“MAGGIE McNAMARA: CLASSIC CINEMA STAR OF THE MONTH” - 4/06/2026 (134)

The history of Hollywood is filled with stories of actors who experienced meteoric rises and then faded into obscurity just as quickly. Among the most poignant examples of this is the life of MAGGIE McNAMARA, an actress whose career began with remarkable promise but ended in obscurity and tragedy. With her pixie haircut, big doe eyes, lithe frame, and graceful moves, MAGGIE McNAMARA was poised to join the likes of AUDREY HEPBURN and LESLIE CARON as the new stylish gamine that was fashionable in movies in the 1950s. McNamara, who had one of the most auspicious starts in Hollywood history, earning an Academy Award nomination for her very first film, The Moon Is Blue, was a talented, intelligent young woman who had a mind and opinions of her own. And it might have been her strong-willed nature that contributed to her downfall. Join us this week as we discuss her life and career, as we celebrate her as our Star of the Month.

SHOW NOTES:

Sources:

Breaking the Code: Otto Preminger verses Hollywood’s Censors (2022), by Arnie Reisman & Nat Segaloff;

Richard Burton: Prince of Players (2008), by Michael Munn;

Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King (2007), by Foster Hirsh;

Preminger (1977) by Otto Preminger;

“The Ding-A-Ling Girl: the Deceptive Lightness of Maggie’s McNamara,” March 26, 2015, Sister Celluloid;

“Maggie McNamara, Actress, Dies: In ‘Moon Is Blue’ on Stage, Screen,” March 16, 1978, New York Times;

Wikipedia.com;

TCM.com;

IBDB.com;

IMDBPro.com;

Oscars.org;

Movies Mentioned:

The Moon is Blue (1953), starring William Holden, Maggie McNamara, & David Niven;

King of the Khyber Rifles (1953), starring Tyrone Power & Terry Moore;

Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), starring Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Maggie McNamara, Clifton Webb, Louis Jourdan, & Rosano Brazzi;

Prince of Players (1955), starring Richard Burton, Maggie McNamara, John Derek, Raymond Massey & Charles Bickford;

The Cardinal (1963), starring Tom Tyron, John Huston, Romy Scheider, Carol Lynley & Maggie McNamara;

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