Mary Morris (American actress)

Mary Morris
BornJune 24, 1895
Swampscott, Massachusetts
DiedJanuary 16, 1970(1970-01-16) (aged 74)
New York City, New York
OccupationActress
Years active1916–1956
Spouses
  • James E Meigham Jr.
  • Reginald R. Richard

Mary Morris (June 24, 1895 – January 16, 1970)[1] was an American stage actress with a long and varied career. She was born to George Perry Morris and Martha Sophia (née Turner).

She was educated in the Brookline, Massachusetts Public Schools and at Radcliffe College. She began in Amateur theatricals at the Bandbox Theatre, before becoming an Understudy with the Washington Square Players. She made her professional debut with the WSP in San Francisco in 1916 in The Clod.[2][3]

Perhaps her most famous stage role was that of Victoria Van Brett, the elderly, Machiavellian spinster in the Elizabeth McFadden thriller Double Door. She made such an impression as the villain of the piece that Paramount Pictures, buying the screen rights to the play, insisted on Mary Morris for the leading role. She was then touring in the play, so Paramount delayed production until she could report to the studio in Hollywood.[4] Double Door was her only motion picture; she received rave reviews for her performance. After a triumphant preview, according to Motion Picture Daily, "Paramount has decided to build Mary Morris into a female Boris Karloff. The studio is now looking for a story of the horror type, in which to star the actress."[5] Morris didn't take the studio's plans seriously; she disliked the Hollywood scene and returned immediately to the stage. By the summer of 1934, with the screen version of Double Door playing in neighborhood theaters, Mary Morris was touring New England in the stage version.[6]

  1. ^ Who Was Who on Screen 2nd edit. p. 334 c. 1977 by Evelyn Mack Truitt
  2. ^ Who Was Who in the Theatre: 1912-1976 vol3 I-P pgs.1752-1753 ; from editions originally published annually by John Parker; final edition here published by Gale Research
  3. ^ Great Actors & Actresses of the American Stage in Historic Photographs p.66 c.1983 by Stanley Appelbaum
  4. ^ Variety, "Para. Slows 'Double Door'; Wants Mary Morris Lead," Jan. 30. 1934, p. 25.
  5. ^ Motion Picture Daily, "To Build Mary Morris," Apr. 21, 1934, p. 3.
  6. ^ Motion Picture Daily, June 26, 1934, p. 15.