Mabel Ida Albertson (July 24, 1901 – September 28, 1982) was an American actress of television, stage, radio and film who portrayed Phyllis Stephens in the TV sitcom ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

''.

Early years

Mabel Ida Albertson was born on July 24, 1901, in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Ce ...

, to Flora (Craft) and Leopold Albertson, who were Russian-born

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish immigrants. Her younger brother was actor

Jack Albertson Harold Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981), known professionally as Jack Albertson, was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in variety. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor. For his perfo ...

who was best known for playing Grandpa Joe in

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' by Roald Dahl. The f ...

. Albertson's mother, a stock actress, supported the family by working in a shoe factory. Albertson graduated from the New England School of Speech and Expression. Albertson traced her show business career back to age 13, when she was paid $5 per performance to play piano behind palm trees for a reader. She later moved to California and became involved with the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...

. She "moved directly into professional stage work in stock, vaudeville, and night clubs, appearing with

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs ...

Television

Albertson portrayed Phyllis Stephens, Darrin's neurotic, interfering mother, on the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

'', who invariably ended her stays at the Stephens' home by saying to her husband, "Frank, take me home. I have a sick headache." She also played the mother of

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

(seven years her senior) on several episodes of his television series. During 1972–1973, she played Mabel, the mother-in-law of Paul Lynde on '' The Paul Lynde Show''. She appeared in at least one episode of the courtroom drama series '' Perry Mason'': as Carrie Wilson in the Season 6, 1962 episode titled "The Case of the Hateful Hero". Albertson also guest-starred as the mother of Marilyn Munster's would-be suitor in the first broadcast episode of '' The Munsters'', "Munster Masquerade". Dragnet 1967 "The Bullet" Albertson played Jessie Gaynor, and she played the mother of Barbara and

Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard' ...

in ''Those Whiting Girls''. She also played the dean of a women's college in an episode of '' The Tab Hunter Show'', Susannah's mother in '' Accidental Family'',Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 6. Alice's mother in '' Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'', Donald Hollinger's mother on ''

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brews ...

'', Irene Brady in ''

The Tom Ewell Show ''The Tom Ewell Show'', also known as ''The Trouble With Tom'', is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS during the 1960-61 television season. It depicts the challenges a husband and father faces as he resides in a household otherwise co ...

'', Howard Sprague's mother on ''

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'', Miss Ramsey on ''

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'', Mrs. White on ''

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'' episode "Lucy and the Missing Stamp", Eileen Ruby, Harry Ruby's wife, in ''

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'' episode "Danny Goes On USO Tour", Dick Van Dyke's mother on '' The New Dick Van Dyke Show'', and Ethel Kendricks on the ''

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'' episode "Anyone Who Hates Kids and Dogs", Gertrude Mills on ''

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''. '' Rawhide'' Season 2 Episode 24 as Kalla, Gypsy Queen. In the 1957 episode of

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, "Cows and Cribs", she played Ma Smalley, a kindly boarding house owner. In the 1963 episode of

, "Kate Heller", she played the title character, as well as “Gody Baines” in a 1961 episode (Long, Long Trail). In 1966 she played Madam Adella in the ''

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'' episode "A Dollar's Worth of Trouble". In Season 1 (1952/53) of ''Adventures of Superman'', she played Kate White, Perry White's sister in the episode "Drums of Death" originally aired January 16, 1953.

Radio

Albertson was heard on ''Dress Rehearsal'', ''Joe Rines' Dress Rehearsal'', and the ''Phil Baker Show''.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 203, 350, 520. She was also a writer for radio programs.

Film

A memorable early film role for Albertson was as a proper banker's wife who is repulsed by the bucolic title characters in '' Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki'' (1955). She was also seen in '' She's Back on Broadway'', ''

So This Is Love So This Is Love may refer to: * "So This Is Love?" (song), by Van Halen * "So This Is Love" (song), by The Future Sound of London (recording as Mental Cube) * "So This Is Love", a song by Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers * "So This Is Love", a song ...

'', '' About Mrs. Leslie'', '' Forever, Darling'', '' The Long, Hot Summer'', '' Don't Give Up the Ship'', '' On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' and as Mrs. Van Hoskins, a wealthy woman whose jewels are stolen, in the

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characterist ...

film '' What's Up, Doc?'' (1972).

Stage

Albertson's Broadway credits include ''The Egg'' (1962) and ''Xmas in Las Vegas'' (1965).

Death

According to her former daughter-in-law,

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won List of awards and nominations received by Cloris Leachman, many accolades, including eight Primetime ...

, Mabel Albertson died on September 28, 1982, of Alzheimer's disease at St. John's Hospital, after suffering seven years of poor health in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

at age 81. Her ashes were scattered into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * *
Mabel Albertson scrapbook, 1933-1939
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albertson, Mabel 1901 births 1982 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses American radio actresses American television actresses Jewish American actresses Actresses from Massachusetts American people of Russian-Jewish descent Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from dementia in California 20th-century American actresses People from Haverhill, Massachusetts 20th-century American Jews