A New Sybil's "WHO'Z DAT?"… WALTER HUSTON (April 5, 1883 – April 7, 1950)

Darlings! Mummy has made a decision! After reading dozens of posts and having hundreds of conversations with well-meaning folks who just don't know about the great CHARACTER actors who gave films the depth and genius that surrounded and supported the so-called "stars", I am going to post a regular, special entry called "SYBIL'S WHO'Z DAT?"....there'll be photos and a mini-bio, and the next time you see one of those familiar, fabulous faces that you just "can't quite place".......well, maybe these posts will help. Some of these actors worked more, had longer and broader careers, and ended up happier, more loved, and even wealthier than the "stars" that the public worships. (I think there may be a metaphor in that! What do you think???). And speaking of “character” actors, Mummy is going to introduce everyone to the concept of a “character LEAD”!! These actors may not have been lyrically handsome or beautiful, but they often played the leading roles in the most interesting and classic films out of Hollywood. Technically, Bette Davis was one!... almost from the very start of her career. And by her OWN choice! Spencer Tracy was another. Well, my next guest here is not only a classic example, but his range of both comedy and drama, heroes and villains, insure him a seat at the Olympus of character leads! And he started one of the great Hollywood dynasties as well! Walter Huston! (April 5, 1883 – April 7, 1950)

You’ve seen him everywhere, but he’s so chameleon that many folks don’t realize it’s actually HIM in some of the great classic pictures. Born in Toronto, Canada into a farming family and originally trained as an engineer, Huston turned to his other passion acting in 1902, appearing in Vaudeville and stage plays. In 1904, he married Rhea Gore (1882-1938) and gave up acting to work as a manager of electric power stations in Nevada and Missouri. By 1909, his marriage floundering, he began appearing in vaudeville with an older actress called Bayonne Whipple (1865 - 1937) (born Mina Rose). They were billed as "Whipple and Huston" and in 1915 they married. Vaudeville was their livelihood into the 1920s. In 1924 he starred in the premiere production of Eugene O’Neill’s DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS at the Provincetown Playhouse Theatre in Greenwich Village, which then moved to Broadway. To the end of his life, O'Neill (the only American playwright to win the Nobel Prize for Literature) maintained that Huston’s performance was the greatest by any actor in any of his works. For the next few years, Huston appeared on Broadway and then moved to Hollywood as the “talkies” first began to appear. He immediately began starring opposite some of the great film actors of the early 30’s; Gary Cooper in THE VIRGINIAN (1929), Jean Harlow in BEAST OF THE CITY (1932), and Joan Crawford in RAIN (1932). His range ran from heroic icons like the title role in ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1930) to corrupt judges in NIGHT COURT (1932).

Huston received the first of his four Academy Award nominations for the eponymous DODSWORTH (1936), the role he had originated on Broadway in 1934. Huston continued to return to the stage over the years, alternating work between New York and Hollywood. He scored on of his greatest stage successes in KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY (1944) as Peter Stuyvesant singing the immortal Kurt Weill/Maxwell Anderson classic “September Song”. Huston once said, “I was certainly a better actor after my years in Hollywood. I had learned to be natural - never to exaggerate. I found I could act on the stage in just the same way as I had acted in a studio: using my ordinary voice, eliminating gestures, keeping everything extremely simple.”. Huston received his second Best Actor nomination playing Mr. Scratch in the film adaptation of Stephen Vincent Benet’s THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (1941) and his third Oscar nod (for Best Supporting Actor) playing the father of George M. Cohan’s (James Cagney) in YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942) the following year. Just before playing Lucifer, he had made a brief cameo appearance as the dying sea captain (uncredited) who delivers THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) to the office of Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart). That film represented the directorial debut of his son John Huston, who had established himself in Hollywood as a screenwriter in the 1930s. John Huston, as a practical joke, had his father enter the scene and die over 10 different takes.

Walter would go on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1948 for his role as the old miner in his writer-director son John' s THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948), co-starring with Bogart. Accepting his Academy Award, the elder Huston said, "Many years ago.... Many, MANY years ago, I brought up a boy, and I said to him, 'Son, if you ever become a writer, try to write a good part for your old man sometime.' Well, by cracky, that's what he did!". Walter Huston died the following year in Beverly Hills from an aortic aneurysm, two days after his 67th birthday. The legacy he leaves is not only his own beautifully crafted work, but also the Huston dynasty; his brilliant actor/director son John, and grandchildren Angelica, Danny, and Tony.

