Julie Haydon of "The Glass Menagerie"

Julie Haydon, starring on Broadway as Laura Wingfield in “The Glass Menagerie,” was the subject of an interview (without a by-line) in the Sunday Herald Tribune.

She had been born Donella Donaldson in Oak Park, Illinois, where her father ran the local newspaper. According to the story, writer Charles MacArthur, who had worked on the paper when he was a young man, gave Haydon her first break, a lead role in his film “The Scoundrel.” The article said she had worked a number of jobs while taking acting classes, including sketching costumes, coloring Christmas cards and clerking at a department store and a five-and-dime. Before landing the movie role, she had worked in stock where “the going was rough and the luck inconsistent.” She came to New York with little money and no prospects but on the basis of “The Scoundrel” playwright Philip Barry recommended her for his play “Bright Star,” which she followed up with “Shadow and Substance” and the hit “The Time of Your Life.”

This was a much simplified biography. According to standard references, Haydon actually had made several movies before “The Scoundrel” in 1935, including “The Conquerors,” in which she had a major role. She had supplied Fay Wray's screams in "King Kong." She had an MGM contract. She continued to work in films after her Broadway debut until 1937 and she later was in contention for the roles of both Scarlett and Melanie in "Gone with the Wind" and for the title role in "Rebecca." Her Broadway career was helped enormously by the open championship of influential critic George Jean Nathan, an inveterate bachelor and ladies man, whom she had met on the set of "The Scoundrel" and who later became her frequent companion after his long affair with Lillian Gish came to an end. So she did not quite arrive in New York a penniless waif without prospects. In fact, "The Scoundrel," which starred Noel Coward, was filmed in New York and many of the city's notables visited the set and appeared in walk-on roles or as background extras. She had a valuable contact in MacArthur who was married to Helen Hayes, one of Broadway's biggest names. Hayes originally was supposed to play the female lead in "The Scoundrel" but backed out because of scheduling conflicts.

Nathan, known for his biting wit and bon vivant lifestyle, was an inspiration for Addison De Witt of "All About Eve." Haydon married him in 1955, 20 years after they first met. He was then 73. She nursed him through his final years of illness.

Barry's “Bright Star” was a flop but “Shadow and Substance” ran nine months and William Saroyan's “The Time of Your Life,” in which she played a prostitute, won the Pulitzer.

Haydon had a quiet, frail, ethereal beauty which worked well for the severely withdrawn, crippled Laura in “The Glass Menagerie,” a role she created, but she could be demanding in real life despite her innate shyness. In Slings and Arrows: Theater in My Life, director Robert Lewis, who had been dismissed from "The Time of Your Life," told of how she had insisted upon costume approval. When Boris Aronson presented the exquisite water colors he had painted of his proposed designs, Haydon tore the beautiful paintings of the costumes she did not like in half. In her autobiography, Katharine Hepburn recounted a tale told by Laurette Taylor, one of the stage's greatest stars who was making a comeback as Amanda Wingfield in "The Glass Menagerie." At a curtain call, Haydon knelt at Taylor's feet with her back to the audience. It may have been an expression of genuine emotion but Taylor would have none of it and told her that if she tried it again she would be sent sprawling with a quick kick. Nathan gave "Streetcar Named Desire" one of its few negative reviews after Haydon was passed over for the role of Blanche Dubois.