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Ona Munson

Ona Munson

Actor

Born June 16, 1903 in Portland, Oregon, USA

Died February 11, 1955

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Ona Munson (June 16, 1903 – February 11, 1955) was an American actress perhaps best known for her portrayal of prostitute Belle Watling in Gone with the Wind (1939).

She first came to fame on Broadway as the singing and dancing ingenue in the original production of No, No, Nanette. From this, Munson had a very successful stage and radio career in 1930s in New York. She introduced the song "You're the Cream in My Coffee" in the 1927 Broadway musical Hold Everything.

Her first starring role was in a Warner Brothers talkie called Going Wild (1930). Originally this film was intended as musical but all the numbers were removed prior to release due to the public's distaste for musicals which had virtually saturated the cinema in 1929-1930. Munson appeared the next year in a musical comedy called Hot Heiress in which she sings several songs along with her co-star Ben Lyon. She also starred in Broadminded (1931) and Five Star Final (1931). She briefly retired from the screen, only to return in 1938.

When David O. Selznick was casting his production Gone with the Wind, he first announced that Mae West was to play Belle, but this was a publicity stunt. Tallulah Bankhead refused the role as too small. Munson herself was the antithesis of the voluptuous Belle: freckled and of slight build. But her skills as an actress electrified her screen test: it was all in the voice. She spoke deep and throaty in her test, and her voice conveyed sexiness and worldliness. The rest could be remedied by the wardrobe and makeup departments.

Munson’s career was stalemated by the acclaim of Gone with the Wind; for the remainder of her career, she was typecast in similar roles. Two years later, she played a huge role as another madam, albeit a Chinese one, in Josef von Sternberg's film noir The Shanghai Gesture.

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Ona Munson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6211 Hollywood Boulevard.

Munson was married three times, to actor and director Edward Buzzell in 1927, to Stewart McDonald in 1941, and designer Eugene Berman in 1949.

In 1955, plagued by ill health, she committed suicide at the age of 51 with an overdose of barbiturates in her apartment in New York. A note found next to her deathbed read, "This is the only way I know to be free again...Please don't follow me."

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Filmography

Actor

28

Type

Year

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind Poster

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind Documentary1988Self

The Eloise McElhone Show TV Series1953Self

Broadway Television Theatre Poster

Broadway Television Theatre TV Series1952Mrs. Frazier

Armstrong Circle Theatre Poster

Armstrong Circle Theatre TV Series19501 episode, 1953

Martin Kane Poster

Martin Kane TV Series1949Millicent Mills

The Red House Poster

The Red House Feature Film1947Mrs. Storm

Dakota Feature Film1945'Jersey' Thomas

The Cheaters Poster

The Cheaters Feature Film1945Florie Watson

Idaho Feature Film1943Belle Bonner

Drums of the Congo Poster

Drums of the Congo Feature Film1942Dr. Ann Montgomery

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 6 Documentary1942Self

Lady from Louisiana Poster

Lady from Louisiana Feature Film1941Julie Mirbeau

The Shanghai Gesture Poster

The Shanghai Gesture Feature Film1941'Mother' Gin Sling

Wild Geese Calling Poster

Wild Geese Calling Feature Film1941Clarabella

Meet the Stars #1: Chinese Garden Festival Documentary1940Self

Wagons Westward Poster

Wagons Westward Feature Film1940Julie O'Conover

Gone with the Wind Poster

Gone with the Wind Feature Film1939Belle Watling

Legion of Lost Flyers Poster

Legion of Lost Flyers Feature Film1939Martha Wilson

Scandal Sheet Poster

Scandal Sheet Feature Film1939Kitty Mulhane

The Big Guy Poster

The Big Guy Feature Film1939Mary Whitlock

Dramatic School Poster

Dramatic School Feature Film1938Student

His Exciting Night Poster

His Exciting Night Feature Film1938Anne Baker

Broadminded Poster

Broadminded Feature Film1931Constance Palmer

Five Star Final Poster

Five Star Final Feature Film1931Kitty Carmody

The Hot Heiress Poster

The Hot Heiress Feature Film1931Juliette

An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee Poster

An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee Short Film1930Self

Going Wild Poster

Going Wild Feature Film1930Ruth Howard

The Head of the Family Poster

The Head of the Family Feature Film1928

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