Margaret De Wolfe Wycherly (born Margaret De Wolfe, 26 October 1881 – 6 June 1956) was an English stage and film actress. She spent many years in the United States and is best remembered for her Broadway roles and Hollywood character parts. On screen she played mother to Gary Cooper ('' Sergeant York'') and James Cagney (''

White Heat ''White Heat'' is a 1949 American film noir directed by Raoul Walsh and starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly and Steve Cochran. Written by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts (writer), Ben Roberts, ''White Heat'' is base ...

'').

Early life

Wycherly was born in London, England of her Canadian father and American mother, Dr. and Mrs. J. L. De Wolfe. She was married to writer

Bayard Veiller Bayard Veiller (January 2, 1869 – January 16, 1943) was an American playwright, screenwriter, producer and film director. He wrote for 32 films between 1915 and 1941. Biography He was born on January 2, 1869, in Brooklyn, New York to Phi ...

(1869–1943) in 1901. They had a son, Anthony Veiller (1903–1965), who also became a writer. She and Veiller divorced in 1922.

Career

She was primarily a stage actress, appearing in one

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

. In 1929, she appeared in her second film, but first talkie, '' The Thirteenth Chair'', based on the 1916 play by her husband in which she had starred. The film was directed by

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...

and was in the genre of mystery-old house melodrama. Twelve years later, Wycherley appeared in '' Sergeant York'' in 1941. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role of Mother York, though perhaps her best remembered screen role was as Ma Jarrett, the mother of the psychopathic gangster Cody Jarrett, in ''

'' (1949), which starred

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

. Wycherly starred in several popular

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 ...

plays, including '' Tobacco Road'', ''

Liliom ''Liliom'' is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was well known in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1945 musical ''Carousel''. P ...

'', ''

Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist fiction, absurdist metatheatrical, metatheatric play about th ...

'' and '' The Thirteenth Chair'' (which role she reprised in the film of the same name). Her other films include '' Keeper of the Flame'', ''

The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Month Club in April 1938. It won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. It was the best-selling n ...

'', ''

Random Harvest ''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including '' Lost Horizon'' and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' li ...

'', '' Forever Amber'', ''

The Man with a Cloak ''The Man with a Cloak'' is a 1951 American film noir crime- thriller-drama directed by Fletcher Markle and starring Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, and Leslie Caron, and based on "The Gentleman from Paris", a short story by Joh ...

'' and ''

Johnny Angel ''Johnny Angel'' is a 1945 American film noir directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Steve Fisher (adapted by Frank Gruber) from the 1944 novel ''Mr. Angel Comes Aboard'' by Charles Gordon Booth. The movie stars George Raft, Claire Trevor a ...

'' starring

George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...

. She portrayed Mrs. Brown, Claudia's mother, in the American television series '' Claudia'' (1952).

Death

Wycherly died on 6 June 1956 at St. Clare's Hospital in New York City, at the age of 74. She was buried at the St Mary Churchyard, Bepton,

Chichester District Chichester is a local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in the city of Chichester and the district also covers a large rural area to the north. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Go ...

, West Sussex, England.

Complete filmography

*''The Fight'' (1915) – Jane Thomas *'' The Thirteenth Chair'' (1929) – Madame Rosalie La Grange *''

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

'' (1934) – Mrs. Weldon *''Wanderlust'' (1938, Short) *''

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

'' (1940) – Mrs. Schomberg *'' Sergeant York'' (1941) – Mother York *''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' (1942) – Madame Pelletier *''

'' (1942) – Mrs. Deventer *'' Keeper of the Flame'' (1943) – Mrs. Forrest *''

Assignment in Brittany ''Assignment in Brittany'' is a 1943 war film directed by Jack Conway and starring French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont and Swedish actress Signe Hasso, both in their American film debuts. Also starring was American actress Susan Peters. The film w ...

'' (1943) – Mme. Henriette Corlay *''

The Moon Is Down ''The Moon Is Down'' is a novel by American writer John Steinbeck. Fashioned for adaptation for the theatre and for which Steinbeck received the Norwegian King Haakon VII Freedom Cross, it was published by Viking Press in March 1942. The story ...

'' (1943) – Mme. Sarah Orden *''

Hangmen Also Die! ''Hangmen Also Die!'' is a 1943 noir war film directed by the Austrian director Fritz Lang and written by John Wexley from a story by Bertolt Brecht (credited as Bert Brecht) and Lang. The film stars Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Brian Donlevy, W ...

'' (1943) – Ludmilla Novotny *''

Experiment Perilous ''Experiment Perilous'' is a 1944 melodrama set at the turn of the 20th century. The film is based on a 1943 novel of the same name by Margaret Carpenter, and directed by Jacques Tourneur. Albert S. D'Agostino, Jack Okey, Darrell Silvera, and Cl ...

'' (1944) – Maggie *''

'' (1945) – Miss Drumm *''

'' (1946) – Ma Forrester *''

Something in the Wind ''Something in the Wind'' is a 1947 American musical comedy film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Deanna Durbin, Donald O'Connor, and John Dall. Durbin's third husband Charles David said she "hated" making her last three films and that she ...

'' (1947) – Grandma Read *'' Forever Amber'' (1947) – Mrs. Spong *'' The Loves of Carmen'' (1948) – Old Crone *''

'' (1949) – Ma Jarrett *''

'' (1951) – Emma Flynn *'' That Man from Tangier'' (1953) – Mrs. Sanders *''

The President's Lady ''The President's Lady'' is a 1951 novel of the life of American president Andrew Jackson and his marriage to Rachel Donelson Robards, written by Irving Stone. A biographical film was made in 1953 by 20th Century Fox, directed by Henry Levin and ...

'' (1953) – Mrs. Robards

References

External links

* *
Margaret Wycherly
1914 portrait at University of Louisville Macauley's Theatre collection
Margaret Wycherly
photo gallery NYP Library
portrait gallery
Univ. of Washington/Sayre collection) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wycherly, Margaret 1881 births 1956 deaths English silent film actresses English stage actresses Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses British expatriate actresses in the United States English people of American descent English people of Canadian descent