Janet Beecher (born Janet Meysenberg; October 21, 1884 – August 6, 1955) was an American stage and screen actress.

Early years

The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Von Meysenburg, Beecher was born in Jefferson City, Missouri. Her sister was actress

Olive Wyndham Olive Frances Wyndham Meysenberg (June 16, 1886 – November 24, 1971) was an American actress on stage and in silent films. Early life Meysenburg was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of E. A. von Meysenburg, a German diplomat, ...

. The sisters were related to

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

on their mother's side. Her father's work as a vice-consul for Germany led to her growing up in Chicago.

Career

Beecher was a supporting player and lead on the Broadway stage between the 1900s and 1940s. Her Broadway debut came in '' The Education of Mr. Pipp'' (1905). Her final Broadway play was ''

The Late George Apley ''The Late George Apley'' is a 1937 novel by John Phillips Marquand. It is a satire of Boston's upper class in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The title character is a Harvard University-educated WASP living on Beacon Hill in downto ...

'' (1944). Other notable plays she appeared in included ''The Lottery Man'' (1909), '' The Concert'' (1910), ''The Purple Road'' (1913), ''Fair and Warmer'' (1915), ''The Woman in Room 13'' (1919), ''Call the Doctor'' (1920), '' A Bill of Divorcement'' (1921),(7 August 1955)
Janet Beecher, Actress is Dead - Star of Stage aad' Screen Played Her Last Role in 'The Late George Apley'
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' (paywll) ''The Love Child'' (1922), ''A Kiss in a Taxi'' (1925), and ''Courage'' (1928). Between 1915 and 1943, she appeared in nearly fifty

motion pictures A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

. She remains perhaps best-remembered as a character actress during Hollywood's golden age, often seen in roles as "firm but compassionate matriarchs". She was known for her roles as

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

' mother in ''

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle ''The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle'' is a 1939 American biographical musical comedy film directed by H.C. Potter. The film stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, and Walter Brennan. The film is based on the stories ''My Husband' ...

'' (1939),

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

's mother in the adventure film ''

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'' (1940), and

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in Hollywood. On screen and stage, he often portrayed characters who embodied an everyman image. Bo ...

's mother in

Preston Sturges Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He is credited as being the first screenwriter to find success as a director. Prior to Sturges, other ...

' screwball comedy ''

The Lady Eve ''The Lady Eve'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vi ...

'' in 1952.

Personal life

Beecher was married twice: first to Harry R. Guggenheimer and then to Richard H. Hoffman. She had one child, a son named Richard, by her second marriage.Janet Beecher profile
alexanderstreet.com; accessed April 28, 2017.

"Automatic writing" controversy

Automatic writing Automatic writing, also called psychography, is a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. Practitioners engage in automatic writing by holding a writing instrument and allowing alleged sp ...

played a pivotal role in Beecher's divorce from her second husband, Richard Hoffman. Beecher's mother, Mrs. Oral J. Wyndham, produced messages that she said were sent by spirits, but which Hoffman said were created by Wyndham's subconscious mind. After six years of marriage, both Beecher and Hoffman filed suit for separation, based on both the contentious messages and a disagreement about religion's influence in raising their son. Beecher, her sister, and their mother were members of the Unity Scientific Christianity Association. The judge who granted the divorce wrote, "both the practice of spirit writing and the content of the messages undoubtedly affected the family society. The plaintiff was frankly hostile to the practice, while some of the writings criticized his character and behavior in unmistakable terms."

Death

On August 7, 1955, Beecher died at her sister's home in Washington, Connecticut, at age 70.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beecher, Janet 1884 births 1955 deaths American stage actresses American film actresses People from Jefferson City, Missouri 20th-century American actresses