Margaret De Wolfe Wycherly (26 October 1881 – 6 June 1956) was an English actress. A prolific stage and screen performer, she spent many years in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and is best remembered for her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

roles and Hollywood character parts. On screen she played mother to

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

(''

Sergeant York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known by his rank as Sergeant York, was an American soldier who was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor fo ...

'') and

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

(''

White Heat ''White Heat'' is a 1949 American film noir starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, and Edmond O'Brien, and directed by Raoul Walsh. Written by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, ''White Heat'' is based on a story by Virginia Kellogg, and is considere ...

'').

Early life

Wycherly was born in London, England to a Canadian father and American mother, Dr. and Mrs. J. L. De Wolfe. She was married to writer

Bayard Veiller Bayard Veiller (January 2, 1869 – January 16, 1943) was an American playwright, screenwriter, producer and film director. He wrote for 32 films between 1915 and 1941. Biography He was born on January 2, 1869, in Brooklyn, New York to Phi ...

(1869–1943) in 1901. They had a son,

Anthony Veiller Anthony Veiller (23 June 1903 – 27 June 1965) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He wrote for 41 films between 1934 and 1964. Life and career Veiller was born on 23 June 1903 in New York City to playwright and screenwriter B ...

(1903–1965), who also became a writer. She and Veiller divorced in 1922.''The Women of Provincetown, 1915–1922'' by Cheryl Black c. 2002, p. 136

Career

She was primarily a stage actress, appearing in one

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

. In 1929, she appeared in her second film, but first talkie, '' The Thirteenth Chair'', based on the 1916 play by her husband in which she had starred. The film was directed by

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of var ...

and was in the genre of mystery-old house melodrama. Twelve years later, Wycherley appeared in ''

'' in 1941. She was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...

for the role of Mother York, though perhaps her best remembered screen role was as Ma Jarrett, the mother of the psychopathic gangster Cody Jarrett, in ''

'' (1949), which starred

. Wycherly starred in several popular

plays, including ''Mixed Marriage''(1920), '' Tobacco Road''(1933), ''

Liliom ''Liliom'' is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was well known in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1945 musical ''Carousel''. P ...

'', ''

Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist metatheatric play about the relationship among authors, their characters, and theatre practitioners, it p ...

''(1922) and '' The Thirteenth Chair''(1916) (which role she reprised in the 1929 film of the same name). Her other films include '' Keeper of the Flame'', ''

The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Month Club in April 1938. It won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. It was the best-selling ...

'', ''

Random Harvest ''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including '' Lost Horizon'' and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' li ...

'', '' Forever Amber'', ''

The Man with a Cloak ''The Man with a Cloak'' is a 1951 American film noir crime- thriller-drama directed by Fletcher Markle and starring Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, and Leslie Caron, and based on "The Gentleman from Paris", a short story by ...

'' and ''

Johnny Angel ''Johnny Angel'' is a 1945 American film noir directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Steve Fisher (adapted by Frank Gruber) from the 1944 novel ''Mr. Angel Comes Aboard'' by Charles Gordon Booth. The movie stars George Raft, Claire Trev ...

'' starring

George Raft George Raft (né Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembe ...

. She portrayed Mrs. Brown, Claudia's mother, in the American television series '' Claudia'' (1952).

Death

Wycherly died on 6 June 1956 at St. Clare's Hospital in New York City, at the age of 74. She was buried at the St Mary Churchyard,

Bepton Bepton is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. According to the 2001 census it had 104 households with a population of 249 of whom 117 were economically active. The village is about ...

Chichester District Chichester is a local government district in West Sussex, England. It is named after the city of Chichester, which is its largest settlement and where the council is based. The district includes the towns of Midhurst, Petworth and Selsey and s ...

, West Sussex, England.

Complete filmography

*''The Fight'' (1915) – Jane Thomas *'' The Thirteenth Chair'' (1929) – Madame Rosalie La Grange *''

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

'' (1934) – Mrs. Weldon *''Wanderlust'' (1938, Short) *''

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

'' (1940) – Mrs. Schomberg *''

'' (1941) – Mother York *''

Crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...

'' (1942) – Madame Pelletier *''

'' (1942) – Mrs. Deventer *'' Keeper of the Flame'' (1943) – Mrs. Forrest *''

Assignment in Brittany ''Assignment in Brittany'' is a 1943 war film directed by Jack Conway and starring French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont and Swedish actress Signe Hasso, both in their American film debuts, and American actress Susan Peters. The film was adapted f ...

'' (1943) – Mme. Henriette Corlay *''

The Moon Is Down ''The Moon Is Down'' is a novel by American writer John Steinbeck. Fashioned for adaptation for the theatre and for which Steinbeck received the Norwegian King Haakon VII Freedom Cross, it was published by Viking Press in March 1942. The sto ...

'' (1943) – Mme. Sarah Orden *''

Hangmen Also Die! ''Hangmen Also Die!'' is a 1943 war film directed by the Austrian director Fritz Lang and written by John Wexley from a story by Bertolt Brecht (credited as Bert Brecht) and Lang. The film stars Brian Donlevy, with Walter Brennan, Anna Lee, and ...

'' (1943) – Ludmilla Novotny *''

Experiment Perilous ''Experiment Perilous'' is a 1944 American melodrama film set at the turn of the 20th century. The film is based on a 1943 novel of the same name by Margaret Seymour Carpenter, Margaret Carpenter, and directed by Jacques Tourneur. Albert S. D'Ago ...

'' (1944) – Maggie *''

'' (1945) – Miss Drumm *''

'' (1946) – Ma Forrester *''

Something in the Wind ''Something in the Wind'' is a 1947 American musical comedy film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Deanna Durbin, Donald O'Connor, and John Dall. Durbin's third husband Charles David said she "hated" making her last three films and that she ...

'' (1947) – Grandma Read *'' Forever Amber'' (1947) – Mrs. Spong *'' The Loves of Carmen'' (1948) – Old Crone *''

'' (1949) – Ma Jarrett *''

'' (1951) – Emma Flynn *''

That Man from Tangier ''That Man from Tangier'' (Spanish: ''Aquel hombre de Tánger'') is a 1953 American-Spanish adventure film directed by Luis María Delgado and Robert Elwyn and starring Nils Asther, Roland Young and Nancy Coleman.Von Gunden p.272 It was the final ...

'' (1953) – Mrs. Sanders *''

The President's Lady ''The President's Lady'' is a 1953 biopic by 20th Century Fox directed by Henry Levin. The screenplay by John Patrick was adapted from the eponymous 1951 novel by Irving Stone, based on the life of American president Andrew Jackson and his ma ...

'' (1953) – Mrs. Robards

References

External links