Blanche Yurka
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Blanche Yurka (born Blanch Jurka; June 19, 1887 – June 6, 1974) was an American stage and film actress and director. She was an opera singer with minor roles at the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
and later became a stage actress, making her Broadway debut in 1906 and established herself as a character actor of the classical stage, also appearing in several films of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to her many stage roles, which included Queen Gertrude opposite
John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly a ...
's ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'', she was an occasional director and playwright. She remained active in theater and film until the late 1960s. Her most famous film role was Madame Defarge in
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
's version of ''
A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...
'' (1935), but she was also the compassionate aunt in '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943). Another memorable role was as Zachary Scott's widowed mother in '' The Southerner'' (1945).


Early life

Born Blanch Jurka, apparently in
St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...
, she was the fourth of five children of Karolína and Antonín Jurka, Czech Roman Catholic emigrants from
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
. Her father was a teacher and librarian. She inherited her father's artistic and scholarly interests, including a love of music and acting. She finished grade school before her father lost his job teaching Czech language at the Jefferson School in St. Paul. He found a new position with the Czech Benevolent Society in New York and moved the family to the Upper East Side of Manhattan in 1900. Her parents used their modest income to provide Blanche with singing lessons in New York even before she entered high school (1901–03). Her vocal talent attracted the admiration of composer and singer Harry Burleigh, and she won a scholarship at age 15 to study voice and ballet at the Metropolitan Opera School (1903–05). She appeared in an amateur Czech-language production of
Michael William Balfe Michael William Balfe (15 May 1808 – 20 October 1870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas, especially ''The Bohemian Girl''. After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to co ...
's ''
The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an English language Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is "I D ...
'' and made her Metropolitan Opera stage debut in the Christmas 1903 production of
Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...
'' - the first staged performance of the opera outside of
Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...
- appearing as a flower girl and as the Grail-bearer. In his review of the premiere performance, New York Tribune music critic Henry Krehbiel singled out her contribution: "And while pointing out the beauty of the work of the principals, it is a pleasant privilege to lay a wreath at the feet of the little lady who carried the Grail with such reverent and touching consecration to her sacred duties." She continued her studies at the Met Opera School but was dismissed when she injured her voice singing the role of Leonora in Verdi's '' Il Trovatore'' in an amateur production. She transferred to the Institute for Musical Art (1905–07), forerunner of the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
but was dismissed from there for the same reason. Having lost her chance at an operatic career, she took the Institute director's suggestion and tried for a career on the theater stage. Through persistence, she managed to get an audition with the theater impresario David Belasco. According to her autobiography, he said to her: "Your diction is clear and pure. Your voice has good timbre. I can sense that you have temperament. We must find out if you can act." He gave her a bit part in ''The Rose of the Rancho'' (1906), and the following year, he extended her a contract, at which time she changed her surname to "Yurka", a homophone of her true surname.


