Lee Patrick

Lee Salome Patrick (November 22, 1901 – November 21, 1982) was an American actress whose career began in 1922 on the New York stage with her role in The Bunch and Judy which headlined Adele Astaire and featured Adele's brother Fred Astaire.

Patrick continued to perform in dozens of roles on the stage for the next decade, frequently in musicals and comedies, but also in dramatic parts like her 1931 performance as Meg in Little Women. She began to branch out into films in 1929. For half a century she created a creditable body of cinematic work, her most memorable being as Sam Spade's assistant Effie in , and her reprise of the role in the George Segal comedy sequel The Black Bird (1975). Her talents were showcased in comedies such as the Jack Benny film George Washington Slept Here (1942) and as one of the foils of Rosalind Russell in . Dramatic parts such as an asylum inmate in The Snake Pit (1948) and as Pamela Tiffin's mother in were another facet of her repertoire. She played numerous guest roles in American television, but became a staple for that medium during the two-year run of Topper. As Henrietta Topper, her comedic timing played well against Leo G. Carroll as her husband, and against that of the two ghosts played by Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys. Patrick lent her voice to various animated characters of The Alvin Show in the early 1960s.

Personal life Lee Salome Patrick was born on November 22, 1901, in New York City, to entertainment journalist Warren Patrick and Marie S. (Conrad) Patrick. By 1937, Patrick married newsman-writer-publicist Tom Wood, author of The Bright Side of Billy Wilder, Primarily, and remained married 45 years, until her death. They had no children. During her career in Hollywood, she was not in good standing with gossip columnist Louella Parsons, and this conflict kept her career stuck in the "B" ranks. Wood wrote a frank piece on Parsons which did not go over well with the columnist.

Acting career

Stage Patrick debuted on Broadway in November 1922 in the ensemble of The Bunch and Judy, which ran for eight weeks. In September 1924 she returned to Broadway in an 8-week run of The Green Beetle at the Klaw Theatre, portraying the lead characters' daughter who escaped a murder attempt.

The Undercurrent was only the first of 5 plays in which Patrick honed her talent in 1925. The Backslapper (1925) was a political drama that ran for 33 performances with Patrick in a supporting role as Mrs. Kennedy. Patrick performed more comedy later in 1925: Bachelors' Brides was a farce in which she played a guardian angel; British actor George Barraud played her leading man. It was another six years before she made another film: The Casino Murder Case for MGM. She had a bit part as a nurse in the film, which brought her together for the first time with Leo G. Carroll, with whom two decades later she worked on the television series Topper.

She made several appearances as the mother of Ida Lupino in the sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve (1957–1958). In 1962 she played Mrs. Carreway, who mistook Marshal Micah Torrance to be her long lost husband, in The Rifleman episode “Guilty Conscience.” In 1963, she appeared as Aunt Wilma Howard in the episode "Skeleton in the Closet" of the sitcom The Real McCoys.

In 1965, she appeared as Mrs. Ashton Durham in the episode "It's a Dog's World" of Hazel and as Cora Prichard in an episode titled "Noblesse Oblige" during the show's final season. She turned in a voice performance as Mrs. Frumpington in an episode of the animated series The Alvin Show, which may be heard on the soundtrack LP by David Seville and The Chipmunks. Patrick made three appearances on I Married Joan.

Death Patrick died suddenly on November 21, 1982, from a heart seizure at Laguna Beach, California, a day before her 81st birthday.

Acting credits Stage

Film Key to studio abbreviations 20th 20th Century-Fox CP Columbia Pictures FC Film Classics MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Par Paramount Path Pathé RPRepublic Pictures RKO RKO Radio UA United Artists Uni Universal WB Warner Bros.

