Kathryn Card (October 4, 1892 – March 1, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film actress who may be best remembered for her role as Mrs. McGillicuddy, Lucy's mother on ''
I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
''.
Radio
Born in
Butte, Montana
Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...
one of the four children Richard Sheehan and Esther McCurdy, both from Ireland, as Catherine Rose Sheehan, Card did radio roles in the late 1930s, notably '' Uncle Walter's Doghouse'', broadcast on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
from 1939 to 1942. She played Grandma Barton in ''The Bartons'' from December 25, 1939 to September 11, 1942, and played three roles (Carrie, Sue, and Bess) on ''Just Neighbors'' May 30-September 23, 1938.Cox, Jim (2005). ''Historical Dictionary of American Radio Soap Operas''. Scarecrow Press, Inc. . Pp. 39, 117. In 1943, she was a cast member of ''Helpmate'', a daytime serial on NBC. In the late 1930s, she also was in that network's ''Story of Mary Marlin.'' She was also a member of the casts of ''Girl Alone'' and ''The Woman in White''.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 115.
Film
Her first screen credit was in 1945 for her role as Louise in the Corliss Archer movie '' Kiss and Tell'', starring
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...
as Corliss Archer. The next year, she appeared in '' Undercurrent'' with Robert Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, and Robert Mitchum. Then, in 1949, Card gave an interesting albeit brief performance (uncredited) as an extremely polite but no-nonsense loan processor for prospective borrower
Joan Bennett
Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...
in ''
The Reckless Moment
''The Reckless Moment'' is a 1949 American film noir melodrama directed by Max Ophüls, produced by Walter Wanger, and released by Columbia Pictures with Burnett Guffey as cinematographer. It starred James Mason and Joan Bennett. The film is based ...
''.
Card also had a small role as a landlady of the Oleander Arms Hotel in the 1954
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
remake of '' A Star Is Born''. Her part consisted of one scene early in the film when movie actor Norman Maine (played by
James Mason
James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...
) is desperately trying to find Esther Blodgett, a girl singer he had only met briefly (played by
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
). Shortly after the movie's release, Warner Bros. made extensive cuts of the film and Card's role was deleted entirely until 1983, when film historian
Ronald Haver
Ronald Haver (January 14, 1939 – May 18, 1993Ronald Haver biography at
< ...
found the original monaural three-hour soundtrack along with most of the missing footage and restored the scenes. Though Card's scene with James Mason had been preserved aurally, no existing footage or stills of their scene together were found, so Haver "manufactured" stills of the scene using another actress to stand in for Card to accompany the dialogue with Card and Mason on the soundtrack.
Television
On February 8, 1954, Card made her first television appearance in an episode of ''I Love Lucy''. The installment, entitled "Fan Magazine Interview", featured Card playing a slatternly woman named Minnie Finch. The following year, she was cast as a totally different character, Mrs. MacGillicuddy, Lucy's bird-brained mother. She joined the Ricardos and the Mertzes in Hollywood when Lucy's husband, Ricky Ricardo, was given the opportunity to star in a motion picture. Mrs MacGillicuddy would frequently annoy Ricky immeasurably by mistakenly calling him "Mickey" or mistaking him for his fellow bandleader
Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat (; 1 January 1900 – 27 October 1990) was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City ...
. She portrayed that character in five episodes during the 1954-1955 season, and appeared in three more installments during the 1955-1956 season when the Ricardos and the Mertzes traveled to Europe. However, Card's character never appeared again once both couples moved to Connecticut in the following year. She reprised that role for the last time in one episode of ''
The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' entitled "The Ricardos Go to Japan", which also featured guest star
Robert Cummings
Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as '' The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in ...
, in 1959.
In addition to ''I Love Lucy'', Card guest-starred on several other television shows. She can be seen in two 1959 episodes of ''
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...
'', portraying Hannah Barton in "The Case of the Deadly Toy" and in the role of Harriet Snow in "The Case of the Watery Witness." Some of her other television appearances include ''
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts in ...
'', ''
Make Room for Daddy
''The Danny Thomas Show'' (titled ''Make Room for Daddy'' for its first three seasons) is an American sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1957 on ABC and from 1957 to 1964 on CBS. Starring Danny Thomas as a successful night club entertainer, the show fo ...
'', ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...
Kathryn Sheehan married Erwin Foster Card in 1910, and they had a daughter, Ada Ester Card (married name Winstanley), who was born in 1912 and died in 1943.
Death
On March 1, 1964, Card died as a result of a fatal
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 the age of 71 at her home in
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...
. She is interred in Harbor Lawn-Mount Olive Memorial Park in Costa Mesa.
The Hucksters
''The Hucksters'' is a 1947 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film directed by Jack Conway starring Clark Gable and Deborah Kerr, her debut in an American film. The supporting cast includes Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou, Ava Gardner, Keenan Wynn, and ...
'' (1947)
* ''
The Dark Past
''The Dark Past'' is a 1948 American film noir psychological thriller film starring William Holden, Nina Foch, and Lee J. Cobb. Directed by Rudolph Maté, the Columbia Pictures release is a remake of ''Blind Alley'' (1939), also released by Colum ...
'' (1948)
* ''
It Happens Every Thursday
''It Happens Every Thursday'' is a 1953 American comedy film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Loretta Young, John Forsythe, and Frank McHugh, loosely based on the 1951 autobiographical book of the same title by Jane S. McIlvaine. It was Lo ...
'' (1953)
* '' Hollywood or Bust'' (1955)
*Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960)
References
Further reading
* ''A Star Is Born: The Making of the 1954 Movie and its 1983 Restoration''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1988. .