Hester Sondergaard

Born to Danish-Americans, Hester’s life began in Litchfield on July 5, 1903. In 1890, Hester’s father, Hans Tjellesen Smidt Sondergaard, immigrated from Rodding, Denmark to America where he met and married Danish immigrant Anna Kirsten Holm. Hans worked at the Litchfield Creamery and was known to be a master butter maker. In 1898, he mentored 16 year old immigrant, Alfred Anderson, found of Anderson Chemical, and taught him everything one needed to know about the creamery business and the craft of making butter. In 1912, Hans accepted a position as a federal butter inspector, and the family moved to Minneapolis where Hester attended Central High School and was an active student.

Taking after her father, Hester played the violin and was a member of the high school’s orchestra. She was also Vice President of the Central Confederation of Clubs, associate editor of the school’s newspaper, “Central high News,” and a member of the Girl’s Athletic Association and Girl’s French Club. Upon graduation in 1920, Hester enrolled in the University of Minnesota (UMN).

Like her older sister, Gale, Hester dreamed of being an actress and was a member of the UMN’s Masquers Dramatic Club. She played many supporting roles, but in her junior year, she landed the lead role of Madame X in “The Stronger.” In her senior year, Hester joined Paint and Patches, a dramatic club that presented one-act plays at the UMN’s Shevlin Hall. She starred in two of the three productions performed that year.
While a UMN student, Hester served as secretary-treasurer on the board of the Music Club and played the violin in the University Symphony Orchestra. She was also a member of the women’s sorority, Sigma Kappa, the Liberal Discussion Club, and served as a Big Sister on the board of the Women’s Self-Government Association. An athlete, Hester was a member of the Women’s Athletic Association, Trailer Club, and played women’s hockey. In her junior year, she became the team’s field hockey manager. She was a natural choice when the UMN selected student leaders for the UMN’s Stadium Drive. The campaign successfully raised money to build an outdoor athletic stadium which came to be known as “Memorial Stadium;” the home of the Minnesota Gopher’s football team for 58 years.

Hester graduated from the UMN in 1925 with a Bachelor of Science degree. In pursuit of her dream to become an actress, she moved to New York where her sister Gale was already working in radio and on Broadway. It wasn’t long after moving to New York that Hester began to land small parts in Broadway shows.

One of the Broadway productions Hester appeared in was “Mother” where she worked with Lee J. Cobb, John Carradine, and Francis Bavier. In 1936, she appeared in 61 performances with Lee J. Cobb and Francis Bavier in “Bitter Stream.” She worked with Bavier again in the 1939 Theatre Guild Broadway production “My Heart’s in the Highlands” where Hester spoke in Armenian. In 1941, she sang a solo in Marc Blitzstein’s two-act socialist opera, “No For An Answer.” Interestingly, Carol Channing made her debut in this opera. The New York Times and Herald Tribune hailed the production as “thrilling!”

Between plays Hester found work as a regular in radio dramas and was a frequent supporting player on Fletcher Markle’s Studio One and Ford Theatre Radio Drama anthology programs. During the golden age of radio, Hester also worked for DBS Columbia Presents Corwin, NBC Mystery Theatre, and NBC’s Arch Obeler’s Radio Hall of Fame. She performed in operas, dramas, radio serials, docudramas, and public service, ethnic, educational, historical, and nonfiction radio programs. In 1947, she performed in a radio show called “Studio One”. The group performed well known books in one hour’s time.

The Lima News reported on August 12, 1939, “Miss Sondergaard won considerable acclaim in the Group Theatre – Theatre Guild production, “MY Heart’s in the Highlands” as well as in Oboler’s “Another World.” Some of the notable radio actors Hester worked with included Marlene Dietrich, James Cagney, Gene Kelly, Robert Mitchum, Burgess Meredith, Anny Seymour, Robert Young, Katherine Hepburn, and Glenn Ford. If you’re interested in hearing Hester’s old time radio shows, many of them can still be heard and purchased online.

By 1943, Hester began landing small parts in New York feature films. Her first movie role was in “Seeds of Freedom.” Her next movie role in 1948 was in “The Naked City” where she played a nurse. In 1949, she played Mrs. Max Borg working alongside Henry Fonda and Burgess Meredith. Her last film was in 1953 where she played an agency girl in the film, “The Big Break.”

Hester met her future husband, former Congressman Emerson DeLacy, while he was on a business trip to New York. The couple married in 1952, but their marriage was put to the test in 1954 when Howard Costigan declared in sworn testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings that he and Hester’s husband had sat on the governing Bureau of the Seattle District Communist Party USA (CPUSA) from 1937 to 1939. Hester was labeled a “red sympathizer” and placed on the “Hollywood Blacklist” which denied employment to actors, directors, musicians, and screenwriters. The Sondergaard sisters now had another thing in common for Gale had been blacklisted in 1951 when she invoked her 5th Amendment right and refused to answer questions about her political affiliations during a HUAC hearing.

The DeLacys moved to California in 1959, but unfortunately, their marriage ended in divorce in 1960. Hester did not have any children and never remarried. With her acting career over, she decided to go back to school and become a licensed speech pathologist. Quite fitting for someone who had made a living using their voice as a radio star.

In the 1968 directory of “A Guide to Clinical Services in Speech Pathology and Audiology,” Hester is listed as holding a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) issued by the American Speech and Hearing Association. The directory also notes notes Hester Sondergaard DeLacy as having a private practice at 1924 Lake Shore Drive in Los Angeles, CA. In the 1970’s, she became a member of the Doctor’s Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark and became acquainted with her Danish relatives.

Hester remained close to her sister Gale throughout her life. When Gale became too ill to take care of her personal affairs, Hester lent a helping hand by answering requests for interviews with handwritten letters. Sadly, Hester lost her beloved sister and friend on August 14, 1985, and her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

The old-time radio and Broadway star that once walked the streets of Litchfield as a young girl lived a long and fascinating life. She dared to follow her dreams and did not believe in giving up. When Hester lost her acting career, she became successful in an entirely different field; a valuable lesson we all can appreciate.

Hester passed away at the age of 90 on February 26, 1994, in Torrance, California. Her last wish was to be cremated and have her ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean in the same location as her sister near Santa Monica, California.