Mary Servoss (June 2, 1888 – November 20, 1968)[1] was an American stage and screen actress. Her main career was centered on the Broadway stage.

Mary Servoss
Born(1888-06-02)June 2, 1888
DiedNovember 20, 1968(1968-11-20) (aged 80)
OccupationActress
Years active1905–1949

Biography

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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.[2] 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.[3]

Mary Servoss died in Los Angeles on November 20, 1968.[4][5]

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."[6]

Select stage credits

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  • 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

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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

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  1. ^ Great Actors and Actresses of the American Stage in Historic Photographs p.66 c.1983 by Stanley Appelbaum
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ Who Was Who...Parker, John; Gale Research
  4. ^ Silent Film Necrology p.479 2nd Edit. c.2001 by Eugene M. Vazzana
  5. ^ Who Was Who on Screen 2nd edit. p.418 c.1977 by Evelyn Mack Truitt
  6. ^ "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.
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