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Born · November 21, 1874
Died · January 31, 1966 (91 years old)
Known For: Acting
Place of Birth: Savannah, Tennessee, USA
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.
Mrs. Melvane · (1 episode)
6.2
1960
(1 episode)
5.6
1959
Maria Cooper
5.3
1959
(1 episode)
0.0
1959
(1 episode)
6.7
1958
(1 episode)
5.3
1958
Mrs. Finch
9.0
1958
Mrs. Casey
6.2
1957
0.0
1957
(1 episode)
3.7
1956
(1 episode)
6.0
1955
Miss Bessie · (1 episode)
7.7
1955
Grandmother · (1 episode)
7.7
1955
Aunt Polly
4.2
1955
Mary Raff
5.2
1955
Aunt Polly · (1 episode)
3.0
1954
Jane Connor · (1 episode)
3.0
1954
Nellie Eldredge · (1 episode)
3.0
1954
Mrs. Garr · (1 episode)
3.0
1954
Mrs. Adams
0.0
1953
Madame Elaine · (1 episode)
6.0
1953
Mrs. Couche · (1 episode)
3.5
1952
Ma / Mother Baker · (1 episode)
6.1
1952
(2 episodes)
6.7
1952
Miss Dee
6.0
1952
Mrs. Willoughby · (1 episode)
7.9
1951
Mrs. Trumbull · (10 episodes)
7.9
1951
Aunt March
0.0
1950
Aunt March
0.0
1950
Aunt Priscilla Wakely
6.0
1950
Dr. Gilley · (1 episode)
6.0
1950
Mrs. Sargent · (1 episode)
6.0
1950
Tabitha Singleton
5.9
1950
Miss Eunice Habersham
7.3
1949
Mrs. Beecham
0.0
1949
Hannah
7.4
1949
Cora
5.9
1948
Mrs. Gilley
6.6
1947
Miss Spring
6.6
1947
Catherine Dennison
8.5
1947
Mrs. Stover
6.3
1946
Mrs. Sompter
6.4
1946
Cousin Emma
5.7
1946
Aunt Charlotte Waring
6.5
1945
Jessie
5.4
1944
Martha - Libby's Aunt
7.0
1944
Annie
5.3
1944
Mrs. Fisher
6.2
1943
Margaret
6.8
1942
Annabelle Dinwiddie
0.0
1942
Grandma Sherwood
6.7
1942
Eva
5.1
1942
Mrs. Daly
0.0
1942
Aunt Matilda Manning
0.0
1942
Grandma
6.0
1942
Sarah
5.6
1941
Aunt Lily Lou Bethany
5.0
1941
Ada Lester
6.6
1941
Aunt Olivia
6.5
1940
Maggie Ambler
4.3
1940
Rebecca
5.8
1940
Becky Tilden
4.8
1940
Nellie
5.2
1940
Aunt Emma
7.3
1940
Aunt Susan
7.0
1939
Mrs. Perkins
4.9
1939
Aunt Tillie
0.0
1939
Aunt Blanche
6.3
1939
Mrs. MacGregor
5.9
1939
Aunt Blanche
6.1
1939
Grandmother Lee
5.0
1938
Mrs. Daisy Beebe aka Mother Beebe
6.7
1938
Aunt Hedwige
7.0
1938
Aunt Blanche
5.7
1938
Ada Smith
0.0
1938
Mrs. Elvira Ward
4.0
1937
Grandma Holland
3.0
1937
Grandma Cortlandt
6.3
1937
Mrs. Tobias Greene
0.0
1937
Aunt Kate Barnaby
5.3
1936
Sarah Hutchins
0.0
1936
Araminta Sedley
6.0
1936
Ma Brannan
6.2
1936
Vilda Cummins
3.0
1936
Mrs. Ellie Martin
6.0
1936
Mary Cherry
6.5
1935
Aunt Ella
6.0
1935
Mlle. Prefere
3.5
1935
'Ma' Miller
7.1
1934
Miss Copeland
6.7
1933
Aunt Patricia Banning
6.5
1933
Lydia
5.0
1933
Mary, Cook
5.6
1933
Miss Tuttle
6.1
1933
Aunt Jennie
6.5
1933
Elinor's Aunt
0.0
1933
Lizzie
0.0
1933
Mrs. Randall
6.5
1932
Susan (edited from "The Cat Creeps")
5.1
1932
Mrs. Cullen
5.8
1932
Cora Pugmire
0.0
1932
Aunt Hester Fairfield
6.2
1932
Mrs. Tubby (uncredited)
6.0
1932
First Aunt
6.6
1932
Elvira Ward
5.8
1932
Aunty Doe
4.2
1932
Juliet Mitchell
5.7
1932
Mrs. Tebbit (uncredited)
5.8
1932
Miss Harper
5.5
1932
Miss Crackenwald
6.3
1932
Mrs. Caroline Reid
0.0
1931
Vergie
3.0
1931
Schoolteacher (uncredited)
6.0
1931
Baroness Von Schwedel (uncredited)
6.9
1931
Mrs. Lippett
4.0
1931
Mrs. Courtney
4.7
1931
Susan
6.0
1930
Mrs. Goldfarb
2.0
1930
Emma Haller
0.0
1930
Sarah Martin
5.0
1930
Sarah
0.0
1929
Dean Crockett
0.0
1929
Ma Pepperall
6.0
1928
Mrs. Bartholomey
0.0
1926
Mrs. Harper
0.0
1926