Elizabeth Patterson
Acting
Born: November 21, 1874 · Savannah, Tennessee, USA
Died: January 31, 1966 (aged 91)
Highest Rated
Biography
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.
Known for
I Love Lucy
1951
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
Little Women
1949
I Married a Witch
1942
Dinner at Eight
1933
Remember the Night
1940
Bluebeard's 8th Wife
1938
Love Me Tonight
1932
The Cat and the Canary
1939
Pal Joey
1957
Hail the Conquering Hero
1944
The Smiling Lieutenant
1931
Photos (1)
Movies (104)
Little Women
Hannah
The Sky's the Limit
Mrs. Fisher
I Married a Witch
Margaret
My Sister Eileen
Grandma Sherwood
Pal Joey
Mrs. Casey
Belle Starr
Sarah
Tall Story
Connie
Dinner at Eight
Miss Copeland
Remember the Night
Aunt Emma "Emmie"
The Cat and the Canary
Aunt Susan
Small Town Girl
Ma Brannan
Bluebeard's 8th Wife
Aunt Hedwige
Tobacco Road
Ada Lester
Love Me Tonight
First Aunt
Follow the Boys
Annie
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Mrs. MacGregor
Hail the Conquering Hero
Martha - Libby's Aunt
Infernal Machine
Elinor's Aunt
So Red the Rose
Mary Cherry
Husband's Holiday
Mrs. Caroline Reid
Man Wanted
Miss Harper
Bright Leaf
Tabitha Singleton
Lady on a Train
Aunt Charlotte Waring
Miss Pinkerton
Juliet Mitchell
Welcome Stranger
Mrs. Gilley
Together Again
Jessie
Secret of the Blue Room
Mary, Cook
A Bill of Divorcement
Aunt Hester Fairfield
Her Cardboard Lover
Eva
The Story of Temple Drake
Aunt Jennie
No Man of Her Own
Mrs. Randall
The Smiling Lieutenant
Baroness Von Schwedel (uncredited)
Life Begins
Mrs. Tubby (uncredited)
The Secret Heart
Mrs. Stover
Bulldog Drummond's Peril
Aunt Blanche
They Call It Sin
Mrs. Cullen
Hold Your Man
Miss Tuttle
Night of Mystery
Mrs. Tobias Greene
Intruder in the Dust
Miss Eunice Habersham
The Oregon Trail
Maria Cooper
The Cat Creeps
Susan
Lucky Legs
Annabelle Dinwiddie
Hide-Out
'Ma' Miller
Men Without Names
Ella Ferris
The Dancing Town
Ma Pepperall
Miss Tatlock's Millions
Cora
Kiss the Boys Goodbye
Aunt Lily Lou Bethany
Old Hutch
Sarah Hutchins
Doctor Bull
Aunt Patricia Banning
Golden Harvest
Lydia
So Big!
Mrs. Tebbit (uncredited)
Words and Music
Dean Crockett
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
Catherine Dennison
Tarnished Lady
Mrs. Courtney
Washington Story
Miss Dee
Our Leading Citizen
Aunt Tillie
Anne of Windy Poplars
Rebecca
High, Wide and Handsome
Grandma Cortlandt
I've Always Loved You
Mrs. Sompter
The Vanishing Virginian
Grandma
Las Vegas Shakedown
Mary Raff
New Morals for Old
Aunty Doe
Out of the Blue
Miss Spring
Katie Did It
Aunt Priscilla Wakely
Almost Married
Aunt Matilda Manning
Daddy Long Legs
Mrs. Lippett
The Return of Sophie Lang
Araminta Sedley
Scandal Street
Ada Smith
The Boy Friend
Mrs. Harper
Earthbound
Becky Tilden
Colonel Effingham's Raid
Cousin Emma
The Lone Star Ranger
Sarah Martin
Heaven on Earth
Vergie
The Ninth Day
1957
Go West Young Man
Aunt Kate Barnaby
Hold 'Em Navy
Grandma Holland
Her Master's Voice
Mrs. Ellie Martin
Chasing Yesterday
Mlle. Prefere
Timothy's Quest
Vilda Cummins
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Aunt Polly
Beyond the Blue Horizon
Mrs. Daly
Song of Surrender
Mrs. Beecham
Penrod and Sam
Schoolteacher (uncredited)
Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
Maggie Ambler
Sing, You Sinners
Mrs. Daisy Beebe aka Mother Beebe
The Big Party
Mrs. Goldfarb
Portrait of a Murderer
Mrs. Finch
They Just Had to Get Married
Lizzie
Rendezvous in Black
Mrs. Middleton
Little Women: Meg's Story
Aunt March
Little Women: Jo's Story
Aunt March
Night Club Scandal
Mrs. Elvira Ward
Boo
Susan (edited from "The Cat Creeps")
The Expert
Miss Crackenwald
The Return of Peter Grimm
Mrs. Bartholomey
Sons of the Legion
Grandmother Lee
Bad Little Angel
Mrs. Perkins
Bulldog Drummond's Bride
Aunt Blanche
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
Aunt Blanche
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Aunt Olivia
Guilty as Hell
Elvira Ward
Adventure in Diamonds
Nellie
Harmony at Home
Emma Haller
South Sea Rose
Sarah
TV Shows (19)
I Love Lucy
Mrs. Willoughby · 1 eps
I Love Lucy
Mrs. Trumbull · 10 eps
Climax!
Aunt Polly · 1 eps
Climax!
Jane Connor · 1 eps
Climax!
Nellie Eldredge · 1 eps
Climax!
Mrs. Garr · 1 eps
Four Star Playhouse
Ma / Mother Baker · 1 eps
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Miss Bessie · 1 eps
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Grandmother · 1 eps
Adventures of Superman
2 eps
77 Sunset Strip
1 eps
The Ford Television Theatre
Mrs. Matthews · 1 eps
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Mrs. Kale · 1 eps
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
Mrs. Melvane · 1 eps
Cavalcade of America
Mrs. Couche · 1 eps
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
1 eps
Johnny Staccato
1 eps
General Electric Theater
Madame Elaine · 1 eps
New York Confidential
1 eps