Mildred Dunnock

[Serendipity09]

Mildred Dunnock
(1901 - 1991)
She was such a sweet looking lady and that is the type she usually played sweet spinsters or widows, sympathetic wives or oddly eccentric characters, but she could put a "bite" in a role if necessary. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland on January 25, 1901 and early on had a go at amateur acting in high school but her parents insisted on college and a teaching career for her. She attended Johns Hopkins and Columbia universities but eventually her love for acting won out and she debuted on Broadway in 1932 in "Life Begins." She studied at the Actor's Studio under Lee Strasberg and performed often in New England community theatre as well as the New York stage. Her birdlike looks were perfect for character roles. Her film career was very successful and garnered her some Oscar nominations for her roles in "Death of a Salesman" (1951) opposite Frederic March as Mrs. Loman and "Baby Doll" (1956) as Aunt Rose. Her other film credits include: "The Corn is Green" (1945) as Miss Ronberry, her film debut; "Kiss of Death" (1947) as Ma Rizzo who Richard Widmark, as Tommy Udo, sent down a staircase in a wheelchair; "Viva Zapata!" (1952) as Senora Espejo; "The Jazz Singer" (1952) as Mrs. Golding; "The Trouble With Harry" (1955) as Mrs. Wiggs; "Peyton Place" (1957) as Mrs. Thornton; "The Nun's Story" (1959) with Audrey Hepburn, as Sister Margharita; "Butterfield 8" (1960) with Elizabeth Taylor, as Mrs. Wandrous; "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962) as Aunt Nonnie; "Youngblood Hawke" (1964) as Mrs. Sarah Hawke and "The Pick-Up Artist" (1987) with Molly Ringwald, as Nellie, her final film. These credits illustrate the diversity of her roles. She appeared in made for TV movies including: "Murder or Mercy" (1974); "And Baby Makes Six" (1979) and "The Patricia Neal Story" (1981) as herself. She also appeared on many anthology series including: "Studio One"; "Playhouse 90"; "Kraft Theatre" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." She died on July 5, 1991 in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts on Martha's Vineyard of natural causes at age 90.

[poppie]

She appeared in a Matlock re-run yesterday. A fine and talented actress. She was the woman in the wheelchair that Richard Widmark pushed down the flight of stairs. She married in 1933 and both she and her husband, Keith Urmay died in 1991.

[Serendipity09]

When Mildred Dunnock quietly demanded that "Attention must be paid" to Willy Loman in the 1949 Broadway premiere of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" opposite Lee J. Cobb, her indelible performance as Linda Loman became the embodiment of Miller's idealized mother figure: loving, supportive mother and wife and the family's moral balast.

[RoRo]

I have seen this lady in so many things and thought she was so good! Thank you for the thread and info!

[Kathyf]

I remember seeing her in a few different things.