- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMarguerite McNamara
- Maggie McNamara -- with her brown hair in a ponytail -- arrives in Rome in Three Coins in the Fountain (1954) expecting great things to happen. Petite and slender, she looks almost like a schoolgirl in her prim blue suit. She is bright and vivacious and goes for what she wants -- a proposal from "Prince Dino De Cessi" played by Louis Jourdan. She was in her mid-20s, then, and at the height of her career as she made her second film. One of four children of Irish-American parents, Maggie had come a long way since attending Textile High in New York to prepare for a modeling career. Pert as well as petite, she must have reminded people of the young Debbie Reynolds. Both had a look that was popular in the late 1940s. Maggie's picture appeared twice on the cover of Life Magazine and people were saying she too ought to be in movies. She started taking lessons with a dramatic coach and, at the age of 23, she was discovered by Otto Preminger. He signed her to play the role of a proper young lady who lets herself be lured to a bachelor's apartment in the Chicago production of a play of F. Hugh Herbert. She played the ingénue role in "The Moon Is Blue" in the national company for 18 months. Then, in 1951, she made it to Broadway in "The King of Friday's Men". Brooks Atkinson, drama critic for the New York Times, said of her performance in that play that she was "remarkably pretty and has a gift for acting". Then Maggie was offered the female lead in the Otto Preminger's film version of The Moon Is Blue (1953) with William Holden and David Niven. Theater patrons in New York and Chicago had found the stage version of the story amusing. The Catholic Legion of Decency was not amused when it previewed the film. It was stamped "C" for Condemned. The New York Times noted in 1978: "The Moon Is Blue aroused a storm of controversy because of what some observers regarded as 'indecent' discussion of sex, and the ridicule of the rules of parental protection. By current standards, it was, in fact, a prim and proper work". Maggie was supporting herself as a typist when she died in 1978. The New York Times obituary appeared four weeks after her death. It said she was 48. The relative who confirmed that she had died did not give the newspaper the date of her birth. The relative said Maggie had been doing some writing recently and a film script, "The Mighty Dandelion", had been accepted by a new film producing company.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Dale O'Connor <daleoc@worldnet.att.net>
- Maggie McNamara was born Marguerite McNamara in New York City. She was one of four children and her parents divorced when she was nine. Maggie wanted to be a fashion designer so she enrolled at New York's Textile high school. Her friends encouraged her to start modeling and she was signed by The John Powers agency. She quickly became one of their most successful models. In March of 1948 she was featured on the cover of Life magazine. After seeing her photo David O'Selznick offered her a movie contract but she turned it down. Maggie started taking acting classes and appeared in several plays. She married actor David Swift in 1951. Her big break came when she was cast in a Chicago production of The Moon Is Blue. She would spend eighteen months touring with the show. When Otto Preminger made the film version of The Moon Is Blue he gave Maggie the lead role. The movie's depiction of sex made it very controversial and it was banned in several states. However Maggie's performance got rave reviews and she was nominated for an Academy Award. She signed a contract with 20th Century Fox and starred in the 1954 movie Three Coins In The Fountain. Maggie upset the studio by refusing to pose for cheesecake photos or move to Los Angeles. In 1955 she had an affair with Richard Burton, her costar in Prince of Players. Maggie's marriage to David ended in 1957 and she suffered a nervous breakdown. She had a brief romance with script writer Walter Bernstein. In 1963 Otto Preminger gave her a small role in The Cardinal. That same year she appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Unable to find work as an actress Maggie took a job as a typist. She also wrote a script that she hoped would be made into a movie. Unfortunately she was suffering from severe depression. On February 18, 1978 Maggie committed suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills and tranquilizers. She was only forty-nine years old. Maggie is buried in Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Elizabeth Ann
- SpouseDavid Swift(March 31, 1951 - 1957) (divorced)
- ChildrenNo Children
- ParentsTimothy McNamaraHelen Fleming
- RelativesHelen Marie McNamara(Sibling)Cathleen Winifred McNamara(Sibling)Robert McNamara(Sibling)
- Maggie never weighed more than 100 pounds and she claimed it was very hard for her to put on weight.
- I won't pose in bathing suits unless a role in a picture calls for me to dress that way.
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