Marjorie Bennett

Marjorie Bennett
Born 15 January 1896(1896-01-15)
York, Western Australia
Died 14 June 1982(1982-06-14) (aged 86)
Hollywood, Los Angeles
Other names Margery Bennett
Marjorie E. Bennett
Occupation Actress
Years active 1917–80

Marjorie Bennett (15 January 1896 – 14 June 1982) was an Australian television and film actress who began her career during the silent film era.

Contents

Career

Bennett was born in York, Western Australia; her sister Enid was also an actress.[1] Bennett began acting in films 1917, and later made the transition to talking pictures with bit roles in Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949) and Washington Story (1952). In 1952, she appeared as Charlie Chaplin's landlady in the film Limelight,[2] and later had guest roles on The Great Gildersleeve, Four Star Playhouse, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, I Love Lucy, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, and December Bride. From 1959 to 1961, she had a recurring role on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

During the 1970s, Bennett continued appearing in television with roles on Mission: Impossible, Adam-12, Night Gallery, McMillan & Wife, and Phyllis. She also had a role opposite Richard Widmark in the 1973 television film Brock's Last Case. In the 1973 film Charley Varrick, starring Walter Matthau, Bennett portrayed Mrs. Taft, an elderly gardener living in a trailer park who is convinced that every man she meets wants to seduce her. She made her last onscreen appearance in 1980.

Death

Bennett died in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on 14 June 1982[3], and her ashes were interred in the Great Mausoleum's Columbarium of Dawn, at Glendale Forest Lawn Cemetery, in Glendale California.

Selected filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
1917 The Girl, Glory Sally Barton Credited as Margery Bennett
1918 Naughty, Naughty! Prudence Sampson
1946 Dressed to Kill Antique shop assistant Uncredited
1948 June Bride Mrs. Nellie Brinker
1949 Undertow Wife at bar in Vegas Uncredited
1950 The Man Who Cheated Himself Mrs. Muriel Quimby
1951 Lightning Strikes Twice Drug Store Customer Uncredited
1952 The Steel Trap Cleaning Woman Uncredited
1953 So Big Housekeeper Uncredited
1954 Ricochet Romance Mrs. Harvey
1955 Female on the Beach Mrs. Murchison
1956 Our Miss Brooks Mrs. J. Boynton Uncredited
1956 Autumn Leaves Waitress
1957 Man of a Thousand Faces Vera, Housekeeper Uncredited
1958 Home Before Dark Hazel Evans
1959 Career Fan Magazine Columnist
1960 The Rat Race Mrs. Edie Kerry
1961 A Thunder of Drums Mrs. Yates
1962 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Dehlia Flagg
1963 Promises! Promises! Mrs. Snavely
1964 What a Way to Go! Mrs. Freeman Uncredited
1965 36 Hours Charwoman
1966 Billy the Kid versus Dracula Mary Ann Bentley
1967 Games Nora
1968 Coogan's Bluff Mrs. Fowler, Little Old Lady
1969 The Love God? Miss Pickering
1971 Calliope Snoopy lady Alternative title: Love Is Catching
1973 Charley Varrick Mrs. Taft Alternative title: Kill Charley Varrick
1974 Airport 1975 50th Anniversary Celebrant – Passenger
1979 The North Avenue Irregulars Mother Thurber Alternative title: Hill's Angels
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1951 The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok Widow 1 episode
1952 Racket Squad Mrs. Fogarty 1 episode
1953 The Pride of the Family Mrs. Mallory 1 episode
1954 My Little Margie Miss Flannigan/The Old Lady Robber 1 episode
1954–1957 Lassie Birdie Brockway 5 episodes
1955 I Married Joan Ruth 1 episode
1955–1958 The Bob Cummings Show Mrs. Neimeyer 4 episodes
1956 Cheyenne Mrs. Smallwood 1 episode
1957 The Ford Television Theatre Mrs. Morris 1 episode
1958 Trackdown Hetty Lake 1 episode
1958–1959 The Thin Man Mrs. Blascombe 3 episodes
1958–1961 The Real McCoys Amanda Comstock 3 episodes
1959 Buckskin Mrs. Newcombe 1 episode
1960 Adventures in Paradise Agnes Higgins 1 episode
1961 Hong Kong Matron 1 episode
1962 Thriller Mercedes 1 episode
1963 The Joey Bishop Show Mrs. Fenton 1 episode
1964 The Beverly Hillbillies Mrs. Langwell 1 episode
1965 Petticoat Junction Miss Hogan 1 episode
1966 Hey, Landlord Mrs. Fritzell 1 episode
1967 Ironside Hotel Clerk 1 episode
1968 The Virginian Soapie 1 episode
1970 The Mod Squad Mrs. MacCready 1 episode
1971 Nanny and the Professor Aunt Agatha 1 episode
1972 O'Hara, U.S. Treasury Agnes Howett 1 episode
1973 The Rookies Mrs. Gleason 1 episode
1974 Rhoda Mrs. Fosner 1 episode
1975 Happy Days Lady 1 episode
1976 Sherlock Holmes in New York Mrs. Martha Hudson Television film
1977–1978 CHiPs Mrs. Downey 3 episodes
1979 Better Late Than Never Marjorie Crane Television film
1980 Barney Miller Miss Stratton 1 episode

References

  1. ^ Katz, Ephraim (1994). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume (2 ed.). HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 112. ISBN 0-062-73089-4. 
  2. ^ "Chaplin Is Almost Himself Again". The Sunday Herald: p. 4. 9 December 1951. http://www.trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/18486979?searchTerm=marjorie%20bennett. Retrieved 6 September 2010. 
  3. ^ "Marjorie Bennett Dead at 87; Acted in Chaplin's 'Limelight'". The New York Times. 1982-06-22. http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/22/obituaries/marjorie-bennett-dead-at-87-acted-in-chaplin-s-limelight.html. Retrieved 6 September 2010. 

External links