Biography
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Overview (5) |
Mini Bio (1) |
Spouse (2) |
Trade Mark (2) |
Trivia (12) |
Personal Quotes (4)
Overview (5)
| Date of Birth | 16 March 1916 , Joliet, Illinois, USA |
| Date of Death | 2 March 2004 , La Jolla, California, USA (natural causes) |
| Birth Name | Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge |
| Nickname | Mercy |
| Height | 5' 3" (1.6 m) |
Mini Bio (1)
A highly talented radio performer, who then appeared on the
big screen, winning a best supporting Oscar for her screen debut.
Although despite a career full of supporting roles, in recent years she
has become something of a cult figure. Her memorable voice-over for the
demon child in The Exorcist
(1973) - has secured her place in movie history. Ironically, she took
Warner Bros to court over her being uncredited for the role, which was
probably the most important in the film.
Since the early 1980s Mercedes enjoyed a quiet retirement. She was a special guest star at the 70th Annual Anniversary Academy Awards in 1998 along with many other Oscar winners. Mercedes also made special television appearances to discuss her role in The Exorcist (1973) at the 30th Anniversary of the films release.
She died in La Jolla in California on 2nd March 2004 from natural causes.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bobby G
Since the early 1980s Mercedes enjoyed a quiet retirement. She was a special guest star at the 70th Annual Anniversary Academy Awards in 1998 along with many other Oscar winners. Mercedes also made special television appearances to discuss her role in The Exorcist (1973) at the 30th Anniversary of the films release.
She died in La Jolla in California on 2nd March 2004 from natural causes.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bobby G
Spouse (2)
| Fletcher Markle | (19 February 1950 - 1962) (divorced) (1 child) |
| William Fifield | (1941 - 1946) (divorced) (1 child) |
Trade Mark (2)
Raspy but strong and often scary voice
Often played manly, cruely-disposed women
Trivia (12)
Born 5:00am - CST
The hat she wore in Giant (1956) was given to her by Gary Cooper.
Of Irish Catholic extraction, and educated at Catholic schools.
Had one son, John Lawrence Fifield who later adopted the Markle
surname. In 1987 he killed his wife, children and then himself.
Was a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theater, together with Agnes Moorehead, with whom she appeared as Endora's old nemesis, Carlotta, in an episode of Bewitched (1964).
She was originally not credited for her voice work on The Exorcist (1973) after director William Friedkin
assured her that she would be. An appeal by her to the Screen Actors
Guild rectified this matter, and a new print of the film was made with
her name in the credits.
Was nominated for Broadway's 1972 Tony Award as Best Supporting or
Featured Actress (Dramatic) for "The Love Suicide at Schofield
Barracks."
During filming of Johnny Guitar (1954) she and Joan Crawford'
fought both on and off the set. One night, in a drunken rage, Crawford
scattered the costumes worn by McCambridge along an Arizona highway.
Cast and crew had to collect the outfits.
Profiled in "Killer Tomatoes: Fifteen Tough Film Dames" bu Ray Hagen and Laura Wagner (McFarland, 2004).
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives".
Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 342-343. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale,
2007.
Suffered from bronchitis for the most part of her life. She later
revealed she was able to use this to her advantage for the chilling,
unearthly breathing of the demon in The Exorcist (1973).
She was a staunch liberal Democrat.
Personal Quotes (4)
[on Joan Crawford] She was a mean, tipsy, powerful, rotten-egg lady.
One of the most destructive things in my life was the kind of
parts I played in pictures. I studied Shakespeare and the classics, and I
end up shooting Joan Crawford and killing a horse that Elizabeth Taylor
was in love with. I'm serious. I played the worst harridans, the most
hard-bitten women, the absolute heavies, and it just about did me in.
[on Johnny Guitar (1954)] When you are as big a star as Joan Crawford
was in those days, you don't allow anybody to photograph you outside.
Not in harsh light, and only in long, long, long shots. If you are a
cameraman and you think you are going to get any closer than the length
of a football field to take pictures of Miss Crawford, in anything but
elaborately diffused interior light, you had better get out of show
business, and a few of them had to.
No it wasn't. Finish your popcorn.
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