+ Feature films (70)YearTitle RoleDirectorProducerDistributor Other cast members Notes Refs.1929Strange CargoDiana FosterBenjamin Glazer, Arthur GregorBenjamin GlazerPathGeorge Barraud 1935NurseEdwin L. MarinMGMPaul Lukas 1937Border CafeEllieRobert SiskRKOHarry Carey, Marjorie Lord You Can't Beat LoveMinor RoleRobert SiskRKOPreston Foster(scenes deleted) 1938Crashing HollywoodGoldie TibbetsCliff ReidRKOLee Tracy Night SpotFlo BradleyRobert SiskRKOAllan Lane Maid's Night OutKissing Milk CustomerRobert SiskRKOJoan Fontaine, Allan LaneUncredited Law of the UnderworldDorothy PalmerRobert SiskRKOChester Morris The SistersFlora GibbonAnatole LitvakWBErrol Flynn, Bette Davis Invisible StripesMollyHal B. Wallis, Jack L. WarnerWBGeorge Raft, William Holden 1940Saturday's ChildrenFlorrie SandsHal B. WallisWBJohn Garfield, Anne Shirley, Claude Rains Ladies Must LiveMary LarrabeeWilliam Jacobs, Bryan FoyWBGeorge Reeves, Roscoe Karns Money and the WomanMartha ChurchWilliam Jacobs, Bryan FoyWBJeffrey Lynn, Brenda Marshall, John Litel City for ConquestGladysWilliam CagneyWBJames Cagney South of SuezDelia SnedekerBryan FoyWBGeorge Brent, George Tobias Father is a PrinceTess HaleyWilliam Jacobs, Bryan FoyWBGrant Mitchell, Nana Bryant 1941Honeymoon for ThreeMrs. PettijohnHal B. WallisWBAnn Sheridan Footsteps in the DarkBlondie WhiteHal B. WallisWBErrol Flynn Ruth AdamsBryan FoyWBRegis Toomey Million Dollar BabyJosie La RueHal B. WallisWBRonald Reagan Kisses for BreakfastBetty TrentHarlan ThompsonWBJane Wyatt Rose FairchildKenneth GametWBAlexis Smith The Maltese FalconEffie PerineHal B. WallisWBHumphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet Dangerously They LiveNurse JohnsonBryan FoyWBJohn Garfield 1942In This Our LifeBetty WilmothHal B. WallisWBBette Davis, Olivia de Havilland George Washington Slept HereRina LeslieJerry WaldWBJack Benny, Ann Sheridan Polly FranklinSamuel BischoffCPLoretta Young, Brian Aherne 1943JitterbugsDorcasSol M. Wurtzel20thStan Laurel, Oliver Hardy Nobody's DarlingMiss PenningtonHarry GreyRPLouis Calhern Larceny with MusicAgatha ParkinsonEdward C. LilleyUniLeo Carrillo, Kitty Carlisle, William Frawley 1944Moon Over Las VegasMrs. BlakeJean YarbroughUniAnne Gwynne, David Bruce Gambler's ChoiceFay LawrenceWilliam H. Pine, William C. ThomasParChester Morris, Nancy Kelly Mrs. ParkingtonMadeleine Parkington Swann Leon GordonMGMGreer Garson, Walter Pidgeon Faces in the FogCora ElliottArmand SchaeferRPJane Withers 1945Keep Your Power DryGladys HopkinsGeorge HaightMGMLana Turner, Agnes Moorehead, Natalie Schafer See My LawyerSally EvansEdmund L. HartmannUniOle Olsen Over 21Mrs. FoleySidney BuchmanCPIrene Dunne Mildred PierceMaggie BiederhofJerry WaldWBJoan Crawford 1946SusanAlbert J. CohenCPEdgar Buchanan Strange JourneyMrs. LathropSol M. Wurtzel20thPaul Kelly Wake Up and DreamThe BlondeWalter Morosco20thJohn Payne, June Haver 1947Mother Wore TightsLilLamar Trotti20thBetty Grable 1948Singin' SpursClarissa BloomsburyColbert ClarkCPHoosier Hot Shots, Jay Silverheels Big Sister BluesKaren SaundersHarry GreyParJohn RidgelyShortInner SanctumRuth BennettRichard B. Morros, Samuel Rheiner, Walter ShensonFCCharles Russell Asylum inmateRobert Bassler, Anatole Litvak, Darryl F. Zanuck20thOlivia de Havilland 1950CagedElvira PowellJerry WaldWBEleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Hope Emerson Claire SimpsonS. Sylvan SimonCPLucille Ball 1951Tomorrow Is Another DayJanet HigginsHenry BlankeWBRuth Roman 1953Take Me to TownRoseLeonard Goldstein, Ross HunterUniAnn Sheridan 1954There's No Business Like Show BusinessMargeSol C. Siegel20thEthel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Marilyn Monroe 1958VertigoCar Owner Mistaken for MadeleineAlfred HitchcockParJames Stewart, Kim Novak 1959Pillow TalkMrs. WaltersRoss Hunter, Martin MelcherUniRock Hudson, Doris Day 1961Goodbye AgainMme FleuryAnatole LitvakUAIngrid Bergman, Anthony PerkinsUncredited Summer and SmokeMrs. EwellPaul Nathan, Hal B. WallisParLaurence Harvey, Geraldine Page 1963Wives and LoversMrs. SwensonEdward AnhaltParJanet Leigh 19647 Faces of Dr. LaoMrs. Howard T. CassanGeorge PalMGMTony Randall HousekeeperRobert CohnCPMichael Callan, Barbara Eden

Television