Ann E. Todd, golden age child star of Intermezzo and more, dies at 88

Ann E. Todd
Photo: Everett Collection

Ann E. Todd, who appeared as a child in films like Intermezzo and All This, and Heaven Too, has died. She was 88.

Todd’s family announced the news on Sunday. She died from complications of dementia on Feb. 7. As a child, Todd starred in nearly 40 films, appearing opposite Hollywood greats like Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis, Ronald Reagan, Basil Rathbone, Maureen O’Hara, and Edward G. Robinson.

Her most recognizable role came in Bergman’s screen debut, 1939’s Intermezzo, as a young pianist and the daughter of Leslie Howard’s Holger Brandt, a married violinist falling for Bergman’s accompanist. Todd also notably portrayed Charles Boyer’s child in 1940’s All This, and Heaven Too, where Bette Davis acted as her governess. She played a younger version of Linda Darnell in Blood and Sand, as well as one of Jeanette MacDonald’s daughters alongside Elinor Donahue and Jane Powell in 1948’s Three Daring Daughters.

Some of Todd’s other notable films include Tower of London with Basil Rathbone, Destry Rides Again with Marlene Dietrich, Dr. Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet with Edward G. Robinson, Kings Row with Ronald Reagan, and How Green Was My Valley with Maureen O’Hara.

Her final screen role was as one of two daughters on early ABC sitcom The Stu Erwin Show, which ran from 1950-1953.

Todd was born Ann Phillips on Aug. 26, 1931. She made her film debut in 1938’s Zaza starring Claudette Colbert, but after her success as a young actress, she left Hollywood entirely and moved to Berkeley, Calif., where she eventually obtained a Master’s in library science in 1959 and an MA in 1960.

She went on to work as a reference librarian at U.C. Berkeley from 1960-61 and then again from 1970-90. In 1951, she married Robert David Basart, a music professor and contemporary music composer she met in Berkeley. They were happily married until his death in 1993.

In addition to her work as a librarian, Todd founded Fallen Leaf Press in 1974, a small press dedicated to music reference books and scores. They published 70 works before she closed the business in 2000. In 1993, the Music Library Association honored Todd with a lifetime achievement citation.

She is by her daughter Kathryn, son Nathaniel, and three grandchildren.

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