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Sybil Bruncheon's "Who'z Dat?"... Marlon Brando (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004)

Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American screen and stage actor. He is widely regarded as having had a significant impact on the art of film acting. While he became notorious for his "mumbling" diction and exuding a raw animal magnetism, his mercurial performances were nonetheless highly regarded, and he is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century. Director Martin Scorsese said of him, "He is the marker. There's 'before Brando' and 'after Brando'." Actor Jack Nicholson once said, "When Marlon dies, everybody moves up one." An enduring cultural icon, Brando became a box office star during the 1950s, during which time he racked up five Oscar nominations as Best Actor, along with three consecutive wins of the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

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Sybil Bruncheon's "A Few of My Favorite Things"... John DiLeo's "There Are No Small Parts"...

You know when someone gives you a box of luxury chocolates, maybe for your birthday?... no, I'm talking about LUXURY chocolates! Not some past-its-freshness-date Whitman's sampler from the corner drugstore or a Fanny Farmer hand-me-down from Aunt Edith! I'm talking about Teuscher Champagne Truffles with NO crushed red velvet bow or a smirking bunny with a bent tinfoil ear... ok? You get the idea! Well, if you've ever had the delicious pleasure of that, you know that you savor each one you carefully lift from its pleated paper cup. You really look at it, maybe smell the deep chocolate perfume coming off it before you slowly slip it into your mouth. There's no racing through the box, wedging one after another, unfinished onto the conveyor belt of your gaping tongue and maw, right? It's an exercise in being present and appreciative of something truly wonderful...

Well! Having said all that, there is a newly published book by a truly wonderful writer and film fanatic who has over-ridden any restraint you might have to "savoring", blah, blah, blah! It's "THERE ARE NO SMALL PARTS" by John DiLeo; a collection of extraordinary essays on film performances of ten minutes or less that are unforgettable, perhaps even iconic, and that are immediately recognizable. Even if you "can't quite place the name" of the actor, you might be able to recite every line, and with the same cadences and emotions that earned them a place in this book! Reading these essays, starting with the first one of Elsa Lanchester's in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), you may find yourself gobsmacked by DiLeo's astute joy and celebration of each actor's incredible talent in such a small space; how can an artist render so much with so little? Well, that's genius for you! Eleven of these one hundred gems were nominated for Oscars, and two won, each with an onscreen time of less than 7 minutes! An Oscar in less than 7 minutes!!! Talk about nuance!

Reading some of these essays may bring you to knowing laughter, some may move you to tears, but all of them will certainly impress you with DiLeo's knowledge and discernment. I opened the book and sat stunned that he had chosen performances, one after another, that I had always treasured, even as a child. And how wonderful too, to see major stars take a brief turn "just for the fun of it"; Marlene Dietrich in TOUCH OF EVIL (1958), Gene Hackman in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974), or Al Pacino in ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019).

Back to the box of chocolates; I savor a box of Teuscher Champagne Truffles, one at a time, and certainly NOT finishing all of them in one sitting. Sadly, these essays are so delicious that many readers have stated that they opened the book... and read on and on, page after page, gorging themselves on his erudition, humor, wisdom, and on the combination of his subjects' brilliance and his for celebrating it... I am one of those readers!... wolfing down one after another, swearing to take a break, and making the mistake of "oh, just one more"! Why couldn't he have made it 200 performances??... Or is there perhaps a sequel?? (I hope, I hope, I hope!)... Thank God, gorging on John DiLeo is non-fattening. Oh, and when you've finished, you can start all over again!

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Some of my very favorite movie themes of all time...

SENSE and SENSIBILITY (1995) https://youtu.be/Y91tbxWVE-I

THE HOURS (2002) https://youtu.be/Wkof3nPK--Y

THE DaVINCI CODE (2006) https://youtu.be/u5FyRZbqfeM

and SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) https://youtu.be/YqVRcFQagtI

…watch these clips, and be sure to have your tissues ready...

