifeboat the three of them were in was accidentally sunk by a rescue ship.[9][10]
Evelyn, at age 58, died from cancer in New York City on May 7, 1967. She is interred at the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.[11]
^Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
