Mary Elizabeth Patterson (November 22, 1874 – January 31, 1966) was an American theatre, film, and television character actress who gained popular recognition late in her career playing the elderly neighbor Matilda Trumbull on the television comedy series I Love Lucy.Some references, including the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, state that Elizabeth Patterson was born in 1875; however, the United States Census of 1880, Patterson's California death certificate, the inscription on her elaborate grave marker in Tennessee, and other records confirm that her birth year was 1874.

Early years Born in Savannah, Tennessee, she was the child of Mildred (née McDougal) and Edmund D. Patterson, a Confederate army veteran."United States Census of 1880", Fourth Civil District, Hardin County, Tennessee, enumeration dates June 22–23, 1880. Digital copy of original enumeration page available at FamilySearch, a free online genealogical database provided as a public service by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved August 18, 2017. Federal census records document that her father by 1880 was a lawyer and residing with his wife and children in the home of his father-in-law, Garrick Archibald McDougal, a widower, who was also a lawyer and farmer in Savannah. That same census lists Elizabeth as the second child of the Pattersons' four offspring. She had an older sister, Annie Belle, and two younger brothers, Edmund and Archie.

Stage She was educated at Tennessee colleges in Pulaski and Columbia, where her participation in campus theater groups fostered a growing passion for drama. Her parents soon sent her to Europe in hopes of diminishing her interest in theater; yet, Patterson's determination to become an actress was only reinforced during those travels, especially in Paris, where she attended productions of the Comédie Française.

After returning from Europe, Patterson used money from a small inheritance to move to Chicago. There she joined a theatrical troupe and subsequently toured with repertory companies. In 1913, she made her Broadway debut in the play Everyman. She remained active in New York City theatre through 1954.

+ Broadway theatre credits of Elizabeth PattersonTitleYearRoleTheatreNotes Everyman1913Children's TheatreA 15th Century morality playThe Family Exit1917Comedy TheatreIn the Zone1917Comedy TheatreJonathan Makes a Wish1918Princess TheatreA Night in Avignon1919Punch and Judy TheatreThe Piper1920Old Ursula Fulton TheatreThe Intimate Strangers1921-1922Aunt Ellen Henry Miller TheatreStarring production for Billie BurkeProduced by Florence Ziegfeldwritten by Booth TarkingtonThe Lady Cristilinda1922-1923FroggyBroadhurst TheatreMagnolia1923Madame Rumford Liberty TheatreGypsy Jim1924Mary Blake 49th Street TheatreLazybones1924Rebecca Fanning Vanderbilt TheatreThe Book of Charm1925Mrs. Harper Comedy Theatre A Puppet-Play1926The Queen Nora Bayes TheatreSpellbound1927Mrs. Underwood Earl Carroll TheatreParadise1927-1928Margaret, Mrs. Elder 48th Street TheatreCarry On1928Aunt Mary MarstonTheatre MasqueRope1928Mrs. Roxie Biggers Biltmore TheatreBox Seats1928Mrs. Slocum Hayes TheaterThe Marriage Bed1929Caroline Reid Booth TheatreMan's Estate1929Minnie Jordan Biltmore TheatreSolid South1930GenevaLyceum TheatreHer Master's Voice1933-1934Mrs. Martin Plymouth TheatreSpring Freshet1934Clementina Lynch Plymouth TheatreYankee Point1942Miz Bekins Longacre TheatreBut Not Goodbye1944Amy Griggs 48th Street Theatre His and Hers1954Avis48th Street Theatre

Film In 1926, at the age of 51, Patterson was cast in her first movie, a silent film, The Boy Friend. Transitioning successfully into the era of "talkies", she remained a very busy actress in Hollywood throughout the 1930s, averaging more than five films a year during that decade, usually in supporting roles. A few of her screen credits at that time include Tarnished Lady; Husband's Holiday; A Bill of Divorcement; So Big!; The Story of Temple Drake; Hold Your Man; Remember the Night; Dinner at Eight; High, Wide, and Handsome; and No Man of Her Own. She also appeared in the role of Susan in two adaptations of John Willard's popular play The Cat and the Canary: The Cat Creeps in 1930 and The Cat and the Canary in 1939.

