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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.

Birthday: 1874-11-21

Place of birth: Savannah, Tennessee, USA

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Know for department: Acting

Also known as: Mary Elizabeth Patterson

Lady on a Train
Lady on a Train

1945-08-03

Aunt Charlotte Waring

Love Me Tonight
Love Me Tonight

1932-08-18

First Aunt

Husband's Holiday
Husband's Holiday

1931-12-19

Mrs. Caroline Reid

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife

1938-03-25

Aunt Hedwige

Together Again
Together Again

1944-12-23

Jessie

My Sister Eileen
My Sister Eileen

1942-09-24

Grandma Sherwood

Pal Joey
Pal Joey

1957-10-25

Mrs. Casey

Follow the Boys
Follow the Boys

1944-05-05

Annie

The Story of Temple Drake
The Story of Temple Drake

1933-05-06

Aunt Jennie

Remember the Night
Remember the Night

1940-01-19

Aunt Emma "Emmie"

Hail the Conquering Hero
Hail the Conquering Hero

1944-08-09

Martha - Libby's Aunt

No Man of Her Own
No Man of Her Own

1932-12-30

Mrs. Randall

Little Women
Little Women

1949-03-10

Hannah

The Sky's the Limit
The Sky's the Limit

1943-07-13

Mrs. Fisher

Hide-Out
Hide-Out

1934-08-24

'Ma' Miller

Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road

1941-02-20

Ada Lester

The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

1939-04-04

Mrs. MacGregor

The Cat and the Canary
The Cat and the Canary

1939-10-27

Aunt Susan

High, Wide and Handsome
High, Wide and Handsome

1937-07-21

Grandma Cortlandt

Intruder in the Dust
Intruder in the Dust

1949-11-22

Miss Eunice Habersham

Go West Young Man
Go West Young Man

1936-11-18

Aunt Kate Barnaby

A Bill of Divorcement
A Bill of Divorcement

1932-09-28

Aunt Hester Fairfield

Belle Starr
Belle Starr

1941-09-12

Sarah

Bad Little Angel
Bad Little Angel

1939-10-27

Mrs. Perkins

Bright Leaf
Bright Leaf

1950-06-16

Tabitha Singleton

Her Cardboard Lover
Her Cardboard Lover

1942-07-16

Eva

Breach of Promise
Breach of Promise

1932-10-23

Cora Pugmire

Small Town Girl
Small Town Girl

1936-04-10

Ma Brannan

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim

1947-01-04

Catherine Dennison

Sing, You Sinners
Sing, You Sinners

1938-09-02

Mrs. Daisy Beebe aka Mother Beebe

Welcome Stranger
Welcome Stranger

1947-06-13

Mrs. Gilley

Las Vegas Shakedown
Las Vegas Shakedown

1955-05-15

Mary Raff

Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne of Windy Poplars

1940-06-28

Rebecca

Bulldog Drummond's Peril
Bulldog Drummond's Peril

1938-03-18

Aunt Blanche

Adventure in Diamonds
Adventure in Diamonds

1940-03-08

Nellie

Harmony at Home
Harmony at Home

1930-01-12

Emma Haller

I've Always Loved You
I've Always Loved You

1946-12-02

Mrs. Sompter

Miss Pinkerton
Miss Pinkerton

1932-05-27

Juliet Mitchell

Washington Story
Washington Story

1952-07-01

Miss Dee

The Expert
The Expert

1932-03-05

Miss Crackenwald

Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
Who Killed Aunt Maggie?

1940-11-01

Maggie Ambler

Sons of the Legion
Sons of the Legion

1938-09-18

Grandmother Lee

Night of Mystery
Night of Mystery

1937-05-21

Mrs. Tobias Greene

The Return of Sophie Lang
The Return of Sophie Lang

1936-06-18

Araminta Sedley

New Morals for Old
New Morals for Old

1932-06-04

Aunty Doe

Daddy Long Legs
Daddy Long Legs

1931-06-05

Mrs. Lippett

Kiss the Boys Goodbye
Kiss the Boys Goodbye

1941-08-01

Aunt Lily Lou Bethany

So Red the Rose
So Red the Rose

1935-12-20

Mary Cherry

Chasing Yesterday
Chasing Yesterday

1935-05-03

Mlle. Prefere

The Secret Heart
The Secret Heart

1946-12-25

Mrs. Stover

Tarnished Lady
Tarnished Lady

1931-05-01

Mrs. Courtney

Portrait of a Murderer
Portrait of a Murderer

1958-02-27

Mrs. Finch

Guilty as Hell
Guilty as Hell

1932-08-05

Elvira Ward

They Call It Sin
They Call It Sin

1932-11-05

Mrs. Cullen

Bulldog Drummond's Bride
Bulldog Drummond's Bride

1939-07-12

Aunt Blanche

Penrod and Sam
Penrod and Sam

1931-10-01

Schoolteacher (uncredited)

