SUSANNA FOSTER, the star of 1943's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA movie has died.

The singer/actress died of heart failure at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey on Saturday (17Jan09). She was 84.

She co-starred with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy in the remake of the 1925 silent screen version of Phantom, and then enjoyed a clutch of film successes throughout the 1940s.

Foster was a child star on radio before her Hollywood career began, and she landed an MGM contract at the age of 12.

She turned down the leading role in National Velvet, which eventually helped turn Elizabeth Taylor into a star. That decision eventually cost her the MGM contract.

By 1950, Foster had virtually disappeared from Hollywood and the public spotlight. She struggled in her private life and at one point was homeless.

She was to make only one more movie appearance - in 1992's Detour.