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Mary Gordon (actress)
Quick Facts
Biography
Mary Gordon (born Mary Gilmour, 16 May 1882 in Glasgow, Scotland – 23 August 1963 in Pasadena, California) was a Scottish actress, long in the United States, who specialized in housekeepers and mothers, most notably the landlady Mrs. Hudson in the Sherlock Holmes series of movies of the 1940s starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. She would appear in nearly 300 films between 1925 and 1950.
Early life
She was born Mary Gilmour, the fifth of seven children of Glasgow wire weaver Robert Gilmour and his wife Mary. She worked as a dressmaker before finding work on the stage. Joining a company bound for an American tour, she came to the U.S. in her twenties, apparently making a few appearances on Broadway in small roles, but primarily touring in stock companies.
Career
With her mother and daughter (both also named Mary), she arrived in Los Angeles in the mid-1920s and began playing variations on the roles she would spend her career on. She became friends with John Ford while making Hangman's House in 1928 and made seven more films for him. In 1939, she took on her best-remembered role as Sherlock Holmes' landlady and played the role in ten films and numerous radio plays. She was a charter member of the Hollywood Canteen, entertaining servicemen throughout the Second World War. On the radio show Those We Love, she played the regular role of Mrs. Emmett.
She entered retirement just as television reshaped the entertainment industry, making only a single appearance in that medium. Very active in the Daughters of Scotia auxiliary of the Order of Scottish Clans, she lived out her final years in Pasadena, California with her daughter and grandson. She died at age 81 after a long illness on 23 August 1963.
Selected filmography
- The Dome Doctor (1925)
- The Home Maker (1925)
- Tessie (1925)
- One of the Bravest (1925)
- The People vs. Nancy Preston (1925)
- Lights of Old Broadway (1925)
- Black Paradise (1926)
- The Dixie Flyer (1926)
- Naughty Nanette (1927)
- The Claw (1927)
- Annie Laurie (1927)
- Clancy's Kosher Wedding (1927)
- Little Mickey Grogan (1927)
- The Matinee Idol (1928)
- Hangman's House (1928)
- Our Dancing Daughters (1928)
- The Ol' Gray Hoss (1928)
- The Old Code (1928)
- The Black Watch (1929)
- Madame X (1929)
- Is Everybody Happy? (1929)
- The Saturday Night Kid (1929)
- The Sky Hawk (1929)
- Dynamite (1929)
- Sunny Side Up (1929)
- Hell's Heroes (1929)
- Seven Days' Leave (1930)
- The Duke of Dublin (1930)
- His Honor the Mayor (1930)
- When the Wind Blows (1930)
- Las Fantasmas (1930)
- Roaring Ranch (1930)
- Let Us Be Gay (1930)
- Our Blushing Brides (1930)
- Manslaughter (1930)
- Song o' My Heart (1930)
- Anybody's Woman (1930)
- Dance with Me (1930)
- Oh, For a Man! (1930)
- Unfaithful (1931)
- Subway Express (1931)
- Always Goodbye (1931)
- The Black Camel (1931)
- 24 Hours (1931)
- Models and Wives (1931)
- A House Divided (1931)
- Ladies of the Big House (1931)
- Delicious (1931)
- A Fool's Advice (1932)
- Texas Cyclone (1932)
- The Impatient Maiden (1932)
- The Expert (1932)
- The Big Timer (1932)
- Dancers in the Dark (1932)
- Devil's Lottery (1932)
- Scandal for Sale (1932)
- The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932)
- Radio Patrol (1932)
- Beauty Parlor (1932)
- Almost Married (1932)
- 70,000 Witnesses (1932)
- Blonde Venus (1932)
- Pack Up Your Troubles (1932)
- Wild Girl (1932)
- Call Her Savage (1932)
- Laughter in Hell (1933)
- She Done Him Wrong (1933)
- Her Splendid Folly (1933)
- Men Must Fight (1933)
- Nature in the Wrong (1933)
- Sweepings (1933)
- The Whirlwind (1933)
- The Kiss Before the Mirror (1933)
