May Robson
Encyclopedia
May Robson was an actress and playwright. A major stage actress of the late 19th and early 20th century, Robson is best known today for the dozens of 1930s motion pictures she appeared in when she was well into her seventies, usually playing cross old ladies with hearts of gold.
, Australia
, she moved to the United States in her late teens. In 1884, after being widowed, she became an actress simply to support her children. Over the next several decades, she flourished on the stage.
She starred in the 1916 silent film A Night Out, an adaptation of the play she co-wrote, The Three Lights. She made several other silent films, then successfully transitioned to talkies. She made 45 films during the 1930s. Among her starring roles was 1931's The She-Wolf, in which she was cast as a miserly millionaire businesswoman based on Hetty Green
. She also starred in the final segment of the anthology film If I Had a Million
(1932) as a rest home resident who gets a new lease on life when she is given a $1,000,000 check by a dying business tycoon. She played the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland
(1933), Countess Vronsky in Anna Karenina
(1936), Aunt Elizabeth in Bringing Up Baby
(1938), Aunt Polly in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
(1938), and a sharp-tongued Granny in A Star Is Born
(1937). Miss Robson was top-billed as late as 1940, starring in Granny Get Your Gun at age 82. Her last film was 1942's Joan of Paris
.
In 1933, she was nominated at age 75 for the Academy Award for Best Actress
for Lady for a Day
, losing to Katharine Hepburn
. She was the first Australian-born person to be nominated for an acting Oscar, and for many years she held the record for the oldest performer nominated for an Oscar.
She died at the age of 84 of natural causes, still making movies in her final year, and was buried in Flushing Cemetery
in Queens
, New York City
.
Biography
Born Mary Jeanette Robison in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, she moved to the United States in her late teens. In 1884, after being widowed, she became an actress simply to support her children. Over the next several decades, she flourished on the stage.
She starred in the 1916 silent film A Night Out, an adaptation of the play she co-wrote, The Three Lights. She made several other silent films, then successfully transitioned to talkies. She made 45 films during the 1930s. Among her starring roles was 1931's The She-Wolf, in which she was cast as a miserly millionaire businesswoman based on Hetty Green
Hetty Green
Hetty Green , nicknamed "The Witch of Wall Street" , was an American businesswoman, remarkable for her frugality during the Gilded Age, as well as for being the first American woman to make a substantial impact on Wall Street.-Birth and early years:She was born Henrietta Howland Robinson in New...
. She also starred in the final segment of the anthology film If I Had a Million
If I Had A Million
If I Had a Million is a Paramount Studios anthology film. There were seven directors: Ernst Lubitsch, Norman Taurog, Stephen Roberts, Norman Z. McLeod, James Cruze, William A. Seiter, and H. Bruce Humberstone...
(1932) as a rest home resident who gets a new lease on life when she is given a $1,000,000 check by a dying business tycoon. She played the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (1933 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 1933 film version of the famous Alice novels of Lewis Carroll. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures, featuring an all-star cast. It is all live-action, except for the Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, which was animated by Leon Schlesinger Productions.Stars featured...
(1933), Countess Vronsky in Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina (1935 film)
Anna Karenina is a 1935 film directed by Clarence Brown. The film stars Greta Garbo, Fredric March, Basil Rathbone and Maureen O'Sullivan. It is the most famous and critically acclaimed film adaptation of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. There are several other film adaptations of the novel.In New...
(1936), Aunt Elizabeth in Bringing Up Baby
Bringing up Baby
Bringing Up Baby is an American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and released by RKO Radio Pictures....
(1938), Aunt Polly in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938 film)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a 1938 American drama film directed by Norman Taurog. The screenplay by John V.A. Weaver was based on the classic 1876 novel by Mark Twain.-Plot:...
(1938), and a sharp-tongued Granny in A Star Is Born
A Star Is Born (1937 film)
A Star Is Born is a 1937 Technicolor romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, with a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell. It stars Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March as an aging movie star who...
