Mary Gordon
Born: 1882-05-16 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Died: 1963-08-23
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mary Gordon (born Mary Gilmour, 16 May 1882 – 23 August 1963) was a Scottish actress, long in the United States, who mainly played housekeepers and mothers, most notably the landlady Mrs. Hudson in the Sherlock Holmes series of movies of the 1940s starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Her body of work included nearly 300 films between 1925 and 1950. With her mother and daughter (both also named Mary), she arrived in Los Angeles in the mid-1920s and began playing variations on the roles she would spend her career on. She became friends with John Ford while making Hangman's House in 1928 and made seven more films with him. In 1939, she took on her best-remembered role as Sherlock Holmes' landlady and played the role in ten films and numerous radio plays. She was a charter member of the Hollywood Canteen, entertaining servicemen throughout the Second World War. On the radio show Those We Love, she played the regular role of Mrs. Emmett. She entered retirement just as television reshaped the entertainment industry, making only a single appearance in that medium. She was active in the Daughters of Scotia auxiliary of the Order of Scottish Clans. She lived out her final years in Pasadena, California with her daughter and grandson. She died at age 81 on 23 August 1963 in Pasadena, California after a long illness.
Filmography
1950
- The Cisco Kid as Mary O'Toole
- West of Wyoming as Nora Jones
1949
- Haunted Trails as Aunt Libby
- Shamrock Hill as Grandma Rogan
- Deputy Marshal as Mrs. Lance
- Tucson as Housemother (uncredited)
- Mr. Soft Touch as Slatternly Woman Tenant (Uncredited)
- The File on Thelma Jordon as Charwoman (Uncredited)
- Clues to Adventure as Woman Reading Newspaper (archive footage) (uncredited)
1948
- Fort Apache as Ma (barmaid)
- Kidnapped as Scottish Woman (uncredited)
- The Strange Mrs. Crane as Nora
- Big Town Scandal as Mary - Cleaning Woman (uncredited)
- Angels' Alley as Mrs. Mamie Mahoney
- Highway 13 as Aunt Myrt Lacy
1947
- Roses Are Red as Cleaning Lady
- The Long Night as Old Woman in Crowd (uncredited)
- The Judge Steps Out as Annie (Scrub Woman) (uncredited)
- The Invisible Wall as Mrs. Bledsoe
- Exposed as Housekeeper
1946
- Sentimental Journey as Agnes, the Cook (uncredited)
- Little Giant as Ma Miller
- Shadows Over Chinatown as Mrs. Conover
- The Hoodlum Saint as Trina
- The Dark Horse as Mrs. Mahoney
- Dressed to Kill as Mrs. Hudson
- In Fast Company as Mrs. Cassidy
- Sister Kenny as Mrs. Gordon (uncredited)
1945
- Strange Confession as Mrs. O'Connor
- Kitty as Nanny
- The Woman in Green as Mrs. Hudson
- The Body Snatcher as Mary McBride (uncredited)
- Divorce as Ellen
- Law of the Badlands
- See My Lawyer as Mrs. Fillmore
- Captain Eddie as Mrs. Westrom
1944
- Hollywood Canteen as Hostess (uncredited)
- Million Dollar Kid as Mrs. McGinnis
- The Pearl of Death as Mrs. Hudson
- Secret Command as Mrs. McKenzie (uncredited)
- The Hour Before the Dawn as Annie
- Secrets of Scotland Yard as Libby, the Housekeeper
- The Racket Man as Mom Benson
- The Last Ride as Mrs. Mary Kelly
- Follow the Leader
1943
- Sherlock Holmes Faces Death as Mrs. Hudson
- Sherlock Holmes in Washington as Mrs. Hudson
- Whispering Footsteps as Ma Murphy
- The Spider Woman as Mrs. Hudson
- Smart Guy as Maggie
- Keep 'Em Slugging as Mrs. Banning
- Two Tickets to London as Mrs. Tinkle
- Sarong Girl as Mattie
- Here Comes Kelly as Mrs. Kelly
1942
