Mary Gordon

Mary Gordon (born Mary Gilmour; 16 May 1882 – 23 August 1963) was a Scottish actress 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.

Early life Gordon was born on 16 May 1882, in Glasgow, Scotland, the fifth of seven children of Mary and Robert Gilmour, a wire weaver. She worked as a dressmaker before finding work on the stage. She became a concert singer when she was 17 years old, but she left that career behind when she married. After her husband died during World War I she opened a boarding house to support her mother, her baby daughter, and herself. Joining a company bound for an American tour, she came to the U.S. in her twenties, apparently making a few appearances on Broadway in small roles, but primarily touring in stock companies. Gordon came to the United States with her mother and daughter soon after World War I ended. After working three months as a waitress in the Robertson-Cole Studios, she became the cook there. She had bit parts in films and coached Katharine Hepburn on using a Scottish dialect for the film The Little Minister.

Career Gordon arrived in Los Angeles with her mother and daughter in the mid-1920s, and began playing variations on the roles she would spend her career in. 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, Mrs. Hudson, 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 after a long illness.

Selected filmography

The Dome Doctor (1925, Short) - Woman with Long Hair (uncredited) The Home Maker (1925) - Mrs. Hennessy Tessie (1925) - Aunt Maggie One of the Bravest (1925) - Tenement Boy's Mother The People vs. Nancy Preston (1925) - Mrs. Tifft Lights of Old Broadway (1925) - Minor Role (uncredited) Black Paradise (1926) - Mrs. Murphy The Dixie Flyer (1926) - Mrs. Clancy Naughty Nanette (1927) - Mrs. Rooney The Claw (1927) - Bit (uncredited) Annie Laurie (1927) - First Midwife (uncredited) Clancy's Kosher Wedding (1927) - Molly Clancy Little Mickey Grogan (1927) - Kind Landlady (uncredited) The Matinee Idol (1928) - Woman in Audience (uncredited) Hangman's House (1928) - The Woman at Hogan's Hideout (uncredited) Our Dancing Daughters (1928) - Scrubwoman (uncredited) The Ol' Gray Hoss (1928, Short) - First taxi passenger The Old Code (1928) - Mary MacGregr The Black Watch (1929) - Sandy's Wife (uncredited) Madame X (1929) - Nursemaid (uncredited) Is Everybody Happy? (1929) - Neighbor (uncredited) The Saturday Night Kid (1929) - Reducing customer (uncredited) The Sky Hawk (1929) - Mary, the Maid (uncredited) Dynamite (1929) - Neighbor at Store (uncredited) Sunny Side Up (1929) - Grocery Shopper (uncredited) Hell's Heroes (1929) - Choir Member (uncredited) Seven Days' Leave (1930) - Bit (uncredited) The Duke of Dublin (1930, Short) His Honor the Mayor (1930, Short) When the Wind Blows (1930, Short) - Chubby's Mother (uncredited) Las Fantasmas (1930, Short) - Chubby's Mama Roaring Ranch (1930) - Mrs. O'Riley (uncredited) Let Us Be Gay (1930) - Mrs. McIntyre (uncredited) Our Blushing Brides (1930) - Mrs. Mannix - Tenement Woman (uncredited) Manslaughter (1930) - Cook (uncredited) Song o' My Heart (1930) - Irish Woman (uncredited) Anybody's Woman (1930) - (uncredited) Dance with Me (1930, Short) Oh, For a Man! (1930) - Stage Door Admirer with Violets (uncredited) Unfaithful (1931) - Bit (uncredited) Subway Express (1931) - Mrs. Delaney Always Goodbye (1931) - Mrs. MacPherson, Moviegoer (uncredited) The Black Camel (1931) - Mrs. MacMasters The Brat (1931) - Angry Wife in Night Court (uncredited) Waterloo Bridge (1931) - Distraught Woman on Stairway (uncredited) 24 Hours (1931) - Nurse (uncredited) Possessed (1931) - Woman at Political Rally (uncredited) Frankenstein (1931) - Mourner (uncredited) Models and Wives (1931, Short) A House Divided (1931) - Townswoman (uncredited) Ladies of the Big House (1931) - Inmate (uncredited) Delicious (1931) - Dancer (uncredited) A Fool's Advice (1932) - Woman at Rally (uncredited) Texas Cyclone (1932) - Katie The Impatient Maiden (1932) - Irish Neighbor (uncredited) The Expert (1932) - Neighbor (uncredited) The Big Timer (1932) - 2nd Job