Judith Evelyn (March 20, 1909 – May 7, 1967) was an American stage and film actress who appeared in as many as fifty films and television series. She was born Evelyn Morris in Seneca, South Dakota.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.Evelyn also appeared in numerous films, probably most memorably as "Miss Lonelyhearts," the lonely alcoholic spied on by James Stewart in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. In 1956, Evelyn played the role of Nancy Lynnton in George Stevens' Giant. She also had a brief but strong performance as Queen Mother Taia in Michael Curtiz's The Egyptian, and was featured with Vincent Price in The Tingler (1959).In the fall of 1958, Evelyn guest starred as Clara Keller, a lonely widow who falls prey to communist agents in the episode "Man in the Moon" of Bruce Gordon's short-lived Cold War docudrama, Behind Closed Doors.On September 3, 1939, together with her fiancé, Canadian radio producer Andrew Allan, Evelyn survived the sinking of the Anchor-Donaldson liner SS Athenia. The Athenia was the first British passenger liner to be sunk by a German submarine in World War II.Evelyn died from cancer, in New York City, on May 7, 1967. She was 58 years old. She was interred at the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York.
Reached a career peak in 1954 when she played "Miss Lonelyhearts" in Hitchcock's "Rear Window" as well as the Queen Mother in "The Egyptian.".
2
In 1939, was traveling to Canada with her father aboard the 'Athenia' when it was torpedoed in the Irish Sea. She was one of the only six survivors (out of the original eight-five) who were eventually rescued. Her father perished.
3
A French novel based on her character in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954), Miss Lonelyheart, was dedicated to her. Published under the title "Mademoiselle Coeur Solitaire" by author Sébastien Ortiz, it reprises many scenes of the movie, but under her point of view instead of main character Jefferies' (played by James Stewart) and is also inspired by her inner thoughts. [Éditions Gallimard, 2005, 149 p., ISBN 2070774643]
4
She played Ann Downs, the woman who drives her husband to a nervous breakdown, in the original Broadway production of "The Shrike".