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Marjorie Main
Actor
Born February 22, 1890Died April 10, 1975 (85 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marjorie Main (born Mary Tomlinson, February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975) was an American actress, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player and for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.
Main worked in vaudeville on the Orpheum circuit and in Chautauqua presentations, and debuted on Broadway in 1916. Her first film was A House Divided in 1931.
Main began playing upper class dowagers, but ultimately was typecast in abrasive, domineering, salty roles, for which her distinctive voice was well suited. She repeated her stage role in Dead End in the 1937 film version, and was subsequently cast repeatedly as the mother of gangsters. She again transferred a strong stage performance, as a dude-ranch operator in The Women, to film in 1939. At this time, she guest-starred on radio programs such as Columbia Presents Corwin and The Goldbergs.
Main was signed to a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract in 1940 and stayed with the studio until the mid-1950s. She made six films with Wallace Beery in the 1940s, including Barnacle Bill (1941), Jackass Mail (1942), and Bad Bascomb (1946). She played Sonora Cassidy, the chief cook, in The Harvey Girls (1946). The director George Sidney remarked in the commentary for the film that Miss Main was a "great lady" as well as a great actress who donated most of her paychecks over the years to the support of a school.
Perhaps her most famous role is that of Ma Kettle, which she first played in The Egg and I in 1947 opposite Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the part and portrayed the character in nine more Ma and Pa Kettle films.
By the early 1950s, she had appeared in several MGM musicals, including, Meet Me in St. Louis and The Belle of New York. She played Mrs. Wrenley in the studio's all-star film It's a Big Country (1951). In 1954, Marjorie Main played her last roles for the studio: Mrs. Hittaway in The Long, Long Trailer and Jane Dunstock in Rose Marie. In 1956, Main's performance as the widow Hudspeth in the hit film Friendly Persuasion was well-received, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1958, Main appeared twice as rugged frontierswoman Cassie Tanner in the episodes "The Cassie Tanner Story" and "The Sacramento Story" on NBC's television series Wagon Train. In the first segment, she joins the wagon train, casts her romantic interest on Ward Bond as Major Adams, and helps the train locate needed horses despite a Paiute threat.
Marjorie Main (born Mary Tomlinson, February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975) was an American actress, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player and for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.
Main worked in vaudeville on the Orpheum circuit and in Chautauqua presentations, and debuted on Broadway in 1916. Her first film was A House Divided in 1931.
Main began playing upper class dowagers, but ultimately was typecast in abrasive, domineering, salty roles, for which her distinctive voice was well suited. She repeated her stage role in Dead End in the 1937 film version, and was subsequently cast repeatedly as the mother of gangsters. She again transferred a strong stage performance, as a dude-ranch operator in The Women, to film in 1939. At this time, she guest-starred on radio programs such as Columbia Presents Corwin and The Goldbergs.
Main was signed to a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract in 1940 and stayed with the studio until the mid-1950s. She made six films with Wallace Beery in the 1940s, including Barnacle Bill (1941), Jackass Mail (1942), and Bad Bascomb (1946). She played Sonora Cassidy, the chief cook, in The Harvey Girls (1946). The director George Sidney remarked in the commentary for the film that Miss Main was a "great lady" as well as a great actress who donated most of her paychecks over the years to the support of a school.
Perhaps her most famous role is that of Ma Kettle, which she first played in The Egg and I in 1947 opposite Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the part and portrayed the character in nine more Ma and Pa Kettle films.
By the early 1950s, she had appeared in several MGM musicals, including, Meet Me in St. Louis and The Belle of New York. She played Mrs. Wrenley in the studio's all-star film It's a Big Country (1951). In 1954, Marjorie Main played her last roles for the studio: Mrs. Hittaway in The Long, Long Trailer and Jane Dunstock in Rose Marie. In 1956, Main's performance as the widow Hudspeth in the hit film Friendly Persuasion was well-received, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1958, Main appeared twice as rugged frontierswoman Cassie Tanner in the episodes "The Cassie Tanner Story" and "The Sacramento Story" on NBC's television series Wagon Train. In the first segment, she joins the wagon train, casts her romantic interest on Ward Bond as Major Adams, and helps the train locate needed horses despite a Paiute threat.
