Nana Irene Bryant (November 23, 1888 – December 24, 1955) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1955.
Biography
Bryant was born 1888 in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
. She appeared in stock companies in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, and spent several seasons on tour. She also played on
Broadway, appearing in the then non-singing role of Morgan le Fay in Rodgers and Hart's ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'', before working in films. Her other Broadway credits included ''Marriage Is for Single People'' (1945), ''Baby Pompadour'' (1934), ''A Ship Comes In'' (1934), ''The First Apple'' (1933), ''The Dubarry'' (1932), ''The Stork is Dead'' (1932), ''Heigh-Ho, Everybody'' (1932), ''The Padre'' (1926), ''The Wild Rose'' (1926), ''No More Women'' (1926), ''The Firebrand'' (1924).
Bryant had a supporting role in the ''Frank Morgan Show'', a summer replacement for Jack Benny's program in 1946.
On television, she played Connie's mother in ''
The First Hundred Years'' and Mrs. Nestor in ''
Our Miss Brooks
''Our Miss Brooks'' is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high-school English teacher. It began as a Old Time Radio, radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television (1952–56), it became ...
''.
She also made several appearances as the mother of Margaret Williams (
Jean Hagen) during the first three seasons of ''
Make Room for Daddy''.
Bryant appeared for the first time in a musical role October 1 to November 1, 1912 in ''The Man Who Owns Broadway'' at Morosco's Burbank Theatre, produced by David M. Hartford. Her role was Sylvia, Anthony Bridwell's daughter. She sang Song of the Soul in Act 1 and I'm in love with one of the stars. She was accompanied by Sophia Caldwell of
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...
; Caldwell was then studying for the opera.
[ Brochure from the show and Personal Scrap Book of Sophia Caldwell McCrystal in the Larry Roeder Archives.]
Personal life
Bryant was married to writer Ted MacLean.
Bryant died in
Hollywood, California
Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
, in 1955, aged 67.
Partial filmography
* ''
Unknown Woman'' (1935) - Aunt Mary
*''
Atlantic Adventure'' (1935) - Joan Hill (uncredited)
*''
A Feather in Her Hat'' (1935) - Lady Drake
*''
Guard That Girl'' (1935) - Sarah
*''
Crime and Punishment'' (1935) - Madam (uncredited)
*''
One Way Ticket'' (1935) - Mrs. Bourne
*''
The Lone Wolf Returns'' (1935) - Aunt Julie Stewart
*''
You May Be Next'' (1936) - Miss Abbott
*''
Lady of Secrets'' (1936) - Aunt Harriet
*''
The King Steps Out'' (1936) - Louise
*''
Meet Nero Wolfe'' (1936) - Sarah Barstow
*''
Blackmailer
Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat.
As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a th ...
'' (1936) - Mrs. Lindsay
*''
The Man Who Lived Twice'' (1936) - Margaret Schuyler
*''
Theodora Goes Wild'' (1936) - Ethel Stevenson
*''
Pennies from Heaven'' (1936) - Miss Howard
*''
Let's Get Married'' (1937) - Mrs. Willoughby
*''
The League of Frightened Men'' (1937) - Agnes Burton
*''
The Devil Is Driving'' (1937) - Mrs. Sanders
*''
A Dangerous Adventure'' (1937) - Marie
*''
Counsel for Crime
''Counsel for Crime'' is a 1937 American crime film directed by John Brahm starring Otto Kruger, Douglass Montgomery and Jacqueline Wells.
Plot
Following his graduation from law school, Senator Robert Maddox's (Hall) adopted son Paul (Montgomery ...
'' (1937) - Mrs. Maddox
*''
Man-Proof'' (1938) - Meg Swift
*''
Midnight Intruder'' (1938) - Mrs. John Clark Reitter Sr.