One of the deepest heartbreaks of my life is that I cannot perform music as beautiful as this... I cannot even imagine what it must be like to actually hear it inside my head and write it on a sheet of paper. What it must feel like to have this kind of beauty inside one's head... and to have been the creator of it…

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Sybil Bruncheon's "True Tales Of Tinsel Town":

Jane Fonda, of course, won the Oscar for playing Bree Daniels, a call-girl trying to be an actress in the mystery/thriller KLUTE (1971). Set in NYC it was directed by the great Alan J. Pakula... I, on the other hand, was offered the low-budget slapstick sequel called KLUTTERMAN (1973)... set in Boca Raton and directed by Moe Howard… yes, that Moe Howard, of Three Stooges fame. I was cast as Bris Danielovich... a female rabbi with a fabulous recipe for calamari... Confusion and merriment ensues!!

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A New Sybil Bruncheon's "WHO'Z DAT?"... WARD BOND (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960)...

 Darlings! Mummy has made a decision! After reading dozens of posts and having hundreds of conversations with well-meaning folks who just don't know about the great CHARACTER actors who gave films the depth and genius that surrounded and supported the so-called "stars", I am going to post a regular, special entry called SYBIL'S "WHO'Z DAT??"....there'll be photos and a mini-bio, and the next time you see one of those familiar, fabulous faces that you just "can't quite place".......well, maybe these posts will help. Some of these actors worked more, had longer and broader careers, and ended up happier, more loved, and even wealthier than the "stars" that the public "worships"......I think there may be a metaphor in that! What do you think??? Well, before we get too immersed in a complicated discussion, let me introduce you to a solid American UNCOMPLICATED guy with a face as chiseled and manly as any that ever graced the silver screen! WARD BOND! (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960).  

Born Wardell Edwin Bond in Benkelman, Nebraska, and growing up in Denver, Colorado, Bond’s early years in the prairies and mountains burnished that Western glow on his character that played so well in over 200 films. Reaching an astonishing 6’2” and a lean 195 lbs., Bond played college football at the University of Southern California as a starting lineman on their first national championship in 1928. One of his teammates was a young man named Marion Morrison who would later become Hollywood’s John Wayne. They became life-long friends and colleagues. Bond, Wayne and the entire Southern Cal team were hired to appear in SALUTE (1929), a football film starring George O'Brien and directed by John Ford. It was Bond’s and Wayne’s screen debut and they became friendly with Ford. Both actors would appear in many of Ford's later films. Always cast as a “man’s man”, Bond would often play a friendly cop, a strong and sympathetic cowboy, or, on rare occasions, a thug. His long working relationship with John Ford resulted in 25 films including DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK (1939), THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940), FORT APACHE (1948), THE QUIET MAN (1952), and THE SEARCHERS (1956). Perhaps because of his natural warmth on camera, Bond was cast in several of Frank Capra’s populist-oriented films... LADY FOR A DAY (1933), IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934), YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938), and the iconic IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946).  

His solid unadorned acting style served him beautifully both in dramas and comedies opposite the greatest stars in the industry. Audiences felt that they were seeing the “real” Ward Bond when he appeared on screen in many of the most classic films of the 30s, 40s, and 50s, including BRINGING UP BABY (1938), GONE WITH THE WIND (1939), THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), SERGEANT YORK (1941), THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945), JOAN OF ARC (1948), and his final film RIO BRAVO (1959), also done with friend John Wayne. During the 1940s, both Bond and Wayne were members of the conservative political group called the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, whose major rationale was opposition to communists in the film industry. In 1960, Bond campaigned for the Republican presidential nominee Richard M. Nixon. Bond died three days before Democrat John F. Kennedy narrowly defeated Nixon.  

Possibly because of his constant “supporting player” status in the movies, Bond made an easy and successful transition into television in the 50s, starring in the immensely popular NBC western television series “Wagon Train” from 1957 until his death in 1960. “Wagon Train” was inspired by the 1950 film WAGON MASTER in which Bond also appeared, and was influenced by THE BIG TRAIL (1930). The formula for “Wagon Train” allowed for special guest stars from Bond’s old studio days to rotate through as travelers each week, allowing him to work with old friends during his run. He specifically requested friends Terry Wilson for the role of assistant trailmaster Bill Hawks and Frank McGrath as the cook Charlie Wooster. Wilson and McGrath both stayed with the series for the entire run. An inveterate chain smoker like his friend Wayne, Bond died of a massive heart attack at 57 years of age.  

