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American-born actress (b. May 15, 1910, Seattle, Wash.—d. Nov. 23, 2005, Oxfordshire, Eng.), enchanted audiences in Britain and the U.S. during a stage and screen career that spanned almost 70 years (1928–96). Cummings began as a chorus girl and appeared in such comedic films as Movie Crazy (1932) and Blithe Spirit (1945), although she later focused on increasingly dark roles. After marrying (1933) British playwright Benn W. Levy, she moved to Britain, where her acclaimed theatrical work ranged from Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1938) to an Oxford Playhouse production (1962) of Jean-Paul Sartre’s Huis-Clos (No Exit) to a 1971 revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night, opposite Laurence Olivier. Her most notable performance was on Broadway as a stroke victim in Arthur Kopit’s Wings (1979), for which, at age 68, she won a Tony Award for best actress. Cummings was made CBE in 1974.
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