Sara Haden (born Catherine Haden, November 17, 1898 – September 15, 1981) was an American actress of the 1930s through the 1950s and in television into the mid-1960s. She may be best remembered for appearing as Aunt Milly Forrest in 14 of the 16 entries in the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 ...

Andy Hardy film series.

Early life

Some sources say she was born in 1898 in Center Point, Texas, while others claim she was born in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

.Axel Nissen's ''Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood'' gives her birthplace as Center Point, Texas.

Career

Haden first appeared on the stage in the early 1920s. As early as October 1920, she was appearing with Walter Hampden's acting troupe. Her Broadway debut came in ''Trigger'' (1927). She made her film debut in 1934 (one year after her mother's retirement) in the

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

vehicle ''

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

''. Haden later became a

contract player in the late 1930s and generally appeared in small roles in many of the studio's films, most notably in the Andy Hardy series starring

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...

, cast as the spinsterish Aunt Milly Forrest. Haden made her last film, '' Andy Hardy Comes Home'', in 1958, but was active on television until a 1965 guest spot on '' Dr. Kildare''. She was most notable for her stern, humorless characterisations such as a truant officer in Shirley Temple's '' Captain January'' (1936), but she also played the much-loved teacher Miss Pipps, who is unjustly fired in the

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...

comedy '' Come Back, Miss Pipps'' (1941). Other films in which she appeared include '' Poor Little Rich Girl'' (1936), '' The Shop Around the Corner'' (1940), '' Woman of the Year'' (1942), and '' The Bishop's Wife'' (1947). Her television appearances include episodes of '' Climax!'', '' Bourbon Street Beat'', and ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

''. She had a guest appearance on '' Perry Mason'' as Florence Harvey in the 1959 episode, "The Case of the Romantic Rogue". Haden played Dora Darling in '' My Favorite Martian'', season 2 episode 28, "Once Upon a Martian's Mother's Day" in 1965.

Personal life

Haden was married to film actor Richard Abbott (born Seamon Vandenberg) from 1921 until their divorce in 1948. She died on September 15, 1981, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, at age 82.

Selected filmography

* '' The Life of Vergie Winters'' (1934) as Winnie Belle * '' Music in the Air'' (1934) as Martha * '' Anne of Green Gables'' (1934) as Mrs. Barry * '' The White Parade'' (1934) as Miss Harrington * '' The Fountain'' (1934) as Susie * '' Hat, Coat, and Glove'' (1934) as The Secretary * '' Finishing School'' (1934) as Miss Fisher - Teacher * '' Affairs of a Gentleman'' (1934) as Frances Bennett - Grisham's secretary * ''

'' (1934) as Etta Dawson * '' Black Fury'' (1935) as Sophie Shemanski * '' Magnificent Obsession'' (1935) as Mrs. Nancy Ashford * '' Way Down East'' (1935) as Cordelia Peabody * '' O'Shaughnessy's Boy'' (1935) as Aunt Martha Shields * '' Mad Love'' (1935) as Marie * '' Reunion'' (1936) as Ellie * '' Laughing at Trouble'' (1936) as Mrs. Jennie Nevins * '' Can This Be Dixie?'' (1936) as Miss Beauregard * '' Poor Little Rich Girl'' (1936) as Collins * '' Little Miss Nobody'' (1936) as Teresa Lewis * '' Half Angel'' (1936) as Henrietta Hargraves * '' Captain January'' (1936) as Agatha Morgan * '' Everybody's Old Man'' (1936) as Susan Franklin * '' The Crime of Dr. Forbes'' (1936) as Dr. Anna Burkhart * '' Under Cover of Night'' (1937) as Janet Griswald * '' A Family Affair'' (1937) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' You're Only Young Once'' (1937) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' First Lady'' (1937) as Mrs. Mason * '' The Barrier'' (1937) as Mrs. John "Allunia" Gale * '' The Last of Mrs. Cheyney'' (1937) as Anna * '' Out West with the Hardys'' (1938) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' Judge Hardy and Son'' (1939) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' Remember?'' (1939) as Miss Wilson * '' The Secret of Dr. Kildare'' (1939) as Nora * '' Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever'' (1939) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' Tell No Tales'' (1939) as Miss Bennett * '' The Hardys Ride High'' (1939) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' Four Girls in White'' (1939) as Miss Bennett * '' The Shop Around the Corner'' (1940) as Flora Kaczek * '' Boom Town'' (1940) as Miss Barnes * '' Hullabaloo'' (1940) as "Sue" Merriweather * '' Keeping Company'' (1940) as Mrs. Forrest * '' Andy Hardy Meets Debutante'' (1940) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' H. M. Pulham, Esq.'' (1941) as Miss Rollo - Harry's secretary * '' Come Back, Miss Pipps'' (1941 - Our Gang short) as Miss Pipps * '' Life Begins for Andy Hardy'' (1941) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' Love Crazy'' (1941) as Cecila Landis * '' Washington Melodrama'' (1941) as Mrs. Harrington * '' Barnacle Bill'' (1941) as Aunt Letty * '' Andy Hardy's Private Secretary'' (1941) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' The Trial of Mary Dugan'' (1941) as Miss Mathews * '' Andy Hardy's Double Life'' (1942) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' Somewhere I'll Find You'' (1942) as Miss Coultier * '' The Affairs of Martha'' (1942) as Mrs. Justin I. Peacock * '' The Courtship of Andy Hardy'' (1942) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' Woman of the Year'' (1942) as Matron * '' Thousands Cheer'' (1943) as Second Nurse * '' Best Foot Forward'' (1943) as Miss Talbert * '' Pilot No. 5'' (1943) as Landlady * '' Above Suspecion'' (1943) as Aunt Hattie * '' The Youngest Profession'' (1943) as Sister Lassie * '' Lost Angel'' (1943) as Rhoda Kitterick * '' Broadway Rhythm'' (1944) as Miss Wynn * '' Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble'' (1944) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' She Wouldn't Say Yes'' (1945) as Laura Pitts * '' Our Vines Have Tender Grapes'' (1945) as Mrs. Bjorn Bjornson * '' Love Laughs at Andy Hardy'' (1946) as Aunt Milly Forrest * '' Mr. Ace'' (1946) as Alma Rhodes * '' Our Hearts Were Growing Up'' (1946) as Miss Dill * '' Bad Bascomb'' (1946) as Tillie Lovejoy * '' She-Wolf of London'' (1946) as Martha Winthrop * '' The Bishop's Wife'' (1947) as Mildred Cassaway * '' Rachel and the Stranger'' (1948) as Mrs. Jackson * '' Roughshod'' (1949) as Ma Wyatt * '' The Big Cat'' (1949) as Mrs. Mary Cooper * '' A Life of Her Own'' (1950) as Smitty * '' The Great Rupert'' (1950) as Mrs. Katie Dingle * '' Wagons West'' (1952) as Elizabeth Cook * ''

Rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

'' (1952) as Agatha Cartwright * '' A Lion Is in the Streets'' (1953) as Lula May McManamee * '' The Outlaw's Daughter'' (1954) as Mrs. Merril * '' Betrayed Women'' (1955) as Head Guard Darcy * '' Andy Hardy Comes Home'' (1958) as Aunt Milly Forest

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haden, Sara 1898 births 1981 deaths Actresses from Texas American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Actors from Galveston, Texas 20th-century American actresses