Stage career

Beginning with '' The Warrens of Virginia'' (1907), Blanche spent the next decade alternating between stock and touring productions. In 1909, she had a small part in Leo Ditrichstein's '' Is Matrimony a Failure?'' at the Belasco Theater. There, she met actress
Jane Cowl Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and Theatre, stage actress and playwright who was, in the words of author Anthony Slide, "notorious for playing tear jerkers, lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named ...
, who was starring in the production as Fanny Perry. Yurka had minor roles in several plays, including ''An Old New Yorker'' (1911), ''The House of Bondage'' (1914) ''
Our American Cousin ''Our American Cousin'' is a three-act play by English playwright Tom Taylor. It is a farce featuring awkward, boorish American Asa Trenchard, who is introduced to his aristocratic English relatives when he goes to England to claim the family e ...
'' (1915) and a pair of plays by
Jane Cowl Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and Theatre, stage actress and playwright who was, in the words of author Anthony Slide, "notorious for playing tear jerkers, lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named ...
, ''Daybreak'' (1917) and ''Information Please'' (1918). In 1922-23, she was Queen Gertrude to
John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly a ...
's Hamlet in Arthur Hopkins' production of ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' at the Sam Harris Theater and Manhattan Opera House, where it ran for a combined 125 performances. At 42, Barrymore was a little old to be playing her son (she was 35), and she made herself appear as youthful as possible to vent her irritation. Prior to ''Hamlet,'' she appeared in ''The Law Breaker'', where she met a charming young character actor named
Ian Keith Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor. Early years Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school pr ...
(née Keith Ross), who was 12 years her junior. They married in September 1922, her first marriage and his second. Her growing stature as an actress - combined with his jealousy - eventually came between them; they separated in 1925 and divorced in 1926. Yurka never remarried and had no children. Building on her repertoire of classic characters, Yurka starred in a quartet of
Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...
plays, directing three of them: ''
The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It explores the complexities of truth and illusion through the story of a family torn apart by secrets and the intrusion of a ...
'' (1928, as Gina Ekdal), ''
Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage.Meyer, Michael Lever ...
'' (1929, title role) and '' The Vikings'' (1930, as Hjordis); she also had the title role of Ellida in ''
The Lady from the Sea ''The Lady from the Sea'' () is a Play (theatre), play written in 1888 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen inspired by the ballad ''Agnete og Havmanden''. The drama introduces the character of Hilde Wangel who is again portrayed in Ibsen's late ...
'' (1929). In the year 1932 alone, she played the title role in
Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...
' ''
Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...
'', was
Helen of Troy Helen (), also known as Helen of Troy, or Helen of Sparta, and in Latin as Helena, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of Zeus and Leda (mythology), ...
in
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's ''
Troilus and Cressida ''The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida'', often shortened to ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ), is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forc ...
'', directed '' Carry Nation'' starring
Esther Dale Esther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress of the stage and screen. Esther Dale died in the summer of 1961 following surgery in Queen of Angels Hospital in Hollywood. Her husband, writer-director Arthur J. Beckha ...
(a production that featured the Broadway debuts of Mildred Natwick and
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...
) and appeared in
Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893 – June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by cri ...
's production of '' Lucrece'' by
Deems Taylor Joseph Deems Taylor (December 22, 1885 – July 3, 1966) was an American composer, radio commentator, music critic, and author. Nat Benchley, co-editor of ''The Lost Algonquin Roundtable'', referred to him as "the dean of American music." He was e ...
and
Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...
. She won critical acclaim in 1935 when she replaced
Edith Evans Dame Edith Mary Evans (8 February 1888 – 14 October 1976) was an English actress. She was best known for Edith Evans – stage and film roles, her work on the West End theatre, West End stage, but also appeared in films at the beginning and t ...
as the Nurse in
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
opposite Cornell's Juliet. She co-adapted to stage the Spanish comedy, ''Spring in Autumn'' (1933) by Gregorio Martínez Sierra and María Martínez Sierra, which reunited her with '' Carry Nation'' co-stars
Esther Dale Esther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress of the stage and screen. Esther Dale died in the summer of 1961 following surgery in Queen of Angels Hospital in Hollywood. Her husband, writer-director Arthur J. Beckha ...
, Mildred Natwick, and
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...
, and featured Yurka singing a
Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...
aria while standing on her head.


