Sybil Bruncheon's "WHO'Z DAT?"... Hollywood Birthdays in JULY!... The Great Beauties!

Answers Below!

(Clockwise from bottom left: Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Stuart, Stephen Boyd, Farley Granger, Natalie Wood, Olivia de Havilland, Richard Egan, Leslie Caron, Yul Brynner, and Janet Leigh)

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A New Sybil's "WHO'Z DAT?"... HARRY DAVENPORT (January 19, 1866 – August 9, 1949)

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, if ever, ever there was an actor who was loved, truly loved more than this one, I’ve never heard of him… it’s Harry Davenport (January 19, 1866 – August 9, 1949), everybody’s favorite “grandpa”.

Harold George Bryant Davenport, he was an American film and stage actor who worked in show business from the age of six until his death. Born just one year after the end of the Civil War in Canton, Pennsylvania, where his family lived during the holidays. He also grew up in Philadelphia. Harry came from a long line of stage actors; his father was thespian Edward Loomis Davenport, and his mother, Fanny Vining Davenport, was an English actress and a descendant of the renowned 18th-century Irish stage actor Jack Johnson. His sister was actress Fanny Davenport. In fact all nine of the Davenport children shared their parents’ love for the arts, and several, including Harry, dedicated their lives to performing. Harry himself made his stage debut at the age of five at the Chestnut Theater in Philadelphia in a play written by Richard Edwards, DAMON AND PYTHIAS. Written in a tribute dedicated to Davenport in the “Canton Sunday Telegraph” in 1949 is a notation about the fact that Harry never spent his earnings from that debut.  The story doesn’t refer to his being frugal, but rather endearing and sentimental –  “His pay was $1.95 in coins of every denomination then current and all dated 1871.  A five-dollar gold piece was added as a ‘bonus.'” Davenport kept the old coins in a safe deposit box and often said that a million dollars couldn’t make him get rid of them. And it remained so even during the leanest of times.  

By his teen years Harry Davenport was a veteran stage actor playing Shakespearian stock companies. Working regionally for years, Davenport made his Broadway debut in THE VOYAGE OF SUZETTE (1894) at the age of 28 and appeared there in numerous plays for decades. While still working exclusively on the stage, Davenport also co-founded the Actor’s Equity Association (then called “The White Rats”) with stage legend, Eddie Foy. The union was formed to address theater owners’ exploitation of actors.  Within the first year “The White Rats” had an enthusiastic membership who would cause a close-out of theaters in protest.  It was that difficult situation (for the most part) that prompted Harry to join Vitagraph Studios in NYC at the age of 47, debuting in the 1913 silent short film KENTON'S HEIR, followed the next year by Sidney Drew’s, TOO MANY HUSBANDS, and FOGG'S MILLIONS, and a series of film shorts co-starring another veteran of the stage, Rose Tapley. These included eighteen comedy shorts that made up what is referred to as the “Jarr Family” series.  In it, Davenport played Mr. Jarr, the patriarch of a middle-class family whose misadventures the series revolved around. Aside from playing the head of the Jarr family, Harry was also given directing duties in the stories, which were based on newspaper dailies written by humorist, Roy McCardell starting in 1907. All eighteen of the Jarr family productions at Vitagraph were produced and released in 1915.

In addition, he also directed some silent features and many shorts between 1915 and 1917. Davenport continued to work in film steadily throughout the 1910s, but returned to the stage full-time for the rest of the 1920s after a small, uncredited part in Fred Newmeyer’s, AMONG THOSE PRESENT in 1921. Full-time that is if stage work was available.  Just like many other Americans at the time, Harry and his second wife Phyllis Rankin (a successful actor in her own right) were living through tough financial times.  When not on the stage the couple would make ends meet by teaching acting and theater arts on the side and/or by picking wild strawberries which Phyllis made into preserves. They sold the preserves in New York and were successful enough at it to be able to “hire” local boys to help pick the strawberries. The boys’ pay was the promise of a bicycle to the best picker – a promise that was always kept. 

