Tribute to Greer Garson: Midnight, The Stars, And You

Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson Fogelson, CBE (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996), was a British American actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America’s top ten box office draws from 1942 to 1946. As one of MGM’s major stars during the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award nominations, including a record five consecutive nominations, winning the Best Actress award for Mrs. Miniver (1942). Greer Garson’s early professional appearances were on stage, starting at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in January 1932. She appeared on television during its earliest years (the late 1930s), most notably starring in a thirty-minute production of an excerpt of Twelfth Night in May 1937, with Dorothy Black. These live transmissions were part of the BBC’s experimental service from Alexandra Palace, and this is the first known instance of a Shakespeare play performed on television. Louis B. Mayer discovered Garson while he was in London looking