Mary Aline Langdon McDermott (October 23, 1881 – February 16, 1951) was an American actress. She created the role of Mrs. Lily Mortar in the original
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
production of
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted aft ...
's ''
The Children's Hour'' (1934). She was also in the original Broadway cast of
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...
's ''
Our Town
''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thro ...
'' (1938).
Early life
McDermott was born in
Jersey City, New Jersey, the daughter of
Allan Langdon McDermott
Allan Langdon McDermott (March 30, 1854 – October 26, 1908) was an American Democratic Party politician who represented from 1900 to 1903, and the from 1903 to 1907.
Early life
McDermott was born in South Boston, Massachusetts, on March 30, ...
and Margaret Elizabeth O'Neill McDermott. Her father was a lawyer and a Congressman.
Career
McDermott was a stage actress. Her Broadway credits included roles in ''The Runaway'' (1911), ''Go West, Young Man'' (1923), ''Bachelors' Brides'' (1925), ''American Born'' (1925), ''The Rhapsody'' (1930), ''Page Pygmalion'' (1932), ''The Children's Hour'' (1934–1936), ''Our Town'' (1938), ''
Blind Alley
"Blind Alley" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the March 1945 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction'', and later included in the collection ''The Early Asimov'' (1972).
Although the sto ...
'' (1940), and ''
State of the Union'' (1945–1947). She also appeared on the London stage.
She was a leading lady in touring and stock companies including the Northampton Players, and was known for counseling young women away from a stage career.
Personal life
McDermott was a noted amateur photographer in the 1910s. She injured her arm when she slipped on an icy sidewalk in 1936.
She died in 1951, in New York City.
References
External links
Aline McDermott as Mrs. Lily Mortar a photograph in the collection of the
Museum of the City of New York
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Aline
1881 births
1951 deaths
People from Jersey City, New Jersey
20th-century American actresses