Harry Davenport made a few films in the early 1930s, but it wasn’t until Phyllis’ untimely death in 1934 that his film career took off after he decided to travel to California to give Hollywood an earnest effort.  Driving cross-country in his jalopy, Harry took his time, stopping in different cities along the way to act in a play or two to earn extra money. Could he ever have imagined that a brand-new career awaited him playing grandfathers, judges, doctors, and ministers. He came to Hollywood at 69 years of age during the height of the Great Depression and became one of the most beloved, admired and prolific actors in film history and one of the best-known and busiest "old men" in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. 

Settling comfortably in a life in Hollywood, Harry Davenport took on as many movie roles as he could handle. He had a gift for both comedy and drama and specialized in playing earnest, authoritative, wise, and sometimes wise-cracking characters, most often men who others turned to for guidance. He appeared in only one scene for a few minutes as a wise and wryly observant judge in Frank Capra’s YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938), but his performance is unforgettable right to the final shot of him smiling and shaking his head at the pandemonium in his courtroom!

Harry Davenport played Dr. Meade in GONE WITH THE WIND (1939), a role that was both comical and poignant and extremely important to the central story as it unfolded. He completely commands the screen opposite Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, and Olivia de Havilland, During his “twilight” years, when most others would be settling down into retirement, Harry Davenport worked continuously. To put it in perspective, he made thirteen films in what is considered by many to be the greatest year in film, 1939. Thirteen!! Aside from GONE WITH THE WIND, these included John Cromwell’s, MADE FOR EACH OTHER (as Dr. Healy), Irving Cummings’, THE STORY OF ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL (as Judge Rider), William Dieterle’s, JUAREZ starring Paul Muni and Bette Davis, and Gus Meins’, MONEY TO BURN (as Grandpa). And from a productive standpoint that year was only so-so for Harry. He’d appeared in nineteen films in 1937!! 

Some of his other film roles are as the aged King Louis XI of France in THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939) with film greats Charles Laughton, Thomas Mitchell, Edmond O’Brien, George Zucco, Maureen O'Hara, and Cedric Hardwicke. He played the lone resident in a ghost town in THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D. (1942), filmed on location in Death Valley, He also had supporting roles in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940), William A. Wellman’s western THE OX-BOW INCIDENT (1943) and in KINGS ROW (1943) with Ronald Reagan. Davenport also played the iconic grandfather of Judy Garland in Vincente Minnelli's classic MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) and the great-uncle of Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple in THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY-SOXER (1947).

A lesser film Harry Davenport appeared in, but one we have to mention is the fifth entry in The Thin Man series, Richard Thorpe’s, THE THIN MAN GOES HOME (1945). Harry Davenport plays Dr. Charles, the father of one of the most popular detectives in filmdom, Nick Charles of Nick and Nora fame. A perfect choice!  This particular story shows Nick and Nora returning to Nick’s parents’ house for vacation.  Nick’s father, Dr. Charles, always dreamed of his son becoming a doctor as well and collaborating with him on a project for a new hospital.  Not familiar with his son’s natural talents for investigation, the Doctor views Nick as little more than a beat cop. Meanwhile, Nick longs for his father’s approval so Nora sets out to involve Nick in a murder mystery in his hometown so the old Doctor can be duly impressed. In the end the Doctor is quite impressed with the son’s skills and when he tells the younger Charles, Nick’s vest buttons bust with pride (literally). The super-talented William Powell and Myrna Loy are joined not only by Harry Davenport, but also by the great, Lucille Watson.

Harry Davenport continued to appear in films up until his sudden death of a heart attack on August 9, 1949 at age eighty-three… one hour after he asked his agent Walter Herzbrun about a new film role! His last film was Frank Capra’s musical-comedy, RIDING HIGH (1950), which was released the year after his death. Bette Davis once called Davenport "without a doubt, the greatest character actor of all time.” Bette Davis!... can you imagine?!

Through his marriage to Phyllis, he was the brother-in-law of Lionel Barrymore who was married at the time to Phyllis' sister Doris. His entire family, including in-laws and eventually, all five of Harry Davenport’s own children would become actors or involved in production as well, as would a couple of his grandchildren. He was buried in Kensico Cemetery, Westchester County, New York. In the obituary, a newspaper called him the "white-haired character actor" with "the longest acting career in American history". Harry Davenport appeared in over 160 films. Asked why he made so many films at his age, he replied: “I hate to see men of my age sit down as if their lives were ended and accept a dole. An old man must show that he knows his job and is no loafer. If he can do that, they can take their pension money and buy daisies with it.”

