Occupation Actress Name Esther Dale | Role Actress | |
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Born November 10, 1885 ( 1885-11-10 ) Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S. Cause of death complications from surgery Years active 1934-1960 (film and television roles, though in earlier years appeared on stage including Broadway) Died July 23, 1961, Hollywood, California, United States Spouse Arthur J. Beckhard (m. ?–1961) Movies The Awful Truth, Curly Top, Monkey Business, Holiday Affair, The Egg and I Similar People Griff Barnett, Henry O'Neill, Irving Cummings, Gordon Gebert, Curtis Bernhardt | ||
Esther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress, best known perhaps for her role as Aunt Genevieve in the 1935 Shirley Temple vehicle, Curly Top.
Contents
Early years
Dale was born in Beaufort, South Carolina. She attended Leland and Gray Seminary in Townshend, Vermont. In Berlin, Germany, she studied music and enjoyed a successful career as a singer of lieder on the concert stage. Her singing career included appearances with the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
At one point, Dale was head of Smith College's vocal department.
Stage
In America, Dale transferred to the acting stage and cultivated a career as an actress in summer stock. She starred in Carrie Nation on Broadway in 1933. Her other Broadway credits include Harvest of Years (1947), And Be My Love (1944), and Another Language (1932).
Film
Dale's first film was Crime Without Passion (1934) in an uncredited role. She was a familiar face in films of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, frequently playing stern, authoritarian characters such as prison matrons and head nurses, although she was equally adept at playing grande dames and ladies of the aristocracy.
Television
Dale played many roles in television over the years. In the 1958-1959 season of The Donna Reed Show, Dale played a job-seeking housekeeper who is frightened from the Stone home by Jeff Stone's pet mouse, and she appeared in the 1957 Maverick episode "According to Hoyle" opposite James Garner.
Death
Dale died in the summer of 1961 following surgery in Queen of Angels Hospital in Hollywood. She had been married to writer and director Arthur J. Beckhard, who predeceased her by four months.
Filmography
Actress
1961
Checkmate (TV Series) as
Mrs. Kenyon
- The Thrill Seeker (1961) - Mrs. Kenyon
1960
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (TV Series) as
Grandma / Mrs. Finch
- Will Success Spoil Dobie's Mother? (1961) - Grandma (as Ester Dale)
- Live Alone and Like It (1960) - Mrs. Finch
1960
Thriller (TV Series) as
Ellen the Maid
- Girl with a Secret (1960) - Ellen the Maid
1960
North to Alaska as
Woman at Picnic (uncredited)
1960
Lock Up (TV Series) as
Mrs. Raymond
- Flying High (1960) - Mrs. Raymond
1959
The Alaskans (TV Series) as
Matilda Miller
- Big Deal (1959) - Matilda Miller
1959
The Donna Reed Show (TV Series) as
Mrs. Abrogast
- Miss Lovelace Comes to Tea (1959) - Mrs. Abrogast
1959
The Sound and the Fury as
Mrs. Maud Mansfield (uncredited)
1958
M Squad (TV Series) as
Julia Sheldon
- The Frightened Wife (1958) - Julia Sheldon
1957
Wagon Train (TV Series) as
Grandma Birch
- The Julie Gage Story (1957) - Grandma Birch
1957
Maverick (TV Series) as
Ma Braus
- According to Hoyle (1957) - Ma Braus
1957
The Oklahoman as
Mrs. Fitzgerald
1956
Climax! (TV Series)
- Burst of Violence (1956)
1956
Studio 57 (TV Series) as
Clara
- The Great Wide World (1956) - Clara
1956
Big Town (TV Series)
- Country Editor (1956)
1956
TV Reader's Digest (TV Series) as
Sister Margaret
- The Case of the Uncertain Hand (1956) - Sister Margaret
1955
Betrayed Women as
Head Matron Ballard
1954
December Bride (TV Series) as
Harvey's mother
- Lily's Mother-in-Law (1954) - Harvey's mother
1954
Public Defender (TV Series) as
Maggie DiMagori
- Road to Nowhere (1954) - Maggie DiMagori
1954
The Ray Milland Show (TV Series) as
Mrs. Schermerhorn
- Civic Improvement (1954) - Mrs. Schermerhorn
1954
Four Star Playhouse (TV Series) as
Mrs. Weston
- The Bad Streak (1954) - Mrs. Weston
1953
Schlitz Playhouse (TV Series) as
Mrs. Carter
- Fresh Start (1953) - Mrs. Carter
1953
The Plymouth Playhouse (TV Series) as
Pross
- A Tale of Two Cities: Part 2 (1953) - Pross
- A Tale of Two Cities: Part 1 (1953) - Pross
1953
Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki as
Birdie Hicks
1952
Mr. & Mrs. North (TV Series) as
Mrs. Dunstan Noble
- The Nobles (1952) - Mrs. Dunstan Noble
1952
Cavalcade of America (TV Series) as
Aunt Tabitha
- All's Well with Lydia (1952) - Aunt Tabitha
1952
Monkey Business as
Mrs. Rhinelander
1952
