Elizabeth Patterson
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- November 21, 1874
- Died
- January 31, 1966
- Birthplace
- Savannah, Tennessee, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mary Elizabeth Patterson (November 22, 1874 – January 31, 1966) was an American theatre, film, and television character actress who gained popular recognition late in her career playing the elderly neighbor Matilda Trumbull on the television comedy series I Love Lucy. In 1926, at the age of 51, Patterson was cast in her first movie, a silent film, The Boy Friend. Transitioning successfully into the era of "talkies", she remained a very busy actress in Hollywood throughout the 1930s, averaging more than five films a year during that decade, usually in supporting roles. A few of her screen credits at that time include Tarnished Lady; Husband's Holiday; A Bill of Divorcement; So Big!; The Story of Temple Drake; Hold Your Man; Dinner at Eight; High, Wide, and Handsome; and No Man of Her Own. She also appeared in the role of Susan in two adaptations of John Willard's popular play The Cat and the Canary: The Cat Creeps in 1930 and The Cat and the Canary in 1939. Patterson continued to perform frequently in the 1940s, when she was cast in more than 30 additional films. Among her notable roles is her 1949 portrayal of the heroic character Eunice Habersham in the groundbreaking racial crime drama Intruder in the Dust, a film based on the William Faulkner novel of the same name and set in the Deep South. Although she would appear in a few more feature films in the 1950s, such as Washington Story and Pal Joey, Patterson by then began to focus her work increasingly on roles in the rapidly expanding medium of television. In 1952, at the age of 77, Patterson made her first appearance on the hit CBS-TV sitcom I Love Lucy in the episode "The Marriage License". Her character on I Love Lucy proved to be so popular among viewers, as well as useful to the writers of the series, that she continued in the role for three more years, often serving in episode storylines as a convenient babysitter for "Little Ricky". Prior to, during, and after her work on I Love Lucy, Patterson appeared in many other American television series during the 1950s and early 1960s. Her first credited performance on the "small screen" was in March 1950 in "The Walking Stick", a teleplay on the NBC anthology series The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre. During the 11 years after that initial televised performance to her final role on television in 1961, she portrayed characters in a variety of other series, including Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, Studio One in Hollywood, General Electric Theater, Stage 7, Lux Video Theatre, Crossroads, The Star and the Story, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Adventures of Superman, New York Confidential, 77 Sunset Strip, Johnny Stacatto, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Playhouse 90, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, and The New Breed. Patterson, who never married, lived at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during her 35-year film and television career.. On January 31, 1966, she died at age 91 in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia. Her gravesite is in Savannah Cemetery in her hometown in Tennessee.
Filmography
Tall Story 1960
as Connie
The Oregon Trail 1959
as Maria Cooper
Portrait of a Murderer 1958
as Mrs. Finch
Pal Joey 1957
as Mrs. Casey
The Ninth Day 1957
as Aunt Ida
Rendezvous in Black 1956
as Mrs. Middleton
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1955
as Aunt Polly
Las Vegas Shakedown 1955
as Mary Raff
- Three Lives
Three Lives 1953
as Mrs. Adams
Washington Story 1952
as Miss Dee
Little Women: Jo's Story 1950
as Aunt March
Little Women: Meg's Story 1950
as Aunt March
Katie Did It 1950
as Aunt Priscilla Wakely
Bright Leaf 1950
as Tabitha Singleton
