Susanna Foster

Susanna Foster (born Suzanne DeLee Flanders Larson, December 6, 1924 – January 17, 2009) was an American film actress best known for her leading role as Christine in the 1943 film version of Phantom of the Opera. Early life Foster was born Suzanne DeLee Flanders Larson in Chicago, Illinois, to Les and Adie Larson. Raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the family went into poverty in the Great Depression, and moved frequently due to evictions. Adie struggled with alcoholism and mental illness, and was reported to be abusive; at one point in her film career, Foster rented the home of actress Jean Arthur for her younger sisters, in an attempt to get them away from their mother. At eleven years old, she had "almost fatal" pneumonia. Career At the age of twelve, Suzanne was taken to Hollywood by MGM, who sent her to school and groomed her for an acting and singing career. She claimed the high point of being at MGM was meeting her idol Jeanette MacDonald and Clark Gable, who treated her like "the ." Foster was originally slated to star in the MGM production of B Above High C, a film that was never made. The movie's title referred to the top of her vocal register. MGM eventually let her go. After hiring agent Milo Marchetti, Foster was signed by Paramount Pictures where she began to study voice for the first time with Marchetti's sister Gilda. She made her film debut at fourteen years of age where she was introduced as 'Susanna Foster' in The Great Victor Herbert (1939) opposite Mary Martin and Allan Jones. For her stage name, she chose "Susanna" from the song Oh Susanna and Foster from its writer Stephen Foster. After seeing Foster in The Great Victor Herbert, William Randolph Hearst flew her to his estate Wyntoon for a private recital for him and Marion Davies. The following year for Paramount she appeared in There's Magic in Music opposite Allan Jones and Glamour Boy opposite Jackie Cooper. After two years, Foster left Paramount.