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair as
Birdie Hicks
1952
The Colgate Comedy Hour (TV Series) as
Sketch Performer
- Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Adele Jergens, Robert Clary, Jimmy Dobson, Shirley Mitchell, Doris Singleton, Sharon Baird, Herman McCoy's UCLA Swing Choir featuring Edna Craft, Al Goodman & his Orchestra; cameo by Kirk Douglas (1952) - Sketch Performer
1951
Too Young to Kiss as
Mrs. Boykin
1951
On Moonlight Bay as
Aunt Martha Robertson (uncredited)
1951
The Bigelow Theatre (TV Series)
- Dear Amanda (1951)
1950
Walk Softly, Stranger as
Miss Thompson
1950
Surrender as
Aunt May
1950
No Man of Her Own as
Josie
1949
Holiday Affair as
Mrs. Ennis
1949
Anna Lucasta as
Mrs. Polaski (uncredited)
1949
Ma and Pa Kettle as
Mrs. Birdie Hicks
1948
A Song Is Born as
Miss Bragg
1947
The Unfinished Dance as
Olga
1947
The Egg and I as
Mrs. Hicks
1946
Margie as
Grandma McSweeney
1946
Smoky as
Gram
1946
A Stolen Life as
Mrs. Johnson
1945
My Reputation as
Anna
1945
Behind City Lights as
Sarah Lowell
1945
On Stage Everybody as
Ma Cassidy
1945
Bedside Manner as
Martha Gravitt
1945
Out of This World as
Abbie Pringle (uncredited)
1943
Old Acquaintance as
Harriet
1943
The North Star as
Anna Kurin
1943
Swing Your Partner as
Caroline Bird, aka Anna Robbins
1943
Murder in Times Square as
Longacre Lil
1943
Hello Frisco, Hello as
Aunt Harriet (uncredited)
1943
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday as
Lucy
1942
Wrecking Crew as
Mike O'Glendy
1942
A Letter from Bataan (Short) as
Mrs. Jackson
1942
I Married an Angel as
Mrs. Gherkin (uncredited)
1942
Maisie Gets Her Man as
Mrs. Myra McIntyre, Elsie's Mother (uncredited)
1942
Ten Gentlemen from West Point as
Mrs. Thompson
1942
You're Telling Me as
Aunt Fannie Handley
1942
What's Cookin' as
Mrs. Murphy (uncredited)
1942
Blondie Goes to College as
Mrs. Carrie Dill, the Landlady (uncredited)
1941
Dangerously They Live as
Dawson
1941
All-American Co-Ed as
Aunt Matilda Collinge
1941
Aloma of the South Seas as
Tarusa
1941
Unfinished Business as
Aunt Mathilda
1941
The Hard-Boiled Canary as
Miss Clark
1941
Back Street as
Mrs. Smith
1941
Mr. & Mrs. Smith as
Mrs. Krausheimer
1940
Arise, My Love as
Susie
1940
Blondie Has Servant Trouble as
Anna Vaughn
1940
Cross-Country Romance as
Mrs. McGillicuddy (uncredited)
1940
Untamed as
Mrs. Smith
1940
The Mortal Storm as
Marta
1940
Opened by Mistake as
Mrs. Anthony DeBorest
1940
Forty Little Mothers as
Mrs. Mason - Landlady (uncredited)
1940
And One Was Beautiful as
Margaret
1940
Women Without Names as
Head Matron Ingles
1940
Convicted Woman as
Chief Matron Brackett
1940
Village Barn Dance as
Minerva Withers
1940
Abe Lincoln in Illinois as
Lincoln's Cook (uncredited)
1940
Laddie as
Sarah, the Housekeeper
1939
Swanee River as
Temperance Woman
1939
A Child Is Born as
Prison Matron (uncredited)
1939
Bad Little Angel as
Miss Brown - Orphanage Secretary (uncredited)
1939
Blackmail as
Sarah
1939
The Women as
Ingrid (uncredited)
1939
6,000 Enemies as
Matron
1939
Tell No Tales as
Mrs. Haskins
1939
Big Town Czar as
Ma Daley
1939
Broadway Serenade as
Mrs. Olsen
1939
Sergeant Madden as
Mrs. McGillivray (uncredited)
1939
Made for Each Other as
Annie - Cook #1 (uncredited)
1939
How to Sub-Let (Short) as
Mrs. Mustavas (uncredited)
1939
The Great Man Votes as
Ms. Markham (uncredited)
1938
Dramatic School as
Forewoman in Factory (uncredited)
1938
Girls on Probation as
Nrs, Engstrom (uncredited)
1938
Prison Farm as
Cora Waxley
1938
Stolen Heaven as
Lieschen
1938
Condemned Women as
Mrs. Clara Glover, Head Matron
1938
Of Human Hearts as
Mrs. Cantwell (uncredited)
1937
The Awful Truth as
Mrs. Leeson
1937
On Such a Night as
Miss Belinda Fentridge
1937
Dead End as
Mrs. Fenner
1937
Wild Money as
Jenny Hawkins
1937
Easy Living as
Lillian
1937
Damaged Goods as
Mrs. Dupont
1937
Outcast as
Hattie Simmerson
1936
The Magnificent Brute as
Mrs. Randolph (uncredited)
1936
Hollywood Boulevard as
Martha
1936
Fury as
Mrs. Whipple
1936
The Case Against Mrs. Ames as
Matilda
1936
The Farmer in the Dell as
Louella 'Ma' Boyer
1936
Lady of Secrets as
Miss Eccles
1936
Timothy's Quest as
Hitty Tarbox
1935
The Great Impersonation as
Mrs. Unthank
1935
I Dream Too Much as
Mrs. Dilley (uncredited)
1935
In Old Kentucky as
Dolly Breckenridge
1935
Mary Burns, Fugitive as
Kate
1935
I Live My Life as
Brumbaugh
1935
Curly Top as
Aunt Genevieve Graham
1935
Private Worlds as
Matron
1935
The Wedding Night as
Mrs. Kaise Novak
1934
Crime Without Passion as
Miss Keeley (uncredited)
Soundtrack
1935
Curly Top ("When I Grow Up" (1935), uncredited)
References
Esther Dale Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA