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Eva Marie Saint cause of death: ‘On The Waterfront' actress and icon of Hollywood's golden era passes away at 102
Legendary Hollywood actress Eva Marie Saint died of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, a spokesperson Saint announced Tuesday. She was 102.
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Eva Marie Saint, one of the last remaining faces of Hollywood's golden of the1950s and the 1960s, has passed away. A statement from the 'North of Northwest' actor's spokesperson said that she died of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, California.
The statement itself was not published, even as multiple media outlets confirmed that the Oscar-winning actress passed away on Tuesday. It is unclear if the 102-year-old was suffering from any illnesses.
The 1954 drama film On the Waterfront was Eva Marie Saint's debut for which she won an Oscar. The New Jersey native remained active in Hollywood, with her last high-profile feature film being Akiva Goldsman's film, Winter's Tale, which released in 2014.
The 1955 Oscar win for On the Waterfront sealed her reputation as one of Hollywood's sought-after stars. She played virtuous Edie Doyle opposite Marlon Brando in the film. However, the two never starred in a film together after that. Saint's next big theatrical release was Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 thriller North by Northwest. She portrayed the role of spy Eva Kendall in the film.
She has starred in multiple films and TV shows after that, but nothing compared to her early years on the screen when she reached her peak.
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Eva Marie Saint was married to television director and producer Jeffrey Hayden from 1951 until his death in 2016. They had two children, son Darrell and daughter Laurette.
What Makes Eva Marie Saint A Hollywood Icon
Eva Marie Saint did not have a filmography like some other actresses of that era, like Grace Kelly or Kim Novak. But what makes her a Hollywood legend is her role in establishing the two major modes through which female lead characters were portrayed in Hollywood then.
On The Waterfront stood out as a classic of the method-influenced acting in Hollywood. Director Eliza Kazan portrayed Edie Doyle as someone deeply influenced by her internal psychological world. A graduate of Actors Studio, Lee Strasberg's "method acting" school in New York City, Eva Marie Saint's portrayal of Edie Doyle became a standard for how female leads were portrayed in Hollywood.
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The second tradition is what is referred to as the "Hitchcockian blonde" in popular culture. In film theory, the "Hitchcockian blonde" is a female lead characterized through the male gaze: usually a sexually confident blonde lady who is aware of the attention on her.
In January 2014, at an interaction with delegates at the TMC Classic Film Festival, she revealed that Alfred Hitchcock was "not interested" in how she portrayed the psychological features of her character.
He didn't get into the feelings or the depth of the character. It was how she looked, what she wore - the hair, the makeup, the color of the lipstick, the necklace, the gloves, everything about her," she had said in the interview.
