Sylvia Field (born Harriet Louisa Johnson; February 14, 1901 – July 31, 1998) was an American actress whose career encompassed performances on stage, screen, and TV. She was best known for playing the understanding Mrs. Martha Wilson (Mr. Wilson's wife) on the television sitcom '' Dennis the Menace'' on

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 Entertainmen ...

from 1959 to 1962.

Early life and career

Born in

Allston, Massachusetts Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part ...

, she attended Arlington High School in Arlington, Massachusetts. Field began her acting career on the stage. She made her

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 ...

debut at age 17 in 1918 in ''The Betrothal'' (1918). After appearing in various stage productions, Field made her film debut in the 1928 drama ''The Home Girl''. Her other films included ''

Voice of the City ''The Voice of the City'' is a 1929 American Pre-Code film by Willard Mack and starring Robert Ames. Modeled on a stage play, it is not related to the story of the same name by O. Henry.Nobody's Darling ''Nobody's Darling'' is a 1943 American musical film directed by Anthony Mann and written by Olive Cooper. The film stars Mary Lee, Louis Calhern, Gladys George, Jackie Moran, Lee Patrick and Benny Bartlett. The film was released on August 2 ...

'' (1943), ''

Junior Miss ''Junior Miss'' is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in ''The New Yorker''. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in ''The New Yorker'', some under her pseudonym of ...

'' (1945) and ''

All Mine to Give ''All Mine to Give'' (British title: ''The Day They Gave Babies Away'') is a 1957 Technicolor melodrama film directed by Allen Reisner and starring Glynis Johns, Cameron Mitchell (actor), Cameron Mitchell, and Rex Thompson. When first one parent, ...

'' (1957). Field began appearing in guest spots on television in the late 1940s. In 1949, she starred in a locally produced sitcom about her life, ''The Truex Family''. In 1952, she landed the role of Mrs. Remington in the sitcom ''

Mister Peepers ''Mister Peepers'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from July 3, 1952, to June 12, 1955. Overview Wally Cox starred as Robinson J. Peepers, Jefferson City's junior high school science teacher. Others in the cast included Tony Randall as ...

''. The show, which aired until 1955, co-starred Field's real-life husband

Ernest Truex Ernest Truex (September 19, 1889 – June 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Career Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Truex learned acting at an early age after his father, a doctor, treated actor Edwin Melvin, who ...

. After the end of ''Mr. Peepers'', Field continued to guest star on episodic television, including in roles on ''

Producers' Showcase ''Producers' Showcase'' is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of genres, aired under the title every fourth M ...

'', ''

Star Tonight ''Star Tonight'', an American television anthology series, aired on ABC from February 3, 1955, to August 1956. It consisted of 80 total episodes, 30 from 1955 and 50 from 1956. Each episode was a self-contained story, usually adapted from famous ...

'', ''

General Electric Theater ''General Electric Theater'' was an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations. Radio After an audition show ...

'', and ''

The Ann Sothern Show ''The Ann Sothern Show'' is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for three seasons from October 6, 1958, to March 30, 1961. Created by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, the series was the second starring vehicle for Sothern, who ...

''. In 1957, Field made a guest appearance on ''

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 ...

'' as defendant Belle Adrian in "The Case of the Angry Mourner." In 1958, she played Aunt Lila in the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

serial ''

Annette Annette may refer to: Film and television * '' Walt Disney Presents: Annette'', 1950s television series * ''Annette'' (film), a 2021 musical film Other * Annette (given name), list of people with the name * Annette Island, Alaska * Tropical Stor ...

'', starring

Annette Funicello Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. Funicello began her professional career as a child performer at the age of twelve. She was one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the orig ...

. In 1959, Field began appearing in her most noted role as Martha Wilson in the CBS sitcom '' Dennis the Menace''. Field's character was written out of the series in 1962 owing to the death of

Joseph Kearns Joseph Sherrard Kearns
TV Guide. July 15–21, 1961, Savetheorgan.org; retrieved September 28, 2011.

, who portrayed George Wilson, Martha's husband. Field continued in television guest spots during the 1960s, including on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

sitcoms ''

Our Man Higgins ''Our Man Higgins'' is an American sitcom that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 3, 1962, to May 17, 1963. Synopsis ''Our Man Higgins'' follows the adventures of an England, English butler portrayed by Stanley Holloway, w ...

'' with

Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles Stanley Holloway on stage and screen, on stage and screen, especially t ...

and ''

Hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

''. In 1966, Sylvia appeared on ''

Petticoat Junction ''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and B ...

'' as Laura Bentley in the episode: "Young Love". She played opposite her real life husband Ernest Truex. She made her final onscreen appearance in Kathleen Collins's 1980 film ''The Cruz Brothers and Mrs Malloy''.

Personal life

Field was married three times. Her first marriage was to Robert J. Frowhlich from 1924 to 1929. Her second, to Harold Moffat in 1930, produced one daughter, Sally Moffet Kellin (Apr. 21, 1932 – May 8, 1995), and Sally was married to actor

Mike Kellin Mike Kellin (born Myron Kellin, April 26, 1922 – August 26, 1983) was an American actor. Early life Kellin was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Sophia and Samuel Kellin, Russian-Jewish immigrants. His younger sister, Shirley Ann ...

. Moffat died in 1938. In 1941, Field married actor

, to whom she remained married for 32 years until Truex's death in 1973. Field was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election.

Death

On July 31, 1998, Field died at a nursing home in

Fallbrook, California Fallbrook is a CDP in northern San Diego County, California. Fallbrook had a population of 30,534 at the 2010 census, up from 29,100 at the 2000 census. Fallbrook's downtown is not on a major highway route. It is west of Interstate 15 or n ...

, at age 97.

References

External links

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External video links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Sylvia 1901 births 1998 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Boston Actresses from Los Angeles 20th-century American actresses California Democrats Massachusetts Democrats Arlington High School (Massachusetts) alumni