Hold Your Man
Hold Your Man

1933-06-30

Miss Tuttle

The Dancing Town
The Dancing Town

1928-10-26

Ma Pepperall

Old Hutch
Old Hutch

1936-09-25

Sarah Hutchins

Dinner at Eight
Dinner at Eight

1933-12-22

Miss Copeland

The Boy Friend
The Boy Friend

1926-08-14

Mrs. Harper

Words and Music
Words and Music

1929-08-18

Dean Crockett

Earthbound
Earthbound

1940-06-06

Becky Tilden

The Return of Peter Grimm
The Return of Peter Grimm

1926-12-07

Mrs. Bartholomey

Heaven on Earth
Heaven on Earth

1931-11-27

Vergie

Men Without Names
Men Without Names

1935-06-29

Aunt Ella

Her Master's Voice
Her Master's Voice

1936-01-17

Mrs. Ellie Martin

Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police

1939-03-29

Aunt Blanche

Boo
Boo

1932-12-01

Susan (edited from "The Cat Creeps")

Timothy's Quest
Timothy's Quest

1936-01-31

Vilda Cummins

Out of the Blue
Out of the Blue

1947-04-21

Miss Spring

Night Club Scandal
Night Club Scandal

1937-11-11

Mrs. Elvira Ward

Beyond the Blue Horizon
Beyond the Blue Horizon

1942-06-25

Mrs. Daly

Our Leading Citizen
Our Leading Citizen

1939-08-23

Aunt Tillie

Man Wanted
Man Wanted

1932-04-23

Miss Harper

Hold 'Em Navy
Hold 'Em Navy

1937-11-04

Grandma Holland

Almost Married
Almost Married

1942-05-22

Aunt Matilda Manning

South Sea Rose
South Sea Rose

1929-12-09

Sarah

The Ninth Day
The Ninth Day

1957-01-10

I Married a Witch
I Married a Witch

1942-10-30

Margaret

Song of Surrender
Song of Surrender

1949-10-27

Mrs. Beecham

Secret of the Blue Room
Secret of the Blue Room

1933-07-20

Mary, Cook

Life Begins
Life Begins

1932-09-10

Mrs. Tubby (uncredited)

The Big Party
The Big Party

1930-02-23

Mrs. Goldfarb

Lucky Legs
Lucky Legs

1942-10-01

Annabelle Dinwiddie

Katie Did It
Katie Did It

1950-11-26

Aunt Priscilla Wakely

The Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail

1959-08-31

Maria Cooper

Doctor Bull
Doctor Bull

1933-09-22

Aunt Patricia Banning

Colonel Effingham's Raid
Colonel Effingham's Raid

1946-01-24

Cousin Emma

Infernal Machine
Infernal Machine

1933-04-08

Elinor's Aunt

Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest

1933-09-21

Lydia

The Vanishing Virginian
The Vanishing Virginian

1942-02-01

Grandma

Scandal Street
Scandal Street

1938-02-11

Ada Smith

So Big!
So Big!

1932-04-30

Mrs. Tebbit (uncredited)

The Lone Star Ranger
The Lone Star Ranger

1930-01-05

Sarah Martin

The Cat Creeps
The Cat Creeps

1930-11-10

Susan

The Smiling Lieutenant
The Smiling Lieutenant

1931-08-01

Baroness Von Schwedel (uncredited)

Little Women: Meg's Story
Little Women: Meg's Story

1950-12-18

Aunt March

Little Women: Jo's Story
Little Women: Jo's Story

1950-12-25

Aunt March

Three Lives
Three Lives

1953-09-17

Mrs. Adams

Rendezvous in Black
Rendezvous in Black

1956-10-25

Mrs. Middleton