Susan Hayward (June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975)

You might think I’m referencing Ms Hayward‘s Oscar winning performance in “I Want To Live!” but I’m not: instead it was her fight against cancer that she took on, late in life.

The timing of her birth is listed everywhere as 4:01 pm (including on my Kepler 7.0 computer program). Something may not be exactly right about it, but for our purposes, I think I’ll accept it, as is. The stellium of planets in Cancer, in the 8th House (of death) is probably the reason for the choice. The Sun/Pluto conjunction would be enough on its own. And the position of Saturn (the grim reaper) at the 9th House cusp is the clincher.

Her death time is randomized. And yet, there Saturn is again, this time transiting her natal Sun. Death was stalking her for years, ever since her two-pack-a-day smoking habit caught up with her. This is where her grandest performance comes into focus.

This presentation was on April 2, 1974 (and with Charlton Heston, not David Nevin as stated in the Chicago Tribune story, linked above). She had been undergoing heavy chemotherapy, since she now had cancer in her brain, as well as her lungs. And she was suffering from epileptic seizures. 11 months later, the seizures killed her in the end.

Perhaps the words of Barbara Graham kept her alive for as long as they did:

I want to live!