and Booth in the original Broadway production of ''Hell's Bells'' (1925) '', starring Booth, William Lynn and
Sam Levene (1935) Booth began her stage career as a teenager, acting in
stock company productions. She was a prominent actress in
Pittsburgh theatre for a time, performing with the Sharp Company. Her debut on Broadway was in the play ''
Hell's Bells, with Humphrey Bogart, on January 26, 1925. Booth first attracted major notice as the female lead in the comedy hit Three Men on a Horse, which ran from 1935 to 1937. During the 1930s and 1940s, she achieved popularity in dramas, comedies and later musicals. She acted with Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story (1939), originated the role of Ruth Sherwood in the 1940 Broadway production of My Sister Eileen, and performed with Ralph Bellamy in Tomorrow the World'' (1943). Booth also starred on the popular radio series ''
Duffy's Tavern, playing the lighthearted, wisecracking, man-crazy daughter of the unseen tavern owner on CBS radio from 1941 to 1942 and on NBC Blue from 1942 to 1943. Her then-husband, Ed Gardner, created and wrote the show as well as played its lead character Archie, the manager of the tavern; Booth left the show after the couple divorced. In the summer of 1949, Booth portrayed Phyllis Hogan in the situation comedy Hogan's Daughter'' on NBC radio. Booth received her first
Tony Award, for Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic), for her performance as Grace Woods in
Goodbye, My Fancy (1948). Her second Tony was for Best Actress in a Play, which she received for her widely acclaimed performance as the tortured wife Lola Delaney in the poignant drama
Come Back, Little Sheba (1950).
Sidney Blackmer received the Tony for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as her husband Doc. Her success in
Come Back, Little Sheba was followed by the musical
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1951), based on the popular novel, in which she played the feisty, but lovable Aunt Sissy, which proved to be another major hit. Her popularity was such that, at the time, the story was skewed from the original so that Aunt Sissy was the leading role (rather than Francie). Booth then went to Hollywood and reprised her stage role in
the 1952 film version of Come Back, Little Sheba with
Burt Lancaster playing Doc. After that movie was completed — her first of only five films in her career — she returned to New York and played Leona Samish in
Arthur Laurents' play
The Time of the Cuckoo (1952) on Broadway. Booth received the
Academy Award for
Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in
Come Back, Little Sheba, becoming the first actress ever to win both a Tony and an Oscar for the same role. The film also earned Booth Best Actress awards from The
Cannes Film Festival, the
Golden Globe Awards, the
New York Film Critics Circle Awards, and
National Board of Review. She received her third Tony, her second in the Best Actress in a Play category, for her performance in
The Time of the Cuckoo. Her second starring film,
About Mrs. Leslie, a romantic drama opposite
Robert Ryan, was released in 1954 to good reviews, but was poorly received by audiences. In 1953, Booth had made a cameo appearance as herself in the all-star comedy/drama movie
Main Street to Broadway. She spent the next few years commuting between New York and California. On Broadway, she scored personal successes in the musical
By the Beautiful Sea (1954) and the comedy
Desk Set (1955). Although Booth had become well known to moviegoers during this period, the movie roles for
The Time of the Cuckoo (re-titled as
Summertime for the film in 1955) and
Desk Set (1957) both went to
Katharine Hepburn. In 1957, Booth won the
Sarah Siddons Award for her work on the stage in Chicago. She returned to the Broadway stage in 1959, starring as the long-suffering title character in
Marc Blitzstein's musical
Juno, an adaptation of
Seán O'Casey's 1924 play
Juno and the Paycock. In 1961, director
Frank Capra approached Booth about starring in
Pocketful of Miracles, an updated version of Capra's 1933 comedy-drama
Lady for a Day starring
May Robson. Booth informed him that she was unable to match Robson's Oscar-nominated performance in the original film and declined the role. Capra instead cast
Bette Davis, who was unfavorably compared to Robson by most reviewers when the film was released. Booth starred in two more films for
Paramount Pictures, playing Dolly Gallagher Levi in the 1958 film adaptation of
Thornton Wilder's romance/comedy
The Matchmaker (the source text for the musical
Hello, Dolly!), and to play Alma Duval in the drama
Hot Spell (1958). For her performances in both films, Booth was nominated as the year's Best Actress by the
New York Film Critics Circle.
Hazel In 1961, Booth was cast in the title role on the sitcom
Hazel, based on
Ted Key's popular single-panel cartoon from the
Saturday Evening Post about the domineering yet endearing housemaid named Hazel Burke who works for the Baxter family. The series also starred
Don DeFore as George Baxter,
Whitney Blake as Dorothy "Missy" Baxter, and
Bobby Buntrock as the Baxters' young son Harold. Upon its premiere,
Hazel was an immediate hit with audiences and drew high ratings. In 1963, Booth told the Associated Press at the height of
Hazel's popularity, I liked playing Hazel the first time I read one of the scripts, and I could see all the possibilities of the character—the comedy would take care of itself. My job was to give her heart. Hazel never bores me. Besides, she's my insurance policy. Booth is one of the few
performers to win all three major entertainment awards (Oscar, Tony, Emmy). In 1965, NBC canceled the series. CBS picked up and retooled the series; Don DeFore (George Baxter) and Whitney Blake (Dorothy Baxter) were written out of the series, while Bobby Buntrock (Harold "Sport" Baxter) remained a cast member.
Ray Fulmer was cast as Steve Baxter, the brother of DeFore's character George. Booth, who owned the rights to the series, hired
Lynn Borden, a former
Miss Arizona, as Steve's wife Barbara.
Julia Benjamin was cast as Barbara and Steve's daughter Susie. In the retooled version, George and Dorothy Baxter have moved to Baghdad, leaving Harold to live with Steve and Barbara. Hazel remains on as the new Baxters' housekeeper.
Later career and retirement Shortly after the end of
Hazel, Booth appeared in the television production of
The Glass Menagerie that aired on the anthology series
CBS Playhouse. She won critical acclaim for her performance and was nominated for another Primetime Emmy Award. Booth's final Broadway appearances were in a revival of
Noël Coward's play
Hay Fever and the musical
Look to the Lilies, both in 1970. In 1971, she returned to Chicago to star with
Gig Young in a revival of
Harvey at the Blackstone Theater. In 1973, Booth returned to episodic television in the
ABC series
A Touch of Grace. The series was based on the British sitcom
For the Love of Ada.
A Touch of Grace was canceled after one season. In 1974, Booth provided the voice for the character of
Mrs. Claus in the animated television special
The Year Without a Santa Claus. It was Booth's final acting role after which she retired to her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. ==Personal life==