Orr, Mary 1911-2006
(Mary Orr Denham)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born December 21, 1911, in New York, NY; died September 22, 2006, in New York, NY. Actress and author. An actress from the 1940s through the 1970s, Orr was also an author best known for her 1946 story "The Wisdom of Eve," which was adapted as the 1950 Bette Davis movie, All about Eve. After attending Syracuse University for two years and the American Academy of Dramatic Art, she embarked on an acting career while also writing short stories. Orr appeared in early Broadway productions of such plays as Of Mice and Men and Wallflower, but it was her breakthrough short story that brought her fame. "The Wisdom of Eve," according to biographer Sam Staggs, was inspired by a true story in which Viennese actress Elisabeth Bergner tried to help a young woman who later attempted to take over Bergner's career and life. Orr won an eight-hundred-dollar prize from Cosmopolitan for her story, as well as a Screen Writers Guild Award for the original story that became the Oscar-winning film. The tale was later adapted as the 1970 Tony Award-winning musical Applause. Orr, meanwhile, continued a successful acting career on stage and television. She partnered with her husband, playwright and stage director Reginald Denham, to write numerous plays and television scripts; she also wrote the novels Diamond in the Sky (1956), A Placeto Meet (1961), The Tejera Secrets (1974), and Rich Girl, Poor Girl (1975). Orr's last published work was the play Roommates (1989), another collaborative effort with Denham.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Staggs, Sam, All about "All about Eve": The Complete Behind-the-Scenes Story of the Bitchiest Film Ever Made, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, October 7, 2006, section 2, p. 10.

Los Angeles Times, October 12, 2006, p. B13.