Hester Sondergaard
{{short description|American actress}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name =
| image = Hester Sondergaard in Jigsaw.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Sondergaard in Jigsaw (1949)
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1903|7|5}}
| birth_place = Litchfield, Minnesota, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1994|2|26|1903|7|5}}
| death_place = Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
| nationality =
| other_names =
| alma mater = University of Minnesota
| occupation = Actress
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse = {{marriage|Hugh De Lacy|1949||reason=}}
| relatives = Gale Sondergaard (sister)
}}
Hester Sondergaard (July 5, 1903 – February 26, 1994){{Cite web|url=https://www.crowrivermedia.com/hutchinsonleader/news/local/hester-the-other-sondergaard-daughter/article_0cb686e3-a37c-5ab8-8b6f-a201f596e42c.html|title = Hester, the other Sondergaard daughter}} was an American actress.
Early years
Born in Litchfield, Minnesota,{{cite journal |title=Hester Sondergaard |journal=Radio Television Mirror |date=December 1949 |volume=32 |issue=7 |page=71 |url=https://archive.org/stream/r00mac#page/71/mode/1up |accessdate=31 July 2019}} Sondergaard was the daughter of Hans T. Søndergaard, a dairy instructor at a university, and the sister of actress Gale Sondergaard. When she was a child, she played violin with Midwestern Chautauqua companies. She attended the University of Minnesota,{{cite news |last1=Sorensen |first1=Sterling |title=Drama in Madison: Stage and Screen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34377401/hester_sondergaard/ |accessdate=30 July 2019 |work=The Capital Times |date=April 12, 1935 |location=Wisconsin, Madison |page=6|via = Newspapers.com}} where she was active in productions of the Masquers Club.{{cite news |title=University Girl to Have Speaking Part at Shubert |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34379356/hester_sondergaard/ |accessdate=30 July 2019 |work=Star Tribune |date=February 24, 1924 |location=Minnesota, Minneapolis |page=49|via = Newspapers.com}}
Career
Sondergaard's first professional speaking part came in 1924. After college, she acted with the Wisconsin Players and in venues that included the Civic Repertory Theater in New York. Her Broadway credits include Galileo (1947), My Heart's in the Highlands (1939), Marching Song (1937), Bitter Stream (1936), Mother (1935), and Black Pit (1935).{{cite web |title=("Hester Sondergaard" search results) |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/hester-sondergaard-60565 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |accessdate=30 July 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730022656/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/hester-sondergaard-60565 |archivedate=30 July 2019}}
On radio, Sondergaard was an organizer of The American School of the Air. She also acted on Portia Faces Life, Road of Life, Wendy Warren and the News, and We Love and Learn.{{cite news |title=In New Role |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34407444/hester_sondergaard/ |accessdate=30 July 2019 |work=The Capital Times |date=August 2, 1944 |location=Wisconsin, Madison |page=7|via = Newspapers.com}} An article in the December 1949 issue of Radio and Television Mirror magazine described Sondergaard as having "one of the largest repertories [sic] of dialects of any actress", being able to sound authentic in roles using any of 11 accents.
Sondergaard taught dramatics at the Dramatic School of New York.
Personal life
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0814217|name=Hester Sondergaard}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sondergaard, Hester}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Minnesota
Category:American radio actresses