Marjorie Main

Marjorie Main

Known for: Acting
Biography: 1890-02-24
Deathday: 1975-04-10 (85 years old)

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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Marjorie Main (born Mary Tomlinson, February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975) was an American actress, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player and for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.


Main worked in vaudeville on the Orpheum circuit and in Chautauqua presentations, and debuted on Broadway in 1916. Her first film was A House Divided in 1931.


Main began playing upper class dowagers, but ultimately was typecast in abrasive, domineering, salty roles, for which her distinctive voice was well suited. She repeated her stage role in Dead End in the 1937 film version, and was subsequently cast repeatedly as the mother of gangsters. She again transferred a strong stage performance, as a dude-ranch operator in The Women, to film in 1939. At this time, she guest-starred on radio programs such as Columbia Presents Corwin and The Goldbergs.


Main was signed to a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract in 1940 and stayed with the studio until the mid-1950s. She made six films with Wallace Beery in the 1940s, including Barnacle Bill (1941), Jackass Mail (1942), and Bad Bascomb (1946). She played Sonora Cassidy, the chief cook, in The Harvey Girls (1946). The director George Sidney remarked in the commentary for the film that Miss Main was a "great lady" as well as a great actress who donated most of her paychecks over the years to the support of a school.


Perhaps her most famous role is that of Ma Kettle, which she first played in The Egg and I in 1947 opposite Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the part and portrayed the character in nine more Ma and Pa Kettle films.


By the early 1950s, she had appeared in several MGM musicals, including, Meet Me in St. Louis and The Belle of New York. She played Mrs. Wrenley in the studio's all-star film It's a Big Country (1951). In 1954, Marjorie Main played her last roles for the studio: Mrs. Hittaway in The Long, Long Trailer and Jane Dunstock in Rose Marie. In 1956, Main's performance as the widow Hudspeth in the hit film Friendly Persuasion was well-received, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.


In 1958, Main appeared twice as rugged frontierswoman Cassie Tanner in the episodes "The Cassie Tanner Story" and "The Sacramento Story" on NBC's television series Wagon Train. In the first segment, she joins the wagon train, casts her romantic interest on Ward Bond as Major Adams, and helps the train locate needed horses despite a Paiute threat.

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Filmography

all 88

Movies 86

TV Shows 2

self 2

Widow Hawkins in The Wistful Widow Of Wagon Gap
The World of Abbott and Costello

The World of Abbott and Costello (1965)

Movie
Ma Kettle
The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm

The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm (1957)

Movie
The Widow Hudspeth
Friendly Persuasion

Friendly Persuasion (1956)

Movie
Ma Kettle
The Kettles in the Ozarks

The Kettles in the Ozarks (1956)

Movie
Ma Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki

Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955)

Movie
Pansy Jones
Ricochet Romance

Ricochet Romance (1954)

Movie
December Bride

December Bride (1954)

TV
Ma Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle at Home

Ma and Pa Kettle at Home (1954)

Movie
Lady Jane Dunstock
Rose Marie

Rose Marie (1954)

Movie
Mrs. Hittaway
The Long, Long Trailer

The Long, Long Trailer (1954)

Movie
Ma Parkson
Fast Company

Fast Company (1953)

Movie
Ma Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation

Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation (1953)

Movie
Ma Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair

Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair (1952)

Movie
Mrs. Phineas Hill
The Belle of New York

The Belle of New York (1952)

Movie
Mrs. Wrenley
It's a Big Country

It's a Big Country (1951)

Movie
Julia Wortin
The Law and the Lady

The Law and the Lady (1951)

Movie
Ma Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm

Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm (1951)

Movie
Mrs. Cabot
Mr. Imperium

Mr. Imperium (1951)

Movie
Hattie O'Malley
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone

Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950)

Movie
Esme
Summer Stock

Summer Stock (1950)

Movie
Ma Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town

Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950)

Movie
Flapjack Kate
Big Jack

Big Jack (1949)

Movie
Ma Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle

Ma and Pa Kettle (1949)

Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)

TV
6
Maribel Mathews
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'

Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' (1948)

Movie
Widow Hawkins
The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap

The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947)

Movie
Ma Kettle
The Egg and I

The Egg and I (1947)

Movie
Mrs. Fisher
The Show-Off

The Show-Off (1946)

Movie
Lucy
Undercurrent

Undercurrent (1946)

Movie
Abbey Hanks
Bad Bascomb

Bad Bascomb (1946)

Movie
Sonora Cassidy
The Harvey Girls

The Harvey Girls (1946)

Movie
Mamie Fleagle Smithers Johnson
Murder, He Says

Murder, He Says (1945)

Movie
Annie Goss
Gentle Annie

Gentle Annie (1944)

Movie
Katie (Maid)
Meet Me in St. Louis

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Movie
6
Iris Tuttle
Rationing

Rationing (1944)

Movie
'Gashouse' Mary
Johnny Come Lately

Johnny Come Lately (1943)

Movie
Mrs. Strabel
Heaven Can Wait

Heaven Can Wait (1943)