Seeker (uncredited) Dancers in the Dark (1932) - Cleaning Lady (uncredited) Devil's Lottery (1932) - Inquest Onlooker (uncredited) Scandal for Sale (1932) - Hotel Resident (uncredited) The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932) - Court Matron (uncredited) Radio Patrol (1932) - Landlady (uncredited) Beauty Parlor (1932) - Landlady (uncredited) Almost Married (1932) - Cook 70,000 Witnesses (1932) - Scrubwoman (uncredited) Blonde Venus (1932) - Landlady (uncredited) Pack Up Your Troubles (1932) - Mrs. MacTavish (uncredited) Wild Girl (1932) - Washerwoman (uncredited) Call Her Savage (1932) - Lady in Tenement (uncredited) Laughter in Hell (1933) - Townswoman (uncredited) She Done Him Wrong (1933) - Cleaning Lady (uncredited) Her Splendid Folly (1933) - Mrs. Clancey Ladies They Talk About (1933) - Prisoner in Visiting Room (uncredited) Men Must Fight (1933) - Pacifist Audience Member (uncredited) Nature in the Wrong (1933, Short) - Mrs. Clancy (uncredited) Sweepings (1933) - Mrs. Patrick O'Leary (uncredited) The Whirlwind (1933) - Mrs. Curtis The Kiss Before the Mirror (1933) - Scrubwoman (uncredited) Pilgrimage (1933) - Mrs. MacGregor (uncredited) The Power and the Glory (1933) - Nurse (uncredited) Doctor Bull (1933) - Townswoman at Meeting (uncredited) Brief Moment (1933) - Cook (uncredited) Footlight Parade (1933) - Wardrobe Woman on Bus (uncredited) My Woman (1933) - Woman at Ironing Board (uncredited) Meet the Baron (1933) - Washer Woman (uncredited) Broadway Through a Keyhole (1933) - Cleaning Woman (uncredited) The Invisible Man (1933) - Screaming Woman (uncredited) Design for Living (1933) - Theatre Chambermaid (uncredited) The World Changes (1933) - Lady at Party (uncredited) Beloved (1934) - Mrs. O'Leary The Woman Condemned (1934) - Crying Woman at Night Court (uncredited) Voice in the Night (1934) - Woman on Phone in Montage (uncredited) Manhattan Melodrama (1934) - Boat Passenger (uncredited) Change of Heart (1934) - Woman in Street (uncredited) Murder at the Vanities (1934) - Assistant Wardrobe Woman (uncredited) The Loudspeaker (1934) - Landlady (uncredited) The Most Precious Thing in Life (1934) - Washerwoman (uncredited) A Man's Game (1934) - Landlady (uncredited) The World Moves On (1934) - English Soldier's Mother (uncredited) Baby Take a Bow (1934) - Mrs. O'Brien (uncredited) Cross Streets (1934) - Sonny's Mother Whom the Gods Destroy (1934) - Newfoundlander (uncredited) The Defense Rests (1934) - Scrub Woman (uncredited) I Give My Love (1934) - Marie (uncredited) Our Daily Bread (1934) - Community Woman in Cottage (uncredited) One More River (1934) - Cook (uncredited) The Man from Hell (1934) - Mrs. Frank McCarrol (uncredited) Charlie Chan in London (1934) - Prison Visitor (uncredited) Flirtation (1934) - Woman on a Window (uncredited) The Little Minister (1934) - Nanny I'm a Father (1935, Short) - Neighbor Vanessa: Her Love Story (1935) - Mrs. Leathwaite Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - Hans' Wife Vagabond Lady (1935) - Myrtle - Cleaning Lady (uncredited) $10 Raise (1935) - Landlady (uncredited) Ginger (1935) - Mrs. Monohan (uncredited) The Irish in Us (1935) - Ma O'Hara Bonnie Scotland (1935) - Mrs. Bickerdike Waterfront Lady (1935) - Mrs. O'Flaherty Metropolitan (1935) - Mrs. Tolentino (uncredited) Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) - Peddler (uncredited) The Lady Consents (1936) - Apple Lady (uncredited) Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) - Farmer's Wife on Way to Church (uncredited) Laughing Irish Eyes (1936) - Mrs. O'Keefe Share the Wealth (1936, Short) - Ma MacClyde Forgotten Faces (1936) - Mrs. O'Leary Little Miss Nobody (1936) - Mrs. Biddle (uncredited) The White Angel (1936) - Nursing Applicant (uncredited) Mary of Scotland (1936) - Nurse Yellowstone (1936) - Mrs. McDougall (uncredited) Stage Struck (1936) - Mrs. Cassidy The Plot Thickens (1936) - Woman with Bag (uncredited) After the Thin Man (1936) - Rose (uncredited) The Plough and the Stars (1936) - Woman at Barricades Great Guy (1936) - Mrs. Ogilvie The Great O'Malley (1937) - Mrs. O'Malley Nancy Steele Is Missing! (1937) - Mrs. Watson - Landlady (uncredited) Her Husband Lies (1937) - Mrs. Jenks (uncredited) Racketeers in Exile (1937) - Irish Woman (uncredited) Way Out West (1937) - Cook (uncredited) That I May Live (1937) - Mrs. Healy (uncredited) Pick A Star (1937) - Mrs. Watts - Undertaker's Wife (uncredited) The Man in Blue (1937) - Woman (uncredited) Married Before Breakfast (1937) - Mrs. Nevins (uncredited) One Man Justice (1937) - Bridget Meet the Boyfriend (1937) - Mrs. Grimes The Toast of New York (1937) - Mrs. Callahan - Charwoman (uncredited) You Can't Have Everything (1937) - Y.W.C.A. Scrub Woman (uncredited) Souls at Sea (1937) - Cook (uncredited) Double Wedding (1937) - Mrs. Keough A Damsel in Distress (1937) - Cook (uncredited) You're Only Young Once (1937) - Mary's Mother (uncredited) Mannequin (1937) - Mrs. O'Rourke (uncredited) Lady Behave! (1937) - Cook Friend Indeed (1937, Short) - Housekeeper Kidnapped (1938) - Mrs. MacDonald Blond Cheat (1938) - Maggie - the Charwoman (uncredited) City Streets (1938) - Mrs. Devlin Gateway (1938) - Scottish Mother (uncredited) Campus Confessions (1938) - Mrs. Twill (uncredited) Vacation from Love (1938) - Maggie, the Cook (uncredited) Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) - Mrs. Patrick McGee (uncredited) Thanks for Everything (1938) - Maggie, Irish Woman (uncredited) Off the Record (1939) - Mrs. Finnegan (uncredited) Wings of the Navy (1939) - Irene's Housekeeper (uncredited) Tail Spin (1939) - Mrs. Lee The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) - Mrs. Hudson Broadway Serenade (1939) - Annie (uncredited) Code of the Streets (1939) - Mrs. Flaherty (uncredited) Tell No Tales (1939) - Mrs. Bryant (uncredited) Racketeers of the Range (1939) - Mary - Benson's Housekeeper (uncredited) Captain Fury (1939) - Mrs. Bailey The Jones Family in Hollywood (1939) - Landlady (uncredited) She Married a Cop (1939) - Ma Duffy The Story That Couldn't Be Printed (1939, Short) - Woman Reading Newspaper (uncredited) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) - Mrs. Hudson Parents on Trial (1939) - Martha The Escape (1939) - Neighbor (uncredited) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - Woman (uncredited) The Marshal of Mesa City (1939) - Mrs. Dudley Rulers of the Sea (1939) - Mrs. Ogilvie (uncredited) Day-Time Wife (1939) - Scrubwoman (uncredited) The Night of Nights (1939) - Mrs. O'Leary (uncredited) Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President (1939) - 1st Pencil Woman (uncredited) My Son Is Guilty (1939) - Mrs. Montabelli (uncredited) The Invisible Man Returns (1940) - Cookie, the Cook (uncredited) Women Without Names (1940) - Juror (uncredited) My Son, My Son! (1940) - Mrs. Mulvaney Saps at Sea (1940) - Mrs. O'Riley (uncredited) Tear Gas Squad (1940) - Mrs. Sullivan I Take This Oath (1940) - Mrs. Eileen Hanagan Brother Orchid (1940) - Mrs. Sweeney - Flo's Landlady (uncredited) The Last Alarm (1940) - Mrs. Hadley The Man Who Talked Too Much (1940) - Mrs. Dunn (uncredited) Queen of the Mob (1940) - Tenement Landlady When the Daltons Rode (1940) - Ma Dalton Young People (1940) - Old Woman (uncredited) Public Deb No. 1 (1940) - Landlady (uncredited) Nobody's Children (1940) - Mary Go West (1940) - Train Passenger (uncredited) No, No, Nanette (1940) - Gertrude, the Cook Kitty Foyle (1940) - First Charwoman (uncredited) The Invisible Woman (1940) - Mrs. Bates Flight from Destiny (1941) - Martha Pot o' Gold (1941) - Ma McCorkle Double Cross (1941) - Mrs. Murray Unfinished Business (1941) - Miss Brady (uncredited) Unexpected Uncle (1941) - Mrs. Mason (uncredited) It Started with Eve (1941) - Mrs. O'Toole - Cleaning Lady (uncredited) How Green Was My Valley (1941) - Gossiper (uncredited) Appointment for Love (1941) - Martha Borrowed Hero (1941) - Mrs. Riley Riot Squad (1941) - Mrs. McGonigle Sealed Lips (1942) - Mrs. Ann Morton (Fred's mother) Blue, White and Perfect (1942) - Mrs. Flaherty - Mike's Landlady (uncredited) Bombay Clipper (1942) - Abigail 'Mag' MacPherson Fly-by-Night (1942) - Ma Prescott