Patterson continued to perform frequently in the 1940s, when she was cast in more than 30 additional films. Among her notable roles is her 1949 portrayal of the heroic character Eunice Habersham in the groundbreaking racial crime drama Intruder in the Dust, a film based on the William Faulkner novel of the same name and set in the Deep South. Although she would appear in a few more feature films in the 1950s, such as Washington Story and Pal Joey, Patterson by then began to focus her work increasingly on roles in the rapidly expanding medium of television.

+ Feature-length films of Elizabeth PattersonTitleYearRoleNotes 1926MGM 1926Fox Film 1928 20-minute short significant as the film debut of Humphrey BogartParamount Pictures Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive 1929Town GossipVitaphone short Words and Music 1929 Fox Film South Sea Rose 1929Sarah Fox Film 1930Fox Film Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive 1930SusanUniversal Pictures 1930 Fox Film Harmony at Home 1930 Fox Film 1931 (uncredited)Paramount Pictures Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive Penrod and Sam 1931Teacher (uncredited)Warner Bros. Husband's Holiday 1931Paramount Pictures Daddy Long Legs 1931 Fox Film Tarnished Lady 1931Paramount Pictures Heaven on Earth 1931Aunt VergieUniversal Pictures New Morals for Old 1932Aunty DoeMGM They Call It Sin 1932First National PicturesGuilty as Hell 1932Paramount Pictures 1932HesterRKO Radio Pictures 1932Warner Bros. Man Wanted1932, Lois' secretaryWarner Bros. Love Me Tonight 1932First AuntParamount PicturesPreserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive No Man of Her Own 1932Paramount PicturesSo Big 1932Mrs. Tebbit (uncredited)Warner Bros. Breach of Promise 1932Cora PugmireSono Art-World Wide Pictures Miss Pinkerton1932Juliet MitchellFirst National Pictures Life Begins1932Mrs. Tubby (uncredited)First National Pictures 1932Roger's Landlady (uncredited)RKO Radio Pictures They Just Had to Get Married1932Aunt LizzieUniversal Pictures Infernal Machine 1933Elinor's AuntFox Film Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive 1933 Aunt JennieParamount Pictures Hold Your Man 1933Miss TuttleMGM Secret of the Blue Room1933Mary, the cookUniversal Pictures Dinner at Eight 1933Miss CopelandMGM Doctor Bull 1933Aunt Patricia BanningFox Film Golden Harvest1933LydiaParamount Pictures Ever in My Heart 1933 Clara Tuttle, Canteen Worker (uncredited)Warner Bros. Hide-Out 1934 'Ma' MillerMGM Chasing Yesterday1935Mlle. PrefereRKO Radio Pictures So Red the Rose1935Mary CherryParamount Pictures Men Without Names 1935Aunt EllaParamount Pictures Her Master's Voice 1936Mrs. Ellie MartinWalter Wanger Productions Timothy's Quest 1936Vilda CumminsParamount Pictures Small Town Girl1936Ma BrannanMGM 1936Araminta SedleyParamount Pictures Three Cheers for Love 1936Wilma ChesterParamount Pictures Old Hutch 1936Mrs. Sarah HutchinsMGM Go West, Young Man 1936Aunt Kate BarnabyParamount Pictures Night of Mystery 1937 Mrs. Tobias GreeneParamount Pictures High, Wide, and Handsome 1937Grandma CortlandtParamount Pictures Hold 'em Navy! 1937Grandma StackpoleParamount Pictures Night Club Scandal 1937Mrs. Elvira WardParamount Pictures Scandal Street 1938Ada SmithParamount Pictures Bulldog Drummond's Peril 1938Aunt Blanche ClaveringParamount Pictures Bluebeard's Eighth Wife 1938Aunt HedwigeParamount Pictures Sing, You Sinners1938 Mrs. Daisy Beebe aka Mother BeebeParamount Pictures Sons of the Legion1938Grandmother LeeParamount PicturesBulldog Drummond's Secret Police 1939Aunt Blanche ClaveringParamount Pictures 1939Mrs. Mac Gregor 20th Century Fox Bulldog Drummond's Bride1939Aunt Blanche ClaveringParamount Pictures Our Leading Citizen 1939Aunt TillieParamount Pictures 1939Aunt SusanParamount Pictures Bad Little Angel1939Mrs. PerkinsMGM Remember the Night1940Aunt EmmaParamount Pictures Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive Adventure in Diamonds 1940NellieParamount PicturesEarthbound 1940Becky Tilden 20th Century Fox Anne of Windy Poplars 1940RebeccaRKO Radio Pictures Who Killed Aunt Maggie? 1940Aunt Maggie AmblerRepublic Pictures Michael Shayne, Private Detective 1940Aunt Olivia 20th Century FoxTobacco Road 1941Ada Lester 20th Century Fox Kiss the Boys Goodbye 1941Aunt Lily Lou BethanyParamount Pictures Belle Starr1941 Sarah 20th Century Fox 1942GrandmaMGMAlmost Married 1942Aunt Matilda ManningUniversal Pictures Beyond the Blue Horizon 1942Mrs. DalyParamount Pictures Her Cardboard Lover 1942EvaMGM My Sister Eileen 1942Grandma SherwoodColumbia Pictures Lucky Legs 1942Annabelle DinwiddieColumbia Pictures I Married a Witch 1942 MargaretParamount Pictures1943Mrs. FisherRKO Radio PicturesFollow the Boys1944AnnieUniversal Pictures Hail the Conquering Hero 1944Aunt MarthaParamount Pictures Together Again 1944JessieColumbia Pictures Lady on a Train 1945Aunt Charlotte WaringUniversal Pictures 1946Cousin Emma 20th Century Fox 1946Mrs. StoverMGM I've Always Loved You 1946Mrs. SompterRepublic Pictures Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive Welcome Stranger 1947Mrs. GilleyParamount Pictures Out of the Blue1947Miss SpringEagle-Lion Films1947Catherine Dennison 20th Century Fox Miss Tatlock's Millions 1948CoraParamount Pictures Song of Surrender1949Mrs. BeechamParamount Pictures Little Women 1949HannahMGM Intruder in the Dust1949Miss Eunice Habersham1949 premiere-1950 general releaseMGM Bright Leaf 1950Tabitha SingletonWarner Bros. Katie Did It 1951Aunt Priscilla WakelyUniversal Pictures Washington Story1952Miss DeeMGMLas Vegas Shakedown1955Mary RaffWilliam F. Broidy Pictures Pal Joey 1957Mrs. CaseyColumbia Pictures 1959Maria Cooper20th Century FoxTall Story 1960ConnieWarner Bros.

