While the world mourns the passing of Helen Hayes, 92, and her contributions to the screen and stage, people should also mourn the loss of a woman who championed what she termed the "quiet good."
In a 1985 interview, this first lady of the American theater remembered the greatest challenge of her life - the loss of her 19-year-old daughter shortly before the two were to appear together in a Broadway show. The daughter, Mary MacArthur, was stricken with infantile paralysis - polio - and soon died.What this crisis awoke in this gentle actress was a greater desire to reach beyond herself.
After her tragedy, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis asked her to help. She did. Hayes and the foundation, before the days of the miracle Salk and Sabin vaccines, gave countless people hope in the face of adversity. Her leadership in good causes continued throughout her life.
"I discovered that there's a human race out there and that it's a mighty interesting and mighty inspiring force," she said. And she noted that "We see Evil as noisy and Good as almost always quiet. Evil gets the headlines. Good hardly ever does."
And, of course, there are her contributions to the performing arts that will be long-lasting. During a career that spanned eight decades, she received the highest honors of the stage, screen and television - three Tonys, two Oscars and an Emmy. She even won a Grammy.
She began appearing onstage at age 8, a career fostered by her mother, a sometime actress. From that early start, she spent her life in show business, with the stage being her favorite environment despite her success in movies.
Hayes brought lofty command to historical roles such as Queen Victoria and grace and mischief to everything from an elderly sleuth to ingenues.
At this her final curtain call, Helen Hayes deserves one last standing ovation for her life on stage and behind the scenes helping others.