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

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 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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Sybil Bruncheon's "Who'z Dat?"... Happy Birthday to Harry Houdini (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926)

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Harry Houdini (born Erik Weisz in Budapest, later Ehrich Weiss or Harry Weiss; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was an American stunt performer, noted for his sensational escape acts. He first attracted notice as "Harry Handcuff Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he sensationally challenged different police forces to try to keep him locked up. This revealed a talent for gimmickry and for audience involvement that characterized all his work. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to hold his breath inside a sealed milk can. Houdini made a number of movies, but quit acting when it failed to bring in money. He was also a keen aviator, and aimed to become the first man to fly a plane in Australia. Even the circumstances of his death on Halloween, October 31st, 1926 were dramatic and mysterious. According to one version, a student in Montreal asked him if his stomach was hard enough to take any blow, to which he replied that it was, whereupon the student rained a series of blows on it before Houdini had time to tense up. A few days later, he died of a ruptured appendix.

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Sybil Bruncheon's "WHO'Z DAT?"... Hollywood Birthdays in JULY!... Behind the Camera!

Answers Below!

(Clockwise from bottom left: Delmer Daves, William Wyler, Louis B. Mayer, Stanley Kubrick, James Whale, George Cukor, Sydney Pollack, Peter Bogdanovich)

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A New Sybil's "WHO'Z DAT?"... THELMA RITTER (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969)

THELMA RITTER Collage.jpg

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??? With a face, a voice, and a manner that could be described as "every woman", but as unforgettable as the most luminescent star, she remains Hollywood royalty: THELMA RITTER! (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969)....born on Valentine's Day in Brooklyn.

She typically played working class characters and was noted for her distinctive voice, with a strong Brooklyn accent. After appearing in high school plays and stock companies, she trained as an actress at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She established a stage career but took a hiatus to raise her two children by her husband, Joseph Moran, an actor turned advertising executive. Ritter's first movie role was in MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET in 1947- She was 45 at the time!!! She made a memorable impression in a brief uncredited part, as a frustrated mother unable to find the toy that Kris Kringle has promised to her son. Her “big break” came in 1950’s ALL ABOUT EVE in which Ritter played Birdie, the long-suffering personal maid to stage diva Margo Channing (Bette Davis). Down-to-earth Birdie is the first person in EVE to grow wise to the title character’s machinations, and Ritter does a wonderful job in helping the audience see the first glimmers of deception in Eve’s story. And it’s no wonder Ritter is so phenomenal in the role: the film’s writer/director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, wrote the part with Ritter specifically in mind after having worked with her in the previous year’s A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (although she was uncredited!) Ultimately, Ritter’s performance was noteworthy enough to garner her first Academy Award nomination (one of fourteen nominations for that film, incidentally). A second nomination followed for her work in Mitchell Leisens' classic ensemble screwball comedy THE MATING SEASON (1951) starring Gene Tierney and John Lund. She established herself among costars, directors, and studio heads alike as a master of the "throw-away line" and perhaps Hollywood's most lovable "scene-stealer". When she was onscreen, even the greatest stars knew that audiences might be watching Ritter not just for her own one-liners, but for her shrugs, smirks, eye-rolls, or deadpan stares in reaction to their lines.

Ritter enjoyed steady film work for the next dozen years. She also appeared in many of the episodic drama TV series of the 1950s, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, General Electric Theater, and The United States Steel Hour. Other film roles were as James Stewart's nurse in REAR WINDOW (1954) and as Doris Day's housekeeper in PILLOW TALK (1959). Though she found a great deal of success in Hollywood, Ritter was also an accomplished stage actress, winning a 1958 Tony Award for Best Leading Performance in a Musical for her role in NEW GIRL IN TOWN, a musical adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s play ANNA CHRISTIE (which was so memorably brought to the screen as Greta Garbo’s first “talkie” in 1930). Ritter shared the Tony award with her costar, Gwen Verdon in a rare tie.

