Mary Nash
Encyclopedia
Early life
Nash was born on August 15, 1884 (some say 1885) in TroyTroy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to parents Philip Nash, who worked for B. F. Keith Vaudeville Circuit, and Ellen Frances MacNamara. She was educated at the Convent of St. Anne in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and trained for acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
. Her younger sister was theater actress Florence Nash
Florence Nash
Florence Nash was an American actress and author. She was sister to theater and movie actor Mary Nash.-Career:...
.
Stage and film career
She was a noted stage actress in New York and successful in vaudeville before moving to Hollywood in 1934, where she was in films until 1946. According to Allmovie: "Nash was often cast as seemingly mild-mannered women who turned vicious when challenged, as witness her work in College Scandal (1936) and Charlie ChanCharlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
in Panama (1940). ... Mary Nash's most sympathetic role was as the long-suffering wife of blustering capitalist J. B. Ball in Easy Living (1937)." Nash probably is best known for two films where she acted alongside Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
, first as Fraulein Rottenmeier in Heidi
Heidi (1937 film)
Heidi is a 1937 American dramatic film directed by Allan Dwan. The screenplay by Julien Josephson and Walter Ferris was based on the 1880 children's story of the same name by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. The film is about an orphan named Heidi who is taken from her grandfather to live as a...
(1937) and then as the selfish and authoritarian Miss Minchin in The Little Princess (1939). She also was well known as Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
's socialite mother in both stage and movie productions of The Philadelphia Story (1940). She played a supporting role in the 1936 Academy Award-winning film Come and Get It
Come and Get It (film)
Come and Get It is a 1936 American drama film directed by Howard Hawks and William Wyler. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and Jules Furthman is based on the 1935 novel of the same title by Edna Ferber.-Plot:...
and a featured role in In the Meantime, Darling
In the Meantime, Darling
In the Meantime, Darling is a 1944 American drama film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Arthur Kober and Michael Uris focuses on a wealthy war bride who is forced to adjust to living in spartan conditions in military housing during World War II.-Plot:Due to limited wartime...
in 1944.
Personal life
In 1918 she married French actor, writer and director Jose Ruben (1888–1969). They were divorced shortly after.She died from natural causes, at home on December 3, 1976, in Brentwood
Brentwood, California
Brentwood is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population is 51,481 as of 2010....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Filmography
- The Unbroken Road (1915)
- Arms and the Woman (1916)
- Uncertain Lady (1934)
- College Scandal (1935)
- Come and Get ItCome and Get It (film)Come and Get It is a 1936 American drama film directed by Howard Hawks and William Wyler. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and Jules Furthman is based on the 1935 novel of the same title by Edna Ferber.-Plot:...
(1936) - The Kid and The College Girl (1937)
- Easy Living (1937)
- HeidiHeidi (1937 film)Heidi is a 1937 American dramatic film directed by Allan Dwan. The screenplay by Julien Josephson and Walter Ferris was based on the 1880 children's story of the same name by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. The film is about an orphan named Heidi who is taken from her grandfather to live as a...
(1937) - Wells FargoWells FargoWells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
(1937) - The Little Princess (1939)
- The Rains CameThe Rains CameThe Rains Came is the title of a novel by Louis Bromfield, published in 1937, as well as the 1939 20th Century Fox film version which followed it...
(1939) - Charlie Chan in PanamaCharlie Chan in Panama-Cast:*Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan*Jean Rogers as Kathi Lenesch*Lionel Atwill as Cliveden Compton*Mary Nash as Miss Jennie Finch*Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan *Kane Richmond as Richard Cabot*Chris-Pin Martin as Sergeant Montero...
(1940) - The Philadelphia Story (1940)
- Sailor's LadySailor's LadySailor's Lady is a 1940 film starring Nancy Kelly. The supporting cast includes Jon Hall, Joan Davis, Dana Andrews, and Buster Crabbe. The movie was directed by Allan Dwan...
(1940) - Gold Rush MaisieGold Rush MaisieGold Rush Maisie is a 1940 drama film starring Ann Sothern as a woman who travels to a ghost town to look for gold. The film was directed by Edwin L. Marin.-Cast:*Ann Sothern - Maisie Ravier*Lee Bowman - Bill Anders*Slim Summerville - Fred Gubbins...