*''
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1938) - Mrs. Thatcher
*''
Mad About Music'' (1938) - Louise Fusenot
*''
Sinners in Paradise'' (1938) - Mrs. Franklin Sydney
*''
Give Me a Sailor'' (1938) - Mrs. Minnie Brewster
*''
Always in Trouble'' (1938) - Mrs. Minnie Darlington
*''
Out West with the Hardys'' (1938) - Dora Northcote
*''
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus'' (1938) - Mrs. Henry Peck
*''
Swing, Sister, Swing'' (1938) - Hyacinth Hepburn
*''
Lincoln in the White House'' (1939, Short) - Mary Todd Lincoln (uncredited)
*''
Street of Missing Men'' (1939) - Mrs. Putnam
* ''
Parents on Trial'' (1939) - Margaret Ames
*''
Espionage Agent'' (1939) - Mrs. Corvall
*''
Our Neighbors – The Carters'' (1939) - Louise Wilcox
*''
Brother Rat and a Baby'' (1940) - Mrs. Harper
*''
If I Had My Way'' (1940) - Marian Johnson
*''
A Little Bit of Heaven'' (1940) - Mom
*''
Father Is a Prince'' (1940) - Susan Bower
*''
The Reluctant Dragon'' (1941) - Mrs. Benchley
*''
Nice Girl?'' (1941) - Mary Peasley
*''
Thieves Fall Out'' (1941) - Martha Matthews
*''
One Foot in Heaven'' (1941) - Mrs. Morris
*''
Public Enemies'' (1941) - Emma
*''
The Corsican Brothers'' (1941) - Madame Dupre
*''
Calling Dr. Gillespie'' (1942) - Mrs. Marshall Todwell
*''
Get Hep to Love'' (1942) - Aunt Addie
*''
Youth on Parade'' (1942) - Agatha Frost
*''
Thunder Birds'' (1942) - Mrs. Blake
*''
Madame Spy'' (1942) - Alicia Rolf
*''
Hangmen Also Die!'' (1943) - Mrs. Hellie Novotny
*''
Get Going'' (1943) - Mrs. Daughtery
*''
Best Foot Forward'' (1943) - Mrs. Dalrymple
*''
The West Side Kid'' (1943) - Mrs. Winston
*''
Princess O'Rourke'' (1943) - Mrs. Mulvaney (uncredited)
*''
The Song of Bernadette'' (1943) - Mere Imbert (uncredited)
*''
The Adventures of Mark Twain'' (1944) - Mrs. Langdon
*''
Jungle Woman'' (1944) - Miss Gray - Nurse
*''
Bathing Beauty'' (1944) - Dean Clinton
*''
Take It or Leave It'' (1944) - Miss Burke
*''
Marriage Is a Private Affair'' (1944) - Nurse
*''
Can't Help Singing'' (1944) - Mrs. Carstairs (uncredited)
*''
Brewster's Millions
''Brewster's Millions'' is a comedic novel written by George Barr McCutcheon in 1902, originally under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves.
The plot concerns a young man whose grandfather leaves him $1 million in a will, but a competing will from ...
'' (1945) - Mrs. Gray
*''
Week-End at the Waldorf'' (1945) - Mrs. H. Davenport Drew
*''
Black Market Babies'' (1945) - Mrs. Grace Andrews
*''
The Virginian'' (1946) - Mrs. Wood (uncredited)
*''
The Runaround'' (1946) - Mrs. Mildred Hampton
*''
Big Town'' (1946) - Mrs. Crane
*''
The Perfect Marriage'' (1947) - Corinne Williams
*''
Millie's Daughter'' (1947) - Mrs. Cooper Austin
*''
The Big Fix'' (1947) - Mrs. Carter
*''
Possessed'' (1947) - Pauline Graham (uncredited)
*''The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival'' (1947) - Mrs. Cornelius Belmont Sr., in 'Fabulous Joe'
*''
The Fabulous Joe'' (1947) - Mrs. Belmont
*''
The Unsuspected'' (1947) - Mrs. White
*''
Her Husband's Affairs'' (1947) - Mrs. Winterbottom
*''
Dangerous Years'' (1947) - Miss Templeton
*''
Goodbye, Miss Turlock'' (1948, Short) - Miss Turlock (uncredited)
*''
Reaching from Heaven'' (1948) - Kay Bradley
*''
On Our Merry Way'' (1948) - Housekeeper (deleted sequence) (uncredited)
*''
Stage Struck'' (1948) - Mrs. Howard
*''
Eyes of Texas'' (1948) - Hattie Waters
* ''
Lady at Midnight'' (1948) - Lydia Forsythe
*''
Inner Sanctum'' (1948) - Mrs. Mitchell
*''
The Return of October'' (1948) - Cousin Therese
*''
The Kissing Bandit'' (1948) - Nun (uncredited)
*''
Ladies of the Chorus'' (1948) - Mrs. Adele Carroll
*''
State Department: File 649'' (1949) - Peggy Brown
*''
Hideout'' (1949) - Sybil Elwood Kaymeer
*''
The Lady Gambles'' (1949) - Mrs. Dennis Sutherland
*''
The Blonde Bandit'' (1950) - Mrs. Henley
*''
Key to the City'' (1950) - Mrs. Cabot (uncredited)
*''
I Was a Shoplifter'' (1950) - Aunt Clara (uncredited)
*''
A Modern Marriage'' (1950) - Mrs. Brown
*''
Three Secrets'' (1950) - Mrs. Gilwyn, Supervisor of 'The Shelter' (uncredited)
*''
Let's Dance'' (1950) - Mrs. Bryant (uncredited)
*''
Harvey'' (1950) - Mrs. Hazel Chumley
*''
The Du Pont Story'' (1950) - Elizabeth du Pont
*''
A Modern Marriage'' (1951)
*''
Follow the Sun'' (1951) - Sister Beatrice
*''
Only the Valiant'' (1951) - Mrs. Drumm
*''
Bright Victory'' (1951) - Mrs. Claire Nevins
*''
Geraldine'' (1953) - Dean Blake
*''
About Mrs. Leslie'' (1954) - Mrs. McKay
*''
The Outcast (aka The Fortune Hunter)'' (1954) - Mrs. Banner
*''
The Private War of Major Benson'' (1955) - Mother Redempta
References
External links
*
*
*
Nana Bryant papers, 1917-1955 held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Nana
1888 births
1955 deaths
Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
American film actresses
Actresses from Ohio
American stage actresses
20th-century American actresses
American television actresses