The 1960s brought Ritter several more acclaimed roles, including a supporting part in THE MISFITS (1961), the final completed film for Hollywood icons Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe; a sixth Oscar-nominated performance as the mother of the titular character in BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ (1962) with Burt Lancaster; an appearance next to Debbie Reynolds in the star-studded Western epic HOW THE WEST WAS WON (also in 1962); and a reunion with Doris Day in 1963’s MOVE OVER DARLING. Although best known for comedy roles, she played the occasional dramatic role, most notably as an underworld figure who is eventually murdered in the film noir PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (1953) with Richard Widmark and as a character based on (“the unsinkable”) Molly Brown in TITANIC (1953). Her last work was an appearance on THE JERRY LEWIS SHOW on January 23, 1968. Ritter died of a heart attack in New York City, just nine days before her 67th birthday in 1969. 

At the time of her death, she was survived by her husband of forty-two years, Joseph Moran, an actor turned advertising executive, and her two children Monica and Joseph Jr. She left behind a body of work comprising more than thirty films and a wide variety of stage and television performances. She never won an Oscar, but she was one of the most-nominated actors of all time. During her career, Ritter was nominated for an Oscar six times, tying with Deborah Kerr and Glenn Close as most nominated for the award in an acting category without a win. Kerr DID eventually receive an honorary award from the Academy, however, (coincidentally presented to her by Close!) but Ritter has the distinction in 1954, of having co-hosted the Oscar ceremony, notably trading wisecracks with Bob Hope. Despite having only spent two decades in Hollywood, Thelma Ritter certainly is an unforgettable and iconic presence on the classic cinematic landscape. A birthday on February 14th??... For me, Thelma Ritter is truly one of the greatest Valentines of all time!!

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A New SYBIL'S "WHO'Z DAT?"... ESTELLE WINWOOD (January 24, 1883 - June 20, 1984).

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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??? Our guest this week is Estelle Winwood (January 24, 1883 – June 20, 1984)!!!

No! You’re seeing those dates right folks!!! She lived to be 101 years old….all the way back in 1984!! Did Willard Scott do a tribute??? Born Estelle Ruth Goodwin in England, she decided at five years of age to be an actress, and with her mother’s support she trained with the Lyric Stage Academy in London, before making her professional debut in Johannesburg at the age of 20. During the First World War she joined the Liverpool Repertory Company in Liverpool, Lancashire before moving on to a career in the West End theatre in London. She moved to the U.S. in 1916 and made her Broadway début in New York City; and, until the beginning of the 1930s, she divided her time between New York City and London. Throughout her career, her first love was the theatre; and, as the years passed, she appeared less frequently in London and became a frequent performer on Broadway, appearing in such plays as A SUCCESSFUL CALAMITY (1917), A LITTLE JOURNEY (1918), SPRING CLEANING (1923), THE DISTAFF SIDE (1934), THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (which she also directed, 1939), WHEN WE ARE MARRIED (1939), LADIES IN RETIREMENT (1940), THE PIRATE (1942), TEN LITTLE INDIANS (1944), LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN (1947), and THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT (1948). Like many stage actors of her era, she expressed a distaste for films and resisted the offers she received during the 1920s. Finally, she relented and made her film début in NIGHT ANGEL (1931), but her scenes were cut before the film's release. Her official film début came in THE HOUSE OF TRENT (1933), followed by QUALITY STREET (1937).

