Cathy O'Donnell Movies
Cathy O'Donnell was signed to a movie contract by
Sam Goldwyn after a brief flurry of stage activity. Cathy's first film assignment would remain her best: in Goldwyn's
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), she sensitively essayed the very difficult role of Wilma Cameron, high school sweetheart of double amputee
Harold Russell. She spent most of her Goldwyn contract on loan to other studios: one of her better films was RKO's
They Live By Night (1947), a
Bonnie and Clyde precursor starring fellow Goldwyn contractee
Farley Granger. In her mid-30s, O'Donnell was still youthful-looking enough to portray
Charlton Heston's leprosy-ridden younger sister in
Ben-Hur (1959), the actress' next-to-last film. After eleven years' retirement, the 46-year-old Cathy O'Donnell died of a cerebral hemorrhage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
