Elizabeth Patterson
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.
Known For
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
Mrs. Melvane · (1 episode)
1960
Johnny Staccato
(1 episode)
1959
The Oregon Trail
Maria Cooper
1959
New York Confidential
(1 episode)
1959
77 Sunset Strip
(1 episode)
1958
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
(1 episode)
1958
Portrait of a Murderer
Mrs. Finch
1958
Pal Joey
Mrs. Casey
1957
The Ninth Day
1957
Rendezvous in Black
Mrs. Middleton
1956
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
(1 episode)
1956
Playwrights '56
(1 episode)
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Miss Bessie · (1 episode)
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Grandmother · (1 episode)
1955
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Aunt Polly
1955
Las Vegas Shakedown
Mary Raff
1955
Climax!
Aunt Polly · (1 episode)
1954
Climax!
Jane Connor · (1 episode)
1954
Climax!
Nellie Eldredge · (1 episode)
1954
Climax!
Mrs. Garr · (1 episode)
1954
Three Lives
Mrs. Adams
1953
General Electric Theater
Madame Elaine · (1 episode)
1953
Cavalcade of America
Mrs. Couche · (1 episode)
1952
Four Star Playhouse
Ma / Mother Baker · (1 episode)
1952
Adventures of Superman
(2 episodes)
1952
Washington Story
Miss Dee
1952
I Love Lucy
Mrs. Willoughby · (1 episode)
1951
I Love Lucy
Mrs. Trumbull · (10 episodes)
1951
Little Women: Jo's Story
Aunt March
1950
Little Women: Meg's Story
Aunt March
1950
Katie Did It
Aunt Priscilla Wakely
1950
Lux Video Theatre
Dr. Gilley · (1 episode)
1950
Lux Video Theatre
Mrs. Sargent · (1 episode)
1950
Bright Leaf
Tabitha Singleton
1950
Intruder in the Dust
Miss Eunice Habersham
1949
Song of Surrender
Mrs. Beecham
1949
Little Women
Hannah
1949
Miss Tatlock's Millions
Cora
1948
Welcome Stranger
Mrs. Gilley
1947
Out of the Blue
Miss Spring
1947
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
Catherine Dennison
1947
The Secret Heart
Mrs. Stover
1946
I've Always Loved You
Mrs. Sompter
1946
Colonel Effingham's Raid
Cousin Emma
1946
Lady on a Train
Aunt Charlotte Waring
1945
Together Again
Jessie
1944
Hail the Conquering Hero
Martha - Libby's Aunt
1944
Follow the Boys
Annie
1944
The Sky's the Limit
Mrs. Fisher
1943
I Married a Witch
Margaret
1942
Lucky Legs
Annabelle Dinwiddie
1942
My Sister Eileen
Grandma Sherwood
1942
Her Cardboard Lover
Eva
1942
Beyond the Blue Horizon
Mrs. Daly
1942
Almost Married
Aunt Matilda Manning
1942
The Vanishing Virginian
Grandma
1942
Belle Starr
Sarah
1941
Kiss the Boys Goodbye
Aunt Lily Lou Bethany
1941
Tobacco Road
Ada Lester
1941
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Aunt Olivia
1940
Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
Maggie Ambler
1940
Anne of Windy Poplars
Rebecca
1940
Earthbound
Becky Tilden
1940
Adventure in Diamonds
Nellie
1940
Remember the Night
Aunt Emma "Emmie"
1940
The Cat and the Canary
Aunt Susan
1939
Bad Little Angel
Mrs. Perkins
1939
Our Leading Citizen
Aunt Tillie
1939
Bulldog Drummond's Bride
Aunt Blanche
1939
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Mrs. MacGregor
1939
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
Aunt Blanche
1939
Sons of the Legion
Grandmother Lee
1938
Sing, You Sinners
Mrs. Daisy Beebe aka Mother Beebe
1938
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
Aunt Hedwige
1938
Bulldog Drummond's Peril
Aunt Blanche
1938
Scandal Street
Ada Smith
1938
Night Club Scandal
Mrs. Elvira Ward
1937
Hold 'Em Navy
Grandma Holland
1937
High, Wide and Handsome
Grandma Cortlandt
1937
Night of Mystery
Mrs. Tobias Greene
1937
Go West Young Man
Aunt Kate Barnaby
1936
Old Hutch
Sarah Hutchins
1936
The Return of Sophie Lang
Araminta Sedley
1936
Small Town Girl
Ma Brannan
1936
Timothy's Quest
Vilda Cummins
1936
Her Master's Voice
Mrs. Ellie Martin
1936
So Red the Rose
Mary Cherry
1935
Men Without Names
Aunt Ella
1935
Chasing Yesterday
Mlle. Prefere
1935
Hide-Out
'Ma' Miller
1934
Dinner at Eight
Miss Copeland
1933
Doctor Bull
Aunt Patricia Banning
1933
Golden Harvest
Lydia
1933
Secret of the Blue Room
Mary, Cook
1933
Hold Your Man
Miss Tuttle
1933
The Story of Temple Drake
Aunt Jennie
1933
Infernal Machine
Elinor's Aunt
1933
They Just Had to Get Married
Lizzie
1933
No Man of Her Own
Mrs. Randall
1932
Boo
Susan (edited from "The Cat Creeps")
1932
They Call It Sin
Mrs. Cullen
1932
Breach of Promise
Cora Pugmire
1932
A Bill of Divorcement
Aunt Hester Fairfield
1932
Life Begins
Mrs. Tubby (uncredited)
1932
Love Me Tonight
First Aunt
1932
Guilty as Hell
Elvira Ward
1932
New Morals for Old
Aunty Doe
1932
Miss Pinkerton
Juliet Mitchell
1932
So Big!
Mrs. Tebbit (uncredited)
1932
Man Wanted
Miss Harper
1932
The Expert
Miss Crackenwald
1932
Husband's Holiday
Mrs. Caroline Reid
1931
Heaven on Earth
Vergie
1931
Penrod and Sam
Schoolteacher (uncredited)
1931
The Smiling Lieutenant
Baroness Von Schwedel (uncredited)
1931
Daddy Long Legs
Mrs. Lippett
1931
Tarnished Lady
Mrs. Courtney
1931
The Cat Creeps
Susan
1930
The Big Party
Mrs. Goldfarb
1930
Harmony at Home
Emma Haller
1930
The Lone Star Ranger
Sarah Martin
1930
South Sea Rose
Sarah
1929
Words and Music
Dean Crockett
1929
The Dancing Town
Ma Pepperall
1928
The Return of Peter Grimm
Mrs. Bartholomey
1926
The Boy Friend
Mrs. Harper
1926