Maria Ouspenskaya
(1876 - 1949)Although this diminutive little lady appeared in only 24 films she is very well remembered for her work, especially for her turn in the "Wolf Man" series of films with Lon Chaney Jr. Very tiny and hunched over, with gray scraggly hair, a squatty face...similar to those dolls made of dried apples...thick-lipped and beady eyes combined with a Slavic accent, she had a powerful screen presence. Most often cast as a Gypsy woman or a Slavic aristocrat, she created very memorable performances. She was born on July 29, 1876 in Tula, Russia, the daughter of a lawyer. She studied singing at the Warsaw Conservatory and later majored in acting at Adasheff's School of Drama in Moscow. She trained in acting as a performer in stock theatre in the Russian provinces and later joined the famed Moscow Art Theatre where she studied under Stanislavski, creator of "Method" acting. When the Moscow Art Theatre toured the U.S. in 1922, she stayed on in New York and became a renowned Broadway actress. She founded the School of Dramatic Art in New York in 1929. And it was to precipitate funding for the school which led to her film debut. Her film credits include: "Sverchok na pechi" aka "Cricket on the Hearth" (1915) a silent film, and her film debut, billed as Mariya Uspenskaya; "Tsvety zapozdalye" aka "The Matchmaker" (1917) a silent; the Academy Award winning "Dodsworth" (1936) as Baroness Von Obersdorf, her American film debut, for which she received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress; "Conquest" (1937) as Countess Pelagia Walewska; "Love Affair" (1939) as Grandmother Janou, for which she received her second Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress; "Judge Hardy and Son" (1939) with Mickey Rooney, as Mrs. Judith Volduzzi; "The Rains Came" (1939) as Maharani; "The Mortal Storm" (1940) as Mrs. Hilda Breitner; "Dance, Girl, Dance" (1940) as Madame Lydia Basilova; "Beyond Tomorrow" (1940) as Mme. Tanya; "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet" (1940) with Edward G. Robinson, as Franziska Spever; "Waterloo Bridge" (1940) as Madame Olga Kirowa; "The Man I Married" (1940) as Frau Gerhardt; "The Wolf Man" (1941) as Maleva; "Mystery of Marie Roget" (1942) as Madame Cecile Roget; "Kings Row" (1942) as Madame Von Eln; "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" (1943) again as Maleva, the Old Gypsy Woman; "Tarzan and the Amazons" (1945) with Johnny Weissmuller, as Amazon Queen; "I've Always Loved You" (1946) as Madame Goronoff; "Wyoming" (1947) as Maria and "A Kiss in the Dark" (1949) as Mme. Karina, her last film role. Her varied choice of roles illustrates her versatility even though she is best remembered for a singular role as a Gypsy woman in a horror film. She died tragically on December 3, 1949 in Los Angeles, California, the result of an apartment fire.
From Great Character Actors, Page 7.
|
