Anne Seymour (September 11, 1909 – December 8, 1988) was an American film and television character actress.[1]
Anne Seymour | |
|---|---|
 Seymour as Lucia Garret in Empire in 1962. | |
| Born | Anne Seymour Eckert September 11, 1909 Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 8, 1988 (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Other names | Anne Eckert Anne Seymour Eckert |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1944–1988 |
| Mother | May Davenport Seymour Eckert |
| Relatives | Harry Davenport (great uncle) |
Personal life
editAnne Seymour Eckert was born in Manhattan to William Stanley and May Davenport (née Seymour) Eckert,[2] an actress and later curator of the Museum of the City of New York. She was the seventh generation of a theatrical family traceable to 18th century Ireland. Seymour, her mother (May Davenport Seymour), and her brother (Bill Seymour) were all active in radio concurrently.[3]
Her great-uncle was character actor Harry Davenport, and her cousins were writer James Seymour and actor John Seymour. Seymour never married and had no children.[citation needed]
Education
editAfter attending St. Mary's for "her conventional education", Seymour studied at the American Laboratory Theatre.[4]
Death
editShe died of heart failure[5] at age 79 in Los Angeles and is interred in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.[citation needed]
Career
editStage
editSeymour's first professional activity as an entertainer came with the Jitney Players, for which she earned $15 weekly.[4]
She was in four Broadway productions. She played in At the Bottom and Puppet Show in 1930 and in The School for Scandal in 1931. Almost three decades later, she played Mrs. Sara Delano Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello.[6]
Radio
editSeymour debuted on radio in Cincinnati in 1932.[4] According to the 06/25/1938 issue of WLS Radio's "Stand By" magazine, Seymour was living in the north side of Chicago. In the early 1940s, she played Prudence Dane, the leading female role in the "historic serial" A Woman of America[4] and starred as Mary Marlin in The Story of Mary Marlin, both on NBC.[3] She was also a member of the casts of Joyce Jordan, Girl Interne; Tom Bradley; Against the Storm; and King Arthur, Junior.[7]
Television
editSeymour's first venture in television was a three-month role in Follow Your Heart, an NBC soap opera. "I hated every minute of it," she said.[8] In 1961, she starred opposite Ed Wynn, in the “Rawhide” episode “25 Santa Clauses.” She also "had a running part on a CBS soap opera called The First Hundred Years."[8] She played Dean Morse in the episode "Terror on the Campus" of Peter Gunn in 1959. She played Mrs. Barr in season 1, episode 15 of My Three Sons in 1961. She later starred in Empire, a 1962–63 series set in the modern American West.[8] Turning her talents to comedy, she was a regular on The Tim Conway Show in 1970.[9]
She was a guest star on many American television series in the 1960s and 1970s. She appeared in two episodes of Perry Mason; in 1963 she played Hettie Randall in "The Case of the Festive Felon", and in 1964 she played Bonnie Mae Wilmet in "The Case of the Bullied Bowler". She portrayed Amelia Tarbell in Pollyanna (1960), and Miss Tilford in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In a 1965 episode of Hazel entitled "A 'Lot' to Remember", she played Laura Kirkland. In 1966, she was a guest star in season 3, episode 11 of Bewitched.
She played Ms. Frost in "A Visit to Upright", a 1972 episode of Bonanza, as well as three different characters in four episodes of Gunsmoke: "Snow Train Parts 1 & 2", "The Wake", and "Kitty's Injury". In the spring of 1970, she was a regular cast member of the situation comedy The Tim Conway Show, playing airport and airline owner Mrs. K. J. Crawford during the show's 12-episode run. She guest-starred on Emergency! in the episodes "Foreign Trade" which first aired on November 16, 1974 (Season 4, Episode 9) and "Involvement" which first aired on January 24, 1976 (Season 5, Episode 17). She played the role of Millie Eastman, a retired head nurse of Rampart General who tried to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. During her recovery at Rampart, she is placed in a semi-private room with Jean Clark (Dawn Lyn), whom she starts mentoring for emotional support.
