Blanche YurkaShow Count: 2 Series Count: 0 Role: Old Time Radio Star Old Time Radio Born: June 18, 1887 , St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Died: June 6, 1974, New York City, New York, USA
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Blanche Yurka (June 18, 1887 – June 6, 1974) was an American theatre and film actress.
Born in St Paul, Minnesota, Yurka was an opera star before she became an actress. She made her Broadway debut in 1910 and established herself as a character actor, also appearing in several films. In addition to her many stage roles, including Queen Gertrude opposite John Barrymore's Hamlet, she was an occasional director and playwright. She remained active in theatre and film until the late 1960s.
Her most famous film role was as Madame Defarge in MGM's 1935 version of A Tale of Two Cities (1935), but she was also the compassionate aunt in The Song of Bernadette. Another memorable role was in The Southerner.
Death
The footstone of Blanche Yurka
Once married to actor Ian Keith, Yurka died in 1974 of arteriosclerosis. She is interred in the Actors Fund of America at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, NY. She is survived by her great-nephew Edward Starkins of Canada, author of the book "Who Killed Janet Smith?"
Source: Wikipedia
Broadcast: 14th August 1950
Added: Aug 14 2007
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Broadcast: 21st January 1945
Added: Jan 21 2011
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