Eva Marie Saint, Oscar-Winning Star of ‘On the Waterfront’ and ‘North by Northwest,’ Dies at 102

Eva Marie Saint, the elegant, slender performer who won an Oscar for her very first film, “On the Waterfront,” and later starred with Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” has died at 102.

A family representative, Jeff Sanderson, said Saint died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. Her acting career continued into her 90s.

Saint’s arrival in Hollywood was extraordinary. In “On the Waterfront,” she played the romantic partner of Marlon Brando’s troubled dockworker, Terry Malloy, and her first Academy Awards ceremony produced one of the night’s most memorable moments. Pregnant with her first child, she accepted the Oscar from Frank Sinatra and joked, “I think I may have the baby right here.” Her son, Darrell, arrived two days later.

Her performance in the 1954 classic made Saint an immediate star, but she quickly established that she would shape her career on her own terms. Rather than sign studio contracts or rush into another major film, she stepped away to spend time with her newborn son. Her daughter, Laurette, was born in 1958.

A curated career

Saint made only seven movies during her first 10 years in Hollywood, passing on high-profile projects including “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” with Gregory Peck, “Summer and Smoke” with Laurence Harvey and “The Rainmaker” with Burt Lancaster. Her husband, television and theater director Jeffrey Hayden, ultimately persuaded her to accept the role of Eve Kendall in Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller “North by Northwest.” As a mysterious spy, her character seduces Grant’s hero before genuinely falling in love with him.

Recalling the decision in a 2014 interview with Vanity Fair, Saint said Hayden advised her, “Honey, I think you should find a quiet spot. I’ll take care of the children and I want you to really think about this and reread this script.” She added, “He was so right. And that’s what husbands are for.”

Her selective approach did not diminish her appeal to filmmakers. Saint continued receiving leading offers, appearing in movies such as “Exodus” with Paul Newman, “Raintree County” with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, and “All Fall Down” alongside Warren Beatty.

During the 1970s, Saint increasingly worked in television, then found a new wave of popularity in the 1980s. She played Cybill Shepherd’s mother on the hit series “Moonlighting” and portrayed Tom Hanks’ mother in the comedy “Nothing in Common.” Her later credits included an Emmy-winning performance in the 1990 miniseries “People Like Us,” as well as appearances in “Because of Winn-Dixie,” “Superman Returns” and “Winter’s Tale,” based on Mark Helprin’s novel. In 2021, she performed as Marisa Tomei’s aunt in “The Bus Ride,” a short audio play produced for “The Pack Podcast.”

Saint and Hayden were married for 55 years, until his death in 2016.

MUST READ: San Fernando Valley Man Challenges LADWP Over $3,300 Utility Bill

That was her real name

Her name sounded so theatrical that many people assumed it was a stage creation, but Eva Marie Saint was born with it on July 4, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey. Her family later moved to Delmar, a small community near Albany, where her father managed a Goodrich Rubber Co. operation. Saint initially hoped to follow her mother into teaching third grade. That plan changed at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, when she auditioned for a play and won the lead role.

After college, she returned to live with her parents in Flushing, Long Island, while pursuing acting work in Manhattan. A year of unsuccessful auditions ended when she landed two lines as a telephone operator on a radio drama. Soon, she was appearing regularly in soap operas and evening dramas, including a two-year run as Claudia on “One Man’s Family.” As network television expanded in the early 1950s, her beauty and emotional precision made her a sought-after performer.

A major step came when Saint auditioned for Elia Kazan and was admitted to the Actors Studio, the influential training ground for a generation of method actors. She later said acting teacher Lee Strasberg helped her break through her natural shyness.

In a 2009 interview with The Santa Barbara Independent, Saint recalled that Strasberg assigned her a scene that required her to cry in front of her fellow actors. She said she spent considerable time preparing, eventually performed the scene and began crying as members of the audience cried with her. “It was just an incredible moment for me,” she said.

Saint initially lost the only female role in the play “Mister Roberts,” but was hired as an understudy for Jocelyn Brando, Marlon Brando’s sister. During six difficult months, she never had the opportunity to take over the part. Her Broadway debut finally came in “A Trip to Bountiful,” a production she had previously performed on television.

Kazan later asked Saint to audition for “On the Waterfront” by improvising with Marlon Brando. The scene required her to prevent a young man from entering her apartment. Saint told the Los Angeles Times in 2001 that Brando entered, switched on music and began dancing with her, even flicking her skirt. Kazan, she said, saw the chemistry between them—and awarded her the role.

__