Movies & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 1982 | Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter · as Ma Kettle |
| 1965 | The World of Abbott and Costello · as Widow Hawkins In The Wistful Widow Of Wagon Gap |
| 1957 | Wagon Train (TV Series) · as Cassie Tanner |
| 1957 | The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm · as Ma Kettle |
| 1956 | Friendly Persuasion · as The Widow Hudspeth |
| 1956 | The Kettles in the Ozarks · as Ma Kettle |
| 1955 | Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki · as Ma' Kettle |
| 1954 | Ricochet Romance · as Pansy Jones |
| 1954 | December Bride (TV Series) |
| 1954 | Rose Marie · as Lady Jane Dunstock |
| 1954 | Ma and Pa Kettle at Home · as Ma Kettle |
| 1954 | The Long, Long Trailer · as Mrs. Hittaway |
| 1953 | Fast Company · as Ma Parkson |
| 1952 | Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation · as Ma Kettle |
| 1952 | Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair · as Ma Kettle |
| 1952 | The Belle of New York · as Mrs Phineas Hill |
| 1951 | It's a Big Country: An American Anthology · as Mrs. Wrenley |
| 1951 | Mr. Imperium · as Mrs. Cabot |
| 1951 | The Law and the Lady · as Julia Wortin |
| 1951 | Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm · as Ma Kettle |
| 1950 | Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone · as Harriet O'malley |
| 1950 | Summer Stock · as Esme |
| 1950 | Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town · as Ma Kettle |
| 1949 | Big Jack · as Flapjack Kate |
| 1949 | Ma and Pa Kettle · as Phoebe 'ma' Kettle |
| 1948 | Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' · as Maribel Mathews |
| 1947 | The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap · as Widow Hawkins |
| 1947 | The Egg and I · as Phoebe 'ma' Kettle |
| 1946 | The Show-Off · as Mrs. Fisher |
| 1946 | Undercurrent · as Lucy |
| 1946 | Bad Bascomb · as Abbey Hanks |
| 1946 | The Harvey Girls · as Sonora Cassidy |
| 1945 | Murder, He Says · as Mamie Fleagle Smithers Johnson |
| 1944 | Gentle Annie · as Annie Goss |
| 1944 | Meet Me in St. Louis · as Katie |
| 1944 | Rationing · as Iris Tuttle |
| 1943 | Johnny Come Lately · as 'gashouse' Mary |
| 1943 | Heaven Can Wait · as Mrs. Strabel |
| 1942 | The Bugle Sounds · as Susie 'suz' |
| 1942 | Tennessee Johnson · as Mrs. Maude Fisher |
| 1942 | We Were Dancing · as Judge Hawkes |
| 1942 | Tish · as Miss Letitia 'tish' Carberry |
| 1942 | Jackass Mail · as Clementine 'tina' Tucker |
| 1942 | The Affairs of Martha · as Mrs. Mckissick |
| 1941 | Honky Tonk · as Mrs. Varner |
| 1941 | The Shepherd of the Hills · as Granny Becky |
| 1941 | A Woman's Face · as Emma Kristiansdotter |
| 1941 | Barnacle Bill · as Marge Cavendish |
| 1941 | The Trial of Mary Dugan · as Mrs. Collins |
| 1941 | The Wild Man of Borneo · as Irma, The Cook |
| 1940 | Wyoming · as Mehitabel |
| 1940 | The Captain Is a Lady · as Sarah May Willett |
| 1940 | Susan and God · as Mary |
| 1940 | |
| 1940 | Dark Command · as Mrs. Cantrell / Mrs. Adams |
| 1940 | I Take This Woman · as Gertie |
| 1939 | Two Thoroughbreds · as Hildegarde 'hildy' Carey |
| 1939 | Another Thin Man · as Mrs. Dolley (uncredited) |
| 1939 | The Women · as Lucy |
| 1939 | Angels Wash Their Faces · as Mrs. Arkelian |
| 1939 | They Shall Have Music · as Mrs. Miller |
| 1939 | Lucky Night · as Mrs. Briggs |
| 1938 | There Goes My Heart · as Fireless Cooker Customer (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Girls' School · as Miss Armstrong |
| 1938 | Too Hot to Handle · as Miss Wayne |
| 1938 | Under the Big Top · as Sara Post |
| 1938 | Little Tough Guy · as Mrs. Boylan |
| 1938 | Prison Farm · as Matron Brand |
| 1938 | Romance of the Limberlost · as Nora |
| 1938 | Three Comrades · as Old Woman By Phone (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Test Pilot · as Landlady |
| 1938 | King of the Newsboys · as Mrs. Stephens (uncredited) |
| 1937 | The Shadow · as Hannah Gillespie |
| 1937 | Boy of the Streets · as Mrs. Mary Brennan |
| 1937 | The Wrong Road · as Martha Foster |
| 1937 | The Man Who Cried Wolf · as Amelia Bradley |
| 1937 | |
| 1937 | Stella Dallas · as Mrs. Martin |
| 1934 | Music in the Air · as Anna (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Crime Without Passion · as Backstage Wardrobe Woman (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Hot Saturday · as Gossip In Window (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Broken Lullaby · as Frau Schmidt - Townswoman (uncredited) |
| 1931 | A House Divided · as Townswoman At Wedding (uncredited) |