The Writeup: The lovely Susan Hayward was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the 40s and 50s, earning critical praise and box office success with ease. Her first big career was auditioning for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind, and while she didn't land the role she did manage to secure bit parts for herself in a number of Warner Bros. productions. In 1939 she signed a contract with Paramount and began work as an ingenue, although she yearned for more challenging roles. Notable films from this period include Reap the Wild Wind (1942), I Married a Witch (1942), The Forest Rangers (1942), Young and Willing (1943), and And Now Tomorrow (1944). Susan landed her first leading role on loan to Republic Pictures in the musical Hit Parade Of 1943. Another leading role came in the John Wayne flick The Fighting Seabees (1944). In 1947 she starred in Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman for Universal and won a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of an alcoholic. Susan earned her second Oscar nomination for My Foolish Heart (1950), based on a JD Salinger story. At this point she was one of the biggest stars in town, meaning she could be significantly pickier with her film choices.

During these years she filmed, among other things, I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1951), With a Song in My Heart (1952 - another Oscar nominated performance), The Lusty Men (both 1952), White Witch Doctor (1953), Garden of Evil (1954), Untamed (1955) and I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), which earned her yet another Oscar nomination. In 1956 she starred in The Conqueror, which would end up being a terrible decision, but we'll talk about that in a minute. By the late 50s Susan's career was tapering off and she was no longer able to find excellent starring roles. She starred in films like Back Street (1961), Stolen Hours (1963), The Honey Pot (1967), Valley of the Dolls (1967 - something of a disaster) and did few films afterwards. In 1975 she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and passed away on March 14th. Oddly enough, most of the cast from the film The Conquerer (1956), including John Wayne, Agnes Moorehead, John Hoyt, and the director, Dick Powell, later died of cancer, as well as much of the supporting cast and crew. It is speculated that the filming site was so close to an atomic testing site that all members of the production were exposed to unhealthy levels of radioactivity, thus resulting in cancer.