(1937). Miss Robson was top-billed as late as 1940, starring in Granny Get Your Gun at age 82. Her last film was 1942's Joan of Paris
Joan of Paris
Joan of Paris is a 1942 war film about five Royal Air Force pilots shot down over Nazi-occupied France during World War II and their attempt to escape to England...
.
In 1933, she was nominated at age 75 for the Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading 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...
for Lady for a Day
Lady for a Day
Lady for a Day is a 1933 American comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on the short story Madame La Gimp by Damon Runyon...
, losing to 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...
. She was the first Australian-born person to be nominated for an acting Oscar, and for many years she held the record for the oldest performer nominated for an Oscar.
She died at the age of 84 of natural causes, still making movies in her final year, and was buried in Flushing Cemetery
Flushing Cemetery
Flushing Cemetery is a cemetery in Flushing in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York.The cemetery is the final resting place for:*Louis Armstrong, renowned musician and singer*Bernard Baruch, financier, after whom Baruch College is named...
in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Partial filmography
- Pals in ParadisePals in ParadisePals in Paradise is a 1926 silent drama film directed by George B. Seitz. The film was shot in Europe.-Cast:* Rudolph Schildkraut as Abraham Lezinsky* John Bowers as Bill Harvey* Marguerite De La Motte as Geraldine 'Jerry' Howard...
(1926) - The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary (1927)
- The King of Kings (1927)
- ChicagoChicago (1927 film)Chicago is a 1927 comedy-drama silent film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Frank Urson.-Plot:Drawn from the play of the same name by Maurine Dallas Watkins which was in turn based on the true story of Beulah Annan, fictionalized as Roxie Hart , and her spectacular murder of her boyfriend...
(1927) - Red-Headed WomanRed-Headed WomanRed-Headed Woman is a 1932 Pre-Code comedy film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on a novel by Katherine Brush, and with a screenplay by Anita Loos. It was directed by Jack Conway, and stars Jean Harlow as a woman who uses sex to advance her social position...
(1932) - If I Had a MillionIf I Had A MillionIf I Had a Million is a Paramount Studios anthology film. There were seven directors: Ernst Lubitsch, Norman Taurog, Stephen Roberts, Norman Z. McLeod, James Cruze, William A. Seiter, and H. Bruce Humberstone...
(1932) - Strange InterludeStrange Interlude (1932 film)Strange Interlude is a 1932 American romantic drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The film stars Norma Shearer and Clark Gable, and is based on the play Strange Interlude by Eugene O'Neill.-Plot:...
(1932) - The White SisterThe White SisterThe White Sister is a 1933 American romantic drama film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Clark Gable and Helen Hayes. It was based on the 1909 novel by F. Marion Crawford...
(1933) - Reunion in ViennaReunion in ViennaReunion in Vienna is a 1933 romantic drama produced and distributed by MGM. Sidney Franklin served as director. The film stars John Barrymore in a story taken from a stage play, Reunion in Vienna, by Robert Emmet Sherwood. -Cast:...
(1933) - Dinner at EightDinner at Eight (film)Dinner at Eight is a Pre-Code 1933 comedy of manners/drama produced by MGM Studios. The film was adapted to the screen by Frances Marion and Herman J. Mankiewicz from the play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, with additional dialogue supplied by Donald Ogden Stewart. Produced by David O...
(1933) - Beauty for SaleBeauty for SaleBeauty for Sale is a 1933 film about the romantic entanglements of three beauty salon employees. It stars Madge Evans, Alice Brady, and Otto Kruger. It was based on the novel Beauty by Faith Baldwin.-Cast:*Madge Evans as Letty Lawson...
(1933) - Lady for a DayLady for a DayLady for a Day is a 1933 American comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on the short story Madame La Gimp by Damon Runyon...
(1933) - Dancing LadyDancing LadyDancing Lady is a 1933 musical film starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, and featuring Franchot Tone, the fourth of eight collaborations between Crawford and Gable. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, produced by John W. Considine Jr. and David O. Selznick, and was based on the novel of the...