Film career

Yurka was foremost a stage actress and for a long time considered film-making an inferior art form. Her low opinion of the movies started to change when she saw
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
's '' The Informer'', adapted from the novel by
Liam O'Flaherty Liam O'Flaherty ( ; 28 August 1896 – 7 September 1984) was an Irish novelist and short-story writer, and one of the foremost socialist writers in the first part of the 20th century, writing about the common people's experience and from their ...
. When she finally made her belated screen debut at the age of 47, it was in the role that many consider the greatest of her film career, the poisonously vindictive revolutionary Thérèse Defarge in ''
A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...
''. Producer
David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...
's first choice for the part of Madame Defarge was the Russian-born stage actress
Alla Nazimova Alla Aleksandrovna Nazimova (, born Marem-Ides Leventon; June 3 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. May 22 1879 – July 13, 1945) was a Russian-American actress, director, producer and scre ...
, who turned it down but recommended Yurka, declaring her the "only" actress for the part. The two women hadn't yet met but were well acquainted with one another's work inasmuch as they were the leading Ibsen heroines on the Broadway stage. Despite Nazimova's endorsement, Yurka was the 67th actor tested for the role. Yurka threw herself into the part – quite literally. Her final fight scene with
Edna May Oliver Edna May Oliver (born Edna May Nutter, November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the better-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. ...
(who was only four years older than Yurka) showed the two actresses tumbling over tables and over the floor, offering a hint of Yurka's onstage physicality. Although not nominated for a best supporting actress
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
(the supporting categories weren't established until the following year), her character portrayal was a model of a sinister screen villain. In close-up, she flashed a look of steely malevolence; in her speech to the revolutionary tribunal – asking for the conviction and execution of Charles Darnay – she played it large and to the rafters. The film was only nominated in the Best Film and Best Editing categories, not even its star,
Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...
getting an Oscar nod. She sought to play O-Lan in the 1937 film '' The Good Earth'' but lost out to
Luise Rainer Luise Rainer ( , ; 12 January 1910 – 30 December 2014) was a German-born film actress. She was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards, and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her 105th birt ...
, who won an Academy Award for her performance. She also lost the role of Pilar in ''
For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...
'' to Greek actress Katina Paxinou, who went on to win an Oscar for best supporting actress. Her follow-up to ''A Tale of Two Cities'' was the lead in a B movie shoot-'em-up, '' Queen of the Mob'' (1940), in which Yurka played a gangster matriarch closely based on the contemporary outlaw, Ma Barker. Her severe, vaguely imperious looks led to her casting in a rogue's gallery of austere or villainous parts. Through the 1940s and with decreasing frequency in the 1950s, she appeared in a succession of B parts that wasted her talents, occasionally landing supporting character parts in A list movies. Among the latter were '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943) – again for David O. Selznick – in which she played
Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental-health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned more than five decades, she was nomin ...
' aunt and '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' (1944), as the Abbess of San Luis Rey chapel. Notably, one of her co-stars in the latter film was
Alla Nazimova Alla Aleksandrovna Nazimova (, born Marem-Ides Leventon; June 3 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. May 22 1879 – July 13, 1945) was a Russian-American actress, director, producer and scre ...
(who had suggested Yurka's casting as Madame Defarge) playing the Marquessa Doña Maria. In '' The Southerner'' (1945), an American frontier drama directed by
Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...
, Yurka's Mama Tucker was the widowed daughter-in-law of cantankerous Granny Tucker played by
Beulah Bondi Beulah Bondi (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1888 – January 11, 1981) According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At ...
.


Radio career

Yurka had the role of Mrs. Hunter in the
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''Valiant Lady''.


Post-War years

Yurka never left the theater, but as her Hollywood roles became less satisfying after the war, the pace of both her film and stage roles fell off. During World War II, she contributed her time and talent to the war effort as a theater performer. She toured with theater troupes in Europe both before and after the war. In December, 1945, she appeared at the
Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to: Australia * Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished *Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed by ...
for two readings of Sophocles' ''
Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' (, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. While some scholars have argued that the play was first performed , this is highly uncertain. Originally, to ...
'' with classics scholar Eugene O'Neill, Jr. Yurka was active in theater causes all her life. She supported the 1919 actors' strike. She later vigorously defended the interests of American actors against a British invasion of American theaters. She aligned herself with
Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lifeboat (194 ...
's defense of the Federal Theater Project at the 1939 Senate Appropriations Committee hearings that de-funded the program in reaction to productions that were deemed sympathetic to the political left-wing. On occasion, she could be critical of Broadway for production values which did not live up to the highest standards. In a letter to the New York Times, published November 6, 1955, she reproached the theater community's "passion for ugliness that seems so much a part of our theater today." Before the year was over, she announced her retirement from the stage – a short-lived retirement that would find her back onstage exactly a year later in the Phoenix Theatre's '' Diary of a Scoundrel''. In 1957, she visited
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
under the aegis of the United States International Exchange of Artists to open the Greek Drama Festival. There, she appeared in a reading of
Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...
' ''
Prometheus Bound ''Prometheus Bound'' () is an ancient Greek tragedy traditionally attributed to Aeschylus and thought to have been composed sometime between 479 BC and the terminus ante quem of 424 BC. The tragedy is based on the myth of Prometheus, ...
'' in the translation by Edith Hamilton. In 1958, she appeared at the Belasco Theater in Huntington Hartford's ''
Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...
''. In the last 15 years of her life, few stage or film roles came her way. She appeared sporadically in television shows in the '50s, notably, Lux Video Theater, The Philip Morris Playhouse and Ponds Theater. She was shocked at being offered the brief role of Mrs. Wendell the cook in the cancelled MGM remake of '' Dinner at Eight'' (1969) – the role played by May Robson in the 1933 film. She concluded her career on a note of personal triumph with her critically acclaimed London performance as ''
The Madwoman of Chaillot ''The Madwoman of Chaillot'' (, ) is a play, a poetic satire, by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1943 and first performed in 1945, after his death. The play is in two acts. The story concerns an eccentric woman who lives in Paris and ...
'' (1969). When the play traveled to off-Broadway in 1970, the New York critics' reception was lukewarm, and Yurka retired from acting soon after the show closed.


