Beulah Bondi

Beulah Bondi () (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1888 – January 11, 1981) According to the State of California. California Death Index, 1940–1997. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com was an American character actress; she often played eccentric mothers and later grandmothers and wives, although she was known for numerous other roles.Obituary Variety, January 21, 1981. She began her acting career as a young child in theater in the late 19th Century, and after establishing herself as a Broadway stage actress in 1925, she reprised her role in Street Scene for the 1931 film version.

She played supporting roles in several films during the 1930s, and was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She played the mother of James Stewart in four films: Of Human Hearts, Vivacious Lady, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Although at her height in Hollywood from the 1930s until the 1950s, Bondi never retired, and she continued acting well into her later years, at the age of 87 winning an Emmy Award for her guest-star role on The Waltons in 1976.

Early life and education Bondi was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Eva Suzanna (née Marble), an author, and Abraham O. Bondy, who worked in real estate. The family moved to Valparaiso, Indiana, when she was three, and Bondi began her acting career on the stage at age seven, playing Cedric Errol in a production of Little Lord Fauntleroy at the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso. She graduated from the Frances Shimer Academy (later Shimer College) in 1907, and gained her bachelor's and master's degrees in oratory at Valparaiso University in 1916 and 1918.

Career She changed her surname to Bondi and made her Broadway debut in Kenneth Seymour Webb's One of the Family at the 49th Street Theatre on December 21, 1925. She next appeared in another hit, Maxwell Anderson's Saturday's Children in 1927. Her performance in Elmer Rice's Pulitzer Prize-winning Street Scene, which opened at the Playhouse Theatre on January 10, 1929, brought Bondi to the movies at the age of 43. Her debut movie role was as Emma Jones in Street Scene (1931), which starred Sylvia Sidney, and in which Bondi reprised her stage role, followed by "Mrs. Davidson" in Rain (1932), which starred Joan Crawford and Walter Huston. Along with her roles on Broadway, in 1925 and 1926, Bondi was a Summer Stock cast member at the oldest summer stock theater in the country, Elitch Theatre.

She was one of the first five women to be nominated for an Academy Award in the newly created category of "Best Supporting Actress" for her work in The Gorgeous Hussy, although she lost the award to Gale Sondergaard. Two years later she was nominated again for Of Human Hearts and lost again, but her reputation as a character actress kept her employed. For the rest of her career, she would most often be seen in a supporting role as the mother of the star of the film. One exception is the ensemble film Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), where she was one of the leads, playing the abandoned Depression-era 'Ma' Cooper. She often played mature roles in her early film career even though she was only in her early 40s. In 1940 Bondi played Mrs. Webb in Our Town and Granny Tucker in The Southerner, directed by Jean Renoir and released in 1945."Beulah Bondi", filmography, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Turner Broadcasting System, a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc., New York, N.Y. Retrieved May 22, 2018.

She was tested for the role of Ma Joad in the film of The Grapes of Wrath. Bondi, believing that she had the part, reportedly bought an old jalopy and moved to Bakersfield, California to live among the migrant workers in order to research the role. Bondi was reportedly extremely disappointed at losing the role to Jane Darwell, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work.

For her contributions to the film industry, Bondi received a motion-picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, located at 1718 Vine Street.

Although Bondi played mothers and grandmothers on screen, she was a lifelong bachelorette with no children. She admitted, "I never regretted the choice of a career over marriage, it was a difficult decision and I've never been sorry."

Television Bondi's television credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Howard Richardson's Ark of Safety on the Goodyear Television Playhouse. She appeared with Jan Clayton in "The Prairie Story" on NBC's Wagon Train. She made a guest appearance on Perry Mason in 1963 when she played the role of Sophia Stone in "The Case of the Nebulous Nephew".

Bondi made her final appearances as Martha Corinne Walton on The Waltons in the episodes "The Conflict" (September 1974) and "The Pony Cart" (December 1976). She received an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series for her performance in "The Pony Cart". When her name was called, it first appeared that she was not present, but she received a standing ovation as she walked slowly to the podium, from which she thanked the audience for honoring her while she was still living.

