Mary Carr

Mary Carr
Carr in 1923
Born
Mary Kenevan

(1874-03-14)March 14, 1874
DiedJune 24, 1973(1973-06-24) (aged 99)
Resting placeCalvary Cemetery
OccupationActress
Years active1915–1956
SpouseWilliam Carr (1901-1926) (separated)
Children7, including Thomas Carr
FamilyPete Carpenter (son-in-law)

Mary Carr (née Kenevan; March 14, 1874 – June 24, 1973), was an American film actress and was married to the actor William Carr. She appeared in more than 140 films from 1915 to 1956. She was given some of filmdoms plum mother roles in silent pictures, especially Fox's 1920 Over the Hill to the Poorhouse, which was a great success.[1] She was interred in Calvary Cemetery.[2] Carr bore a strong resemblance to Lucy Beaumont, another famous character actress of the time who specialized in mother roles. As older actresses such as Mary Maurice and Anna Townsend passed on, Carr, still in her forties, seem to inherit all the matriarchal roles in silent films.[3][4][5]

Mary Carr appeared on the June 9, 1954 episode of the radio quiz program "You Bet Your Life", hosted by comedian Groucho Marx.[6]

The Carrs' oldest son, William, died at age two. Almost all of her children were involved in the film business and appeared with her in Over the Hill.[7] Her children are:

  1. ^ Photoplay: The Aristocrat of Motion Picture Magazines. Photoplay Magazine Publishing Company. 1920.
  2. ^ Wilson, Scott (August 17, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4.
  3. ^ Detective, The Film. "The Sinful Side of Cinema Returns! The Film Detective Dedicates the Month of May to Pre-Code Hollywood". www.prnewswire.com.
  4. ^ "Wizard of Oz's Auntie Em, actress Mary Carr at her 90th birthday, 1964". Calisphere.
  5. ^ Slide, Anthony (February 1, 2010). Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-3745-2.
  6. ^ "You Bet Your Life 35 Eps" – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "The Screen". September 18, 1920 – via NYTimes.com.