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Mary Elizabeth Patterson (November 22, 1874 – January 31, 1966) was an American theatre, film, and television character actress who gained popular recognition late in her career playing the elderly neighbor Matilda Trumbull on the television comedy series I Love Lucy.
In 1926, at the age of 51, Patterson was cast in her first movie, a silent film, The Boy Friend. Transitioning successfully into the era of "talkies", she remained a very busy actress in Hollywood throughout the 1930s, averaging more than five films a year during that decade, usually in supporting roles. A few of her screen credits at that time include Tarnished Lady; Husband's Holiday; A Bill of Divorcement; So Big!; The Story of Temple Drake; Hold Your Man; Dinner at Eight; High, Wide, and Handsome; and No Man of Her Own. She also appeared in the role of Susan in two adaptations of John Willard's popular play The Cat and the Canary: The Cat Creeps in 1930 and The Cat and the Canary in 1939.
Patterson continued to perform frequently in the 1940s, when she was cast in more than 30 additional films. Among her notable roles is her 1949 portrayal of the heroic character Eunice Habersham in the groundbreaking racial crime drama Intruder in the Dust, a film based on the William Faulkner novel of the same name and set in the Deep South. Although she would appear in a few more feature films in the 1950s, such as Washington Story and Pal Joey, Patterson by then began to focus her work increasingly on roles in the rapidly expanding medium of television.
In 1952, at the age of 77, Patterson made her first appearance on the hit CBS-TV sitcom I Love Lucy in the episode "The Marriage License". Her character on I Love Lucy proved to be so popular among viewers, as well as useful to the writers of the series, that she continued in the role for three more years, often serving in episode storylines as a convenient babysitter for "Little Ricky".
Prior to, during, and after her work on I Love Lucy, Patterson appeared in many other American television series during the 1950s and early 1960s. Her first credited performance on the "small screen" was in March 1950 in "The Walking Stick", a teleplay on the NBC anthology series The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre. During the 11 years after that initial televised performance to her final role on television in 1961, she portrayed characters in a variety of other series, including Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, Studio One in Hollywood, General Electric Theater, Stage 7, Lux Video Theatre, Crossroads, The Star and the Story, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Adventures of Superman, New York Confidential, 77 Sunset Strip, Johnny Stacatto, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Playhouse 90, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, and The New Breed.
Patterson, who never married, lived at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during her 35-year film and television career.. On January 31, 1966, she died at age 91 in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia. Her gravesite is in Savannah Cemetery in her hometown in Tennessee.
1960
as Mrs. Melvane
1959
1959
as Maria Cooper
1959
1958
1958
1958
as Mrs. Finch
1957
as Mrs. Casey
1957
1956
1955
1955
as Miss Bessie
1955
as Grandmother
1955
as Aunt Polly
1955
as Mary Raff
1954
as Aunt Polly
1954
as Jane Connor
1954
as Nellie Eldredge
1954
as Mrs. Garr
1953
as Mrs. Adams
1953
as Madame Elaine
1952
as Mrs. Couche
1952
as Ma / Mother Baker
1952
1952
as Miss Dee
1951
as Mrs. Willoughby
1951
as Mrs. Trumbull
1950
as Aunt March
1950
as Aunt March
1950
as Aunt Priscilla Wakely
1950
as Dr. Gilley
1950
as Mrs. Sargent
1950
as Tabitha Singleton
1949
as Miss Eunice Habersham
1949
as Mrs. Beecham
1949
as Hannah
1948
as Cora
1947
as Mrs. Gilley
1947
as Miss Spring
1947
as Catherine Dennison
1946
as Mrs. Stover
1946
as Mrs. Sompter
1946
as Cousin Emma
1945
as Aunt Charlotte Waring
1944
as Jessie
1944
as Martha - Libby's Aunt
1944
as Annie
1943
as Mrs. Fisher
1942
as Margaret
1942
as Annabelle Dinwiddie
1942
as Grandma Sherwood
1942
as Eva
1942
as Mrs. Daly
1942
as Aunt Matilda Manning
1942
as Grandma
1941
as Sarah
1941
as Aunt Lily Lou Bethany
1941
as Ada Lester
1940
as Aunt Olivia
1940
as Maggie Ambler
1940
as Rebecca
1940
as Becky Tilden
1940
as Nellie
1940
as Aunt Emma
1939
as Aunt Susan
1939
as Mrs. Perkins
1939
as Aunt Tillie
1939
as Aunt Blanche
1939
as Mrs. MacGregor
1939
as Aunt Blanche
1938
as Grandmother Lee
1938
as Mrs. Daisy Beebe aka Mother Beebe
1938
as Aunt Hedwige
1938
as Aunt Blanche
1938
as Ada Smith
1937
as Mrs. Elvira Ward
1937
as Grandma Holland
1937
as Grandma Cortlandt
1937
as Mrs. Tobias Greene
1936
as Aunt Kate Barnaby
1936
as Sarah Hutchins
1936
as Araminta Sedley
1936
as Ma Brannan
1936
as Vilda Cummins
1936
as Mrs. Ellie Martin
1935
as Mary Cherry
1935
as Aunt Ella
1935
as Mlle. Prefere
1934
as 'Ma' Miller
1933
as Miss Copeland
1933
as Aunt Patricia Banning
1933
as Lydia
1933
as Mary, Cook
1933
as Miss Tuttle
1933
as Aunt Jennie
1933
as Elinor's Aunt
1933
as Lizzie
1932
as Mrs. Randall
1932
as Susan (edited from "The Cat Creeps")
1932
as Mrs. Cullen
1932
as Cora Pugmire
1932
as Aunt Hester Fairfield
1932
as Mrs. Tubby (uncredited)
1932
as First Aunt
1932
as Elvira Ward
1932
as Aunty Doe
1932
as Juliet Mitchell
1932
as Mrs. Tebbit (uncredited)
1932
as Miss Harper
1932
as Miss Crackenwald
1931
as Mrs. Caroline Reid
1931
as Vergie
1931
as Schoolteacher (uncredited)
1931
as Baroness Von Schwedel (uncredited)
1931
as Mrs. Lippett
1931
as Mrs. Courtney
1930
as Susan
1930
as Mrs. Goldfarb
1930
as Emma Haller
1930
as Sarah Martin
1929
as Sarah
1929
as Dean Crockett
1928
as Ma Pepperall
1926
as Mrs. Bartholomey
1926
as Mrs. Harper