Mary Welch ( â€" May , ) was an American stage actress on
Broadway.Welch was born in Charleston, North Carolina, in , later
growing up in San Diego. She attended UCLA, where she won awards as a
drama student. At UCLA, she earned degrees in English literature and
drama. Welch later moved to New York in , where she starred in her
first Broadway play as Jo in an adaptation of Little Women. In , she
was a part of the Theatre Guild's play A Moon for the Misbegotten. She
starred in the first production of A Streetcar Named Desire in ,
replacing Kim Hunter. Welch later starred in The Solid Gold Cadillac
() and then was a part of Sunrise at Campobello () at the time of her
death. Her other roles include the plays The Joyous Season, Joy to the
World, and Dream Girl. A clause in Welch's contract, from playwright
Eugene O'Neill, for A Moon for the Misbegotten stated that she had to
gain at least pounds ( kg) to reach pounds ( kg) for the role.
O'Neill also originally stated that she looked too normal for the
role.Mary Welch was married to the actor David White. Welch died on
May , , at Mount Sinai Hospital from an internal hemorrhage that
started while she was pregnant with her second child. She was a
patient at the hospital for several weeks. Welch died during
childbirth.At the time of her death, she was performing in the
production Sunrise at Campobello. Regarding Welch's earlier weight
gain for A Moon for the Misbegotten, Harold Clurman of The Nation
wrote, "This stupid and horrible clause may very well have led to the
actress's death shortly after the play's production". In , journalist
Laura Shea wrote in The Eugene O'Neill Review, "While a significant,
if temporary, weight gain is not beneficial to one's health, it is
unlikely that this played a role in her untimely death over ten years
after A Moon for the Misbegotten.
Broadway.Welch was born in Charleston, North Carolina, in , later
growing up in San Diego. She attended UCLA, where she won awards as a
drama student. At UCLA, she earned degrees in English literature and
drama. Welch later moved to New York in , where she starred in her
first Broadway play as Jo in an adaptation of Little Women. In , she
was a part of the Theatre Guild's play A Moon for the Misbegotten. She
starred in the first production of A Streetcar Named Desire in ,
replacing Kim Hunter. Welch later starred in The Solid Gold Cadillac
() and then was a part of Sunrise at Campobello () at the time of her
death. Her other roles include the plays The Joyous Season, Joy to the
World, and Dream Girl. A clause in Welch's contract, from playwright
Eugene O'Neill, for A Moon for the Misbegotten stated that she had to
gain at least pounds ( kg) to reach pounds ( kg) for the role.
O'Neill also originally stated that she looked too normal for the
role.Mary Welch was married to the actor David White. Welch died on
May , , at Mount Sinai Hospital from an internal hemorrhage that
started while she was pregnant with her second child. She was a
patient at the hospital for several weeks. Welch died during
childbirth.At the time of her death, she was performing in the
production Sunrise at Campobello. Regarding Welch's earlier weight
gain for A Moon for the Misbegotten, Harold Clurman of The Nation
wrote, "This stupid and horrible clause may very well have led to the
actress's death shortly after the play's production". In , journalist
Laura Shea wrote in The Eugene O'Neill Review, "While a significant,
if temporary, weight gain is not beneficial to one's health, it is
unlikely that this played a role in her untimely death over ten years
after A Moon for the Misbegotten.
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