Marion Lorne

Marion Lorne
Lorne in 1957
Born	Marion Lorne MacDougall August 12, 1883 West Pittston, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	May 9, 1968 (aged 84) New York, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Ferncliff Cemetery, Greenburgh, New York, U.S.[1] 41°01′39″N 73°49′57″W / 41.02750°N 73.83250°W / 41.02750; -73.83250
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1905–1968; her death
Spouse(s)	Walter C. Hackett (m. 1911; his death 1944)

Lorne with Louise Drew in the play The Florist Shop (1909)

Marion Lorne (August 12, 1883 – May 9, 1968) was an American actress of stage, film, and television.

After a career in theatre in New York and London, Lorne made her first film in 1951, and for the remainder of her life, played small roles in films and television. Her recurring role, between 1964 and her death in 1968, as Aunt Clara in the comedy series, Bewitched (1964–1972) brought her widespread recognition, and for which she was posthumously awarded an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Early life and education

Lorne was born Marion Lorne MacDougall in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, a small mining town halfway between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. She was the daughter of Dr. William Lorne MacDougall, MD, and his wife, Jane Louise (née Oliver), known as "Jennie". She was born in 1883 (although by the 1920s she had shaved five years off of her age). While her year of birth is listed as 1885 here, it was usually listed as 1888 when she was alive. However, the Social Security Death Index lists it as 1883. Her parents were Scottish and English immigrants. She had a younger brother, Lorne Taylor MacDougall (October 20, 1893 – September 5, 1943).^[2] She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.^[2] The 1900 census, enumerated on June 1, 1900, gave her age as 16 and the month and year of her birth as August 1883.^[3]

Career

Lorne debuted on Broadway in 1905; she also acted in London theaters, enjoying a flourishing stage career on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In London she had her own theater, the Whitehall, where she had top billing in plays written by Walter C. Hackett, her husband.^[2] None of her productions at the Whitehall had runs shorter than 125 nights.^[2]

After appearing in a couple of Vitaphone shorts, including Success (1931) starring Jack Haley, she made her feature film debut in her late 60s in Strangers on a Train (1951), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. From 1952 to 1955, she was seen as perpetually confused junior high school English teacher Mrs. Gurney on Mister Peepers.^[4] From 1957 to 58, she co-starred with Joan Caulfield in the NBC sitcom Sally in the role of an elderly widow who happens to be the co-owner of a department store.^[5] Although afraid of live television, declaring "I'm a coward when it comes to a live [television] show",^[6] she was persuaded to appear a few times to promote the film The Girl Rush with Rosalind Russell in the mid-1950s. Between 1958 and 1964, she made regular appearances on The Garry Moore Show (1958–1962).

Her last role, as Aunt Clara in Bewitched, brought Lorne her widest fame as a lovable, forgetful witch who is losing her powers due to old age and whose spells usually end in disaster. Aunt Clara is obsessed with doorknobs, often bringing her collection with her on visits. Lorne had an extensive collection of doorknobs in real life, some of which she used as props in the series.^[7]

Death

She appeared in twenty-seven episodes of Bewitched, and was not replaced after she died of a heart attack in her Manhattan apartment, just prior to the start of production of the show's fifth season, on May 9, 1968, aged 84.^[8] She is buried at Ferncliff Cemetery in Greenburgh, New York.^[1]

Posthumous

The producers of Bewitched recognized that Lorne's performance as Aunt Clara could not be replicated by another actress. Comedic actress Alice Ghostley was recruited to fill the gap as “Esmeralda”, a different type of befuddled witch with wobbly magic whose spells often went astray. Coincidentally, Lorne and Ghostley had appeared side-by-side as partygoers in the iconic comedy-drama film The Graduate, made the year before Lorne's death.^[9] She received a posthumous Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Bewitched. The statue was accepted by Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery.

Personal life

In 1911, she married playwright Walter C. Hackett. They were married until his death in 1944. The couple had no children.

Filmography and television work

Theatre work

• Dance Me a Song as Grandmother (January 20, 1950 – February 18, 1950)
• Harvey as Veta Louise Simmons (November 1, 1944 – January 15, 1949)
• Off With The Motley (1937-1938) [Whitehall Theatre, London]
• London After Dark (1937) [Streatham Hill Theatre]
• London After Dark (1937) [Apollo Theatre, London]
• The Fugitives (1936) [Whitehall Theatre, London]
• Espionage (1935-1936) [Apollo Theatre, London]
• Afterwards (1934) [Whitehall Theatre, London]
• The White Sisters (1933) [Whitehall Theatre, London]
• The Gay Adventure (1932) [Whitehall Theatre, London]
• Road House (1932) [Whitehall Theatre, London]
• Take a Chance (1931) [Whitehall Theatre, London]
• Captain Applejack (1931) [Whitehall Theatre, London]
• It Pays to Advertise (1930-1931)
• Hyde Park Corner (1930)
• Freedom of the Seas (1929)
• Regeneration (1928)
• The Wicked Earl (1928) [His Majesty's Theater, London]
• The Barton Mystery (1927)
• 77 Park Lane (1927)
• 77 Rue Chalgrin (1925)
• Other Men's Wives (1922)
• The Barton Mystery (October 13–30, 1917; 20 performances)
• It Pays to Advertise (1915-1916)
• Don't Weaken (January 1914)
• The Little Minister as Lady Babbie (June 22, 1910 - 1910) [Hunter-Bradford Players at the Parsons Theater]
• The Florist Shop as Angelica Perkins (August 9, 1909 - September 1909)
• The Devil as Mimi (August 18, 1908 - November 1908)
• Here Tonight (1908)
• Mrs. Temple's Telegram (February 1, 1905 - March 27, 1905)

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links

• Marion Lorne at Find a Grave
• Marion Lorne at the Internet Broadway Database
• Marion Lorne at the Internet Movie Database