Marjorie Bennett was an Australian television and film actress who began her career during the silent film

Silent 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...

 era.

Career

Bennett was born in York, Western Australia

York, Western Australia

York is the oldest inland town in Western Australia, situated 97 km east of Perth in the Avon Valley near Northam, and is the seat of the Shire of York...

; her sister Enid

Enid Bennett

-Career:Born in York, Western Australia, Bennett started her film acting career in 1916, first starring in Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford, with two other films that same year...

 was also an actress. Bennett began acting in films 1917, and later made the transition to talking pictures

Sound film

A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...

 with bit roles in Monsieur Verdoux

Monsieur Verdoux

Monsieur Verdoux is a 1947 black comedy film directed by and starring Charles Chaplin. The supporting cast includes Martha Raye, William Frawley, and Marilyn Nash.-Plot:...

(1947), Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff

Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff

Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff is a 1949 comedy horror film starring Abbott and Costello and Boris Karloff. The full onscreen title is Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff....

(1949) and Washington Story (1952). In 1952, she appeared as Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...

's landlady in the film Limelight, and later had guest roles on The Great Gildersleeve, Four Star Playhouse

Four Star Playhouse

Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953...

, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...

, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, is a weekly CBS anthology television series, was telecast on Friday nights from 1951 until 1959. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by Schlitz beer...

, and December Bride

December Bride

December Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959, adapted from the original CBS radio network series that aired from June 1952 through September 1953.-Overview:...

. From 1959 to 1961, she had a recurring role on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...

.

During the 1970s, Bennett continued appearing in television with roles on Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...

, Adam-12

Adam-12

Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...

, Night Gallery

Night Gallery

Night Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...

, McMillan & Wife, and Phyllis

Phyllis (TV series)

Phyllis is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 11, 1975 to March 13, 1977.Created by Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels. it was the second spin-off series from The Mary Tyler Moore Show . The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards'...

. She also had a role opposite Richard Widmark

Richard Widmark

Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...

 in the 1973 television film Brock's Last Case. In the 1973 film Charley Varrick

Charley Varrick

Charley Varrick is a 1973 crime film directed by Don Siegel and starring Walter Matthau, Andrew Robinson, Joe Don Baker and John Vernon. The film was based on the novel The Looters by John H. Reese.-Plot:...

, starring Walter Matthau, Bennett portrayed Mrs. Taft, an elderly gardener living in a trailer park who is convinced that every man she meets wants to seduce her. She made her last onscreen appearance in 1980.

Death

Bennett died in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...

 on 14 June 1982, and her ashes were interred in the Great Mausoleum's Columbarium of Dawn, at Glendale Forest Lawn Cemetery, in Glendale California.