- Pilgrimage (1933)
- The Power and the Glory (1933)
- Brief Moment (1933)
- Doctor Bull (1933)
- Footlight Parade (1933)
- My Woman (1933)
- Meet the Baron (1933)
- Broadway Through a Keyhole (1933)
- The Invisible Man (1933)
- The World Changes (1933)
- Design for Living (1933)
- Beloved (1934)
- The Woman Condemned (1934)
- Voice in the Night (1934)
- Change of Heart (1934)
- Murder at the Vanities (1934)
- The Loudspeaker (1934)
- Most Precious Thing in Life (1934)
- A Man's Game (1934)
- The World Moves On (1934)
- Baby Take a Bow (1934)
- Cross Streets (1934)
- Whom the Gods Destroy (1934)
- The Defense Rests (1934)
- I Give My Love (1934)
- Our Daily Bread (1934)
- One More River (1934)
- The Man from Hell (1934)
- Charlie Chan in London (1934)
- Flirtation (1934)
- The Little Minister (1934)
- I'm a Father (1935)
- Vanessa: Her Love Story (1935)
- Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
- Vagabond Lady (1935)
- $10 Raise (1935)
- Ginger (1935)
- The Irish in Us (1935)
- Bonnie Scotland (1935)
- Waterfront Lady (1935)
- Metropolitan (1935)
- Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
- The Lady Consents (1936)
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
- Laughing Irish Eyes (1936)
- Share the Wealth (1936)
- Pot o' Gold (1936)
- Forgotten Faces (1936)
- Little Miss Nobody (1936)
- The White Angel (1936)
- Mary of Scotland (1936)
- Yellowstone (1936)
- Stage Struck (1936)
- Great Guy (1936)
- The Plot Thickens (1936)
- After the Thin Man (1936)
- The Plough and the Stars (1937)
- The Great O'Malley (1937)
- Nancy Steele Is Missing! (1937)
- Her Husband Lies (1937)
- Racketeers in Exile (1937)
- Way Out West (1937)
- That I May Live (1937)
- Pick A Star (1937)
- The Man in Blue (1937)
- Married Before Breakfast (1937)
- One Man Justice (1937)
- Meet the Boyfriend (1937)
- The Toast of New York (1937)
- You Can't Have Everything (1937)
- Souls at Sea (1937)
- Double Wedding (1937)
- A Damsel in Distress (1937)
- You're Only Young Once (1937)
- Mannequin (1937)
- Lady Behave! (1937)
- Friend Indeed (1937)
- Kidnapped (1938)
- Blond Cheat (1938)
- City Streets (1938)
- Gateway (1938)
- Campus Confessions (1938)
- Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
- Thanks for Everything (1938)
- Off the Record (1939)
- Wings of the Navy (1939)
- Tail Spin (1939)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
- Broadway Serenade (1939)
- Code of the Streets (1939)
- Tell No Tales (1939)
- Racketeers of the Range (1939)
- Captain Fury (1939)
- The Jones Family in Hollywood (1939)
- She Married a Cop (1939)
- The Story That Couldn't Be Printed (1939)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
- Parents on Trial (1939)
- The Escape (1939)
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
- Marshal of Mesa City (1939)
- Rulers of the Sea (1939)
- Day-Time Wife (1939)
- The Night of Nights (1939)
- Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President (1939)
- My Son Is Guilty (1939)
- The Invisible Man Returns (1940)
- Women Without Names (1940)
- My Son, My Son! (1940)
- Saps at Sea (1940)
- Tear Gas Squad (1940)
- I Take This Oath (1940)
- Brother Orchid (1940)
- The Last Alarm (1940)
- The Man Who Talked Too Much (1940)
- Queen of the Mob (1940)
- When the Daltons Rode (1940)
- Young People (1940)
- Public Deb No. 1 (1940)
- Nobody's Children (1940)
- Go West (1940)
- No, No, Nanette (1940)
- The Invisible Woman (1940)
- [[When the Daltons Rode (1940)
- Kitty Foyle (1940)
- Flight from Destiny (1941)
- Pot o' Gold (1941)
- Double Cross (1941)
- Unfinished Business (1941)
- Unexpected Uncle (1941)
- Sealed Lips (1942)
- The Pearl of Death (1944)
- The Spider Woman (1944)
- The Last Ride (1944)
- Fort Apache (1948)