State of Grace

Saint Mercedes McCambridge, who won an Oscar for “All the King’s Men,” died on March 2, 2004.

From an entry for that date:

O the days of the Kerry dancing….
When the boys began to gather,
    in the glen of a summer’s night.
And the Kerry piper’s tuning 
    made us long with wild delight.

For further details,
see April 16, 2003.

From today’s New York Times:

Charlotte Mercedes Agnes McCambridge was born on March 16, 1916, in Joliet, Ill. … She began giving her birth date, though, as St. Patrick’s Day 1918. In explaining the discrepancy, a spokeswoman said, “She’s an actress,” adding: “She was a little bit Irish. And she decided she wanted to be two years younger.”

What the hell, she’s younger now.