(1940) - Men of Boys Town (1941)
- Calling Dr. Kildare (1942)
- The Human ComedyThe Human Comedy (film)The Human Comedy is a 1943 drama film directed by Clarence Brown and adapted by Howard Estabrook. It is often thought to be based on the William Saroyan novel of the same name, but actually Saroyan wrote the screenplay first, was fired from the movie project, and quickly wrote the novel and...
(1943) - The Lady and The Monster (1944)
- Cobra WomanCobra WomanCobra Woman is a 1944 American melodrama/adventure film of the South Seas genre, directed by Robert Siodmak. It was mad in and starring Jon Hall, Sabu, Mary Nash, Lon Chaney, Jr. and, in a dual role, Maria Montez...
(1944) - In the Meantime, DarlingIn the Meantime, DarlingIn the Meantime, Darling is a 1944 American drama film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Arthur Kober and Michael Uris focuses on a wealthy war bride who is forced to adjust to living in spartan conditions in military housing during World War II.-Plot:Due to limited wartime...
(1944) - Yolanda and the ThiefYolanda and the ThiefYolanda and the Thief is a 1945 MGM musical-comedy film set in a fictional Latin American country, and stars Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan, Ludwig Stossel and Mildred Natwick, with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Arthur Freed...
(1945) - Monsieur BeaucaireMonsieur Beaucaire (1946 film)Monsieur Beaucaire is a 1946 comedy film starring Bob Hope as the title character, the barber of King Louis XV of France. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington.-Cast:*Bob Hope as Monsieur Beaucaire*Joan Caulfield as Mimi...
(1946) - Till the Clouds Roll ByTill the Clouds Roll ByTill The Clouds Roll By is a 1946 American musical film made by MGM. The film is a fictionalized biography of composer Jerome Kern, who was originally involved with the production of the film, but died before it was completed...
(1946) - Swell Guy (1946)
Photos
- Photograph by James AbbeJames AbbeJames Abbe was an American photographer.-Background:James Abbe was born in 1883 in Alfred, Maine. He traveled throughout Europe as a young photojournalist recording the unstable power struggles of the early 20th century...
, Captain Applejack, 1921 - Portrait by Ben SoloweyBen SoloweyBen Solowey was an American artist, known for his sculpture, painting, and drawing.He was born in Warsaw, Poland on August 29, 1900. In 1907, his family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, then, when he was fourteen, to Philadelphia. There he studied under Hugh Breckenridge and Daniel Garber at the...
, Diana, 1929 - Portrait by Ben SoloweyBen SoloweyBen Solowey was an American artist, known for his sculpture, painting, and drawing.He was born in Warsaw, Poland on August 29, 1900. In 1907, his family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, then, when he was fourteen, to Philadelphia. There he studied under Hugh Breckenridge and Daniel Garber at the...
, A Strong Man's House, 1929 - Photograph, Cobra Woman, 1944
- Photograph, 1944
External links
- Mary Nash at NY Public Library Billy Rose collection
- Mary Nash in Vanity FairVanity Fair (American magazine 1913-1936)Vanity Fair was an American society magazine published from 1913-1936. It was highly successful until the Great Depression led to it becoming unprofitable, and it was merged into Vogue magazine in 1936.-History:...
October 1920 taken by Dorothy WildingDorothy WildingDorothy Wilding was a noted English society photographer from Gloucester. She wanted to become an actress or artist but this career was disallowed by her uncle, in whose family she lived, so she chose the art of photography which she started to learn from the age of sixteen.By 1929 she had already... - Mary Nash in Vanity FairVanity Fair (American magazine 1913-1936)Vanity Fair was an American society magazine published from 1913-1936. It was highly successful until the Great Depression led to it becoming unprofitable, and it was merged into Vogue magazine in 1936.-History:...
March 1924 wearing large plumed headdress taken by Edward SteichenEdward SteichenEdward J. Steichen was an American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator. He was the most frequently featured photographer in Alfred Stieglitz' groundbreaking magazine Camera Work during its run from 1903 to 1917. Steichen also contributed the logo design and a custom typeface...