Ann Tyrrell (February 6, 1909 – July 20, 1983) was an American stage, film and television

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. Tyrrell is best known for her roles in both of the

Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcoms A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent setting, such as a home ...

'' Private Secretary'' (1953–1957) and ''

The Ann Sothern Show ''The Ann Sothern Show'' is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for three seasons from October 6, 1958, to March 30, 1961. Created by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, the series was the second starring vehicle for Sothern, wh ...

'' (1958–1961).

Career

A native of

Whatcom County Whatcom County (, ) is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts) of the Canadian province of British Columbia to t ...

in northwestern

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, Tyrrell won her first film role in 1949 at the age of forty as Miss Swanson in '' Bride for Sale''. She and Ronald Reagan shared birthdays, but she was two years his senior. In 1953, she appeared unbilled as Mary Tudor sister of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

in the M-G-M historical drama ''Queen Bess'' and in 1955, she appeared in the film ''

Seven Angry Men ''Seven Angry Men'' is a 1955 American Western film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and starring Raymond Massey, Debra Paget and Jeffrey Hunter. It is about the abolitionist John Brown, particularly his involvement in Bleeding Kansas and ...

'' with

Raymond Massey Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor known for his commanding stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He r ...

and

Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Ki ...

. Between film appearances, Tyrrell guest starred in episodes of '' Adventures of Superman'', ''

The Adventures of Kit Carson ''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that aired from 1951 to 1955 and consisted of 104 episodes. While airing, the show was shown in over 130 markets and was sold to the Coca-Cola Bott ...

'', and '' The People's Choice''.

Later years

After retiring from acting, Tyrrell worked as a

dialectician Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on ...

and made recordings for the blind. Tyrrell made her final public appearance in a phone interview on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

morning program ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'' in November, 1982. In that installment, host

Joan Lunden Joan Lunden (born Joan Elise Blunden, September 19, 1950) is an American journalist, author, and television host. Lunden was the co-host of ABC's ''Good Morning America'' from 1980 to 1997, and has authored over ten books. She has appeared on th ...

interviewed on camera the cast of both ''Private Secretary'' and ''The Ann Sothern Show'' which included Sothern,

Don Porter Donald Cecil Porter (September 24, 1912 – February 11, 1997) was an American stage, film, and television actor. On television, he played Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on '' Private Secretary'', and Russell Lawrence, the ...

, and Jesse White. Tyrrell was not able to physically join them, but she was able to converse with Lunden and reminisce with her former co-stars via telephone from her home in California.

Death

On July 20, 1983, Tyrrell died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at a

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

hospital at the age of 74.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrrell, Ann 1909 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Washington (state) People from Whatcom County, Washington American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Los Angeles