Symona Ferner Boniface (March 5, 1894 – September 2, 1950) was an American film actress, most frequently seen in bit parts in comedy shorts, mostly at
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...
, particularly those of ''
The Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appear ...
''. She appeared in 120 films between 1925 and 1950.
Early life
Boniface was born in New York City, the daughter of
George C. Boniface
George C. Boniface (November 3, 1832 – January 3, 1912) was an American actor. He made his professional debut in Baltimore in 1851, and remained in the profession for sixty years.(4 January 1912)George C. Boniface Dead; Veteran Actor Who Appea ...
, an actor, and his wife Norma ( Ferner) Boniface, an inventor. Symona's father was of English extraction and her mother of German heritage, though both were New York natives.
Career
Boniface is probably best known as a society matron foil for slapstick comedy trio the
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appear ...
, intercepting many a flying pie. Thanks to the daily television broadcast of the wildly popular Stooge films, Boniface is widely seen on a regular basis. Boniface employed her comic timing in several of her appearances. She dealt with a shrinking or torn skirt in ''
No Census, No Feeling'' and ''
Crash Goes the Hash'', squirmed uncontrollably thanks to a mouse crawling down her back in ''
Loco Boy Makes Good'', and was flooded in both ''
Spook Louder
''Spook Louder'' is a 1943 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges ( Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 69th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the ...
'' and her final appearance, ''
Vagabond Loafers''. Conversely, she maintained her composure in ''
Micro-Phonies'' and even dealt
Curly Howard
Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder ...
several painful face slaps in ''
An Ache in Every Stake''.
''Half-Wits' Holiday''
Boniface's ''tour de force'' performance came in ''
Half-Wits Holiday
''Half-Wits Holiday'' is a 1947 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard in his final starring role). It is the 97th entry in the series released by C ...
'' opposite
Moe Howard
Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television ...
. Mischievous
Curly
Curly is a surname, given name, nickname or stage name. It may refer to:
First name, nickname or stage name
* Crazy Horse (1840–1877), Oglala Sioux war chief nicknamed "Curly"
* Curly (scout), nickname of Ashishishe (c. 1856–1923), Crow In ...
grabs a cream pie from a pastry table, and tries to eat it whole. Moe sees this, swipes the pie, and pushes Larry out of the way. Seeing the approaching Mrs. Smythe-Smythe (Boniface), Moe tosses the pie straight up, resulting in it sticking to the ceiling. Noticing his nervousness and frequent upward glances, Smythe-Smythe sympathetically comments, "Young man, you act as if the
Sword of Damocles is hanging over your head." Moe tells her she must be
psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
and leaves. Bewildered, Mrs. Smythe-Smythe says "I wonder what's wrong with that young man?" and looks up to see what had him so concerned. At that moment, the pie comes crashing down in the society matron's face. The footage would be recycled four more times over the next 13 years in the films ''
Pest Man Wins'', ''
Scheming Schemers'', ''
Pies and Guys
''Pies and Guys'' is a 1958 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe Besser). It is the 185th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the c ...
'' and ''
Stop! Look! and Laugh!''.
Boniface also appeared in the Stooges' 1949 television pilot ''
Jerks of All Trades'', which would be the last project she ever appeared in. Stock footage of her would appear in six ensuing Stooges shorts following her death.
Personal life and death
Boniface married Frank Pharr Simms, a salesman and real-estate broker from
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes ...
.
[United States, Selective Service System. ''World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918''. Registration Location: Buckingham County, Virginia; Roll: 1984264; Draft Board: 0.] Boniface was 56 years of age when she died of
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...
on September 2, 1950.
Selected filmography
* ''
Baby Brother'' (1927, Short) - Party guest
* ''
The Mysterious Lady'' (1928) - Party Guest (uncredited)
* ''
Forgotten Faces'' (1928) - Roulette Player (uncredited)
* ''
Show Girl
A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity.
History
Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...
'' (1928) - Show Girl (uncredited)
* ''
Show People'' (1928) - Guest (uncredited)
* ''
The Fatal Warning'' (1929) - Marie Jordan
* ''
The Kiss'' (1929) - Gossip in Museum (uncredited)
* ''
The Vagabond Lover'' (1929) - Musicale Guest (uncredited)
* ''
Sunny Side Up'' (1929) - Woman in hallucination montage (uncredited)
* ''
Daybreak'' (1931) - Bystander at Baccarat Table (uncredited)
* ''
The Public Defender'' (1931) - Auction Attendee (uncredited)
* ''
Dragnet Patrol'' (1931) - Ethel Bainbrick
* ''
The Man Who Played God'' (1932) - Woman in Audience (uncredited)
* ''
Arsène Lupin
Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the maga ...
'' (1932) - Party Guest (uncredited)
* ''
It's Tough to Be Famous
''It's Tough to Be Famous'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green and written by Robert Lord. The film stars Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Mary Brian, Emma Dunn, Walter Catlett and David Landau. The film was relea ...
