Susan Kohner Career Summation
Her best-known role was as Sarah Jane, a young African-American attempting to “pass” as white, in Imitation of Life (1959), for which she received nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
My Oscar Book:
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Susan Kohner
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Kohner married mens-wear designer and writer John Weitz in 1964. Their two sons, Paul and Chris, are both film directors, producers, screenwriters.
Kohner was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Lupita Tovar, a Mexican-born actress who had short career in Hollywood, and Paul Kohner, a producer born in Bohemia, Austria-Hungary.
Her mother was Roman Catholic of Mexican and Irish descent; her father was of Jewish descent.
Most of Kohner’s film roles came during the late 1950s and early 1960s, including co-starring with Sal Mineo in both Dino (1957) and The Gene Krupa Story (1959).
In her best-known role, Kohner played Sarah Jane in Imitation of Life, portraying a light-skinned black woman who “passes” as white. The 1959 film was the second film of the 1933 book. The plot had major changes to better reflect its own time. The first film adaptation was released in 1934.
The glossy Ross Hunter production, directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Lana Turner, was a box-office hit.
Following Imitation of Life, Kohner appeared in All the Fine Young Cannibals opposite Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner.
Her TV debut was on February 4, 1956, in the “Long After Summer” episode of “The Alcoa Hour”; Billboard said that she “failed to impress.”
She later had guest roles on TV series, including Hong Kong, Going My Way, and Temple Houston.
She made her last film in 1962, costarring with Montgomery Clift in Freud: The Secret Passion.
In 1964, Kohner married John Weitz, a German-born novelist and fashion designer, and retired from acting to devote time to her family.
The couple had two sons, Chris and Paul Weitz, who both became film directors and producers in Hollywood. Together they produced films American Pie (1999) and About a Boy (2002). Chris Weitz is also known for directing New Moon (2009), part of The Twilight Saga.
On April 23, 2010, a new print of Imitation of Life (1959) was screened at the TCM Film Fest, to which Kohner and co-star Juanita Moore were invited. After the screening, the two appeared on stage for interview by Robert Osborne.
Filmography
1955 To Hell and Back Maria
1956
The Last Wagon Jolie
1957
Trooper Hook Consuela
Dino, Shirley
1959
Imitation of Life Sarah Jane, age 18 Also: Performer: “Empty Arms”
The Big Fisherman Princess Fara
The Gene Krupa Story Ethel Maguire Alternative title: Drum Crazy
1960 All the Fine Young Cannibals Catherine McDowall
1961 By Love Possessed Helen Detweiler
1962 Freud: The Secret Passion Martha Freud Alternative title: Freud
Television
1956 The Alcoa Hour Joanna 1 episode
Four Star Playhouse Anita 1 episode
Cavalcade of American 1 episode: “A Bed of Roses”
Climax! 2 episodes: “Child of the Wind/Throw Away the Cane,” segment “Child of the Wind”; “Ten Minutes to Curfew”
1956–1957 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Angela O’Neill; Lynn Howell 2 episodes: “Date for Tomorrow” as Angela O’Neill; “Dual Control” as Lynn Howell
1957 Matinee Theatre Joanna Marshall 2 episodes: ” – “Letter to a Stranger”; “Laugh a Little Tear”
Wagon Train Mokai 1 episode: “The Charles Avery Story”
Suspicion Gina 1 episode: “The Flight”
1958 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Therese Doniere Season 3 Episode 22: “The Return of the Hero”
1960 Playhouse 90 Rachel Heller 1 episode: “In the Presence of Mine Enemies”
1961 The DuPont Show with June Allyson Clare Anderson 1 episode: “The Guilty Heart”
Hong Kong Elena 1 episode: “The Innocent Exile”
1961–1963 Route 66 Katy Webster; Midge Pierrepont 2 episodes: “The Quick and the Dead” as Katy Webster; “But What Do You Do in March” as Midge Pierrepont
1962 Checkmate Vicki Angelo 1 episode: “Down the Gardenia Path”
The Dick Powell Show Miriam Marks 1 episode: “Tomorrow, the Man”
1963 The Doctors and the Nurses, Terry Collins 1 episode: “Root of Violence”
Going My Way Elaine Brady 1 episode: “One Small Unhappy Family”
Temple Houston Ellena Romolo 1 episode: “Toll the Bell Slowly”
1964 Rawhide Abbie Bartlett 1 episode: “Incident at Ten Trees”
Channing Rena 1 episode: “A Bang and a Whimper”
Theater
1958: Love Me Little by John G. Fuller at Helen Hayes Theatre, as Emily Whittaker, Broadway debut.
1962: Pullman Car Hiawatha by Thornton Wilder at Circle in the Square Theatre, as Harriet Milbury.
1963: Saint Joan by GB Shaw at Vancouver Theater Fest, wth Mike Nichols.