Intruder in the Dust 1949
as Miss Eunice Habersham
Song of Surrender 1949
as Mrs. Beecham
Little Women 1949
as Hannah
Miss Tatlock's Millions 1948
as Cora
Welcome Stranger 1947
as Mrs. Gilley
Out of the Blue 1947
as Miss Spring
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim 1947
as Catherine Dennison
The Secret Heart 1946
as Mrs. Stover
I've Always Loved You 1946
as Mrs. Sompter
Colonel Effingham's Raid 1946
as Cousin Emma
Lady on a Train 1945
as Aunt Charlotte Waring
Together Again 1944
as Jessie
Hail the Conquering Hero 1944
as Martha - Libby's Aunt
Follow the Boys 1944
as Annie
The Sky's the Limit 1943
as Mrs. Fisher
I Married a Witch 1942
as Margaret
Lucky Legs 1942
as Annabelle Dinwiddie
My Sister Eileen 1942
as Grandma Sherwood
Her Cardboard Lover 1942
as Eva
Beyond the Blue Horizon 1942
as Mrs. Daly
Almost Married 1942
as Aunt Matilda Manning
The Vanishing Virginian 1942
as Grandma
Belle Starr 1941
as Sarah
Kiss the Boys Goodbye 1941
as Aunt Lily Lou Bethany
Tobacco Road 1941
as Ada Lester
Michael Shayne: Private Detective 1940
as Aunt Olivia
Who Killed Aunt Maggie? 1940
as Maggie Ambler
Anne of Windy Poplars 1940
as Rebecca
Earthbound 1940
as Becky Tilden
Adventure in Diamonds 1940
as Nellie
Remember the Night 1940
as Aunt Emma
Bad Little Angel 1939
as Mrs. Perkins
The Cat and the Canary 1939
as Aunt Susan
Our Leading Citizen 1939
as Aunt Tillie
Bulldog Drummond's Bride 1939
as Aunt Blanche
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell 1939
as Mrs. MacGregor
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police 1939
as Aunt Blanche
Sons of the Legion 1938
as Grandmother Lee
Sing, You Sinners 1938
as Mrs. Daisy Beebe aka Mother Beebe
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife 1938
as Aunt Hedwige
Bulldog Drummond's Peril 1938
as Aunt Blanche
Scandal Street 1938
as Ada Smith
Night Club Scandal 1937
as Mrs. Elvira Ward
Hold 'Em Navy 1937
as Grandma Holland
High, Wide and Handsome 1937
as Grandma Cortlandt
Night of Mystery 1937
as Mrs. Tobias Greene
Go West Young Man 1936
as Aunt Kate Barnaby
Old Hutch 1936
as Sarah Hutchins
- Three Cheers for Love
Three Cheers for Love 1936
as Wilma Chester
The Return of Sophie Lang 1936
as Araminta Sedley
Small Town Girl 1936
as Ma Brannan
Timothy's Quest 1936
as Vilda Cummins
Her Master's Voice 1936
as Mrs. Ellie Martin
So Red the Rose 1935
as Mary Cherry
Men Without Names 1935
as Ella Ferris
Chasing Yesterday 1935
as Mlle. Prefere
Hide-Out 1934
as 'Ma' Miller
Dinner at Eight 1933
as Miss Copeland
Doctor Bull 1933
as Aunt Patricia Banning
Golden Harvest 1933
as Lydia
Secret of the Blue Room 1933
as Mary, Cook
Hold Your Man 1933
as Miss Tuttle
The Story of Temple Drake 1933
as Aunt Jennie
Infernal Machine 1933
as Elinor's Aunt
They Just Had to Get Married 1933
as Lizzie
No Man of Her Own 1932
as Mrs. Randall
Boo 1932
as Susan (edited from "The Cat Creeps")
They Call It Sin 1932
as Mrs. Cullen
- Breach of Promise
Breach of Promise 1932
as Cora Pugmire
A Bill of Divorcement 1932
as Aunt Hester Fairfield
Life Begins 1932
as Mrs. Tubby (uncredited)
Love Me Tonight 1932
as First Aunt
Guilty as Hell 1932
as Elvira Ward
New Morals for Old 1932
as Aunty Doe
Miss Pinkerton 1932
as Juliet Mitchell
So Big! 1932
as Mrs. Tebbit (uncredited)
Man Wanted 1932
as Miss Harper
The Expert 1932
as Miss Crackenwald
Husband's Holiday 1931
as Mrs. Caroline Reid
Heaven on Earth 1931
as Vergie
Penrod and Sam 1931
as Schoolteacher (uncredited)
The Smiling Lieutenant 1931
as Baroness Von Schwedel (uncredited)
Daddy Long Legs 1931
as Mrs. Lippett
Tarnished Lady 1931
as Mrs. Courtney
The Cat Creeps 1930
as Susan
The Big Party 1930
as Mrs. Goldfarb
Harmony at Home 1930
as Emma Haller
The Lone Star Ranger 1930
as Sarah Martin
South Sea Rose 1929
as Sarah
Words and Music 1929
as Dean Crockett
The Dancing Town 1928
as Ma Pepperall
The Return of Peter Grimm 1926
as Mrs. Bartholomey
The Boy Friend 1926
as Mrs. Harper
Credits from TMDB.