Mary Nash (born Mary Honora Ryan; August 15, 1884 – December 3, 1976) was an American actress.[2]
Mary Nash | |
|---|---|
 Nash in 1909 | |
| Born | Mary Honora Ryan August 15, 1884 Troy, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 3, 1976 (aged 92) |
| Resting place | St. Agnes Cemetery[1] |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1904-1946 |
| Spouse(s) | José Ruben, married 1918, divorced after 1923 |
| Relatives | Florence Nash (sister) |
Early life
editMary and her younger sister, author/actress Florence, were born to James H. Ryan, a lawyer, and his wife, Ellen Frances (née McNamara).[3] The sisters adopted the surname of their stepfather, Philip F. Nash, a vaudeville booking executive, who married their mother after the death of their father. Fortuitously, the name change would avoid conflict with actress Mary Ryan, who achieved Broadway popularity before Nash. Nash attended the Convent of St. Anne in Montreal and trained for acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[2] Nash was Catholic.[4]
Stage and film career
editShe was a stage actress in New York and London, and vaudeville. After brief appearances as a dancer at the Herald Square Theatre in 1904, she made her off-Broadway debut on Christmas Day 1905 as Leonora Dunbar in James M. Barrie's Alice-Sit-by-the-Fire, which starred Ethel Barrymore. She remained with Barrymore for two years, acting together in Captain Jinks and The Silver Box. Her last Broadway appearance was a production of Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1933 as Cassie, which starred Otis Skinner and Fay Bainter. She was acclaimed on the London stage. She started her Hollywood career in 1936, appearing in 18 films.[2]
She moved to Hollywood in 1934, where she acted in films until 1946. According to Allmovie: "Nash was often cast as seemingly mild-mannered women who turned vicious when challenged, as witness her work in College Scandal (1936) and Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)...Mary Nash's most sympathetic role was as the long-suffering wife of blustering capitalist J.B. Ball in Easy Living (1937)."[5] In the 1940 film Gold Rush Maisie, she played the patient, forbearing wife and mother of a family, forced by the Dust Bowl and Depression to abandon their farm in Arkansas, that has spent five years traveling through the country in search of seasonal work.
Nash may be best known for playing villains in two Shirley Temple films, first as Fraulein Rottenmeier in Heidi (1937) and then as Miss Minchin in The Little Princess (1939). She played Katharine Hepburn's socialite mother in the movie version of The Philadelphia Story (1940). She played a supporting role in the 1936 Academy Award-winning film Come and Get It and had a featured role in the 1944 film In the Meantime, Darling.
Personal life
editOn October 19, 1918,[6] she wed the French-born actor and director José Ruben (1884–1969).[7][8] They divorced sometime after 1923, when they were still living together with Florence Nash.[9]
Death
editNash died in her sleep at her Brentwood, California home on December 7, 1976. She was 92.[1] Nash is interred at St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands, NY.[2]
Filmography
editReferences
edit- ^ Mack mausoleum (top of the hill near the corner), St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands, Albany, NY., Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 34193-34194). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
- ^ a b c "Mary Nash Dead; Character Actress Of Stage and Film". New York Times. December 8, 1976. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
Mary Nash, whose 40-year career as an actress included stardom on Broadway and success in motion pictures and vaudeville, died Friday at her home in Brentwood, Calif. She was 92 years old.
- ^ Great Stars of the American Stage by Daniel C. Blum Profile #103 c. 1952 (this second edition c. 1954)
- ^ Morning News, January 10, 1948, Who Was Who in America (Vol. 2)
- ^ Hal Erickson, Allmovie, 2006
- ^ "Plays and Players". New York Tribune. New York, New York. October 24, 1918. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturlization Records, 1794-1943 for Jose Ruben, Southern District, New York, (Roll 0162), Petition No. 22314, retrieved from Ancestry.com
- ^ "Jose Ruben Dies; Actor, Director". New York Times. New York, New York. April 30, 1969. p. 47 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Jose Ruben, the Actor". The Standard Union. Brooklyn, New York. March 8, 1923. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit- Mary Nash at Find a Grave
- Mary Nash at IMDb
- Mary Nash at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mary Nash at KinoTV.com
- Mary Nash at Aveleyman.com
- Mary and Florence Nash papers, 1893-1974, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Images:
- Photograph by James Abbe, Captain Applejack, 1921
- Portrait by Ben Solowey, Diana, 1929
- Portrait by Ben Solowey, A Strong Man's House, 1929
- Photograph, Cobra Woman, 1944
- Photograph, 1944
- Mary Nash, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
- Mary Nash in Vanity Fair October 1920 taken by Dorothy Wilding
- Mary Nash in Vanity Fair March 1924 wearing large plumed headdress taken by Edward Steichen