- Gentleman Jim as Mrs. Casey (uncredited)
- Bombay Clipper as Abigail 'Mag' MacPherson
- Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon as Mrs. Hudson
- The Pride of the Yankees as Maid (uncredited)
- Dr. Broadway as Broadway Carrie
- Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror as Mrs. Hudson
- The Mummy's Tomb as Jane Banning
- Meet the Stewarts as Mrs. Stewart
- Blue, White, and Perfect as Mrs. Flaherty - Mike's Landlady (uncredited)
- The Strange Case of Doctor Rx as Mrs. Scott
- Fly By Night as Ma Prescott
- It Happened in Flatbush as Mrs. Collins
- Sealed Lips as Mrs. Ann Morton (Fred's mother)
- Half Way to Shanghai as Mrs. McIntyre
- Powder Town as Mrs. Douglas
1941
- Double Cross as Mrs. Murray
- Unfinished Business as Miss Brady
- Pot o' Gold as Mom McCorkle
- Flight from Destiny as Martha
- Appointment for Love as Martha
- It Started with Eve as Mrs. O'Toole (uncredited)
- Riot Squad as Mrs. McGonigle
- Borrowed Hero as Mrs. Riley
1940
- Young People as Old Woman
- Brother Orchid as Mrs. Sweeney - Flo's Landlady (uncredited)
- Kitty Foyle as Cleaning Lady (uncredited)
- My Son, My Son! as Mrs. Mulvaney
- Saps at Sea as Mrs. O'Riley
- Women Without Names as Juror
- When the Daltons Rode as Ma Dalton
- The Invisible Woman as Mrs. Bates
- Public Deb No. 1 as Landlady
- Nobody's Children as Mary
- The Last Alarm as Mrs. Hadley
- No, No, Nanette as Gertrude, the Cook
- Queen of the Mob as Tenement Landlady
- The Invisible Man Returns as Cookie (uncredited)
- I Take This Oath as Mrs. Eileen Hanagan
- Go West as Train Passenger
- Tear Gas Squad as Mrs. Sullivan
1939
- Broadway Serenade as Annie (uncredited)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles as Mrs. Hudson
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as Woman (uncredited)
- Off the Record as Mrs. Finnegan (uncredited)
- Rulers of the Sea as Mrs. Ogilvie (Uncredited)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as Mrs. Hudson
- Racketeers of the Range as Mary-Benson's Housekeeper
- The Marshal Of Mesa City as Mrs. Dudley
- Tell No Tales as Mrs. Bryant (uncredited)
- Tail Spin as Mrs. Lee
- The Jones Family in Hollywood as Landlady (uncredited)
- The Escape as Neighbor
- The Night of Nights as 1nd Pencil Woman (uncredited)
- Day-time Wife as Scrubwoman
- Code of the Streets as Mrs. Flaherty
- The Story That Couldn't Be Printed as Woman Reading Newspaper (uncredited)
- She Married a Cop as Ma Duffy
- Captain Fury as Mrs. Bailey
- Wings of the Navy as Irene's Housekeeper
- Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President as Mrs. O'Leary
1938
- Kidnapped as Mrs. MacDonald
- Mannequin as Mrs. O'Rourke (Uncredited)
- City Streets as Mrs. Devlin
- Angels with Dirty Faces
- Gateway as Scottish Mother
- Blond Cheat as Maggie (uncredited)
- Campus Confessions as Mrs. Twill
1937
- A Damsel in Distress as Cook (uncredited)
- The Great O'Malley as Mrs. O'Malley
- Meet the Boy Friend as Mrs. Grimes
- You're Only Young Once as Mary's Mother (uncredited)
- Her Husband Lies as Mrs. Jenks
- You Can't Have Everything as YWCA Scrub Woman (uncredited)
- Friend Indeed as Housekeeper
- Double Wedding as Mrs. Keough
- Lady Behave! as Cook
1936
- Stage Struck as Mrs. Cassidy
- Great Guy as Mrs. Ogilvie
- Forgotten Faces as Mrs. O'Leary
- The Plot Thickens as Woman with Bag (uncredited)
- The Plough and the Stars as Woman at Barricades
- The White Angel as Nursing Applicant (uncredited)
- The Lady Consents as Apple Lady
- Little Miss Nobody as Mrs. Biddle
- Laughing Irish Eyes as Mrs. O'Keefe
- Share the Wealth as Ma MacClyde
