| Mary Servoss | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1888-06-02)June 2, 1888 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 20, 1968(1968-11-20) (aged 80) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1905–1949 |
Mary Servoss (June 2, 1888 – November 20, 1968) was an American stage and screen actress. Her main career was centered on the Broadway stage.
Biography
She was born to Carlos A. Servoss and Mary (née Baker) in Chicago. She made her stage debut in 1905 in a stock company playing a small part in Lorna Doone. In 1922, she played Portia to David Warfield's Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, and she appeared in the 1929 play Street Scene, in the 1931 play Counsellor-at-Law starring Paul Muni, and as Queen Gertrude in Hamlet opposite both Raymond Massey (1931) and Leslie Howard (1936).
She was a veteran stage actress when she made her first film in 1940 and made over 20 films by the time of her last film in 1949.
When not in the theatre, her hobby was restoring old farmhouses.
Mary Servoss died in Los Angeles on November 20, 1968.
Her papers are housed in the Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA. The collection includes "correspondence, photographs, books, scrapbooks, and printed materials related to Servoss' life and career."
Select stage credits
- Bedford's Hope (1906)
- The Master of the House (1912)
- Consequences (1914)
- Upstairs and Down (1916)
- Behold the Bridegroom (1927)
- Street Scene (1929)
- Tortilla Flat (1938)
- Swan Song (1946)
- Medea (1949)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date | Mrs. Colby | |
| 1942 | All Through the Night | Woman | uncredited |
| 1942 | In This Our Life | Charlotte Fitzroy | |
| 1942 | The Postman Didn't Ring | Helen Allen | |
| 1943 | The Human Comedy | Mrs. Beaufrere | uncredited |
| 1943 | So Proudly We Hail! | Capt. 'Ma' McGregor | |
| 1944 | Four Jills in a Jeep | Nurse Lieutenant | uncredited |
| 1944 | Uncertain Glory | Drover's Wife | uncredited |
| 1944 | Summer Storm | Mrs. Kalenin | |
| 1944 | Youth Runs Wild | Cora Hauser | |
| 1944 | Mrs. Parkington | Mrs. Graham | |
| 1944 | Experiment Perilous | Miss Wilson | |
| 1945 | Roughly Speaking | Rose the Maid | uncredited |
| 1945 | Conflict | Landlady | uncredited |
| 1945 | Mildred Pierce | Nurse | uncredited |
| 1945 | Danger Signal | Mrs. Fenchurch | |
| 1946 | My Reputation | Mary | |
| 1946 | A Stolen Life | Practical Nurse | uncredited |
| 1947 | High Wall | Martha Ferguson | uncredited |
| 1948 | An Act of Murder | Julia | |
| 1949 | Beyond the Forest | Mrs. Wetch | uncredited, final film role |
References
- Great Actors and Actresses of the American Stage in Historic Photographs p.66 c.1983 by Stanley Appelbaum
- Who Was Who in the Theatre: 1912–1976 vol.2 D-H p.2149; originally published annually by John Parker ; this final edition by Gale Research Company
- Who Was Who...Parker, John; Gale Research
- Silent Film Necrology p.479 2nd Edit. c.2001 by Eugene M. Vazzana
- Who Was Who on Screen 2nd edit. p.418 c.1977 by Evelyn Mack Truitt
- "Finding Aid for the Mary Servoss Papers, 1910-1968". Online Archive of California. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.