Movie
6.5
Mrs. Maude Fisher
Tennessee Johnson

Tennessee Johnson (1942)

Movie
Miss Letitia 'Tish' Carberry
Tish

Tish (1942)

Movie
Clementine 'Tiny' Tucker
Jackass Mail

Jackass Mail (1942)

Movie
Mrs. McKissick
The Affairs of Martha

The Affairs of Martha (1942)

Movie
Judge Hawkes
We Were Dancing

We Were Dancing (1942)

Movie
Susie
The Bugle Sounds

The Bugle Sounds (1942)

Movie
Mrs. Varner
Honky Tonk

Honky Tonk (1941)

Movie
Granny Becky
The Shepherd of the Hills

The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)

Movie
Emma Kristiansdotter
A Woman's Face

A Woman's Face (1941)

Movie
1
Marge Cavendish
Barnacle Bill

Barnacle Bill (1941)

Movie
Mrs. Collins
The Trial of Mary Dugan

The Trial of Mary Dugan (1941)

Movie
Irma, the Cook
The Wild Man of Borneo

The Wild Man of Borneo (1941)

Movie
Mehitabel
Wyoming

Wyoming (1940)

Movie
Sarah May Willett
The Captain Is a Lady

The Captain Is a Lady (1940)

Movie
Mary
Susan and God

Susan and God (1940)

Movie
Nora
Turnabout

Turnabout (1940)

Movie
Mrs. Cantrell / Mrs. Adams
Dark Command

Dark Command (1940)

Movie
Mrs. Lowery
Women Without Names

Women Without Names (1940)

Movie
Gertie
I Take This Woman

I Take This Woman (1940)

Movie
Hildegarde 'Hildy' Carey
Two Thoroughbreds

Two Thoroughbreds (1939)

Movie
Mrs. Dolley (uncredited)
Another Thin Man

Another Thin Man (1939)

Movie
5.6
Lucy
The Women

The Women (1939)

Movie
Mrs. Arkelian
Angels Wash Their Faces

Angels Wash Their Faces (1939)

Movie
Mrs. Miller
They Shall Have Music

They Shall Have Music (1939)

Movie
Mrs. Briggs
Lucky Night

Lucky Night (1939)

Movie
Fireless Cooker Customer (uncredited)
There Goes My Heart

There Goes My Heart (1938)

Movie
Miss Armstrong
Girls' School

Girls' School (1938)

Movie
Miss Wayne
Too Hot to Handle

Too Hot to Handle (1938)

Movie
Sara Post
Under the Big Top

Under the Big Top (1938)

Movie
Mrs. Boylan
Little Tough Guy

Little Tough Guy (1938)

Movie
Matron Brand
Prison Farm

Prison Farm (1938)

Movie
Nora
Romance of the Limberlost

Romance of the Limberlost (1938)

Movie
Old woman by phone (uncredited)
Three Comrades

Three Comrades (1938)

Movie
Landlady
Test Pilot

Test Pilot (1938)

Movie
Mrs. Stephens (uncredited)
King of the Newsboys

King of the Newsboys (1938)

Movie
Miss Katie Mathews
Penitentiary

Penitentiary (1938)

Movie
Mrs. Mary Brennan
Boy of the Streets

Boy of the Streets (1938)

Movie
Hannah Gillespie
The Shadow

The Shadow (1937)

Movie
Martha Foster
The Wrong Road

The Wrong Road (1937)

Movie
Amelia Bradley
The Man Who Cried Wolf

The Man Who Cried Wolf (1937)

Movie
Mrs. Martin
Dead End

Dead End (1937)

Movie
Mrs. Martin
Stella Dallas

Stella Dallas (1937)

Movie
Self
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)

Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) (1936)

Movie
Anna (Uncredited)
Music in the Air

Music in the Air (1934)

Movie
Backstage Wardrobe Woman (uncredited)
Crime Without Passion

Crime Without Passion (1934)

Movie
Woman Who Sits on Painting
Art Trouble

Art Trouble (1934)

Movie
Woman in Depot (uncredited)
Close Relations

Close Relations (1933)

Movie
Delegate from Arizona
New Deal Rhythm

New Deal Rhythm (1933)

Movie
Frau Schmidt - Townswoman (uncredited)
Broken Lullaby

Broken Lullaby (1932)

Movie
Townswoman at Wedding (uncredited)
A House Divided

A House Divided (1931)

Movie
Statler Hotel Beauty
Harry Fox and His Six American Beauties

Harry Fox and His Six American Beauties (1929)

Movie

Ratings

Average 6.12
Based on 159 Thousand movie and tv ratings over time
1929
1938
1941
1939
1965
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Marjorie MainMarjorie Main

Information

Known For
Acting

Gender
Female

Birthday
1890-02-24

Deathday
1975-04-10 (85 years old)

Birth Place
Acton, United States of America

Relationships
Stanley LeFevre Krebs (1921-01-01 - 1935-01-01)

Citizenships
United States of America

Also Known As
Mary Tomlinson


This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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