Margaret Wycherly
Encyclopedia
Margaret Wycherly was an English
stage and film actress.
, England
of American parents, Dr. and Mrs. J. L. De Wolfe. She was married to writer Bayard Veiller
(1869–1943) in 1901. They had a son, Anthony Veiller
(1903–1965), who also became a writer. She and Veiller divorced in 1922.
. In 1929 at the advent of sound pictures she appeared in her second film, but first talkie, The Thirteenth Chair
, based on the 1916 play by her husband in which she had starred. The film was directed by Tod Browning
and was in the genre of mystery-old house melodrama. Twelve years later, Wycherley appeared in Sergeant York
in 1941. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
for the role of Mother York, though perhaps her best remembered screen role was as "Ma Jarrett", the mother of the psychopathic gangster Cody Jarrett, in White Heat
(1949), which famously starred James Cagney
.
Wycherly starred in several popular Broadway
plays, including Tobacco Road
, Random Harvest
, Liliom
, Six Characters in Search of an Author
and The Thirteenth Chair
(which role she reprised in the film of the same name). Her other films include Keeper of the Flame
, The Yearling, Forever Amber
and Johnny Angel
starring George Raft.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
stage and film actress.
Early life
Wycherly was born Margaret De Wolfe in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
of American parents, Dr. and Mrs. J. L. De Wolfe. She was married to writer Bayard Veiller
Bayard Veiller
Bayard Veiller was an American screenwriter, producer and film director. He wrote for 32 films between 1915 and 1941...
(1869–1943) in 1901. They had a son, Anthony Veiller
Anthony Veiller
Anthony Veiller was an American screenwriter and film producer. The son of the screenwriter Bayard Veiller and the English actress Margaret Wycherly, Anthony Veiller wrote for 41 films between 1934 and 1964.-Career and Awards:Veiller was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay...
(1903–1965), who also became a writer. She and Veiller divorced in 1922.
Career
She was primarily a stage actress, appearing in one silent filmSilent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. In 1929 at the advent of sound pictures she appeared in her second film, but first talkie, The Thirteenth Chair
The Thirteenth Chair
The Thirteenth Chair is a 1929 mystery film directed by Tod Browning. It is based on a 1916 play of the same name by Bayard Veiller.-Cast:* Conrad Nagel as Richard Crosby* Leila Hyams as Helen 'Nellie' O'Neill...
, based on the 1916 play by her husband in which she had starred. The film was directed by Tod Browning
Tod Browning
Tod Browning was an American motion picture actor, director and screenwriter.Browning's career spanned the silent and talkie eras...
and was in the genre of mystery-old house melodrama. Twelve years later, Wycherley appeared in Sergeant York
Sergeant York
Sergeant York is a 1941 biographical film about the life of Alvin York, the most-decorated American soldier of World War I. It was directed by Howard Hawks and was the highest-grossing film of the year....
in 1941. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for the role of Mother York, though perhaps her best remembered screen role was as "Ma Jarrett", the mother of the psychopathic gangster Cody Jarrett, in White Heat
White Heat
White Heat may refer to:In film:* White Heat , a British film directed by Thomas Bentley* White Heat , an American film* White Heat, a 1949 film starring James CagneyIn music:...
(1949), which famously starred James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
.
Wycherly starred in several popular Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
plays, including Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road refers to the tobacco-producing area of North Carolina and is often used when referring to sports played among rival North Carolina universities...
, Random Harvest
Random Harvest
Random Harvest is a 1942 film based on the 1941 James Hilton novel of the same name, directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Claudine West, George Froeschel and Arthur Wimperis adapted the novel for the screen, and received an Academy Award nomination for their work. The film departed from the novel in several...
, Liliom
Liliom
Liliom is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was very famous in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.- Plot :...
, Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author is a play by the Italian writer Luigi Pirandello.The play is a satirical tragicomedy. It was first performed in 1921 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, to a very mixed reception, with shouts from the audience of "Manicomio!" .Subsequently the play enjoyed a much...
and The Thirteenth Chair
The Thirteenth Chair
The Thirteenth Chair is a 1929 mystery film directed by Tod Browning. It is based on a 1916 play of the same name by Bayard Veiller.-Cast:* Conrad Nagel as Richard Crosby* Leila Hyams as Helen 'Nellie' O'Neill...
(which role she reprised in the film of the same name). Her other films include Keeper of the Flame
Keeper of the Flame (film)
Keeper of the Flame is a dramatic film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . It stars Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Hepburn plays the widow of a famous civic leader who has suddenly died in an accident. Tracy plays a former war correspondent who intends to write a flattering biography of the dead man,...
