Perry Wilson
Encyclopedia
Perry Wilson Anthony was an American
actress most active during the 1950s and 1960s. She was best known for her role in the 1957 film Fear Strikes Out
.
Perry was born Mary Elizabeth Wilson in 1916 in Bound Brook, New Jersey
. She was raised by her parents, Dorothy Roe and Edward A. Wilson. The family moved to Truro, Massachusetts
. Wilson changed her first name to Perry when she was 13 years old. She was a Christian Scientist.
Wilson attended the Tamara Daykarhanova School for the Stage in New York City
, where she met her future husband, Joseph Anthony. Wilson and Anthony co-founded the America Actors Company in 1938. The company's first performance was The Trojan Women
, which co-starred Mildred Dunnock
and Horton Foote
. Wilson married Anthony in 1942, seven years after they first met.
Wilson's Broadway credits included Cream in the Well, which was directed by Mary Hunter and written by Lynn Riggs
. She also appeared on Broadway in The First Crocus, Pillar to Post, Village Green, and His and Hers. Wilson toured nationally with Ethel Barrymore
in the production of The Corn is Green
, in which she portrayed Bessie Watty.
Her fim credits included the 1957 film, Fear Strikes Out
, co-starring Karl Malden
and Tony Perkins
. She also appeared in the films, The Matchmaker
. On television, Wilson appeared in episodes of The United States Steel Hour
, Naked City
, The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, The Defenders and the Kraft Mystery Theatre.
Wilson largely retired from acting
after the birth of her two children, Ellen Anthony and Peter Anthony. She took up painting
and studied with Jerry Farnsworth in Truro, Massachusetts
. Her paintings focused largely on landscape
scenes. She later retired to her home in Truro, Massachusetts.
Perry Wilson died at the Chestnut Hill Benevolent Association in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
, on December 30, 2009, at the age of 93. She was survived by her children and grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress most active during the 1950s and 1960s. She was best known for her role in the 1957 film Fear Strikes Out
Fear Strikes Out
Fear Strikes Out is a dramatic film depicting the life and career of American baseball player Jimmy Piersall. It is based on Piersall's autobiography Fear Strikes Out: The Jim Piersall Story. The film stars Anthony Perkins as Piersall and Karl Malden as his father, and it was directed by Robert...
.
Perry was born Mary Elizabeth Wilson in 1916 in Bound Brook, New Jersey
Bound Brook, New Jersey
Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. At the United States 2010 Census, the population was 10,402.Bound Brook was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24, 1869, within portions of Bridgewater Township...
. She was raised by her parents, Dorothy Roe and Edward A. Wilson. The family moved to Truro, Massachusetts
Truro, Massachusetts
Truro is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, comprising two villages: Truro and North Truro. Located two hours outside Boston, it is a summer vacation community just south of the northern tip of Cape Cod, in an area known as the "Outer Cape"...
. Wilson changed her first name to Perry when she was 13 years old. She was a Christian Scientist.
Wilson attended the Tamara Daykarhanova School for the Stage in 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...
, where she met her future husband, Joseph Anthony. Wilson and Anthony co-founded the America Actors Company in 1938. The company's first performance was The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced during the Peloponnesian War, it is often considered a commentary on the capture of the Aegean island of Melos and the subsequent slaughter and subjugation of its populace by the Athenians earlier in 415 BC , the same year...
, which co-starred Mildred Dunnock
Mildred Dunnock
Mildred Dunnock was an American theater, film and television actress.- Early life :Born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Western Senior High School, Dunnock was a school teacher who did not start acting until she was in her early thirties...
and Horton Foote
Horton Foote
Albert Horton Foote, Jr. was an American playwright and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplays for the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and the 1983 film Tender Mercies, and his notable live television dramas during the Golden Age of Television...
. Wilson married Anthony in 1942, seven years after they first met.
Wilson's Broadway credits included Cream in the Well, which was directed by Mary Hunter and written by Lynn Riggs
Lynn Riggs
Rollie Lynn Riggs was an author, poet and playwright born on a farm near Claremore, Oklahoma. His mother was 1/8 Cherokee, and when he was two years old, his mother secured his Cherokee allotment for him. He was able to draw on his allotment to help support his writing...
. She also appeared on Broadway in The First Crocus, Pillar to Post, Village Green, and His and Hers. Wilson toured nationally with Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
in the production of The Corn is Green
The Corn is Green
The Corn Is Green is a semi-autobiographical play by Emlyn Williams.At its core is L. C. Moffat, a strong-willed English school teacher working in a small poverty-stricken coal mining town in the late 19th century...
, in which she portrayed Bessie Watty.
Her fim credits included the 1957 film, Fear Strikes Out
Fear Strikes Out
Fear Strikes Out is a dramatic film depicting the life and career of American baseball player Jimmy Piersall. It is based on Piersall's autobiography Fear Strikes Out: The Jim Piersall Story. The film stars Anthony Perkins as Piersall and Karl Malden as his father, and it was directed by Robert...
, co-starring Karl Malden
Karl Malden
Karl Malden was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks...
and Tony Perkins
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
. She also appeared in the films, The Matchmaker
The Matchmaker
The Matchmaker is a play by Thornton Wilder.The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce A Day Well Spent had been extended into a full-length play entitled Einen Jux will er sich machen by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy in 1842...
. On television, Wilson appeared in episodes of The United States Steel Hour
The United States Steel Hour
The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation....
, Naked City
Naked City (TV series)
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format....
, The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, The Defenders and the Kraft Mystery Theatre.
Wilson largely retired from acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
after the birth of her two children, Ellen Anthony and Peter Anthony. She took up painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and studied with Jerry Farnsworth in Truro, Massachusetts
Truro, Massachusetts
Truro is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, comprising two villages: Truro and North Truro. Located two hours outside Boston, it is a summer vacation community just south of the northern tip of Cape Cod, in an area known as the "Outer Cape"...
. Her paintings focused largely on landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
scenes. She later retired to her home in Truro, Massachusetts.
Perry Wilson died at the Chestnut Hill Benevolent Association in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Chestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity, but unlike most of them, it encompasses parts of three separate municipalities, each of...
, on December 30, 2009, at the age of 93. She was survived by her children and grandchildren.