Having made 16 films with his friend over the years, John Wayne gave the eulogy at his funeral. Bond's will bequeathed to Wayne the shotgun with which Wayne had once accidentally shot Bond. Ward Bond has the distinction of appearing in more of the films on both the original and the tenth anniversary edition of the American Film Institute’s “100 Years/100 Movies” lists than any other actor, albeit always as a supporting player. He had also been in 11 films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, which may be more than any other actor. Although he was married twice (Doris Sellers Childs m.1936-1944; divorced, and Mary Louise May m.1954-1960; his death) he never had any children. For his contribution to the television industry, Bond has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6933 Hollywood Blvd. In 2001, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. There is also a Ward Bond Memorial Park in his birthplace of Benkelman, Nebraska.

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A New Sybil's "WHO'Z DAT?"... FRANK CADY (September 8, 1915 – June 8, 2012)

Darlings! Mummy has made a decision! After reading dozens of posts and having hundreds of conversations with well-meaning folks who just don't know about the great CHARACTER actors who gave films the depth and genius that surrounded and supported the so-called "stars", I am going to post a regular, special entry called "SYBIL'S WHO'Z DAT?"....there'll be photos and a mini-bio, and the next time you see one of those familiar, fabulous faces that you just "can't quite place".......well, maybe these posts will help. Some of these actors worked more, had longer and broader careers, and ended up happier, more loved, and even wealthier than the "stars" that the public "worships". (I think there may be a metaphor in that! What do you think???). Here's our next guest!! Many of you know him on sight! You’ve seen him everywhere on TV and film: FRANK CADY! (September 8, 1915 – June 8, 2012)

Born in Susanville, California, the youngest of three children of Leon and Clara Cady. The acting bug bit him early when he sang in an elementary school play. In high school he worked at a local newspaper, The Lassen County Advocate. Cady's family later moved to Wilsonville, Oregon. He studied journalism and drama at Stanford University, where he was involved with the campus humor magazine, the Stanford Chaparral. Following college graduation Cady served an apprenticeship at the Westminster Theater in London, England, appearing in four plays. In England he made an early (very early!) television appearance on the BBC in late 1938. When World War II broke out he was already in Europe, so he enlisted in the Army Air Force and spent the next several years in postings all over the continent. After being discharged from military service in 1946, Cady appeared in a series of plays in the Los Angeles area which led to movie roles, beginning in 1947. One of his earlier--and more atypical--roles was as a seedy underworld character pulled in for questioning in a cop's murder in the noir classic HE WALKED BY NIGHT (1948). Later Cady was type cast mostly as humble soft-spoken shopkeepers, henpecked husbands, and as the long-suffering “common man”. In 1950, he had an uncredited speaking role in the classic film noir drama D.O.A. starring Edmund O’Brien and another uncredited role in FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1950) starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor. He had a small part in the noir classic THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950) playing a witness who refused to identify a robbery suspect. He appeared in George Pal’s film WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (1951), and later worked with Pal again in 1964 in THE 7 FACES OF DR. LAO. 

Cady had a prominent role in Billy Wilder’s ACE IN THE HOLE (1951) starring Kirk Douglas. He had a small non-speaking role in Alfred Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW (1954) as the man on the fire escape whose dog was strangled. His appearances included a very memorable turn as Mr. Daigel with Oscar nominated Eileen Heckart as his drunken wife in THE BAD SEED (1956). He appeared again as Heckart’s husband much later in ZANDY’S BRIDE (1974). On television, Cady guest starred on the “Make Room For Daddy” episode with Danny Thomas that was the pilot for “The Andy Griffith Show”. He appeared on some radio programs, including “Gunsmoke” episode #140 ("Outlaw Robin Hood") on January 8, 1955.

