Josephine Hutchinson(October 12, 1903[1]– June 4, 1998) was an American actress.[2]She acted in dozens of theater plays and dozens of films, includingSon of FrankensteinandNorth by Northwest,as well as numerous television appearances as guest star in various series includingThe Twilight Zone.
Josephine Hutchinson | |
|---|---|
 Hutchinson in 1934 | |
| Born | October 12, 1903 Seattle,Washington, U.S. |
| Died | June 4, 1998(aged 94) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Cornish College of the Arts |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1917–1974 |
| Spouses | Robert W. Bell
(m.1924;div.1930)James F. Townsend
(m.1935; died 1970) |
| Mother | Leona Roberts |
Early years
editHutchinson was born inSeattle, Washington.Her mother,Leona Roberts,was an actress best known for her role as Mrs. Meade inGone with the Wind.[3]
Career
editFilm
editThrough her mother's connections, Hutchinson made her film debut at the age of 13 inThe Little Princess(1917), starringMary Pickford.[4]She later attended theCornish Schoolin Seattle, receiving a diploma in 1929.[5]She moved to New York City, where she began acting in theater. By the late 1920s, she was one of the actors able to make the transition fromsilent moviestotalkies.
Under contract withWarner Bros.,Hutchinson went to Hollywood in 1934, debuting that year inHappiness Ahead,starring oppositeDick Powell.She was featured on the cover ofFilm Weeklyon August 23, 1935,[6]and appeared inThe Story of Louis Pasteurin 1936. AtUniversal,she again played theleading lady,Elsa von Frankenstein, in one of her more memorable roles alongside actorsBasil Rathbone,Boris KarloffandBela LugosiinSon of Frankenstein(1939).[7][8]
In 1957'sGun for a Coward,she was miscast as the mother ofFred MacMurray's character, although only five years MacMurray's senior. She later played the sister of the villainous Vandamm, posing as "Mrs. Townsend", inNorth by Northwest(1959)[9]and Mrs. Macaboy inLove Is Better Than Ever,starringElizabeth Taylor.[10]
Stage
editHutchinson's Broadway debut came inThe Bird Cage(1925). Her other Broadway credits includedThe Cherry Orchard(1933),Alice in Wonderland(1932),Dear Jane(1932),Alison's House(1931),Camille(1931),Alison's House(1930),The Women Have Their Way(1930),The Living Corpse(1929),Mademoiselle Bourrat(1929),The Cherry Orchard(1929),The Seagull(1929),Peter Pan(1928),The Cherry Orchard(1928),Hedda Gabler(1928),Improvisations in June(1928),The First Stone(1928),2 x 2 = 5(1927),The Good Hope(1927),Inheritors(1927),The Cradle Song(1927),Twelfth Night(1926),The Unchastened Woman(1926), andA Man's Man(1925).[11]
Television
editOn television, she made four guest appearances onPerry Mason.In 1958, she played Leona Walsh in "The Case of the Screaming Woman". In 1959, she played murderer Miriam Baker in "The Case of the Spanish Cross". In 1961, she played Miss Sarah McKay in "The Case of the Barefaced Witness", and in 1962, she played Amelia Corning in "The Case of the Mystified Miner". In 1959, she played Mrs Crale in the 1959Gunsmokeepisode "Johnny Red." She played the Reverend Mother Sister Ellen in the 1967 episode "Ladies From St. Louis".[12]
In the 1960The Riflemanepisode S2 E31 "The Prodigal", she played Christine, the mother of outlaw Billy St. John. She appeared inThe Real McCoysin 1961 in the episode "September Song." In 1962, she appeared onRawhide,in the episode "Grandma's Money" and onThe Twilight Zonein the episode "I Sing the Body Electric”(S3 E35). In March 1963, Hutchinson appeared in an episode ofGE True,entitled "The Black-Robed Ghost".[13]
In 1970Bonanza(S12E9) "Love Child", she played Martha Randolph. In 1971, Hutchinson appeared inThe Waltons'television movieThe Homecoming: A Christmas Story,in which she played Mamie Baldwin, one half of a sister duo who made moonshine whiskey. In 1974, inLittle House on the Prairie(S1E6) "If I Should Wake Before I Die", she played Amy Hearn.[14]
Hutchinson continued to work steadily through the 1970s in film, radio, and television, establishing a solid career in supporting roles.[15]
Personal life
editOn August 12, 1924, Hutchinson married Robert W. Bell, a stage director, in Washington, D.C.[16]In 1926, she met the actressEva Le Gallienne,and became a member of Le Gallienne'sCivic Repertory Theatrecompany. By 1927, the two women were involved in an affair. Hutchinson and Bell, who separated in 1928, were divorced in 1930.[17]The press quickly dubbed her Le Gallienne's "shadow", a term which at the time meantlesbian.[18][12]Both actresses survived the scandal and carried on with their respective careers.
