Marjorie Main

Birthday: 1890-02-24
Deathday: 1975-02-04
Birthplace: Acton, Indiana, USA
Gender: Female
Drafted: 0
Drafted By: Unowned
Owned By: Unowned
Owned Wins: 0
Owned Noms: 0
Win Bonus: 0
Nom Bonus: 0
Total Points: 0

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marjorie Main (born Mary Tomlinson, February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975) was an American actress, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player and for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.

Main worked in vaudeville on the Orpheum circuit and in Chautauqua presentations, and debuted on Broadway in 1916. Her first film was A House Divided in 1931.

Main began playing upper class dowagers, but ultimately was typecast in abrasive, domineering, salty roles, for which her distinctive voice was well suited. She repeated her stage role in Dead End in the 1937 film version, and was subsequently cast repeatedly as the mother of gangsters. She again transferred a strong stage performance, as a dude-ranch operator in The Women, to film in 1939. At this time, she guest-starred on radio programs such as Columbia Presents Corwin and The Goldbergs.

Main was signed to a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract in 1940 and stayed with the studio until the mid-1950s. She made six films with Wallace Beery in the 1940s, including Barnacle Bill (1941), Jackass Mail (1942), and Bad Bascomb (1946). She played Sonora Cassidy, the chief cook, in The Harvey Girls (1946). The director George Sidney remarked in the commentary for the film that Miss Main was a "great lady" as well as a great actress who donated most of her paychecks over the years to the support of a school.

Perhaps her most famous role is that of Ma Kettle, which she first played in The Egg and I in 1947 opposite Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the part and portrayed the character in nine more Ma and Pa Kettle films.

By the early 1950s, she had appeared in several MGM musicals, including, Meet Me in St. Louis and The Belle of New York. She played Mrs. Wrenley in the studio's all-star film It's a Big Country (1951). In 1954, Marjorie Main played her last roles for the studio: Mrs. Hittaway in The Long, Long Trailer and Jane Dunstock in Rose Marie. In 1956, Main's performance as the widow Hudspeth in the hit film Friendly Persuasion was well-received, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1958, Main appeared twice as rugged frontierswoman Cassie Tanner in the episodes "The Cassie Tanner Story" and "The Sacramento Story" on NBC's television series Wagon Train. In the first segment, she joins the wagon train, casts her romantic interest on Ward Bond as Major Adams, and helps the train locate needed horses despite a Paiute threat.

Career Statisics

Season Age Movie Role Result Points
1948 58 The Egg and I (1947) Supporting Actress Nom 0
Career 0

