Barbara Bel Geddes, Original Star of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dies at 82

Barbara Bel Geddes, who originated the role of Maggie in the 1955 Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof died in Maine on August 8 at the age of 82. According to published reports, her death was due to lung cancer.

The daughter of legendary designer/producer/director Norman Bel Geddes, she made her Broadway debut in the play Out of the Frying Pan in 1941. Over the next 32 years, she appeared in over a dozen Broadway shows, including The Moon Is Blue, The Living Room, and Luv. She received Tony Award nominations for both Cat and Jean Kerr’s Mary, Mary. Her last play was Kerr’s Finishing Touches, which co-starred Robert Lansing and James Woods.

In 1948, she starred in the film version of I Remember Mama, which earned her an Academy Award nomination. That same year, she was featured on the cover of Life magazine. Her other film credits include Panic in the Streets, By Love Possessed, and Vertigo.

She appeared twice on TV’s Robert Montgomery Presents in the early 1950s, starring in versions of The Philadelphia Story and Rebecca. In 1977, she starred as Mrs. Webb in a television adaptation of Our Town, alongside Hal Holbrook, Sada Thompson, Ned Beatty, Robby Benson, and Glynnis O’Connor.

Her greatest fame, however, came from playing the role of “Miss Ellie” on the long-running CBS series Dallas for almost its entire run. She bowed out of the part in 1984 due to heart surgery, and was replaced by Donna Reed; but she came back the following year after fans protested. She left the show before its final season.
For the role, she won the Emmy Award for Best Actress, and was nominated two additional times.

Bel Geddes was married twice, to Carl Schreuer and Windsor Lewis. She is survived by her two daughters, Susan and Betsy.