Celeste Holm dies at 95

Celeste Holm, 95, a musical comedy star who also showed a flair for dramatic work and won an Academy Award for her sympathetic role in “Gentleman’s Agreement,” Elia Kazan’s landmark 1947 film exploring anti-Semitism, died July 15 at her home in New York City.

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Celeste Holm, shown in an undated photograph, came to wide attention in 1943 as the lusty Ado Annie Carnes in the original 1943 Broadway staging of “Oklahoma!”

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Dec. 21, 1946

Actress Celeste Holm appears with her 6-week-old son, Daniel Schuyler Dunning, along with his father, American Airlines executive Schuyler Dunning.

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March 20, 1948

Actress Celeste Holm gives her acceptance speech after winning the 1947 Academy Awards as best supporting actress in “Gentleman’s Agreement” at the Shrine Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

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March 20, 1948

Celeste Holm, center, and George Seaton hold their Oscar statuettes at the 1947 Academy Awards ceremony held at the Shrine Auditorium in Hollywood. Seaton won the best screenplay award for “Miracle on 34th Street.”

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Feb. 11, 1949

Celeste Holm, dressed as a nun for her part in the film "Come to the Stable," assists Pat Mills in filling the candy vending machine outside the studio sound stage. Holmes was lending a hand because she had just a few minutes between scenes and was eager for a candy bar.

Frank Filan / AP

1950

Celeste Holm, left, is shown with actress Bette Davis, second from right, Hugh Marlowe and Anne Baxter in the film "All About Eve."

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March 29, 1951

Celeste Holm, right, and Judy Holliday kiss Jose Ferrer at a party at a New York night club after presentation of the 1950 annual Academy Awards. Ferrer won for best performance by an actor in "Cyrano de Bergerac," and Holliday was honored for best performance by an actress for "Born Yesterday."

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April 4, 1951

Actress Celeste Holm ascends a rope ladder during rehearsal for a circus opening night at Madison Square Garden in New York. Stage and screen stars took part in the benefit show, with the proceeds going to the New York Heart Association.

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Oct. 29, 1960

Jane Fonda, left, and James MacArthur pose with Celeste Holm, starring in the play "Invitation to a March," outside the Music Box Theatre in New York City after the opening.

Lippmann / AP

June 8, 1981

From left, Celeste Holm, Delores Gray, Mable Mercer and Steve Ross appear at a New York party to commemorate the late Cole Porter's birthday. Holm sang the Porter song "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" in the motion picture "High Society."

Richard Drew / AP

April 14, 1994

Communications mogul Ted Turner, third from right, poses with movie luminaries shortly after throwing the switch to launch his latest venture, Turner Classic Movies, in New York's Times Square. From left are director Arthur Hiller, Arlene Dahl, Jane Powell, Celeste Holm, Turner, Van Johnson and Robert Osborne, the cable channel's host.

Marty Lederhandler / AP

March 12, 1997

Actress Celeste Holm poses at a friend's home in Santa Monica, Calif. Celeste Holm was a versatile, bright-eyed blonde who soared to Broadway fame in "Oklahoma!" and won an Oscar in "Gentleman's Agreement" but whose last years were filled with financial difficulty and estrangement from her sons.

Kevork Djansezian / AP

Sept. 18, 2000

Olympia Dukakis, left, talks with Richard Dreyfuss, center, and Celeste Holm during a rally held to support striking television commercial actors in New York. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which represent 135,000 actors, were on strike over disputes on residual fees, money paid to commercial performers each time an advertisement airs.

Ed Bailey / AP

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