, The Yearling, Forever Amber
Forever Amber (film)
Forever Amber is a 1947 film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde. It was based on the book of the same name. It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, Dolores Hart, and Jessica Tandy...
and Johnny Angel
Johnny Angel
Johnny Angel is a film noir directed by Edwin L. Marin, written by Frank Gruber and Steve Fisher from the novel Mr. Angel Comes Aboard by Charles Gordon Booth. The movie features George Raft, Claire Trevor, Signe Hasso, and Hoagy Carmichael....
starring George Raft.
Filmography
- The Fight (1915)
- The Thirteenth ChairThe Thirteenth ChairThe Thirteenth Chair is a 1929 mystery film directed by Tod Browning. It is based on a 1916 play of the same name by Bayard Veiller.-Cast:* Conrad Nagel as Richard Crosby* Leila Hyams as Helen 'Nellie' O'Neill...
(1929) - MidnightMidnight (1934 film)Midnight is a 1934 film noir directed by Chester Erskine and starring Sidney Fox, O.P. Heggie, Henry Hull, Margaret Wycherly, and Humphrey Bogart. The film was re-released as Call It Murder after Bogart became a movie star. His credit was enlarged to a guest star status although Bogart was...
(1934) - Victory (1940)
- Sergeant YorkSergeant YorkSergeant York is a 1941 biographical film about the life of Alvin York, the most-decorated American soldier of World War I. It was directed by Howard Hawks and was the highest-grossing film of the year....
(1941) - CrossroadsCrossroads (1942 film)Crossroads is a 1942 mystery film directed by Jack Conway, starring William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, Claire Trevor and Basil Rathbone. Powell plays a diplomat whose amnesia about his past comes back to trouble him...
(1942) - Random Harvest (1942)
- Keeper of the FlameKeeper of the Flame (film)Keeper of the Flame is a dramatic film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . It stars Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Hepburn plays the widow of a famous civic leader who has suddenly died in an accident. Tracy plays a former war correspondent who intends to write a flattering biography of the dead man,...
(1942) - Assignment in Brittany (1943)
- The Moon Is DownThe Moon Is DownThe Moon Is Down, a novel by John Steinbeck fashioned for adaption for the theatre and for which Steinbeck received the Norwegian Haakon VII Cross of freedom, was published by Viking Press in March 1942...
(1943) - Hangmen Also Die! (1943)
- Experiment PerilousExperiment PerilousExperiment Perilous is a 1944 melodrama set at the turn of the 20th century. The film is based on a novel by Margaret Carpenter and directed by Jacques Tourneur. Albert S. D'Agostino, Jack Okey, Darrell Silvera, and Claude E. Carpenter were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art...
(1944) - Johnny AngelJohnny AngelJohnny Angel is a film noir directed by Edwin L. Marin, written by Frank Gruber and Steve Fisher from the novel Mr. Angel Comes Aboard by Charles Gordon Booth. The movie features George Raft, Claire Trevor, Signe Hasso, and Hoagy Carmichael....
(1945) - The Yearling (1946)
- Something in the WindSomething in the WindSomething in the Wind is an American feature film directed by Irving Pichel, released by Universal Studios, and starring Donald O'Connor and Deanna Durbin....
(1947) - Forever AmberForever Amber (film)Forever Amber is a 1947 film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde. It was based on the book of the same name. It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, Dolores Hart, and Jessica Tandy...
(1947) - The Loves of CarmenThe Loves of CarmenThe Loves of Carmen is a Technicolor film starring Rita Hayworth as the gypsy Carmen and Glenn Ford as her doomed lover Don José. It was directed by Charles Vidor and released by Columbia Pictures. The film was publicized as a dramatic adaptation of the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée and is...
(1948) - White HeatWhite HeatWhite Heat may refer to:In film:* White Heat , a British film directed by Thomas Bentley* White Heat , an American film* White Heat, a 1949 film starring James CagneyIn music:...
(1949) - The Man with a CloakThe Man with a CloakThe Man with a Cloak is a 1951 drama film directed by Fletcher Markle and starring Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, and Leslie Caron. It was based on a short story by John Dickson Carr, "The Gentleman from Paris".-Plot:...
(1951) - That Man from Tangier (1953)
- The President's Lady (1953)
External links
- Margaret Wycherly 1914 portrait at University of Louisville Macauley's Theatre collection
- Margaret Wycherly photo gallery NYP Library