Emma Dunn
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 24, 1874
- Died
- December 14, 1966
- Birthplace
- Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English character actress on the stage and in motion pictures. Emma Dunn appeared onstage in her early teens, graduating to the London stage for several years and later became a noted Broadway actress. She appeared in the first American production of Ibsen's Peer Gynt (1906) with Richard Mansfield as Peer. She played Peer's mother, Ase, even though she was, in real life, 20 years younger than Mansfield. She appeared in three productions for theatre impresario David Belasco: The Warrens of Virginia (1907), The Easiest Way (1909) and The Governor's Lady (1912). In The Easiest Way, Dunn portrayed Annie, who was black, in blackface. In 1913 Dunn appeared in vaudeville. Dunn made her first film in 1914, a silent film of her 1910 stage success, Mother, directed by Maurice Tourneur. This was Tourneur's first American film. Dunn's second film was 1920's Old Lady 31, reprising the role she played in the 1916 Broadway play of the same name. One more silent film followed in 1924, Pied Piper Malone, before she made her talkie debut in Side Street, co-starring the Moore brothers, Matt, Owen and Tom as her sons. Dunn wrote two books on elocution and speech: Thought Quality in the Voice (1933) and You Can Do It (1947). Emma Dunn was born 26 February 1875, in Birkenhead, England, although she sometimes gave her year of birth as 1883. Dunn married Harry Beresford, an actor who was then known professionally as Harry J. Morgan, in Chicago on 4 October 1897. They divorced on 10 February 1909, in New York City. She was awarded sole custody of their young daughter, Dorothy. On 19 May 1909, Dunn married John W. Stokes (John W. S. Sullivan), an actor, playwright and theatrical manager. They subsequently adopted a second daughter, Helen. The couple divorced sometime between 1923 and Stokes' death in 1931. After suffering a heart attack some months before, Dunn died 14 December 1966, in Los Angeles, California, aged 91.
Filmography
The Woman in White 1948
as Mrs. Vesey
Mourning Becomes Electra 1947
as Mrs. Borden
Life with Father 1947
as Margaret
The Hoodlum Saint 1946
as Maggie
My Buddy 1944
as Mary Ballinger
- Are These Our Parents?
Are These Our Parents? 1944
as Ma Henderson
It Happened Tomorrow 1944
as Mrs. Keaver (uncredited)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey 1944
as Doña Mercedes
Minesweeper 1943
as Mom Smith
- Hoosier Holiday
Hoosier Holiday 1943
as Molly Baker
When Johnny Comes Marching Home 1942
as Ma Flanagan
I Married a Witch 1942
as Wife of Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
The Talk of the Town 1942
as Mrs. Shelley
The Postman Didn't Ring 1942
as Martha Carter
The Mad Martindales 1942
as Agnes
Babes on Broadway 1941
as Mrs. Williams
Rise and Shine 1941
as Mrs. Murray
Ladies in Retirement 1941
as Sister Theresa
Scattergood Meets Broadway 1941
as Mirandy Baines
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day 1941
as Mrs. Martha Kildare
Scattergood Pulls the Strings 1941
as Mirandy Baines
The Penalty 1941
as 'Ma' McCormick
The Monster and the Girl 1941
as Aunt Della (uncredited)
Scattergood Baines 1941
as Mirandy Baines
Mr. & Mrs. Smith 1941
as Martha
The Great Dictator 1940
as Mrs. Jaeckel
Yesterday's Heroes 1940
as Aunt Winnie
Dr. Kildare Goes Home 1940
as Mrs. Martha Kildare
Dance, Girl, Dance 1940
as Mrs. Simpson
One Crowded Night 1940
as Ma Matthews
You Can't Fool Your Wife 1940
as Mother Fields
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case 1940
as Martha Kildare
Half a Sinner 1940
as Granny Gladden
Little Orvie 1940
as Mrs. Welty
High School 1940
as Mrs. O'Neill
The Llano Kid 1939
as Doña Teresa
The Secret of Dr. Kildare 1939
as Martha Kildare
Hero for a Day 1939
as Emmy "Moms" Higgins
Each Dawn I Die 1939
as Mrs. Ross
Calling Dr. Kildare 1939
as Mrs. Martha Kildare
Son of Frankenstein 1939
as Amelia
The Duke of West Point 1938
as Mrs. West
The Cowboy and the Lady 1938
as Ma Hawkins
Thanks for the Memory 1938
as Mrs. Platt
Young Dr. Kildare 1938
as Mrs. Martha Kildare
Three Loves Has Nancy 1938
as Mrs. Briggs
Cowboy from Brooklyn 1938
as Ma Hardy
Lord Jeff 1938
as Mrs. Briggs
Madame X 1937
as Rose, Fleuriot's Houskeeper
Varsity Show 1937
as Mrs. Smith
Hideaway 1937
as Emma Peterson
The Emperor's Candlesticks 1937
as Anna - Olga's Housekeeper
Waikiki Wedding 1937
as Mother
Circus Girl 1937
as Molly
When You're in Love 1937
as Mrs. Hamilton
Second Wife 1936
as Mrs. Brown
The Harvester 1936
as Granny Moreland
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 1936
as Mrs. Meredith (uncredited)
Another Face 1935
as Sheila's Mother (uncredited)
Seven Keys to Baldpate 1935
as Mrs. Quimby
This Is the Life 1935
as Mrs. Davis
Little Big Shot 1935
as Orphanage Matron
The Keeper of the Bees 1935
as Margaret Campbell
Ladies Crave Excitement 1935
as Mrs. Phelan
The Glass Key 1935
as 'Mom' Madvig
George White's 1935 Scandals 1935
as Aunt Jane
Flirtation 1934
as Mrs. Poole
Dr. Monica 1934
as Mrs. Monahan
The Quitter 1934
as Cordelia Tilford
Dark Hazard 1934
as Mrs. Mayhew
A Man of Sentiment 1933
as Mrs. John Russell Sr.
It's Great to Be Alive 1933
as Mrs. Wilton
Elmer, the Great 1933
as Mrs. Kane
Private Jones 1933
as Mrs. Jones
Grand Slam 1933
as Reporter
Hard to Handle 1933
as Mrs. Hawks (uncredited)
Blessed Event 1932
as Mrs. Roberts
Letty Lynton 1932
as Mrs. Darrow
It's Tough to Be Famous 1932
as 'Moms' McClenahan
The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood 1932
as Mrs. Sarah Cohen
The Wet Parade 1932
as Mrs. Chilcote
Hell's House 1932
as Emma Clark
Broken Lullaby 1932
as Frau Miller
Under Eighteen 1932
as Mrs. Evans (uncredited)
Compromised 1931
as Mrs. Squires
The Guilty Generation 1931
as Nina Palmero
Morals for Women 1931
as Mrs. Hutson
Bad Company 1931
as Emma
This Modern Age 1931
as Margaret Blake
Too Young to Marry 1931
as Mrs. Bumpstead
The Bad Sister 1931
as Mrs. Madison
The Prodigal 1931
as Mrs. Farraday
Manslaughter 1930
as Miss Bennett
The Texan 1930
as Señora Doña Marguerita Granadas-Ibarra
Side Street 1929
as Nora O'Farrell
Pied Piper Malone 1924
as Mother Malone
Old Lady 31 1920
as Angie Rose
- Mother
Mother 1914
as Mrs. Wetherell
Credits from TMDB.