Ann Tyrrell (February 6, 1909 – July 20, 1983) was an American stage, film and television

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. Tyrrell is best known for her roles in both of the

Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920 ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

sitcoms ''

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

'' (1953–1957) and ''

The Ann Sothern Show ''The Ann Sothern Show'' is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for three seasons from October 6, 1958, to March 30, 1961. Created by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, the series was the second starring vehicle for Sothern, who ...

'' (1958–1961).

Career

A native of

Whatcom County Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Canadian Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts of British Columbia) to the north, Okanogan ...

in northwestern

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, Tyrrell won her first film role in 1949 at the age of forty as Miss Swanson in '' Bride for Sale''. She and Reagan shared birthdays, but she was two years his senior. In 1953, she appeared unbilled as Mary Tudor sister of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

in the M-G-M historical drama ''Queen Bess'' and in 1955, she appeared in the film ''

Seven Angry Men ''Seven Angry Men'' is a 1955 American Western film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and starring Raymond Massey, Debra Paget and Jeffrey Hunter. It is about the abolitionist John Brown, particularly his involvement in Bleeding Kansas and hi ...

'' with Raymond Massey and Jeffrey Hunter. Between film appearances, Tyrrell guest starred in episodes of '' Adventures of Superman'', ''

The Adventures of Kit Carson ''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' is an American Western that aired from 1951 to 1955. The show ran for four seasons and consisted of 104 episodes over four years. The original air date was Saturday, August 11, 1951. It concluded on January 22, 19 ...

'', and '' The People's Choice''.

Later years

After retiring from acting, Tyrrell worked as a dialectician and made recordings for the blind. Tyrrell made her final public appearance in a phone interview on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

morning program ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' in November, 1982. In that installment, host

Joan Lunden Joan Lunden (born Joan Elise Blunden on September 19, 1950) is an American journalist, an author, and a television host. Lunden was the co-host of ABC's ''Good Morning America'' from 1980 to 1997, and has authored eight books. She has appeared o ...

interviewed on camera the cast of both ''Private Secretary'' and ''The Ann Sothern Show'' which included Sothern,

Don Porter Donald Cecil Porter (September 24, 1912 – February 11, 1997) was an American stage, film and television actor. On television, he played Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on ''Private Secretary'', and Russell Lawrence, the wi ...

, and Jesse White. Tyrrell was not able to physically join them, but she was able to converse with Lunden and reminisce with her former co-stars via telephone from her home in California.

Death

On July 20, 1983, Tyrrell died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at a

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

hospital at the age of 74.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrrell, Ann 1909 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Washington (state) People from Whatcom County, Washington American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Los Angeles