She played Esther in the episode "Final Escape" of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985 TV series) (1985).
Film
editAn early film appearance by Seymour was in All the King's Men (1949) as Mrs. Lucy Stark.[10] She played the role of Grandma Beebe in the 1961 children's film classic Misty, a screen adaptation of Marguerite Henry's children's book, Misty of Chincoteague.[10][11] Her last performance was in 1988, in the feature film Field of Dreams, which was released after her death.[10]
Radio appearances
edit| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Inner Sanctum Mystery | No Rest for the Dead[12] |
| 1948 | Quiet, Please | Green Light |
Film appearances
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | All the King's Men | Mrs. Lucy Stark | |
| 1951 | The Whistle at Eaton Falls | Mary London | |
| 1957 | Four Boys and a Gun | Mrs. Richards | |
| 1957 | Man on Fire | Judge Randolph | |
| 1958 | The Gift of Love | Miss McMasters | |
| 1958 | Desire Under the Elms | Eben's Mother | |
| 1958 | Handle with Care | Matilda Iler | |
| 1960 | Home from the Hill | Sarah Halstead | |
| 1960 | Pollyanna | Mrs. Amelia Tarbell | |
| 1960 | All the Fine Young Cannibals | Mrs. Bixby | |
| 1960 | The Subterraneans | Charlotte Percepied | |
| 1961 | Misty | Grandma Beebe | |
| 1964 | Stage to Thunder Rock | Myra Parker | |
| 1964 | Good Neighbor Sam | Irene | |
| 1964 | Where Love Has Gone | Dr. Sally Jennings | |
| 1965 | Mirage | Mrs. Frances Calvin | |
| 1966 | Blindfold | Smitty | |
| 1966 | Waco | Ma Jenner | |
| 1967 | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | Gertrude Biggley | Uncredited |
| 1967 | Fitzwilly | Grimsby | |
| 1968 | Stay Away, Joe | Mrs. Hawkins | |
| 1969 | How to Commit Marriage | Molly - Baby's Nurse | Uncredited
1970 Gunsmoke "Snow Train" Sarah |
| 1972 | The Man | Ma Blore | |
| 1973 | So Long, Blue Boy | Martha | |
| 1974 | Seven Alone | Narrator (adult Catherine) | |
| 1975 | Gemini Affair | Agnes Wilson | |
| 1975 | Hearts of the West | Nietz' Housekeeper | Uncredited |
| 1980 | Never Never Land | Zena | |
| 1983 | Triumphs of a Man Called Horse | Elk Woman | |
| 1984 | Trancers | Chairman Ashe | |
| 1988 | Big Top Pee-wee | Pearl | |
| 1989 | Field of Dreams | Chisolm Newspaper Publisher | (final film role) |
References
edit- ^ Anne Seymour;MyHeritage.com
- ^ American and British Theatrical Biography: A Directory, p.839 c.1979 by J. P. Wearing ISBN 0-8108-1201-0
- ^ a b "Friday's Highlights" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 14 (1): 52. May 1940. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "American Woman's Pioneer Role Told In Radio Drama". The Lincoln Star. The Lincoln Star. December 19, 1943. p. 32. Retrieved September 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Quinlan's Film Character Actors: Anne Seymour
- ^ "Anne Seymour". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ^ "Radio Mother". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg Telegraph. June 21, 1941. p. 26. Retrieved May 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Stern, Harold (August 5, 1962). "Anne Seymour to Rule TV Ranch". Sunday Gazette-Mail. p. 53. Retrieved September 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Penton, Edgar (February 21, 1970). "'Navy' Adversaries Run World's Worst Airlines". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. p. 16. Retrieved September 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c IMDb - Anne Seymour, Filmography Retrieved 2015-08-07
- ^ "History of Misty of Chincoteague", Misty's Heaven - Misty'sHeaven.com Retrieved 2015-08-07
- ^ "Anne Seymour on "Inner Sanctum" Monday on WHP". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg Telegraph. November 23, 1946. p. 19. Retrieved September 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