During the 1940s she continued her stage work with no films whatsoever, but in the 50s she began to take an interest in the new medium of Television. Because of her eccentric appearance and delivery, she guest starred on a wide variety of tv shows including the TWILIGHT ZONE, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, THE DONNA REED SHOW, DR. KILDARE, PERRY MASON, BEWITCHED, BATMAN, LOVE AMERICAN STYLE, THE REAL McCOYS, DENNIS THE MENACE, and several others. In the 1950s, 60s, and 70s she continued both onstage and in television making only occasional but unforgettable appearances in films like THE GLASS SLIPPER (1955), THE SWAN (1956), DARBY O’GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE (1959), THE MISFITS (1961), THE MAGIC SWORD (1962), THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY (1962), DEAD RINGER (1964), CAMELOT (1967) and THE PRODUCERS (1968). Winwood's final film appearance, at age 92 in MURDER BY DEATH (1976), was as Elsa Lanchester’s character's ancient nursemaid. In this film, she joined other veteran actors spoofing some of the most popular detective characters in murder mysteries. When she made her final television appearance in a 1979 episode of QUINCY she officially became, at age 96, the oldest actor working in the U.S., beating out fellow British actress Ethel Griffies, who worked until her 90s. Winwood ultimately achieved an eighty-year career on the stage from her début at age 16 until her final appearance at age 100, playing Sir Rex Harrison’s mother in his final MY FAIR LADY tour in 1983.

In the 1930s she was very good friends with Tallulah Bankhead and actresses Eva Le Gallienne and Blyth Daly. They were dubbed "The Four Riders of the Algonquin" in the early silent film days, because of their appearances together at the "Algonquin Round Table". Winwood was married four times but bore no children. She died in her sleep in Woodland Hills, California, in 1984, at age 101. She was the oldest member in the history of the Screen Actors Guild. She was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. When Estelle was asked, on the occasion of her 100th birthday, how she felt to have lived so long, she replied, "How rude of you to remind me!".

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Sybil Bruncheon's "WHO'Z DAT?"... EDNA MAY OLIVER (November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942)

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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???).

Will our next guest enter and sign in please….EDNA MAY OLIVER! (November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) With a face that no one could forget, she appeared on stage and film as one of America’s best-known character actresses, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. Born Edna May Nutter in Malden, Massachusetts, the daughter of Ida May and Charles Edward Nutter, Edna was a descendant of the sixth American president, John Quincy Adams. She quit school at age fourteen in order to pursue a career on stage and achieved her first success in 1917 on Broadway in Jerome Kern's musical comedy OH, BOY!, playing the hero's comically dour Quaker Aunt Penelope. Oliver started out in silent films in 1923 but continued her stage work making her most notable stage appearance as Parthy, wife of Cap'n Andy Hawks, in the original 1927 stage production of the musical SHOW BOAT. She repeated the role in the 1932 Broadway revival, but turned down the chance to play Parthy in the 1936 film version of the show so that she could play the Nurse in that year's film version of ROMEO AND JULIET, her only role in a Shakespeare film or play.

While most often playing featured parts in over forty films, she starred in three popular mystery-comedies as spinster sleuth Hildegarde Withers. Oliver received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1939 for her appearance in DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK. Since Oliver was cast in several film versions of classic British literature, including ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1933), A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1935), DAVID COPPERFIELD (1935), the 1936 film version of ROMEO AND JULIET, and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1940), using a quite realistic upper-class English accent, many film-goers have incorrectly assumed that she was British.

When asked why she played predominantly comedic roles, she replied, "With a horse's face, what more can I play?" Oliver died on her 59th birthday in 1942 following a short intestinal ailment that proved terminal, and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. For people who love films from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Edna May Oliver remains yet another one of the Platinum performers that, once seen, can never be forgotten! She is truly a perfect example of enduring power and talent in one who was never just "another pretty face". 

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A New Sybil's "WHO'Z DAT?"... LEE PATRICK (November 22, 1901 – November 21, 1982)

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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 an occasional, 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??? While you’re mulling it over, I want to introduce one of my best girlfriends and one of the great, GREAT (and unsung!) actresses of Hollywood. An actress who was pretty enough to play the ingénue and leading lady in the 1920s, and then who evolved into such a wide variety of character roles that she left audiences unaware of who they were actually seeing. She was so talented that she completely disappeared into her roles… a veritable Female Lon Chaney Sr., if you will… except that she was so much prettier!!! How rare is that?? And she WELCOMED her evolution into the character roles. The actress I’m speaking of is Lee Patrick (November 22, 1901 – November 21, 1982).