'' (1932) - Autograph Seeker (uncredited)
* ''
Back Street'' (1932) - Lady at Casino (uncredited)
* ''
Pack Up Your Troubles'' (1932) - Wedding Guest (uncredited)
* ''
Call Her Savage'' (1932) - Gambling Lady (uncredited)
* ''
The Mind Reader'' (1933) - Gossip in Phone Montage (uncredited)
* ''
Reunion in Vienna
''Reunion in Vienna'' is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic drama produced and distributed by MGM. Sidney Franklin served as director. The film stars John Barrymore in a story taken from the 1931 stage play of the same name by Robert Emmet Sherw ...
'' (1933) - Noblewoman (uncredited)
* ''
Tarzan the Fearless'' (1933) - Sara (uncredited)
* ''
Skyway
A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of encl ...
'' (1933) - Baker's Girlfriend (uncredited)
* ''
Beauty for Sale'' (1933) - Mrs. Fletcher (uncredited)
* ''
Christopher Bean'' (1933) - Auction Participant (uncredited)
* ''
The House on 56th Street'' (1933) - Blackjack Player (uncredited)
* ''
Girl Without a Room'' (1933) - Woman (uncredited)
* ''
Easy to Love'' (1934) - Roulette Table Player (uncredited)
* ''
The Black Cat'' (1934) - Cultist (uncredited)
* ''
The Murder in the Museum'' (1934) - Katura the Seeress
* ''
The Count of Monte Cristo
''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with '' The Three Musketeers''. L ...
'' (1934) - Party Guest (uncredited)
* ''
One Night of Love'' (1934) - Minor Role (uncredited)
* ''
British Agent
''British Agent'' is a 1934 American romantic espionage film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Leslie Howard and Kay Francis. It is based on ''Memoirs of a British Agent'', the 1932 autobiography of R. H. Bruce Lockhart, who worked for ...
'' (1934) - Ball Guest at British Embassy (uncredited)
* ''Among the Missing'' (1934) - Prisoner (uncredited)
* ''
Broadway Bill
''Broadway Bill'' is a 1934 American comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy. Screenplay by Robert Riskin and based on the short story "Strictly Confidential" by Mark Hellinger, the film is about a man' ...
'' (1934) - (uncredited)
* ''
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
'' (1935) - Night Club Patron (uncredited)
* ''
Pardon My Scotch'' (1935, Short) - Party Guest (uncredited)
* ''
The Last Days of Pompeii'' (1935) - Slave Auction Observer (uncredited)
* ''
The Golden Arrow'' (1936) - (uncredited)
* ''
Marihuana'' (1936) - Helen - Burma's Customer (uncredited)
* ''
Girls' Dormitory'' (1936) - Professor Clotilde Federa
* ''
Slippery Silks'' (1936, Short) - Mrs. Morgan Morgan (uncredited)
* ''
That Girl from Paris'' (1936) - Wedding Guest (uncredited)
* ''
Confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
'' (1937) - Actress (uncredited)
* ''
Termites of 1938'' (1938, Short) - Guest (uncredited)
* ''
Tassels in the Air'' (1938, Short) - One of Mrs. Smirch's card-playing friends (uncredited)
* ''
Women Are Like That'' (1938) - Lady Behind Claudius on Boat (uncredited)
* ''
In Early Arizona'' (1938) - Doc's Saloon Sweetheart (uncredited)
* ''
On Your Toes'' (1939) - Woman in Audience (uncredited)
* ''
Ninotchka
''Ninotchka'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch and starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch, based o ...
'' (1939) - Gossip (uncredited)
* ''
A Plumbing We Will Go
''A Plumbing We Will Go'' is a 1940 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 46th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring ...
'' (1940, Short) - Party Guest (uncredited)
* ''
No Census, No Feeling'' (1940, Short) - Bridge Party Hostess (uncredited)
* ''
Souls in Pawn'' (1940) - Nurse at 'The Manger'
* ''
All the World's a Stooge'' (1941, Short) - Party Guest (uncredited)
* ''
An Ache in Every Stake'' (1941, Short) - Party Guest (uncredited)
* ''
In the Sweet Pie and Pie'' (1941, Short) - Mrs. Gottrocks (uncredited)
* ''
Some More of Samoa'' (1941, Short) - Mrs. Winthrop (uncredited)
* ''
Loco Boy Makes Good'' (1942, Short) - Nightclub Patron with Mouse Down Dress (uncredited)
* ''
Woman of the Year'' (1942) - Tess' Party Guest (uncredited)
* ''
Born to Sing'' (1942) - Audience Member (uncredited)
* ''
One Dangerous Night'' (1943) - Woman (uncredited)
* ''
Murder in Times Square'' (1943) - Theatre Patron (uncredited)
* ''
Spook Louder
''Spook Louder'' is a 1943 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges ( Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 69th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the ...