Television In 1952, at the age of 77, Patterson made her first appearance on the hit CBS-TV sitcom I Love Lucy in the episode "The Marriage License". In that installment, Patterson's character, Mrs. Willoughby, is married to the Greenwich, Connecticut, justice of the peace (played by character actor Irving Bacon) who remarries Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. In that role, she most notably sings an off-key version of "I Love You Truly" during the wedding ceremony. The following year she was cast in a featured guest role as Mrs. Matilda Trumbull in the episode "No Children Allowed". Patterson's character of Mrs. Trumbull was initially an ornery curmudgeon who resided in the same New York apartment building as the Ricardos. In that installment, she threatened to make trouble for the Ricardos since the building did not allow children. At the end of the episode, however, her character softens as she holds for the first time the Ricardos' baby, "Little Ricky"; and, as a result, Mrs. Trumbull becomes friends with both the Ricardos and the building's owners, Fred and Ethel Mertz.

Patterson's character on I Love Lucy proved to be so popular among viewers, as well as useful to the writers of the series, that she continued in the role for three more years, often serving in episode storylines as a convenient babysitter for "Little Ricky". In the fall of 1956, with I Love Lucy in its final season, Patterson made her last appearance as Mrs. Trumbull in "Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums". Her character was mentioned one last time in the 1957 episode "Lucy Raises Chickens". In that installment, Fred and Ethel decide to follow the Ricardos and move to Connecticut to be near them, and Mrs. Trumbull's sister moves into 623 East 68th Street to manage the apartment building for the Mertzes.