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IMDbPro

Mercedes McCambridge(1916-2004)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Mercedes McCambridge C. 1950
Trailer for The Exorcist
Play trailer1:41
The Exorcist (1973)
5 Videos
34 Photos
Mercedes McCambridge was a highly talented radio performer who won a best supporting Actress Oscar for her film debut.

Mercedes McCambridge was born in Joliet, Illinois, to Marie (Mahaffry) and John Patrick McCambridge, a farmer. She was of mostly Irish (with a small amount of English and German) ancestry. Despite a career full of supporting roles, she later became 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.

Mercedes enjoyed a quiet retirement starting from the early 1980s. 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 film's release.

She died in La Jolla in California on 2nd March 2004 from natural causes.
BornMarch 16, 1916
DiedMarch 2, 2004(87)
BornMarch 16, 1916
DiedMarch 2, 2004(87)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Won 1 Oscar
    • 5 wins & 3 nominations total

Photos34

Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift, and Mercedes McCambridge in Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
Mercedes McCambridge in All the King's Men (1949)
Arlene Dahl, David Brian, Mercedes McCambridge, and Paula Raymond in Inside Straight (1951)
Broderick Crawford, Walter Burke, Ralph Dumke, and Mercedes McCambridge in All the King's Men (1949)
Broderick Crawford, Walter Burke, John Ireland, and Mercedes McCambridge in All the King's Men (1949)
John Ireland and Mercedes McCambridge in All the King's Men (1949)
Joanne Dru, John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge, and Anne Seymour in All the King's Men (1949)
Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, and Mercedes McCambridge in All the King's Men (1949)
Broderick Crawford, Walter Burke, John Ireland, and Mercedes McCambridge in All the King's Men (1949)
John Ireland and Mercedes McCambridge in All the King's Men (1949)
John Ireland and Mercedes McCambridge in All the King's Men (1949)
Mercedes McCambridge in Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

Known for:

James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson in Giant (1956)
Giant
7.6
  • Luz Benedict
  • 1956
The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist
8.1
  • Demon(voice)
  • 1973
John Derek, Broderick Crawford, Joanne Dru, John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge, and Shepperd Strudwick in All the King's Men (1949)
All the King's Men
7.4
  • Sadie Burke
  • 1949
Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, and Mercedes McCambridge in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Johnny Guitar
7.6
  • Emma Small
  • 1954

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Peter Bogdanovich, John Huston, and Susan Strasberg in The Other Side of the Wind (2018)
    The Other Side of the Wind
    • Maggie Noonan
    • 2018
  • Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless in Cagney & Lacey (1981)
    Cagney & Lacey
    • Sister Elizabeth
    • TV Series
    • 1988
  • Kevin Costner, Harvey Keitel, Charlie Sheen, Christopher Lloyd, and John Lithgow in Amazing Stories (1985)
    Amazing Stories
    • Miss Lestrange (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 1987
  • Lyman H. Howe's High Class Moving Pictures
    • Narrator (voice)
    • TV Movie
    • 1983
  • Echoes (1982)
    Echoes
    • Lillian Gerben
    • 1982
  • Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I. (1980)
    Magnum, P.I.
    • Agatha Kimball
    • TV Series
    • 1981
  • Chad Everett in Hagen (1980)
    Hagen
    • Rosemary
    • TV Series
    • 1980
  • The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979)
    The Concorde... Airport '79
    • Nelli
    • 1979
  • Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, and Jeff Osterhage in The Sacketts (1979)
    The Sacketts
    • Ma Sackett
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1979
  • Pat Klous, Connie Sellecca, and Kathryn Witt in Flying High (1978)
    Flying High
    • Claire
    • TV Series
    • 1978
  • Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith in Charlie's Angels (1976)
    Charlie's Angels
    • Norma
    • TV Series
    • 1978
  • Thieves (1977)
    Thieves
    • Street Lady
    • 1977
  • Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975)
    Who Is the Black Dahlia?
    • Grandmother
    • TV Movie
    • 1975
  • The Exorcist (1973)
    The Exorcist
    • Demon (voice)
    • 1973
  • The President's Plane Is Missing (1973)
    The President's Plane Is Missing
    • Hester Madigan
    • TV Movie
    • 1973

Soundtrack

  • Mercedes McCambridge in The Scarf (1951)
    The Scarf
    • performer: "Summer Rains"
    • 1951

Videos5

Official Trailer
Trailer 1:59
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:35
Official Trailer
All the King's Men -- Trailer
Trailer 2:28
All the King's Men -- Trailer
The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition
Trailer 1:41
The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition
Giant
Trailer 1:30
Giant

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 3″ (1.60 m)
  • Born
    • March 16, 1916
    • Joliet, Illinois, USA
  • Died
    • March 2, 2004
    • La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA(undisclosed)
  • Spouses
      Fletcher MarkleFebruary 19, 1950 - 1962 (divorced, 1 child)
  • Parents
      John Patrick McCambridge
  • Other works
    (1974-78) Radio: Appeared in "The CBS Radio Mystery Theater".
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 10 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    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).
  • Quotes
    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.
  • Trademarks
      Strong and sometimes fierce voice
  • Nickname
    • Mercy

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