Selected filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1917	The Girl, Glory	Sally Barton	Credited as Margery Bennett
1918	Naughty, Naughty!	Prudence Sampson
1946	Dressed to Kill Dressed to Kill (1946 film) Dressed to Kill , is the last of fourteen films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson....	Antique shop assistant	Uncredited
1948	June Bride June Bride June Bride is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Bretaigne Windust. Ranald MacDougall's screenplay, based on the unproduced play Feature for June by Eileen Tighe and Graeme Lorimer, was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Comedy. The film starred Bette...	Mrs. Nellie Brinker
1949	Undertow Undertow (1949 film) Undertow is a 1949 thriller film directed by William Castle, starring Scott Brady, Peggy Dow, Bruce Bennett, Dorothy Hart and John Russell. It is the story of an ex-con, a former Chicago mobster, who is accused of the murder of a high ranking Chicago boss...	Wife at bar in Vegas	Uncredited
1950	The Man Who Cheated Himself	Mrs. Muriel Quimby
1951	Lightning Strikes Twice	Drug Store Customer	Uncredited
1952	The Steel Trap The Steel Trap - Plot :Joseph Cotten plays a bank officer who decides to rob his own bank and head to Brazil before he can be found out. Leaving with his wife , he finds it difficult exiting the country.- Trivia :...	Cleaning Woman	Uncredited
1953	So Big So Big (1953 film) So Big is a 1953 American drama film directed by Robert Wise. The screenplay by John Twist is based on the 1924 novel by Edna Ferber. It is the third adaptation of the book, following a 1924 silent film with Colleen Moore and So Big! with Barbara Stanwyck, released in 1932.-Plot:In the late 1890s,...	Housekeeper	Uncredited
1954	Ricochet Romance	Mrs. Harvey
1955	Female on the Beach Female on the Beach Female on the Beach is a Universal-International feature film starring Joan Crawford and Jeff Chandler in a story about a widow and her beach bum lover. The screenplay by Robert Hill and Richard Alan Simmons was based on the play The Besieged Heart by Robert Hill...	Mrs. Murchison
1956	Our Miss Brooks Our Miss Brooks Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits...	Mrs. J. Boynton	Uncredited
1956	Autumn Leaves Autumn Leaves (film) Autumn Leaves is a 1956 Columbia Pictures drama film starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson in an older woman/younger man tale of mental illness. The screenplay was written by Jean Rouverol and Hugo Butler, though it was credited to Jack Jevne, Rouverol and Butler being blacklisted at the time...	Waitress
1957	Man of a Thousand Faces Man of a Thousand Faces Man of a Thousand Faces is a film detailing the life of silent movie actor Lon Chaney, in which the title role is played by James Cagney.Directed by Joseph Pevney, the film's cast included Dorothy Malone, Jane Greer and Jim Backus...	Vera, Housekeeper	Uncredited
1958	Home Before Dark	Hazel Evans
1959	Career	Fan Magazine Columnist
1960	The Rat Race The Rat Race The Rat Race is a 1960 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds as struggling young entertainment professionals in New York City. Filming took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.- Plot :...	Mrs. Edie Kerry
1961	A Thunder of Drums A Thunder of Drums A Thunder of Drums is a 1961 Western directed by Joseph M. Newman, starring Richard Boone, George Hamilton and Luana Patten.-Plot:1st Lieutenant Curtis McQuade , a cavalry officer without field experience, is assigned to a remote, understaffed post where he attempts to adjust to this new life...	Mrs. Yates
1962	What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (film) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a 1962 American psychological thriller film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The screenplay by Lukas Heller is based on the novel of the same name by Henry Farrell...	Dehlia Flagg
1963	Promises! Promises! Promises! Promises! Promises! Promises! is a 1963 unrated sex comedy film, released after the demise of the Hays code and before the MPAA film rating system became effective, produced by Tommy Noonan . It was the first Hollywood motion picture release of the sound era to feature a mainstream star—Jayne Mansfield—in...	Mrs. Snavely
1964	What a Way to Go! What a Way to Go! What a Way to Go! is a 1964 American comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Margaret Dumont, Bob Cummings and Dick Van Dyke.-Plot:...	Mrs. Freeman	Uncredited
1965	36 Hours 36 Hours 36 Hours is a 1965 American suspense film, based on the short story "Beware of the Dog" by Roald Dahl, starring James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, and Rod Taylor, and directed by George Seaton...	Charwoman
1966	Billy the Kid versus Dracula	Mary Ann Bentley
1967	Games Games (film) Games is a 1967 psychological thriller, directed by Curtis Harrington and starring James Caan, Katharine Ross, and Simone Signoret.-Plot:...	Nora
1968	Coogan's Bluff Coogan's Bluff (film) Coogan's Bluff is a 1968 American Universal film directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Don Stroud, and Susan Clark...	Mrs. Fowler, Little Old Lady
1969	The Love God? The Love God? The Love God? is a 1969 Universal Pictures feature film starring Don Knotts. The film was written and directed by Nat Hiken, who died after it was shot but before it was released in theaters.-Plot:...	Miss Pickering
1971	Calliope	Snoopy lady	Alternative title: Love Is Catching
1973	Charley Varrick Charley Varrick Charley Varrick is a 1973 crime film directed by Don Siegel and starring Walter Matthau, Andrew Robinson, Joe Don Baker and John Vernon. The film was based on the novel The Looters by John H. Reese.-Plot:...	Mrs. Taft	Alternative title: Kill Charley Varrick
1974	Airport 1975 Airport 1975 Airport 1975 is a 1974 disaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 film Airport. It stars Charlton Heston and Karen Black and is directed by Jack Smight....	50th Anniversary Celebrant – Passenger
1979	The North Avenue Irregulars The North Avenue Irregulars The North Avenue Irregulars is a 1979 Disney film distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company starring Edward Hermann, Barbara Harris and Susan Clark. It was based on original work by Albert Fay Hill, as adapted by Don Tait...	Mother Thurber	Alternative title: Hill's Angels