Cady had a small but recurring role as Doc Williams in “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” (1954-55), along with numerous supporting parts in movies. He also appeared in television commercials for (among other products) Shasta Grape Soda. Perhaps best known for his popular role as storekeeper Sam Drucker, Cady was prolific in television and holds the record of being the only actor to play the same recurring character on three different television sitcoms all at the same time, “The Beverly Hillbillies”, “Green Acres”, and “Petticoat Junction”, from 1968 to 1969. He also was one of only three co-stars of “Petticoat Junction” who stayed with the series for its entire seven-year run along with Edgar Buchanan and Linda Henning, appearing in 170 of the show's 222 episodes. His final acting role was in the television movie RETURN TO GREEN ACRES (1990). He then retired with his wife to his hometown of Wilsonville, Oregon. Cady spoke of his television career: "You get typecast. I'm remembered for those shows and not for some pretty good acting jobs I did other times. I suppose I ought to be grateful for that, because otherwise I wouldn't be remembered at all.” Shirley Cady died on August 22, 2008 at the age of 91. The Cadys, who were married 68 years, were the parents of two children — daughter Catherine Turk and son Steven Cady. They had three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Frank Cady died at his home on June 8, 2012 at age 96. He was interred at Meridian United Church of Christ Cemetery in Wilsonville, Oregon.

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Sybil Bruncheon's "Who'z Dat?"... Happy Birthday to Jerry Goldsmith! (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004)

Jerry Goldsmith (born Jerrald King Goldsmith) was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for such films as STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979) and four other films within the Star Trek franchise, THE SAND PEBBLES (1966), PLANET OF THE APES (1968), PATTON (1970), LOGAN'S RUN (1976), PAPILLON (1973), CHINATOWN (1974), THE WIND AND THE LION (1975), THE OMEN (1976), THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL (1978), CAPRICORN ONE (1978), ALIEN (1979), OUTLAND (1981), POLTERGEIST (1982), THE SECRET OF NIMH (1982), GREMLINS (1984), HOOSIERS (1986), TOTAL RECALL (1990), BASIC INSTINCT (1992), AIR FORCE ONE (1997), L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997), MULAN (1998), THE MUMMY (1999), and THREE RAMBO FILMS.

In May 1997, with the release of Steven Spielberg’s THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, he gained more popularity with his fanfare of the 1997 Universal Studios opening logo, which would be among the most iconic studio logo music of all time. He worked on both dramas and for many lighter, comedic films such as the family comedy THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS (1966), and the James Bond parodies OUR MAN FLINT (1966) and its sequel IN LIKE FLINT (1967).
During his career, he composed both classical music for orchestra concerts and themes and background music for television shows. He collaborated with some of film history's most accomplished directors, including Robert Wise, Howard Hawks, Otto Preminger, Joe Dante, Richard Donner, Roman Polanski, Ridley Scott, Michael Winner, Steven Spielberg, Paul Verhoeven, and Franklin J. Schaffner. His work for Donner and Scott also involved a rejected score for TIMELINE (2003) and a controversially edited score for ALIEN, where music by Howard Hanson replaced Goldsmith's end titles and Goldsmith's own work on FREUD: THE SECRET PASSION was used without his approval in several scenes.

Goldsmith was nominated for six Grammy Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, nine Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and eighteen Academy Awards (he won only one, in 1976, for THE OMEN). He composed the Paramount Pictures Fanfare used from 1976 through 2011. Over the course of his career, Goldsmith received a total of 18 Academy Award nominations, making him one of the most nominated composers in Academy Awards history. Despite this, Goldsmith won only one Oscar, for his score to the 1976 film THE OMEN. This makes Goldsmith the most nominated composer to have won an Oscar only on one occasion.

Goldsmith died at his Beverly Hills home on July 21, 2004, from colon cancer at the age of 75. He was survived by his wife Carol and his children Aaron, Carrie, Ellen Edson, and Jennifer Grossman, and Joel (who also died of colon cancer on April 29, 2012).

This closing credits composition from THE MUMMY expresses just one beautiful example of his work; Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8d_gMWVujY

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A New SYBIL'S "WHO'Z DAT?"... BEULAH BONDI (May 3, 1889 – January 11, 1981)

Darlings! Mummy has made a decision! After reading dozens of posts and having hundreds of conversations with well-meaning folks who just don't know about the great CHARACTER actors who gave films the depth and genius that surrounded and supported the so-called "stars", I am going to post a regular, special entry called "SYBIL'S WHO'Z DAT?"....there'll be photos and a mini-bio, and the next time you see one of those familiar, fabulous faces that you just "can't quite place".......well, maybe these posts will help. Some of these actors worked more, had longer and broader careers, and ended up happier, more loved, and even wealthier than the "stars" that the public "worships". (I think there may be a metaphor in that! What do you think???).                                

