Mary Nash (actress)
Mary Nash | |
---|---|
Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Resting place | St. Agnes Cemetery[1] |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1904-1946 |
Spouse | Jose Ruben (1888-1969) married 1918, divorced soon after |
Relatives | Florence Nash (sister) |
Mary Nash (born Mary Honora Ryan; August 15, 1884 – December 3, 1976) was an American actress.[2]
Early life
Mary and her younger sister, author/actress
Stage and film career
She was a stage actress in New York and London, and vaudeville. After brief appearances as a dancer at the Herald Square Theatre in 1904, she made her off-Broadway debut on Christmas Day 1905 as Leonora Dunbar in
She moved to Hollywood in 1934, where she acted in films until 1946. According to Allmovie: "Nash was often cast as seemingly mild-mannered women who turned vicious when challenged, as witness her work in College Scandal (1936) and Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)...Mary Nash's most sympathetic role was as the long-suffering wife of blustering capitalist J.B. Ball in Easy Living (1937)."[5] In the 1940 film Gold Rush Maisie, she played the patient, forbearing wife and mother of a family, forced by the Dust Bowl and Depression to abandon their farm in Arkansas, that has spent five years traveling through the country in search of seasonal work.
Nash may be best known for playing villains in two Shirley Temple films, first as Fraulein Rottenmeier in Heidi (1937) and then as Miss Minchin in The Little Princess (1939). She played Katharine Hepburn's socialite mother in the movie version of The Philadelphia Story (1940). She played a supporting role in the 1936 Academy Award-winning film Come and Get It and had a featured role in the 1944 film In the Meantime, Darling.
Personal life
In 1918, she wed French actor, writer and director Jose Ruben (1888–1969); they divorced after a brief marriage.
A Democrat, she supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election.[6]
Death
Nash died in her sleep at her Brentwood, California home on December 7, 1976. She was 92.[1] Nash is interred at St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands, NY.[2]
Filmography
References
- ^ Mack mausoleum (top of the hill near the corner), St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands, Albany, NY., Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 34193-34194). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
- ^ a b c "Mary Nash Dead; Character Actress Of Stage and Film". New York Times. December 8, 1976. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
Mary Nash, whose 40-year career as an actress included stardom on Broadway and success in motion pictures and vaudeville, died Friday at her home in Brentwood, Calif. She was 92 years old.
- ^ Great Stars of the American Stage by Daniel C. Blum Profile #103 c. 1952 (this second edition c. 1954)
- ^ Morning News, January 10, 1948, Who Was Who in America (Vol. 2)
- Allmovie, 2006
- ^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
External links
- Mary Nash at Find a Grave
- Mary Nash at IMDb
- Mary Nash at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mary Nash at KinoTV.com
- Mary Nash at Aveleyman.com
- Mary and Florence Nash papers, 1893-1974, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Images:
- Photograph by James Abbe, Captain Applejack, 1921
- Portrait by Ben Solowey, Diana, 1929
- Portrait by Ben Solowey, A Strong Man's House, 1929
- Photograph, Cobra Woman, 1944
- Photograph, 1944
- Mary Nash, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
- Mary Nash in Vanity Fair October 1920 taken by Dorothy Wilding
- Mary Nash in Vanity Fair March 1924 wearing large plumed headdress taken by Edward Steichen