Mildred Natwick (1905 - 1994)

Mildred Natwick was born on June 19, 1905, in Baltimore, Maryland. After graduating from the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore she went on to earn a drama degree from Bennett College in New York. Her career in entertainment began as a stage actress. She joined the Vagabonds during the late 1920s and toured with them before made a career switch to join the University Players at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She had her Broadway debut in Carry Nation in 1932, followed by roles in such stage productions as Amourette in 1933, The Wind and the Rain in 1934, End of Summer in 1936, The Star Wagon in 1937, and Christmas Eve in 1939.

At the age of 35 she decided to take a chance and enter the film industry. Her movie debut was in the John Wayne film The Long Voyage Home. She co-starred with Wayne in 3 Godfathers in 1948, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon in 1939 and the Quiet Man in 1952. Other films included The Enchanted Cottage, Sorry Wrong Number, Cheaper by the Dozen, Against All Flags, Tammy and the Bachelor and Barefoot in the Park. Although she had found success in films, Natwick never forgot her love of working as a stage actress and she managed to return to the stage numerous times throughout her career. Her first Tony nomination came in 1957 for her role in Waltz of the Toreadors.

Along with her long list of film and stage roles, Mildred Natwick also appeared on a number of TV movies and many TV series including Family, McMillan and Wife, The Love Boat, Murder She Wrote, Hardcastle and McCormick, Hawaii Five-O, Bonanza, Magnum P.I. and Alice. In 1972 she won an Emmy for her role on the Television series The Snoop Sister.

Mildred Natwick passed away at the age of 89 on October 25, 1994, in New York City, after having suffered with cancer. She is buried next to her parents at Lorraine Cemetery in Baltimore. She never married and never had any children of her own. Her last stage performance was in a Broadway production of Bedroom Farce in 1979 and her final film role was in Dangerous Liaisons in 1988.