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Elizabeth Patterson

Actor
Died January 31, 1966 (91 years)
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.
Movies & Shows on Plex
  • Remember the Night
  • The Cat and the Canary
  • Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
  • Bulldog Drummond's Peril
  • The Adventures of Jim Bowie
  • Four Star Playhouse
Known For
  • Remember the Night
  • I Married a Witch
  • Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
  • Hail the Conquering Hero
  • Pal Joey
  • Little Women
  • Love Me Tonight
  • The Cat and the Canary
  • Intruder in the Dust
  • Tobacco Road
  • Lady on a Train
  • The Sky's the Limit
  • A Bill of Divorcement
  • Hold Your Man
  • My Sister Eileen
  • The Story of Temple Drake
  • Bright Leaf
  • Belle Starr
  • Secret of the Blue Room
  • Her Cardboard Lover
  • Boo!
  • Tall Story
  • Man Wanted
  • Miss Pinkerton

Filmography

1961
The New Breed (TV Series) · as Mrs. Honeyman
1960
The Barbara Stanwyck Show (TV Series) · as Mrs. Melvane
1960
Tall Story · as Connie
1959
Johnny Staccato (TV Series)
1959
The Oregon Trail · as Maria Cooper
1958
77 Sunset Strip (TV Series)
1958
1957
Pal Joey · as Mrs. Casey
1956
Playhouse 90 (TV Series) · as Aunt Ida
1956
1955
Matinee Theater (TV Series) · as Cast
1955
Crossroads (1955) (TV Series) · as Mary Donovan
1955
Playwrights '56 (TV Series)
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) · as Miss Bessie
1955
1955
Las Vegas Shakedown · as Mary Raff
1955
Science Fiction Theatre (TV Series) · as Hannah
1955
Stage 7 (TV Series) · as Grandmother
1955
The Star and the Story (TV Series) · as Amy Carey
1954
Climax! (TV Series) · as Jane Connor
1953
Ponds Theater (TV Series) · as Cast
1953
General Electric Theater (TV Series) · as Madame Elaine
1952
Ford Theatre: All Star Theatre (TV Series) · as Mrs. Dunkel
1952
Cavalcade of America (TV Series) · as Mrs. Couche
1952
Four Star Playhouse (TV Series) · as Ma / Mother Baker
1952
1952
Washington Story · as Miss Dee
1951
I Love Lucy (TV Series) · as Mrs. Trumbull
1950
Katie Did It · as Aunt Priscilla Wakely
1950
Little Women: Jo's Story · as Aunt March
1950
Little Women: Meg's Story · as Aunt March
1950
The Bigelow Theatre (TV Series) · as Cast
1950
The Pulitzer Prize Playhouse (TV Series) · as Mrs. Haggett
1950
The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Dr. Gilley
1950
Bright Leaf · as Tabitha Singleton
1950
The Armstrong Circle Theatre (TV Series) · as Cast
1949
Intruder in the Dust · as Miss Eunice Habersham
1949
Song of Surrender · as Mrs. Beecham
1949
Little Women · as Hannah
1948
1948
Studio One (TV Series) · as Aunt March
1948
The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (TV Series) · as Cast
1948
The Milton Berle Show (TV Series) · as Cast
1947
Welcome Stranger · as Mrs. Gilley
1947
Out of the Blue · as Miss Spring
1947
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim · as Catherine Dennison
1946
Colonel Effingham's Raid · as Cousin Emma
1946
The Secret Heart · as Mrs. Stover
1946
I've Always Loved You · as Mrs. Sompter
1945
Lady on a Train · as Aunt Charlotte Waring
1944
Together Again · as Jessie
1944
Hail the Conquering Hero · as Martha - Libby's Aunt
1944
Follow the Boys · as Annie
1943
The Sky's the Limit · as Mrs. Fisher
1942
Beyond the Blue Horizon · as Mrs. Daly
1942
I Married a Witch · as Margaret
1942
My Sister Eileen · as Grandma Sherwood
1942
1942
1941
Belle Starr · as Sarah
1941
Kiss the Boys Goodbye · as Aunt Lily Lou Bethany
1941
Tobacco Road · as Ada Lester
1940
1940
Who Killed Aunt Maggie? · as Maggie Ambler
1940
Anne of Windy Poplars · as Rebecca
1940
Earthbound · as Becky Tilden
1940
1939
1939
1939
Bad Little Angel · as Mrs. Perkins
1939
Bulldog Drummond's Bride · as Aunt Blanche
1939
Our Leading Citizen · as Aunt Tillie
1939
Land of Liberty · as Cast
1939
1939
1938
Sons of the Legion · as Grandmother Lee
1938
Sing, You Sinners · as Mrs. Daisy Beebe Aka Mother Beebe
1938
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife · as Aunt Hedwige
1938
1937
Night Club Scandal · as Mrs. Elvira Ward
1937
High, Wide and Handsome · as Grandma Cortlandt
1936
Go West Young Man · as Aunt Kate Barnaby
1936
The Return of Sophie Lang · as Araminta Sedley
1936
Small Town Girl · as Ma Brannan
1935
So Red the Rose · as Mary Cherry
1935
Men Without Names · as Aunt Ella
1935
Chasing Yesterday · as Mlle. Prefere
1934
Hide-Out · as 'ma' Miller
1933
Dinner at Eight · as Miss Copeland
1933
Ever in My Heart · as Clara Tuttle--Canteen Worker
1933
Doctor Bull · as Aunt Patricia Banning
1933
Golden Harvest · as Lydia
1933
Secret of the Blue Room · as Mary, Cook
1933
Hold Your Man · as Miss Tuttle
1933
The Story of Temple Drake · as Aunt Jennie
1932
No Man of Her Own · as Mrs. Randall
1932
Boo! · as Susan (edited From "the Cat Creeps")
1932
The Conquerors · as Roger's Landlady
1932
They Call It Sin · as Mrs. Cullen
1932
A Bill of Divorcement · as Aunt Hester Fairfield
1932
Life Begins · as Mrs. Tubby
1932
Love Me Tonight · as First Aunt
1932
Guilty as Hell · as Elvira Ward
1932
Miss Pinkerton · as Juliet Mitchell
1932
New Morals for Old · as Aunty Doe
1932
So Big! · as Mrs. Tebbit (uncredited)
1932
Man Wanted · as Miss Harper
1932
The Expert · as Miss Crackenwald
1931
Penrod and Sam · as Schoolteacher (uncredited)
1931
The Smiling Lieutenant · as Baroness Von Schwedel (uncredited)
1931
Daddy Long Legs · as Mrs. Lippett
1931
Tarnished Lady · as Mrs. Courtney
1930
The Cat Creeps · as Susan
1930
The Lone Star Ranger · as Sarah Martin
1929
Words and Music · as Dean Crockett

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