Mary Finney

Mary Finney (born Mary Whaley; – February 26, 1973) was an American comic character actress of stage and television. She co-starred on Celeste Holm's short-lived sitcom Honestly, Celeste!.

Early life and career Finney, born Mary Whaley in Spokane, Washington, was the second child born to burlesque performers Mary Hindman and James Whaley, alias Frank Finney. ) She attended North Central High School, class of 1924 (where she contributed a regular column to the school's award-winning newspaper ), and then the University of Oregon, majoring in journalism.

On March 31, 1924, as reported by both The Spokane Press and Spokesman-Review the following day, Finney, then 17 and a senior at North Central High, made her professional debut with her father's company, the Laughlanders. Marye Finney [sic], daughter of Frank Finney, was introduced to the dramatic world by her father Monday night at the Auditorium in the Laughlanders' show, 'A Trip to Hollywood.' Finney's daughter stopped the show when she sang 'I'm Not That Kind of a Girl.' Flowers were rushed over the footlights and Marye now ranks as assistant comedian of the 'Laughlanders.' [...] Finney possesses the something that makes a comedienne and she won't have to hold her place on the stage in reflected glory. Her poise and savoir faire suggest a stage training and not a first night.

She was rewarded with considerably larger roles in the company's next two shows: the secretly married maid of Tiddledy Winks and the fairy queen in Woogie Woogie Land.

Finney performed in little theatre productions in the mid 1930s in Spokane, Washington, and a decade later at the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts, where, for what appears to the first and only time in her career (stretching as far back as high school), she was credited under her birth name, Mary Whaley. This continued for more than two years, until November 1946, when, as the mother in Vina Delmar's A Rich, Full Life, she reverted to the family stage name. ), that Mary resumed use of the stage name, Finney.

Beginning in the fall of 1948 and continuing through the winter, Finney appeared in numerous productions of Margo Jones' Theater '48, including revivals of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Molière's The Learned Ladies, portraying Lady Bracknell and Philamente, respectively.

In 1950, under the direction of Jones, Finney made her Broadway debut as Mary Belle Tucker in Owen Crump's Southern Exposure, prompting Daily News critic John Chapman to hail the arrival of "the funniest character woman" he had seen since the performance, three decades earlier, of comedienne May Vokes in the Mary Rinehart/Avery Hopwood hit play The Bat. Miss Finney, as the tourist-leader, must be seen. It is an adventure to watch her walk down a few stairs and another adventure to see her separate herself from a sofa.

Death On February 26, 1973, unmarried and with no living next of kin, Finney died at age 66 of emphysema in Manhattan.

Acting credits Theatre

Television