- After the Thin Man as Rose (uncredited)
- Mary of Scotland as Nurse
1935
- Bonnie Scotland as Mrs. Bickerdike
- Vagabond Lady as Myrtle, Scrubwoman (uncredited)
- Bride of Frankenstein as Hans' Wife
- Ginger as Mrs. Monahan (uncredited)
- $10 Raise as Landlady (uncredited)
- The Irish in Us as Ma O'Hara
- Waterfront Lady as Mrs. O'Flaherty
- Mutiny on the Bounty as Peddler (uncredited)
- Vanessa: Her Love Story as Mrs. Leathwaite
1934
- Beloved as Mrs. O'Leary
- Manhattan Melodrama as Boat Passenger (uncredited)
- Charlie Chan in London as Prison Visitor (uncredited)
- Our Daily Bread as Community Woman in Cottage (uncredited)
- The Little Minister as Nanny
- One More River as Cook (Uncredited)
- The Man from Hell as Mrs. Frank McCarrol
- Change of Heart as Woman in Street (uncredited)
- The Defense Rests as Scrub Woman
- Cross Streets as Sonny's Mother
- Murder at the Vanities as Assistant Wardrobe Woman (uncredited)
- Whom the Gods Destroy as Newfoundlander
- The Loudspeaker as Landlady
- The Woman Condemned as Crying Woman at Night Court (uncredited)
- Baby Take a Bow as Mrs. O'Brien (Uncredited)
1933
- Pilgrimage
- My Woman as Woman at Ironing Board (Uncredited)
- Doctor Bull as Townswoman at Meeting
- She Done Him Wrong as Cleaning Lady (uncredited)
- Ladies They Talk About as Prisoner in Visiting Room (uncredited)
- Sweepings as Mrs. Patrick O'Leary (Uncredited)
- The Kiss Before the Mirror as Scrubwoman (uncredited)
- Design for Living as Theatre Chambermaid (uncredited)
- Meet the Baron as Washer Woman (uncredited)
- The Invisible Man as Screaming Woman (uncredited)
- Nature in the Wrong as Mrs. Clancy
- The Power and the Glory as Nurse (uncredited)
- Broadway Thru a Keyhole as Cleaning Woman
- The World Changes as Lady at Party (uncredited)
- Men Must Fight as Pacifist Audience Member
- The Whirlwind as Mrs. Curtis
1932
- Skyscraper Souls as Charwoman
- Texas Cyclone as Kate
- The Expert as Neighbor
- Pack Up Your Troubles as Mrs. MacTavish (uncredited)
- Radio Patrol as Landlady (uncredited)
- Blonde Venus as Landlady (uncredited)
- 70,000 Witnesses as Scrubwoman (uncredited)
- Wild Girl as Washerwoman (uncredited)
- Dancers in the Dark as Scrubwoman
- The Impatient Maiden as Irish Neighbor (uncredited)
- Call Her Savage as Lady in Tenement (Uncredited)
- Beauty Parlor as Landlady
1931
- Waterloo Bridge as Distraught Woman on Stairway (uncredited)
- 24 Hours as Nurse
- Subway Express as Mrs. Delaney
- Possessed as Woman at Political Rally (uncredited)
- The Brat as Angry Wife in Night Court (uncredited)
- A House Divided as Townswoman (uncredited)
- The Black Camel as Mrs. MacMasters
1930
- The Ghosts as Chubby's Mama
- Roaring Ranch as Mrs. O'Riley (uncredited)
- When the Wind Blows as Chubby's Mother (uncredited)
- His Honor the Mayor as His Wife
- Let Us Be Gay as Mrs. McIntyre (uncredited)
- Anybody's Woman as Maid
- Oh, for a Man! as Stage Door Admirer with Violets
- Song o' My Heart as Irish Woman
1929
- Dynamite as Neighbor at Store
- Hell's Heroes as Choir Member (uncredited)
- The Saturday Night Kid as Reducing customer (uncredited)
- Madame X as Nursemaid (uncredited)
- Is Everybody Happy? as Neighbor (uncredited)
1928
- Hangman's House as The Woman at Hogan's Hideout
- The Ol' Gray Hoss as First taxi passenger
- The Matinee Idol as Woman in Audience (uncredited)
1927
- Clancy's Kosher Wedding as Molly Clancy
- Naughty Nanette as Mrs. Rooney
1926
- Black Paradise as Mrs. Murphy
1925
- The Home Maker as Mrs. Hennessy
- The People vs. Nancy Preston as Mrs. Tifft
- Tessie as Aunt Maggie