Mary Isabella (Wickenhauser) Wickes (1910 - 1995)

Born 13 Jun 1910 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Ancestors

Died 22 Oct 1995 at age 85 in Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Mary (Wickenhauser) Wickes is Notable.

Mary was an American film and television actress who often played supporting roles as prim, professional women, secretaries, nurses, nuns, and housekeepers, making sarcastic quips whenever the leading characters fell short of her high standards. Over the course of her prolific career, she appeared in 50 movies, 27 Broadway productions, and had regular supporting roles on 10 television series.

Mary was born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser, 13 Jun 1910, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the only child of well-to-do banker Frank Wickenhauser and his wife, Mary (Shannon) Wickenhauser. In 1920, Mary was a nine-year-old schoolgirl, residing with her parents on Harris Ave. in St. Louis.^[1] She is said to have been an excellent student, who skipped two grades, graduating from Beaumont High School at age 16.

In 1930, Mary was eighteen years old and still residing at home with her parents, now in a home on Pershing Avenue in University City, outside of St. Louis. Mary did not yet claim an occupation.^[2]

Mary graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a double degree in English literature and political science in 1934.

Encouraged by a college professor to try theater, and she made her debut doing summer stock in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. There, she met stage legend Ina Claire, who prodded her into heading to New York, where she quickly earned a walk-on role in the Broadway play The Farmer Takes a Wife, starring Henry Fonda, in 1934. She also received rave reviews as understudy for Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Her breakthrough role on stage was as Miss Preen the beleaguered nurse in the Kaufman-Moss Hart comedy, The Man Who Came to Dinner. She would make her film debut reprising the same role in the 1942 movie version of the play.

Mary first attracted wide attention, again as a nurse, in the Bette Davis film Now, Voyager. That same year she also had a large part in the Bud Abbott and Lou Costello comedy Who Done It? She continued playing supporting roles in films over the next decade.

In the 1950s Mary played regular roles in the television sitcoms Make Room for Daddy and Dennis the Menace and played housekeepers on The Peter and Mary Show (1950), Bonino (1953), The Halls of Ivy (1954), Annette (1958). Later, she would also play housekeepers on Sigmund & the Sea Monster (1973-75) and The Father Dowling Mysteries (1989-1991).

In 1954, she appeared in the holiday classic White Christmas, and in 1962 she had a role in the film version of The Music Man. She was nominated for an Emmy for her work on the Gertrude Berg Show (1961), and played frequent guest roles in each of her friend Lucille Ball's television series, I Love Lucy (as Madame Lamond, the merciless ballet taskmaster), Here's Lucy, and The Lucy Show. She also played the landlady on Mrs. G. Goes to College (1961-62), the doctor's wife on Julia (1968-71), and the crusty nurse on Doc (1975-76). In the 1980s she made appearances on television series such as M*A*S*H, The Love Boat, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and Murder, She Wrote.

In 1990, Mary appeared as Meryl Streep's grandmother in Postcards From the Edge (1990), and achieved perhaps the biggest success of her career as Sister Mary Lazarus in Sister Act (1992). She reprised the role in the sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Her final film appearance was in the 1994 film version of Little Women. . Mary had been in failing health for a few years when, in October 1995, at age 85, she developed some respiratory issues and was checked into UCLA Medical Center. While there, she fell and broke her hip requiring surgery. She died in the hospital due to surgical complications, 22 Oct 1995.^[3] She was buried beside her parents at Shiloh valley Cemetery in Shiloh, Illinois.^[4]

At the time of her death, Mary had just completed taping the voice of the gargoyle Laverne for Disney's animated feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was released the following summer.

Sources

1. ↑ 1920 U.S. Federal Census. Ancestry.com (database online with images) Missouri, Independent City of St. Louis, Ward 21, ED 410, sheet 18B, dwelling 289, family 470, household of Fran A. Wickendhauser (sic). [image 36].
2. ↑ 1930 U.S. Federal Census. Ancestry.com (database online with images) Missouri, St. Louis County, University City, ED 58, sheet 21A, dwelling 351, family 951, household of Frank A. Wickenhauser [image 41].
3. ↑ California Death Index, 1940-1997. ancestry.com (database online) Mary Isabella Wickes (1995). She had been in good health up to a few days prior when she entered the hospital with respiratory problems. While there, she fell and broke her hip.
4. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8832/mary-wickes : accessed 13 February 2022), memorial page for Mary Wickes (13 Jun 1910–22 Oct 1995), Find a Grave Memorial ID 8832, citing Shiloh Valley Cemetery, Shiloh, St. Clair County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by Find a Grave.

Obituary: Mary Wickes, 85; Actress From St. Louis Played Stage, Screen, TV Roles, St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch. 26 Oct, 1995, page 14.

See also:

• Wikipedia: Mary Wickes
• Wikidata: Item Q263241
• IMDB: Mary Wicks
• Disney Wiki: Mary Wickes
• WikiTree: Classic Disney Project
• FamilySearch Tree