'' (1943, Short) - Well-Dressed Woman (uncredited)
* ''
Clancy Street Boys'' (1943) - Dress Saleslady (uncredited)
* ''
The Fallen Sparrow'' (1943) - Guest (uncredited)
* ''
Crash Goes the Hash'' (1944, Short) - Mrs. Van Bustle (uncredited)
* ''
Wilson
Wilson may refer to:
People
*Wilson (name)
** List of people with given name Wilson
** List of people with surname Wilson
* Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender
*Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Rod ...
'' (1944) - White House Reception Guest (uncredited)
* ''
Mrs. Parkington'' (1944) - Clothing Fitter (uncredited)
* ''
Lost in a Harem'' (1944) - Slave Girl (uncredited)
* ''
Her Highness and the Bellboy
''Her Highness and the Bellboy'' is a 1945 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Hedy Lamarr, Robert Walker, and June Allyson. Written by Richard Connell and Gladys Lehman, the film is about a beautiful European p ...
'' (1945) - Maid (uncredited)
* ''
Girls of the Big House'' (1945) - Matron (uncredited)
* ''
Micro-Phonies'' (1945, Short) - Mrs. Bixby
* ''
The Notorious Lone Wolf'' (1946) - Grand Dame at Airport (uncredited)
* ''
Gilda
''Gilda'' is a 1946 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth in her signature role and Glenn Ford. The film is known for cinematographer Rudolph Maté's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis's wardrobe fo ...
'' (1946) - Gambler at Roulette Table (uncredited)
* ''
Talk About a Lady
''Talk About a Lady'' is a 1946 American musical film directed by George Sherman and starring Forrest Tucker and Jinx Falkenburg.
Plot
References
External links
*''Talk About a Lady''at Library of Congress''Talk About a Lady''at TCMDB
Tur ...
'' (1946) - Ladies' League Woman (uncredited)
* ''
Two Sisters from Boston'' (1946) - Opera Cast Member (uncredited)
* ''
Earl Carroll Sketchbook'' (1946) - Screaming Woman (uncredited)
* ''
The Mysterious Mr. Valentine'' (1946) - Landlady (uncredited)
* ''
Gallant Journey'' (1946) - Dance Floor Extra (uncredited)
* ''
G.I. Wanna Home
''G.I. Wanna Home'' is a 1946 short film, short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 94th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures s ...
'' (1946, Short) - Landlady (uncredited)
* ''
The Jolson Story'' (1946) - Woman in Audience (uncredited)
* ''
The Beast with Five Fingers
''The Beast with Five Fingers'' is a 1946 mystery horror film directed by Robert Florey from a screenplay by Curt Siodmak, based on a short story written by W. F. Harvey and first published in 1919 in ''The New Decameron''. The film stars Rober ...
'' (1946) - Mourner (uncredited)
* ''
Half-Wits Holiday
''Half-Wits Holiday'' is a 1947 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard in his final starring role). It is the 97th entry in the series released by C ...
'' (1947, Short) - Mrs. Smythe-Smythe (uncredited)
* ''
Angel and the Badman'' (1947) - Dance Hall Madam (uncredited)
* ''
Born to Kill'' (1947) - Gambler at Roulette Table (uncredited)
* ''
All Gummed Up'' (1947, Short) - Mother-in-law (uncredited)
* ''
Heavenly Daze'' (1948, Short) - Mrs. DePuyster (uncredited)
* ''
The Untamed Breed'' (1948) - Milly (uncredited)
* ''
The Return of October'' (1948) - Hedwig (uncredited)
* ''
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the corona ...
'' (1948) - Peasant (uncredited)
* ''
The Man from Colorado'' (1949) - Matron (uncredited)
* ''
Slightly French'' (1949) - Party Guest (uncredited)
* ''
Vagabond Loafers'' (1949, Short) - Mrs. Norfleet
* ''
Appointment with Danger'' (1950) - Woman (uncredited)
* ''
Beware of Blondie'' (1950) - A Gossip (uncredited)
* ''
Rogues of Sherwood Forest'' (1950) - Charcoal Burner's Wife (uncredited)
* ''
Between Midnight and Dawn'' (1950) - Minor Role (uncredited)
* ''
Pirates of the High Seas'' (1950, Serial) - Lotus Lady
* ''
Pest Man Wins'' (1951, Short) - Mrs. Smythe-Smythe (
archive footage) (uncredited)
* ''
Bedlam in Paradise'' (1955, Short) - Mrs. De Puyster (archive footage) (uncredited)
* ''
Scheming Schemers'' (1956, Short) - Mrs. Norfleet (uncredited) (final film role)
* ''
Pies and Guys
''Pies and Guys'' is a 1958 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe Besser). It is the 185th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the c ...
'' (1958, Short) - (archive footage)
* ''
Stop! Look! and Laugh!'' (1960) - Mrs. Bixby / Party Guest (archive footage) (uncredited)
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boniface, Symona
1894 births
1950 deaths
American film actresses
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Actresses from New York City
Deaths from cancer in California
Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
20th-century American actresses
American people of German descent
American people of English descent
20th-century American comedians