Susan Peters 593854 204399925 2008-04-09T06:51:15Z Pinkadelica 4754643 Clean up & tag, added additional external link & filmography, adding [[WP:PDATA|persondata]] using [[User talk:Dr pda/persondata.js|User:Dr pda/persondata.js]] :''For Susan Peters, the Television Anchor, see [[Susan Peters (TV Anchor)]]'' {{noreferences|date=April 2008}} {{Infobox actor | name = Susan Peters | image = Susan Peters in Random Harvest trailer.jpg | imagesize = | caption = from the trailer for the film ''[[Random Harvest (film)|Random Harvest]]'' (1942). | birthname = Suzanne Carnahan | birthdate = {{birth date|1921|7|3|mf=y}} | birthplace = [[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]], [[Washington]], [[United States]] | deathdate = {{death date and age|1952|10|23|1921|7|3|mf=y}} | deathplace = [[Visalia, California]], [[United States]] | spouse = [[Richard Quine]]<br><small>(1943-1948) (divorced) 1 child</small> | awards = [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] }} '''Susan Peters''' ([[July 3]], [[1921]] – [[October 23]], [[1952]]) was an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-nominated [[United States]] [[film]] [[actress]] whose promising career was cut tragically short. ==Biography== ===Early life=== Peters was born '''Suzanne Carnahan''' in [[Spokane, Washington]]. First contracted by Warner Brothers, which was unable to utilize her talents, she subsequently began working for [[MGM]] Studios after completing high school. Her first job was to read with potential actors in their screen tests. Before long she had impressed studio executives with her own talent, and they began casting her in films. ===Career=== For the first two years she used her given name and played small, often uncredited parts in films such as ''[[Meet John Doe]]'' ([[1941]]), before adopting her stage name. But her beguiling acting in a supporting role in the MGM programmer, ''[[Tish]]'', resulted in a studio contract. Her first substantial role, in ''[[Random Harvest (film)|Random Harvest]]'' ([[1942]]), earned her an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] nomination. Further impressed, MGM began to groom her for starring roles, casting her in several lesser productions that allowed her to learn her craft. A starring role in ''[[Song of Russia]]'' ([[1943]]) earned her critical acclaim but the film was not a commercial success. However, in 1944, she was one of ten actors who were elevated from "featured player" status to the studio's official "star" category; the others included [[Esther Williams]], [[Laraine Day]], [[Kathryn Grayson]], [[Van Johnson]], [[Margaret O'Brien]], [[Ginny Simms]], [[Robert Walker]], [[Gene Kelly]], and [[George Murphy]]. An official portrait taken of MGM's contracted players during this period prominently features Peters sharing the front row with the head of the studio himself, [[Louis B. Mayer]], and alongside such illustrious actors as [[James Stewart (actor)|James Stewart]], [[Mickey Rooney]], [[Margaret Sullavan]], [[Katharine Hepburn]], [[Hedy Lamarr]], and [[Greer Garson]] -- such was the faith that the studio had of her talent and potential at the time. ===Personal tragedy=== Married to the actor [[Richard Quine]], she was with him on a hunting vacation in early [[1945]], when a rifle accidentally discharged, causing a bullet to be lodged in her spine. The accident left her permanently paralysed from the waist down and confined to a wheel chair, however she attempted to continue her acting career. MGM continued to pay her salary, but unable to find suitable projects, Peters subsequently left the studio. An unsympathetic role in [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia's]] ''[[The Sign of the Ram]]'' ([[1948]]) failed to win an audience, and a starring role as a wheelchair bound lawyer in the [[television series]] ''[[Miss Susan]]'' ([[1951]]) was also unsuccessful. She toured in stage productions of ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]'' and ''[[The Barretts of Wimpole Street]]'', and her performances were highly regarded, but her disability made her a difficult actress to cast. Her career faltered, and as her marriage ended, Peters suffered from [[clinical depression|depression]]. Her health continued to deteriorate until her death, aged 31, in [[Visalia, California]], from [[kidney|kidney disease]] and [[pneumonia]], complicated by [[anorexia nervosa]]. Susan Peters has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] for her contribution to motion pictures, at 1601 Vine St. ==Filmography== * ''[[Susan and God]]'' (Uncredited, 1940) * ''The Man Who Talked Too Much'' (Uncredited, 1940) * ''Young America Flies'' (Uncredited, 1940) * ''Money and the Woman'' (Uncredited, 1940) * ''[[Santa Fe Trail (film)|Santa Fe Trail]]'' (1940) * ''[[The Strawberry Blonde]]'' (1941) * ''Here Comes Happiness'' (Uncredited, 1941) * ''[[Meet John Doe]]'' (Uncredited, 1941) * ''Scattergood Pulls the Strings'' (1941) * ''Three Sons o' Guns'' (1941) * ''Personalities'' (Uncredited, 1942) * ''The Big Shot'' (1942) * ''Tish'' (1942) * ''Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant'' (1942) * ''[[Random Harvest (film)|Random Harvest]]'' (1942) * ''Andy Hardy's Double Life'' (1942) * ''Assignment in Brittany'' (1943) * ''[[Young Ideas]]'' (1943) * ''[[Song of Russia]]'' (1944) * ''Keep Your Powder Dry'' (1945) * ''[[The Sign of the Ram]]'' (1948) ===Television=== * ''[[Miss Susan]]'' (1953) ==External links== {{Commons}} *{{imdb|0676688}} * {{Find A Grave|id=5159}} <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{Persondata |NAME= Peters, Susan |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Carnahan, Suzanne |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress |DATE OF BIRTH= [[July 3]], [[1921]] |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]], [[Washington]], [[United States]] |DATE OF DEATH= [[October 23]], [[1952]] |PLACE OF DEATH= [[Visalia, California]], [[United States]] }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Susan}} [[Category:1921 births]] [[Category:1952 deaths]] [[Category:American film actors]] [[Category:American stage actors]] [[Category:Hollywood Walk of Fame]] [[Category:People from Spokane, Washington]] [[Category:Deaths from anorexia nervosa]] [[de:Susan Peters]] [[fi:Susan Peters]] [[pl:Susan Peters]] [[sv:Susan Peters]]