Beatrice Pons ( Posner; January 28, 1906 – June 17, 1991) was an American stage, radio, television and film

character actress A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be ...

. She is best known for her recurring television roles on ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...

'' and ''

Car 54, Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City p ...

'' She appeared as "Mother" in the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

horror film ''

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...

'' under the name Rose Ross.

Life and career

Trained as a teacher, Pons began working in chorus and minor roles on Broadway in 1934. She also had a nightclub act doing impressions of famous actresses, comedians and singers. In the mid-1930s, she found work on radio, including the Dick Tracy series starting in January 1938. Pons' first television appearance was on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

Goodyear Television Playhouse ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television. Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the ''Philco Te ...

''. She may be best-remembered for her recurring roles as Mrs. Emma Ritzik on the television sitcom ''

'' and as Lucille Toody on the sitcom ''

'', with her husband in both series played by veteran comedic actor

Joe E. Ross Joe E. Ross (born Joseph Roszawikz; March 15, 1914 – August 13, 1982) was an American actor known for his trademark "Ooo! Ooo!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as ''The Phil Silvers Show'' and '' C ...

. She also made appearances on the long-running American radio-turned-television series '' The Goldbergs'', ''

The United States Steel Hour ''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation (U. S ...

'', and the

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 ...

prime time drama '' The Nurses''. In her later years, Pons began appearing in films. In 1964 she made her film debut in the comedy ''Diary of a Bachelor''. In 1980 she played the role of "Mother" in the cult horror film ''Mother's Day'', in which she chose to be credited as Rose Ross (her real-life husband's surname was Ross). Her later film credits include ''

Rachel, Rachel ''Rachel, Rachel'' is a 1968 American technicolor drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman and starring his wife, Joanne Woodward, in the title role and co-starring Estelle Parsons and James Olson. The screenplay, by Stewart Stern based ...

'' and '' Forever, Lulu''.

Personal life

Pons was married to radio personality David Ross (born David Rosenthal; July 7, 1891 – died November 12, 1975), by whom she had a son, Jonathan. Pons died on June 17, 1991, aged 85, in New York City. She was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Saddle Brook, New Jersey.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Profile
fanpix.net * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pons, Beatrice 1906 births 1991 deaths Place of birth missing American television actresses American film actresses American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses