Jessica Tandy & Hume Cronyn
Love at first sight… or crazed fan? As told in Cronyn's autobiography A Terrible Liar, in 1940 he spotted the young Tandy on Broadway in Jupiter Laughs from the audience and “pursued her until she agreed to marry me.”
Married September 27, 1942. 52 years. Until Tandy's demise on September 11, 1994.
Although it took them until 1951's The Fourposter to finally tread the Broadway boards together, for the next 35 years Tandy and Cronyn proceeded to make their relationship before the footlights a tradition on the Great White Way, co-starring in an astonishing 14 productions, including the popular hits Foxfire and The Gin Game, as well as the premiere of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance. Making two children along the way, by the time the Tony-winning duo made their final Broadway bow in 1986's The Petition, Cronyn told The New York Times, "Every triumph that Jessie has I feel in some totally illogical way is my triumph, and I hope she feels that way too." Tandy agreed, adding, "his performance is part of mine." In 1994, upon receiving the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement, Cronyn spoke for both when he stated, "I'm touched that somebody should have seen fit to give us this award. I like making television shows. I like making films. But my heart belongs to theater, which is really home and mother." Cronyn passed away on June 15, 2003.