(1933) - Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1933 film)Alice in Wonderland is a 1933 film version of the famous Alice novels of Lewis Carroll. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures, featuring an all-star cast. It is all live-action, except for the Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, which was animated by Leon Schlesinger Productions.Stars featured...
(1933) - Lady by ChoiceLady by ChoiceLady by Choice is a 1934 romantic drama film starring Carole Lombard as a fan dancer and May Robson as a homeless drunk who is asked to pose as the dancer's mother for a publicity stunt, with unexpected consequences.-Plot:...
(1934) - RecklessReckless (1935 film)Reckless is a 1935 American musical film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Jean Harlow, William Powell and Franchot Tone. The story was based on the scandal of the 1931 marriage between torch singer Libby Holman and tobacco heir Zachary Smith Reynolds and his subsequent alleged...
(1935) - Anna KareninaAnna Karenina (1935 film)Anna Karenina is a 1935 film directed by Clarence Brown. The film stars Greta Garbo, Fredric March, Basil Rathbone and Maureen O'Sullivan. It is the most famous and critically acclaimed film adaptation of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. There are several other film adaptations of the novel.In New...
(1935) - Wife vs. SecretaryWife vs. SecretaryWife vs. Secretary is a comedy film directed and co-produced by Clarence Brown. It stars Clark Gable as a successful businessman, Jean Harlow as his secretary, and Myrna Loy as his wife, supported by May Robson as his mother and James Stewart, in one of his first memorable roles, as the...
(1936) - A Star Is BornA Star Is Born (1937 film)A Star Is Born is a 1937 Technicolor romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, with a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell. It stars Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March as an aging movie star who...
(1937) - The Adventures of Tom SawyerThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938 film)The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a 1938 American drama film directed by Norman Taurog. The screenplay by John V.A. Weaver was based on the classic 1876 novel by Mark Twain.-Plot:...
(1938) - Bringing Up BabyBringing up BabyBringing Up Baby is an American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and released by RKO Radio Pictures....
(1938) - Four DaughtersFour DaughtersFour Daughters is a 1938 musical drama film that tells the story of a happy musical family whose lives and loves are disrupted by the arrival of a cynical young composer who interjects himself into the daughters' romantic lives...
(1938) - The TexansThe TexansThe Texans is a 1938 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by James P. Hogan, and starring by Joan Bennett, Randolph Scott. The screenplay was written by William Wister Haines, Bertram Millhauser and Paul Sloane and is based on the story North of '36 by Emerson Hough.Most of the exterior scenes...
(1938) - They Made Me a CriminalThey Made Me a CriminalThey Made Me a Criminal is a 1939 American Warner Bros. drama crime film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring John Garfield, Claude Rains, and The Dead End Kids. It is a remake of the 1933 film The Life of Jimmy Dolan. The film was later featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia.-Plot:Johnnie...
(1939) - Daughters CourageousDaughters CourageousDaughters Courageous is a 1939 drama film starring the three Lane Sisters , with the fourth sister being played by Gale Page. The movie also stars John Garfield and Claude Rains...
(1939) - That's Right - You're Wrong (1939)
- Four WivesFour WivesFour Wives is a 1939 film starring Priscilla Lane and two of her sisters, features Gale Page, Claude Raines, Eddie Albert, and John Garfield, and was directed by Michael Curtiz...
(1939) - Irene (1940)
- Million Dollar BabyMillion Dollar Baby (1941 film)Million Dollar Baby is a 1941 romantic comedy film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Released by Warner Bros., the film stars Priscilla Lane, Jeffrey Lynn, and Ronald Reagan.-Plot:...
(1941) - Joan of ParisJoan of ParisJoan of Paris is a 1942 war film about five Royal Air Force pilots shot down over Nazi-occupied France during World War II and their attempt to escape to England...
(1942)
See also
External links
- May Robson as a young woman in gown from The Burr McIntosh monthly, Volume 4 c.1901