Jane Darwell
(1879 - 1967)One of the greatest female character actors ever, matronly, motherly Jane Darwell excelled in every role. She was like everyone's grandmother, kind, warm and loving. Of medium height, plump and stocky, her hair usually in a bun, with a warm smile and very expressive eyes she was charismatic on film. She was born Patti Woodward in Palmyra, Missouri on October 15, 1879 the daughter of a railroad president, W. R. Woodward, who claimed descent from Andrew Jackson and Ellen Booth, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. She grew up on a ranch in Missouri where her father raised horses. She studied music, voice and drama as a youth and aspired to be a performer or an opera singer. Her father persuaded her otherwise for a time. She made her stage-acting debut at age 33 in 1906 and seven years later made her film debut in silents. She changed her name to Darwell so as not to "disgrace the Woodward family name." In her 50-year film career rarely did she portray a 'nasty' personality as her sweet face betrayed such an image. Among her films were: "Head Hunters" (1913) a silent and her film debut; "The Rug Maker's Daughter" (1915) another silent, as Mrs. Van Buren; "Tom Sawyer" (1930) as Widow Douglass and repeated the same role in "Huckleberry Finn" (1931); "Ladies of the Big House" (1931) as Mrs. Turner; "Back Street" (1932) as Mrs. Schmidt; "Before Dawn" (1933) as Mrs. Marble; "Design for Living" (1933) as Housekeeper; "Only Yesterday" (1933) as Mrs. Lane; "Bondage" (1933) as Mrs. Wharton; "Let's Talk It Over" (1934) as Mrs. O'Keefe; "Blind Date" (1934) as Ma Taylor; "Bright Eyes" (1934) as Mrs. Higgins; "Curly Top" (1935) and "Captain January" (1936) a few of her many stints with Shirley Temple, the latter as Eliza Croft one of her rare evil roles; "We're Only Human" (1935) as Mrs. Walsh; "Poor Little Rich Girl" (1936) again with Temple, as Woodward; "White Fang" (1936) as Maud Mahoney; "Dangerously Yours" (1937) as Aunt Cynthia; "Time Out for Murder" (1938) as Polly; "Three Blind Mice" (1938) as Mrs. Kilian; "Little Miss Broadway" (1938) as Miss Hutchins; "Jesse James" (1938) as Mrs. Samuels; "Gone With the Wind" (1939) as Mrs. Merriwether; "The Rains Came" (1939) as Aunt Phoebe; "Brigham Young--Frontiersman" (1940) as Eliza Kent; "Chad Hanna" (1940) as Mrs. Huguenine; "Grapes of Wrath" (1940) her most memorable role, as Ma Joad, which earned her an Oscar; "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1941) as Ma Stone; "All Through the Night" (1942) as Ma Donahue; "The Great Gildersleeve" (1942) as Aunt Emma Forrester; "The Oxbow Incident" (1943) as Ma Grier, another evil role; "The Impatient Years" (1944) as Minister's Wife; "Captain Tugboat Annie" (1945) in the title role; "My Darling Clementine" (1946) as Kate Nelson; "Three Wise Fools" (1946) as Sister Mary Brigid; "The Dark Horse" (1946) as Aunt Hattie; "The Red Stallion" (1947) as Mrs. Curtis; "3 Godfathers" (1948) as Miss Florie; "Red Canyon" (1949) as Aunt Jane; "The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady" (1950) as Mrs. Murphy; the film classic "Caged" (1950) with Eleanor Parker, as the Isolation Matron, a role very much out of character for her; "The Lemon Drop Kid" (1951) with Bob Hope, as Nellie Thursday a Damon Runyon character; "Excuse My Dust" (1951) as Mrs. Belden; "We're Not Married!" (1952) as Mrs. Bush; "The Sun Shines Bright" (1953) as Aurora Ratchitt; "Affair with a Stranger" (1953) as Ma Stanton; "It Happens Every Thursday" (1953) as Mrs. Spatch; "Hit the Deck" (1955) as Jenny; "There's Always Tomorrow" (1956) as Mrs. Rogers; "Girls in Prison" (1956) as Matron Jamieson; "The Last Hurrah" (1958) as Delia Boylan; "Hound-Dog Man" (1959) as Grandma Wilson and her last role in "Mary Poppins" as the sweet and beloved Bird Lady. She appeared in over 160 films. On TV she guest starred on such series as: "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin"; "Circus Boy"; "Buckskin"; "Maverick" "Wagon Train" and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour." Never married, she lived in Van Nuys, California in retirement with her nephew Winston Ogden and her beloved black poodle, Mike. She died of a heart attack on August 13, 1967 at the age of 87 in Woodland Hills, California.
From Great Character Actors, Page 1.
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