Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Rowles (January 10, 1914 – October 7, 2001 in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

) was an American actress.

Early years

Born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Rowles was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph T. Rowles. Her father was a steel executive, and her grandfather was an actor. She graduated from

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. While Rowles was at Carnegie Tech, she appeared in 30 plays, often in leading roles. She gained additional acting experience with the Pittsburgh Little Theatre, where

Ben Iden Payne Ben Iden Payne (September 5, 1881 – April 6, 1976), also known as B. Iden Payne, was an English actor, director and teacher. Active in professional theater for seventy years, he helped the first modern Repertory Theatre in the United Kingdom, was ...

was the director. She was signed to make films for Universal based on the recommendation of Carnegie Tech's school of drama.

Career

Roweles's film debut came in ''

Love Letters of a Star ''Love Letters of a Star'' is a 1936 American mystery film directed by Milton Carruth and Lewis R. Foster and written by Milton Carruth, Lewis R. Foster, and James Mulhauser. The film stars Henry Hunter, Polly Rowles, C. Henry Gordon, Walter C ...

''. Universal executives declined to pick up Rowles's option after her first year, attributing the decision to her right eye, which she said was slightly smaller than the left as a result of a childhood injury. They had ordered an operation on the eye but let her go anyway. She worked as a freelance actress, including making a film with Gene Autry, but then decided that she could put her dramatic training to better use on stage, so she headed east to Broadway. Rowels performed in such films and television series as '' The Defenders'', ''

Sweet Liberty ''Sweet Liberty'' is a 1986 American comedy film written and directed by Alan Alda, and starring Alda in the lead role, alongside Michael Caine and Michelle Pfeiffer, with support from Bob Hoskins, Lois Chiles, Lise Hilboldt, Lillian Gish, and La ...

'' and ''

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

''. Rowles portrayed Laurie in the ''Jamie'' TV series. Television work included soap opera characters in roles on '' The Nurses'', ''

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

'', and ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that networ ...

''. Rowles was also known as Inspector No. 12 in a series of television commercials for

Hanes Hanes (founded in 1900) and Hanes Her Way (founded in 1985) is a brand of clothing. History Hanes was founded in 1900 by John Wesley Hanes (one of Winston-Salem's wealthiest and most influential business men) at Winston, North Carolina under th ...

underwear. Rowles's Broadway debut came in ''Julius Caesar'' (1938). She also appeared as Vera Charles in the original Broadway production of ''

Auntie Mame ''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father. The book is often desc ...

'' (1956–1958) with

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary ''Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the H ...

in the title role. Rowles also acted on stage in the Strand Theatre in London in ''Dark Eyes'' (1948). Rowles had a program that was "an early version of talk radio" on KDKA in Pittsburgh.

Personal life and death

Rowles was married to Frank Snyder, and she had a daughter. On October 7, 2001, Rowles died at a nursing home in Concord, New Hampshire, aged 87.

References

External links

* * American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 1914 births 2001 deaths {{US-tv-bio-stub