Transaction History

Date Location Team Receives Team Receives Team Receives

Credits

Year Title Character
1965-04-01 The World of Abbott and Costello Widow Hawkins in The Wistful Widow Of Wagon Gap
1957-05-10 The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm Ma Kettle
1956-11-25 Friendly Persuasion The Widow Hudspeth
1956-04-01 The Kettles in the Ozarks Ma Kettle
1955-04-01 Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki Ma' Kettle
1954-11-01 Ricochet Romance Pansy Jones
1954-03-10 Ma and Pa Kettle at Home Ma Kettle
1954-03-03 Rose Marie Lady Jane Dunstock
1954-02-19 The Long, Long Trailer Mrs. Hittaway
1953-05-21 Fast Company Ma Parkson
1952-10-27 Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation Ma Kettle
1952-07-11 Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair Ma Kettle
1952-02-22 The Belle of New York Mrs Phineas Hill
1951-11-20 It's a Big Country Mrs. Wrenley
1951-07-20 The Law and the Lady Julia Wortin
1951-05-10 Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm Ma Kettle
1951-03-02 Mr. Imperium Mrs. Cabot
1950-12-08 Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone Harriet O'Malley
1950-08-31 Summer Stock Esme
1950-04-01 Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town Ma Kettle
1949-04-12 Big Jack Flapjack Kate
1949-04-01 Ma and Pa Kettle Phoebe 'Ma' Kettle
1948-06-01 Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' Maribel Mathews
1947-10-08 The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap Widow Hawkins
1947-05-01 The Egg and I Phoebe 'Ma' Kettle
1946-12-01 The Show-Off Mrs. Fisher
1946-11-11 Undercurrent Lucy
1946-05-26 Bad Bascomb Abbey Hanks
1946-01-18 The Harvey Girls Sonora Cassidy
1945-06-23 Murder, He Says Mamie Fleagle Smithers Johnson
1944-12-05 Gentle Annie Annie Goss
1944-11-28 Meet Me in St. Louis Katie
1944-03-24 Rationing Iris Tuttle
1943-09-03 Johnny Come Lately 'Gashouse' Mary
1943-08-05 Heaven Can Wait Mrs. Strabel
1942-12-01 Tennessee Johnson Mrs. Maude Fisher
1942-09-17 Tish Miss Letitia 'Tish' Carberry
1942-07-01 Jackass Mail Clementine 'Tina' Tucker
1942-06-21 The Affairs of Martha Mrs. McKissick
1942-04-30 We Were Dancing Judge Hawkes
1942-01-30 The Bugle Sounds Susie 'Suz'
1941-10-01 Honky Tonk Mrs. Varner
1941-07-18 The Shepherd of the Hills Granny Becky
1941-05-09 A Woman's Face Emma Kristiansdotter
1941-04-07 Barnacle Bill Marge Cavendish
1941-02-14 The Trial of Mary Dugan Mrs. Collins
1941-01-24 The Wild Man of Borneo Irma, the Cook
1940-09-13 Wyoming Mehitabel
1940-06-21 The Captain Is a Lady Sarah May Willett
1940-06-07 Susan and God Mary
1940-05-17 Turnabout Nora
1940-04-15 Dark Command Mrs. Cantrell / Mrs. Adams
1940-03-14 Women Without Names Mrs. Lowery
1940-02-02 I Take This Woman Gertie
1939-12-08 Two Thoroughbreds Hildegarde 'Hildy' Carey
1939-11-17 Another Thin Man Mrs. Dolley (uncredited)
1939-09-01 The Women Lucy
1939-08-26 Angels Wash Their Faces Mrs. Arkelian
1939-08-18 They Shall Have Music Mrs. Miller
1939-05-05 Lucky Night Mrs. Briggs
1938-10-14 There Goes My Heart Fireless Cooker Customer (uncredited)
1938-09-30 Girls' School Miss Armstrong
1938-09-16 Too Hot to Handle Miss Wayne
1938-08-31 Under the Big Top Sara Post
1938-07-22 Little Tough Guy Mrs. Boylan
1938-06-17 Prison Farm Matron Brand
1938-06-16 Romance of the Limberlost Nora
1938-06-02 Three Comrades Old woman by phone (uncredited)
1938-04-16 Test Pilot Landlady
1938-03-18 King of the Newsboys Mrs. Stephens (uncredited)
1938-02-05 Penitentiary Miss Katie Mathews
1938-01-08 Boy of the Streets Mrs. Mary Brennan
1937-12-22 The Shadow Hannah Gillespie
1937-10-11 The Wrong Road Martha Foster
1937-08-29 The Man Who Cried Wolf Amelia Bradley
1937-08-27 Dead End Mrs. Martin
1937-08-06 Stella Dallas Mrs. Martin
1934-12-13 Music in the Air Anna (Uncredited)
1934-08-30 Crime Without Passion Backstage Wardrobe Woman (uncredited)
1934-06-23 Art Trouble Woman Who Sits on Painting
1933-09-30 Close Relations Woman in Depot (uncredited)
1933-04-13 New Deal Rhythm Arizona Representative
1932-10-28 Hot Saturday Gossip in Window (uncredited)
1932-01-19 Broken Lullaby Frau Schmidt - Townswoman (uncredited)
1931-12-05 A House Divided Townswoman at Wedding (uncredited)
1929-07-21 Harry Fox and His Six American Beauties Statler Hotel Beauty