Death

Yurka collected her thoughts about acting technique in the book ''Dear Audience'' (1959) and wrote a memoir, ''Bohemian Girl'' (1970). She was a popular guest at women's clubs and colleges, where she continued to perform dramatic readings. She suffered from failing health in her final years owing to
arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis, literally meaning "hardening of the arteries", is an umbrella term for a vascular disorder characterized by abnormal thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of arteries; this process gradually restricts th ...
and died June 6, 1974, at age 86. She was interred in the same burial plot with her good friend, actress Florence Reed, in the Actors Fund of America section of
Kensico Cemetery Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, New York, Valhalla, Westchester County, New York was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads that served the city ...
,
Valhalla, New York Valhalla ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York City metropolitan area. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The name wa ...
.


Selected filmography

* ''
A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...
'' (1935) as Madame Thérèse Defarge * '' Queen of the Mob'' (1940) as Ma Webster * '' Escape'' (1940) as Nurse * '' City for Conquest'' (1940) as Mrs. Nash * '' Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring'' (1941) as Mrs. Augusta Stack * '' Pacific Rendezvous'' (1942) as Mrs. Savarina * '' Lady for a Night'' (1942) as Julia Alderson * '' Keeper of the Flame'' (1942) as Mrs. Anna Taylor * '' A Night to Remember'' (1942) as Mrs. Salter * '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943) as Aunt Bernarde Casterot * '' Tonight We Raid Calais'' (1943) as Widow Grelieu * '' Cry of the Werewolf'' (1944) as Bianca * '' One Body Too Many'' (1944) as Matthews * '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' (1944) as The Abbess * '' The Southerner'' (1945) as Mama Tucker * '' The Flame'' (1947) as Aunt Margaret * '' 13 Rue Madeleine'' (1947) as Madame Thillot * '' The Furies'' (1950) as Herrera's Mother * ''
At Sword's Point ''At Sword's Point'', also known as ''Sons of the Three Musketeers'', is a 1952 American historical action adventure film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Cornel Wilde and Maureen O'Hara. It was shot in Technicolor by RKO Radio Pictures. T ...
'' (1952) as Madame Michom * ''
Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
'' (1953) as Mrs. Nielson * '' Thunder in the Sun'' (1959) as Louise Dauphin


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
Blanche Yurka diaryBlanche Yurka portraits
NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection)
Aveleyman
lanche Yurka
Kinotv
Blanche Yurka {{DEFAULTSORT:Yurka, Blanche 1887 births 1974 deaths American people of Czech descent American people of Hungarian descent 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American opera singers American stage actresses Actresses from Saint Paul, Minnesota Singers from Minnesota Deaths from arteriosclerosis Burials at Kensico Cemetery 20th-century American singers Classical musicians from Minnesota