Here's our next guest!! Make way for a great lady of Hollywood! Beulah Bondi (May 3, 1889 – January 11, 1981). Bondi was born as Beulah Bondy in Valparaiso, Indiana, the daughter of Eva Suzanna (née Marble), an author, and Abraham O. Bondy, who worked in real estate. Bondi began her acting career on the stage at age seven, playing the title role in the play LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY in a production at the Memorial Opera House. She graduated from the Frances Shimer Academy in 1907 and gained her Bachelors and Masters degrees in oratory at Valparaiso University in 1916 and 1918. She made her Broadway debut in Kenneth S. Webb's ONE OF THE FAMILY at the 49th Street Theatre on December 21, 1925. She next appeared in another hit, Maxwell Anderson's SATURDAY’S CHILDREN in 1926. It was Bondi's performance in Elmer Rice's Pulitzer Prize-winning SREET SCENE, which opened at the Playhouse Theatre on January 10, 1929, that brought her to Hollywood at the advanced age of 43 for her movie debut as "Emma Jones" in (1931), in which Bondi reprised her stage role. This was followed by "Mrs. Davidson" in RAIN (1932), which starred Joan Crawford and Walter Huston.

She was one of the first five women to be nominated for an Academy Award in the newly-created category of "Best Supporting Actress" for her work in THE GORGEOUS HUSSY (1936), although she did not win. Two years later, she was nominated again for OF HUMAN HEARTS (1938) and lost again, but her reputation as a character actress kept her employed. She would most often be seen in the role of the mother of the star of the film for the rest of her career, with the exception of MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW (1937) as the abandoned Depression-era 'Ma' Cooper. She often played mature roles in her early film career even though she was only in her early 40s. Some of her favorite and most popular performances included THE SNAKE PIT (1948) and ON BORROWED TIME (1939).

For folks doubting the range of a "character" actress, you have only to watch her in Frank Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946). Bondi plays the ideal and iconic mother to Jimmy Stewart in several scenes and then transforms into a veritable psychopathic crone when she no longer recognizes him in the nightmare sequence. She appeared in many Oscar-nominated films over the years and played James Stewart’s mother four times: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939), OF HUMAN HEARTS, and VIVACIOUS LADIES (1938).

In addition to consistent film work throughout the 1940s, she made the transition into television. Her television credits included Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Howard Richardson’s Ark of Safety on the Goodyear Television Playhouse. She made her final appearances as Martha Corinne Walton on The Waltons in the episodes "The Conflict" (1974) and "The Pony Cart" (1976). She received an Emmy award for her performance in the latter episode. When her name was called, it first appeared that she was not present, but she was given a standing ovation as she walked slowly to the podium, where she thanked everyone for honoring her while she was still alive.

Despite the fact that she was known for playing mother figures, Bondi never married nor had children in real life. Tragically, she died from pulmonary complications due to broken ribs suffered when she tripped over her cat on January 11, 1981. She was living in Los Angeles at the time and was 92. She was given a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1718 Vine Street in Hollywood, California. Her body was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea.

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Sybil Bruncheon's Favorite Films!..... HARVEY (1950).....

HARVEY (1950). Perhaps one of the most definitive Jimmy Stewart roles using his aw-shucks shuffling 'n' flustered persona to its fullest, teetering right on the edge of being lovable or cloying depending on your own proclivities. Co-starring a dazzling Josephine Hull...(DAZZLING!), Jesse White (before he made his fortune with Maytag washing machines!), Cecil Kellaway (one of the greatest character actors of all time, treading the finest line of comedy and near-tragic poignancy here), and a host of others who fill this film with as much color and life as other golden-age comedies like DINNER AT EIGHT, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, and THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER. If you've never seen HARVEY before, I wonder if you'll feel an impossible-to-ignore lump in your throat as the story unfolds.... it may seem fluffy and foolish along the way, but the deeper message, especially in the face of how the "real" world had unraveled, cuts deep. The close call of Elwood's "therapy" is so strangely timely now too, with our 21st century society's desire to eliminate the special, the rare, the individual, the hand-made, the eccentric, the non-conformist. For me, it's another one of those stories that breaks my heart... every time. To the very last frame, and the very last twist in the plot, as the irrepressible Jimmy Stewart escorts us down the lane and off to the land of deeply happy endings.

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