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok is an American Western television series which ran for eight seasons from 1951 through 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication, but ran on CBS from 1955 through 1958, and, at the same time, on ABC from 1957 through 1958.-Synopsis:The Adventures of Wild...	Widow	1 episode
1952	Racket Squad Racket Squad Racket Squad is an American TV crime drama series starring Reed Hadley as Captain John Braddock, a fictional detective working for the San Francisco, California Police Department....	Mrs. Fogarty	1 episode
1953	The Pride of the Family	Mrs. Mallory	1 episode
1954	My Little Margie My Little Margie My Little Margie is an American situation comedy that alternated between CBS and NBC from 1952 to 1955. The series was created by Frank Fox and produced in Los Angeles, California at Hal Roach Studios by Hal Roach, Jr. and Roland D...	Miss Flannigan/The Old Lady Robber	1 episode
1954–1957	Lassie Lassie (1954 TV series) Lassie is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie named Lassie and her companions, human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 24, 1973...	Birdie Brockway	5 episodes
1955	I Married Joan I Married Joan I Married Joan is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. It starred veteran vaudeville, film, and radio comedienne Joan Davis as the manic wife of a mild-mannered community judge, Bradley Stevens .-Synopsis:...	Ruth	1 episode
1955–1958	The Bob Cummings Show The Bob Cummings Show The Bob Cummings Show is an American sitcom starring Robert "Bob" Cummings which was produced from January 2, 1955 to September 15, 1959, and originally sponsored by R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarettes...	Mrs. Neimeyer	4 episodes
1956	Cheyenne	Mrs. Smallwood	1 episode
1957	The Ford Television Theatre	Mrs. Morris	1 episode
1958	Trackdown Trackdown Trackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS between 1957 and 1959. The series offered more than seventy episodes and was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio...	Hetty Lake	1 episode
1958–1959	The Thin Man The Thin Man (TV series) The Thin Man is a half-hour weekly television series based on the mystery novel The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. The 72 episodes were produced by MGM Television and shown on NBC for two seasons from 1957–1959 on Friday evening.-Overview:...	Mrs. Blascombe	3 episodes
1958–1961	The Real McCoys The Real McCoys The Real McCoys is an American situation comedy co-produced by Danny Thomas' "Marterto Productions", in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's "Westgate" company...	Amanda Comstock	3 episodes
1959	Buckskin Buckskin (TV series) Buckskin is an American Western television series starring Tom Nolan, Sally Brophy, and Mike Road. The series aired on the NBC from July 3, 1958 until May 25, 1959, followed by summer reruns in 1959 and again in 1965.-Synopsis:...	Mrs. Newcombe	1 episode
1960	Adventures in Paradise Adventures in Paradise Adventures in Paradise is an American television series which ran on ABC from 1959 until 1962. It starred Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure. The show was created by James Michener...	Agnes Higgins	1 episode
1961	Hong Kong Hong Kong (TV series) Hong Kong is a 26-episode adventure/drama series which aired on ABC television during the 1960–1961 season and helped to catapult Australian actor Rod Taylor into a major film star, primarily in the 1960s, beginning with his role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds...	Matron	1 episode
1962	Thriller	Mercedes	1 episode
1963	The Joey Bishop Show The Joey Bishop Show (TV series) The Joey Bishop Show is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for its first three seasons, premiering on September 20, 1961. The series then moved to CBS for its last season...	Mrs. Fenton	1 episode
1964	The Beverly Hillbillies The Beverly Hillbillies The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....	Mrs. Langwell	1 episode
1965	Petticoat Junction Petticoat Junction Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...	Miss Hogan	1 episode
1966	Hey, Landlord Hey, Landlord Hey, Landlord is an American sitcom appearing on NBC during the 1966-1967 season, sponsored by Procter & Gamble in the 8:30-9pm Eastern time period on Sunday nights.-Plot, cast, and characters:...	Mrs. Fritzell	1 episode
1967	Ironside Ironside (TV series) Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...	Hotel Clerk	1 episode
1968	The Virginian The Virginian (TV series) The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...	Soapie	1 episode
1970	The Mod Squad The Mod Squad The Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, and Tige Andrews...	Mrs. MacCready	1 episode
1971	Nanny and the Professor Nanny and the Professor Nanny and the Professor is a U.S. fantasy situation comedy created by AJ Carothers and Thomas L. Miller for 20th Century Fox Television. During pre-production, the proposed title was Nanny Will Do. The series first aired as a mid-season replacement on January 21, 1970, on ABC and was last telecast...	Aunt Agatha	1 episode
1972	O'Hara, U.S. Treasury O'Hara, U.S. Treasury O'Hara, U.S. Treasury is an American television crime drama broadcast by CBS during the 1971-72 television season. Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited packaged the program for Universal Television. Webb and longtime colleague James E. Moser created the show; Leonard B. Kaufman was the...	Agnes Howett	1 episode
1973	The Rookies The Rookies The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It followed the exploits of three rookie police officers in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department .-History:...	Mrs. Gleason	1 episode
1974	Rhoda Rhoda Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...	Mrs. Fosner	1 episode
1975	Happy Days Happy Days Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....	Lady	1 episode
1976	Sherlock Holmes in New York Sherlock Holmes in New York Sherlock Holmes in New York is a 1976 film about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, played by Roger Moore and Patrick Macnee.-Plot:The great detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusted companion Dr...	Mrs. Martha Hudson	Television film
1977–1978	CHiPs CHiPs CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...	Mrs. Downey	3 episodes
1979	Better Late Than Never	Marjorie Crane	Television film
1980	Barney Miller Barney Miller Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...	Miss Stratton	1 episode

External links