Born in New York City, she first became interested in theatre through her father who was the editor of a trade newspaper. She started off on the stock stage as a teen and debuted on Broadway in THE GREEN BEETLE (1924), becoming a long and popular NY stage presence during the 20s and early 30s with such scene-stealing roles in the original 1929 production of JUNE MOON by George S. Kaufman and Ring Lardner, and later in LITTLE WOMEN (1930), and BLESSED EVENT (1931). For more than a decade, she was constantly employed and established herself as a popular actress, and reprised her role in the 1933 revival of JUNE MOON. Her success in the Broadway production of STAGE DOOR (1937) by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber led her to Hollywood to reprise her starring role in the film version, which would have been a huge break for her career. But eventually the part was rewritten and split from a single major character into TWO characters which were played by Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers. Patrick had made her film debut in 1929, but since that time, had not appeared in another single film, and RKO was reluctant to star an unknown actress in a film which they were beginning to realize had great potential. Her disappointments continued when she was considered and then rejected for the lead role in STELLA DALLAS (1937) in favor of Barbara Stanwyck.

Her difficulties in establishing a career as a leading actress were often attributed to a long-standing feud Patrick had with gossip columnist Louella Parsons. Patrick's husband, Tom Wood, a journalist and author of The Lighter Side of Billy Wilder, once wrote a magazine article which was very critical of Parsons, and she earned the enmity of not only Parsons but of the Hearst Publishing empire which was her employer. She remained in Hollywood, and appeared in a wide variety of films such as BORDER CAFE (1937), a Western starring Harry Carey and in THE SISTERS (1938), a romance starring Bette Davis and Errol Flynn. But the toll on her career was serious. Over the next several years she played numerous supporting roles, without attracting much critical attention. However, in 1941, Patrick appeared in THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) as Effie Perine, the loyal and quick-thinking secretary of Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade. Perine was one of Patrick's most enduring film appearances. In an iconic film that is filled with some of the most eccentric character portrayals of all time, Patrick stands out as perhaps the most accessible and charming of them all…. the “normal” center around which all the drama swirls and perhaps the only person that the audience can actually identify with given Bogart’s morally ambiguous Sam Spade.

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That same year, she appeared in a leading role as an intelligent, crime-solving nurse in the murder mystery THE NURSE’S SECRET, but she got very little publicity or career advancement from it. Among her other films are NOW VOYAGER (1942), again with Bette Davis, this time as a passing acquaintance she meets while traveling, MRS. PARKINGTON (1944), GAMBLER’S CHOICE (1944), MILDRED PIERCE (1945), and WAKE UP AND DREAM (1946).

It was in 1950 that Patrick made a shocking decision to star in the controversial and nearly censored CAGED, a potboiler film about women in prison also starring Agnes Moorehead and a host of Hollywood character women turning in over-the-top performances in this thinly veiled Lesbian drama. Patrick’s villainous Elvira Powell is unforgettable as she maneuvers and bullies the younger and weaker convicts in the prison. Switching back and forth in chameleon fashion, a wide of range of comic and dramatic appearances followed with THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS (1954), VERTIGO (1958), AUNTIE MAME (1958), PILLOW TALK (1959), SUMMER AND SMOKE (1961), and 7 FACES OF DR. LAO (1964).

Even as she was making films in the 1950s, Patrick was also appearing in the new medium of television on the CBS situation comedy TOPPER (1953–1955) as Leo G. Carroll’s befuddled wife, with Anne Jeffreys, and Robert Sterling. She made several appearances as the mother of Ida Lupino in the CBS sitcom MR. ADAMS AND EVE (1957–1958), also starring Howard Duff, Lupino's third husband. Her final film role was a reprise of her Effie Perine character in a reworking of the Sam Spade story THE BLACK BIRD (1975). Starring George Segal as Sam Spade, Jr., forced to continue his father's work, and to keep his increasingly sarcastic secretary, the film attempted to turn its revered predecessor into a comedy.

Long and happily married to newsman-writer Tom Wood, Lee was plagued by health problems in later years and died of a heart seizure at Laguna Beach, California in 1982 on the day before her 81st birthday. They had no children. After her death it was discovered that she was ten years older than she had ever revealed. Shaving a decade off her age was a decision she made early in her career, and at the time of her death, many of her friends mistakenly believed that she was in her early seventies.