Death Bondi died from pulmonary complications caused by broken ribs suffered when she tripped over her cat in her home on January 11, 1981, at age 92."BEULAH BONDI, 92; CHARACTER ACTRESS". The New York Times (13 January 1981). Retrieved 9 June 2026. Her remains were cremated and her ashes scattered at sea.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1931 Street Scene Emma Jones Arrowsmith Mrs. Tozer Uncredited 1932 Rain Mrs. Davidson1933 The Stranger's Return Beatrice Storr Christopher Bean Mrs. Hannah Haggett1934 Two Alone Mrs. Slag Registered Nurse Miss McKenna Finishing School Her Teacher / Miss Van Alstyne The Painted Veil Frau Koerber Scenes cut Ready for Love Mrs. Burke1935 The Good Fairy Dr. Schultz Bad Boy Mrs. Larkin1936 The Invisible Ray Lady Arabella Stevens The Trail of the Lonesome Pine Melissa Tolliver The Moon's Our Home Mrs. Boyce Medford The Case Against Mrs. Ames Mrs. Livingston Ames Hearts Divided Madame Letizia The Gorgeous Hussy Rachel Jackson1937 Maid of Salem Abigail – His Wife Make Way for Tomorrow Lucy Cooper1938 The Buccaneer Aunt Charlotte Of Human Hearts Mary Wilkins Vivacious Lady Martha Morgan The Sisters Rose Elliott1939 On Borrowed Time Nellie – Granny The Under-Pup Miss Thornton Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Ma Smith1940 Remember the Night Mrs. Sargent Our Town Mrs. Webb The Captain Is a Lady Angie Peabody1941 Penny Serenade Miss Oliver The Shepherd of the Hills Aunt Mollie Matthews One Foot in Heaven Mrs. Lydia Sandow1943 Tonight We Raid Calais Mme. Bonnard Watch on the Rhine Anise1944 She's a Soldier Too Agatha Kittredge I Love a Soldier Etta Lane Our Hearts Were Young and Gay Miss Horn The Very Thought of You Mrs. Harriet Wheeler And Now Tomorrow Aunt Em1945 Back to Bataan Bertha Barnes The Southerner Granny Tucker1946 Breakfast in Hollywood Mrs. Annie Reed Sister Kenny Mary Kenny It's a Wonderful Life Ma Bailey 1947 High Conquest Clara Kingsley1948 The Sainted Sisters Hester Rivercomb The Snake Pit Mrs. Greer So Dear to My Heart Granny Kincaid1949 The Life of Riley Miss Martha Bogle Reign of Terror Grandma Blanchard Mr. Soft Touch Mrs. Clara Hangale1950 The Baron of Arizona Loma The Furies Mrs. Anaheim 1952 Lone Star Minniver Bryan 1953 Latin Lovers Analyst 1954 Track of the Cat Ma Bridges 1955 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Mrs. Sutton Season 1 Episode 8: "Our Cook's a Treasure" 1956 Back from Eternity Martha Spangler1957 The Unholy Wife Emma Hochen On Borrowed Time 'Granny' Northrup TV movie1959 The Big Fisherman Hannah A Summer Place Mrs. Emily Hamilton Hamble1960 Harrigan and Son Tilly Cortland S1.E11 - "Non Compos Mentis" Playhouse 90 Mrs. Hulie S4.E12 - "Tomorrow"1961 Tammy Tell Me True Mrs. Annie Call Route 66 Agnes Brack S2.E13 - "Burning for Burning" Wagon Train Grandma Bates S4.E19 - "The Prairie Story"1962 The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm The Gypsy ('The Dancing Princess') Alcoa Premiere Mrs. Murrow S2.E9 - "The Hands of Danofrio"1963 Tammy and the Doctor Mrs. Annie Call Perry Mason Sophia Stone S7.E1 - "The Case of the Nebulous Nephew" 1972 She Waits Mrs. Medina TV movie1974 Carl Sandburg's LincolnSarah Bush LincolnTV miniseries Dirty Sally Louisa Badger S1.E6 - "Too Long to Wait" 1974–1976 The Waltons Martha Corinne Walton Episodes: "The Conflict", "The Pony Cart"

Radio appearances Year Program Episode/source 1952 Stars in the Air "On Borrowed Time"

Beulah Bondi

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