The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942) - Mrs. Scott (uncredited) Dr. Broadway (1942) - Broadway Carrie Meet the Stewarts (1942) - Mrs. Stewart It Happened in Flatbush (1942) - Mrs. Collins Powder Town (1942) - Mrs. Douglas The Pride of the Yankees (1942) - Maid (uncredited) Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942) - Mrs. Hudson (uncredited) Halfway to Shanghai (1942) - Mrs. McIntyre The Mummy's Tomb (1942) - Jane Banning Gentleman Jim (1942) - Mrs. Casey (uncredited) The Boss of Big Town (1942) - Mrs. Lane Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) - Mrs. Hudson Forever and a Day (1943) - Woman in Air Raid Shelter (uncredited) Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943) - Mrs. Hudson (uncredited) Keep 'Em Slugging (1943) - Mrs. Banning Sarong Girl (1943) - Mattie Two Tickets to London (1943) - Mrs. Tinkle Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) - Mrs. Hudson (uncredited) Here Comes Kelly (1943) - Mrs. Kelly Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943) - Charwoman (uncredited) You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith (1943) - Woman (uncredited) The Spider Woman (1943) - Mrs. Hudson Smart Guy (1943) - Maggie Whispering Footsteps (1943) - Ma Murphy The Racket Man (1944) - Ma Duffy (uncredited) Ladies Courageous (1944) - Old Lady (uncredited) Million Dollar Kid (1944) - Mrs. McGinnis Hat Check Honey (1944) - Jennie The Hour Before the Dawn (1944) - Annie (uncredited) Follow the Leader (1944) - Mrs. McGinnis (uncredited) Secrets of Scotland Yard (1944) - Libby the Housekeeper (uncredited) Secret Command (1944) - Mrs. McKenzie (uncredited) The Pearl of Death (1944) - Mrs. Hudson Ever Since Venus (1944) - Mrs. Murphy (uncredited) National Barn Dance (1944) - Mrs. Owen (uncredited) The Last Ride (1944) - Mrs. Mary Kelly Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1944) - Irish Woman (uncredited) Hollywood Canteen (1944) - Hostess (uncredited) Music for Millions (1944) - Hotel Proprietress (uncredited) Eadie Was a Lady (1945) - Old Lady (uncredited) The Body Snatcher (1945) - Mrs. Mary McBride (uncredited) It's a Pleasure (1945) - Tenement Woman (uncredited) See My Lawyer (1945) - Mrs. Fillmore The Woman in Green (1945) - Mrs. Hudson Captain Eddie (1945) - Mrs. Westrom Pride of the Marines (1945) - Lady at Bus Stop (uncredited) Divorce (1945) - Ellen Strange Confession (1945) - Mrs. O'Connor Kitty (1945) - Nanny Little Giant (1946) - Ma Miller Sentimental Journey (1946) - Agnes (uncredited) The Hoodlum Saint (1946) - Trina Dressed to Kill (1946) - Mrs. Hudson In Fast Company (1946) - Mrs. Cassidy Shadows Over Chinatown (1946) - Mrs. Conover The Dark Horse (1946) - Mrs. Mahoney (uncredited) Sing While You Dance (1946) - Mom Henderson Sister Kenny (1946) - Mrs. Gordon (uncredited) Singin' in the Corn (1946) - Mrs. O'Rourke Stallion Road (1947) - Mrs. Ford, Purcell's Housekeeper (uncredited) The Long Night (1947) - Old Lady in Crowd (uncredited) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) - Mother Machree (uncredited) Exposed (1947) - Miss Keets The Invisible Wall (1947) - Mrs. Bledsoe Roses Are Red (1947) - Scrubwoman (uncredited) The Judge Steps Out (1948) - Annie, the Scrub Woman (uncredited) Angels' Alley (1948) - Mrs. Mamie Mahoney Fort Apache (1948) - Ma (barmaid) Big Town Scandal (1948) - Mary - Cleaning Woman (uncredited) The Vicious Circle (1948) - Mrs. Hogan (revised version) (uncredited) The Strange Mrs. Crane (1948) - Nora Hills of Home (1948) - Mrs. Burnbrae (uncredited) Kidnapped (1948) - Scottish Woman (uncredited) The Dark Past (1948) - Passenger on Bus (uncredited) Highway 13 (1948) - Aunt Myrt Lacy Shamrock Hill (1949) - Grandma Rogan Tucson (1949) - Housemother (uncredited) Mighty Joe Young (1949) - Old Woman (unconfirmed) Mr. Soft Touch (1949) - Slatternly Woman Tenant (uncredited) Haunted Trails (1949) - Aunt Libby Deputy Marshall (1949) - Mrs. Lance Challenge to Lassie (1949) - Tenement Neighbor (uncredited) The File on Thelma Jordon (1950) - Charwoman (uncredited) West of Wyoming (1950) - Nora Jones