Hutchinson married three times. She married James F. Townsend in 1935; they later divorced. Her final marriage was to actorStaats Cotsworthin 1972; he died in 1979.[12][19]
Death
editShe died, aged 94, on June 4, 1998, at the Florence Nightingale Nursing Home in Manhattan.[7]Her ashes were scattered near her niece's home atSpringfield, Oregon.[1]
Select filmography
edit- The Little Princess(1917) (uncredited)
- Happiness Ahead(1934) as Joan Bradford
- The Right to Live(1935) as Stella Trent
- Oil for the Lamps of China(1935) as Hester
- The Melody Lingers On(1935) as Ann Prescott
- The Story of Louis Pasteur(1936) as Marie Pasteur
- I Married a Doctor(1936) as Carol Kennicott
- Mountain Justice(1937) as Ruth Harkins
- The Women Men Marry(1937) as Jane Carson
- The Crime of Doctor Hallet(1938) as Dr. Mary Reynolds
- Son of Frankenstein(1939) as Elsa Von Frankenstein
- My Son, My Son!(1940) as Nellie (Moscrop) Essex
- Tom Brown's School Days(1940) as Mrs. Mary Arnold
- Her First Beau(1941) as Mrs. Wood
- Somewhere in the Night(1946) as Elizabeth Conroy
- Cass Timberlane(1947) as Lillian Drover
- The Tender Years(1948) as Emily Norris
- Adventure in Baltimore(1949) as Mrs. Lilly Sheldon
- Love Is Better Than Ever(1952) as Mrs. Macaboy
- Ruby Gentry(1952) as Letitia Gentry
- Many Rivers to Cross(1955) as Mrs. Cherne
- Miracle in the Rain(1956) as Agnes Wood
- Gun for a Coward(1957) as Mrs. Keough
- Sing, Boy, Sing(1958) as Caroline Walker
- Step Down to Terror(1958) as Mrs. Sarah Walters
- North by Northwest(1959) as Mrs. Townsend
- Walk Like a Dragon(1960) as Ma Bartlett
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(1960) as Widow Douglas
- Baby the Rain Must Fall(1965) as Mrs. Ewing
- Nevada Smith(1966) as Mrs. Elvira McCanles
- Rabbit, Run(1970) as Mrs. Angstrom, Rabbit's mother
- The Homecoming: A Christmas Story(1971) as Mamie Baldwin
References
edit- ^abWilson, Scott (August 19, 2016).Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons(3rd ed.). McFarland. p. 364.ISBN978-1476625997.
- ^Vallance, Tom (June 13, 1998)."Obituary: Josephine Hutchinson".The Independent.RetrievedNovember 20,2018.
- ^Hanson, Bruce K. (August 10, 2011).Peter Pan on Stage and Screen, 1904-2010(2nd ed.). McFarland. p. 169.ISBN978-0786486199.
- ^Fisher, James; Londré, Felicia Hardison (2017).Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism.Rowman & Littlefield. p. 338.ISBN9781538107867.RetrievedFebruary 11,2018.
- ^Anonymous. "Alumni List". Unpublished: University of Washington Special Collections Library, Cornish School of Allied Arts Records, accession 2654-005, Box 5, folder 11; ca. 1940.
- ^Film WeeklywebsiteArchived2007-03-12 at theWayback Machine
- ^ab"Ghoul Skool".ghoulskool.Archived fromthe originalon July 11, 2006.RetrievedJuly 11,2006.
- ^"Basil Rathbone: Master of Stage and Screen - Son of Frankenstein".basilrathbone.net.
- ^"hitchcock - Search Results - Classic Film Guide".classicfilmguide.
- ^"TV Guide".TV Guide.Archived fromthe originalon May 15, 2008.RetrievedJuly 17,2006.
- ^"(" Josephine Hutchinson "search results)".Internet Broadway Database.The Broadway League. Archived fromthe originalon February 11, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 11,2018.
- ^abcVallance, Tom (June 13, 1998)."Obituary: Josephine Hutchinson".The Independent.RetrievedFebruary 27,2017.
- ^"Featured Sunday".The Marion Star.Marion, Ohio.March 9, 1963. p. 5.RetrievedApril 15,2023– via newspapers.
- ^TV Guide: Volume 40.Triangle Publications. 1992. p. 17.RetrievedAugust 21,2022.
- ^Nevada SmithArchived2006-07-15 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Actress Gets Divorce From Robert Bell".Hartford Courant.Connecticut, Hartford. Associated Press. July 9, 1930. p. 22.RetrievedFebruary 10,2018– viaNewspapers.
- ^"Divorces Robert Bell",The New York Times,July 9, 1930
- ^Retter, Yolanda (July 9, 2007) [2002]."Le Gallienne, Eva (1899-1991)".In Summers, Claude J. (ed.).glbtq: An encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture.Chicago: glbtq, Inc. Archived fromthe originalon May 24, 2011.
- ^"Deaths"(PDF).Broadcasting. April 23, 1979. p. 71.RetrievedJanuary 7,2016.
