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Elizabeth Patterson

Elizabeth Patterson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

The Barbara Stanwyck Show

1960

as Mrs. Melvane

Johnny Staccato

1959

The Oregon Trail

1959

as Maria Cooper

New York Confidential

1959

77 Sunset Strip

1958

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

1958

Portrait of a Murderer

1958

as Mrs. Finch

Pal Joey

1957

as Mrs. Casey

The Ninth Day

1957

The Adventures of Jim Bowie

1956

Playwrights '56

1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

as Miss Bessie

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

as Grandmother

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

1955

as Aunt Polly

Las Vegas Shakedown

1955

as Mary Raff

Climax!

1954

as Aunt Polly

Climax!

1954

as Jane Connor

Climax!

1954

as Nellie Eldredge

Climax!

1954

as Mrs. Garr

Three Lives

1953

as Mrs. Adams

General Electric Theater

1953

as Madame Elaine

Cavalcade of America

1952

as Mrs. Couche

Four Star Playhouse

1952

as Ma / Mother Baker

Adventures of Superman

1952

Washington Story

1952

as Miss Dee

I Love Lucy

1951

as Mrs. Willoughby

I Love Lucy

1951

as Mrs. Trumbull

Little Women: Jo's Story

1950

as Aunt March

Little Women: Meg's Story

1950

as Aunt March

Katie Did It

1950

as Aunt Priscilla Wakely

Lux Video Theatre

1950

as Dr. Gilley

Lux Video Theatre

1950

as Mrs. Sargent

Bright Leaf

1950

as Tabitha Singleton

Intruder in the Dust

1949

as Miss Eunice Habersham

Song of Surrender

1949

as Mrs. Beecham

Little Women

1949

as Hannah

Miss Tatlock's Millions

1948

as Cora

Welcome Stranger

1947

as Mrs. Gilley

Out of the Blue

1947

as Miss Spring

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim

1947

as Catherine Dennison

The Secret Heart

1946

as Mrs. Stover

I've Always Loved You

1946

as Mrs. Sompter

Colonel Effingham's Raid

1946

as Cousin Emma

Lady on a Train

1945

as Aunt Charlotte Waring

Together Again

1944

as Jessie

Hail the Conquering Hero

1944

as Martha - Libby's Aunt

Follow the Boys

1944

as Annie

The Sky's the Limit

1943

as Mrs. Fisher

I Married a Witch

1942

as Margaret

Lucky Legs

1942

as Annabelle Dinwiddie

My Sister Eileen

1942

as Grandma Sherwood

Her Cardboard Lover

1942

as Eva

Beyond the Blue Horizon

1942

as Mrs. Daly

Almost Married

1942

as Aunt Matilda Manning

The Vanishing Virginian

1942

as Grandma

Belle Starr

1941

as Sarah

Kiss the Boys Goodbye

1941

as Aunt Lily Lou Bethany

Tobacco Road

1941

as Ada Lester

Michael Shayne: Private Detective

1940

as Aunt Olivia

Who Killed Aunt Maggie?

1940

as Maggie Ambler

Anne of Windy Poplars

1940

as Rebecca

Earthbound

1940

as Becky Tilden

Adventure in Diamonds

1940

as Nellie

Remember the Night

1940

as Aunt Emma

The Cat and the Canary

1939

as Aunt Susan

Bad Little Angel

1939

as Mrs. Perkins

Our Leading Citizen

1939

as Aunt Tillie

Bulldog Drummond's Bride

1939

as Aunt Blanche

The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

1939

as Mrs. MacGregor

Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police

1939

as Aunt Blanche

Sons of the Legion

1938

as Grandmother Lee

Sing, You Sinners

1938

as Mrs. Daisy Beebe aka Mother Beebe

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife

1938

as Aunt Hedwige

Bulldog Drummond's Peril

1938

as Aunt Blanche

Scandal Street

1938

as Ada Smith

Night Club Scandal

1937

as Mrs. Elvira Ward

Hold 'Em Navy

1937

as Grandma Holland

High, Wide and Handsome

1937

as Grandma Cortlandt

Night of Mystery

1937

as Mrs. Tobias Greene

Go West Young Man

1936

as Aunt Kate Barnaby

Old Hutch

1936

as Sarah Hutchins

The Return of Sophie Lang

1936

as Araminta Sedley

Small Town Girl

1936

as Ma Brannan

Timothy's Quest

1936

as Vilda Cummins

Her Master's Voice

1936

as Mrs. Ellie Martin

So Red the Rose

1935

as Mary Cherry

Men Without Names

1935

as Aunt Ella

Chasing Yesterday

1935

as Mlle. Prefere

Hide-Out

1934

as 'Ma' Miller

Dinner at Eight

1933

as Miss Copeland

Doctor Bull

1933

as Aunt Patricia Banning

Golden Harvest

1933

as Lydia

Secret of the Blue Room

1933

as Mary, Cook

Hold Your Man

1933

as Miss Tuttle

The Story of Temple Drake

1933

as Aunt Jennie

Infernal Machine

1933

as Elinor's Aunt

They Just Had to Get Married

1933

as Lizzie

No Man of Her Own

1932

as Mrs. Randall

Boo

1932

as Susan (edited from "The Cat Creeps")

They Call It Sin

1932

as Mrs. Cullen

Breach of Promise

1932

as Cora Pugmire

A Bill of Divorcement

1932

as Aunt Hester Fairfield

Life Begins

1932

as Mrs. Tubby (uncredited)

Love Me Tonight

1932

as First Aunt

Guilty as Hell

1932

as Elvira Ward

New Morals for Old

1932

as Aunty Doe

Miss Pinkerton

1932

as Juliet Mitchell

So Big!

1932

as Mrs. Tebbit (uncredited)

Man Wanted

1932

as Miss Harper

The Expert

1932

as Miss Crackenwald

Husband's Holiday

1931

as Mrs. Caroline Reid

Heaven on Earth

1931

as Vergie

Penrod and Sam

1931

as Schoolteacher (uncredited)

The Smiling Lieutenant

1931

as Baroness Von Schwedel (uncredited)

Daddy Long Legs

1931

as Mrs. Lippett

Tarnished Lady

1931

as Mrs. Courtney

The Cat Creeps

1930

as Susan

The Big Party

1930

as Mrs. Goldfarb

Harmony at Home

1930

as Emma Haller

The Lone Star Ranger

1930

as Sarah Martin

South Sea Rose

1929

as Sarah

Words and Music

1929

as Dean Crockett

The Dancing Town

1928

as Ma Pepperall

The Return of Peter Grimm

1926

as Mrs. Bartholomey

The Boy Friend

1926

as Mrs. Harper