Beulah Bondi
Encyclopedia
Beulah Bondi
was an American actress.
Bondi began her acting career as a young child in theater, and after establishing herself as a stage actress, she reprised her role in Street Scene
for the 1931 film version. She played supporting roles in several films during the 1930s, and was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
. She played the mother of James Stewart
in four films, including Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939) and It's a Wonderful Life
(1946).
She continued acting into her old age, and won an Emmy Award
for an appearance in the television series The Waltons
in 1976.
, the daughter of Eva (née
Marble) and Adolphe Bondy. Bondi began her acting career on the stage at age seven, playing the title role in the play Little Lord Fauntleroy
in a production at the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso, Indiana
. She graduated from the Frances Shimer Academy (later Shimer College
) in 1907, and gained her Bachelors and Masters degrees in oratory
at Valparaiso University
in 1916 and 1918, and moved to film in the 1930s. Her debut movie role was as "Emma Jones" in Elmer Rice
's Street Scene
(1931), which starred Sylvia Sidney
, and in which Bondi reprised her stage role, followed by "Mrs. Davidson" in Rain
(1932), which starred Joan Crawford
and Walter Huston
.
She was one of the first five women to be nominated for an Academy Award in the newly-created category of "Best Supporting Actress" for her work in The Gorgeous Hussy
, although she lost the award to Gale Sondergaard
. Two years later, she was nominated again for Of Human Hearts
, and lost again, but her reputation as a character actress kept her employed.
She would most often be seen in the role of the mother of the star of the film for the rest of her career, with the exception of Make Way for Tomorrow
(1937) as the abandoned Depression-era 'Ma' Cooper.
She often played mature roles in her early film career even though she was only in her early 40s. Bondi played James Stewart
’s mother in four films: It's a Wonderful Life
, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
,
Of Human Hearts
and Vivacious Lady
.
and Howard Richardson
's Ark of Safety on the Goodyear Television Playhouse
.
She made her final appearances as Martha Corinne Walton on The Waltons
in the episodes "The Conflict" (9/74) and "The Pony Cart" (12/76). She received an Emmy award for her performance in the latter episode. When her name was called, it first appeared that she was not present, but she was given a standing ovation as she walked slowly to the podium, where she thanked everyone for honoring her while she was still alive.
Despite the fact that she was known for playing mother figures, Bondi never married in real life. She died from pulmonary
complications due to broken ribs suffered when she tripped over her cat on January 11, 1981, aged 92.
was an American actress.
Bondi began her acting career as a young child in theater, and after establishing herself as a stage actress, she reprised her role in Street Scene
Street Scene (play)
Street Scene is a play by Elmer Rice that opened at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City on January 10, 1929 and ran for a total of 601 performances. The action of this ambitious, groundbreaking play takes place entirely on the front stoop of a New York City brownstone and in the adjacent street...
for the 1931 film version. She played supporting roles in several films during the 1930s, and was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. She played the mother of James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
in four films, including Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
(1939) and It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
(1946).
She continued acting into her old age, and won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for an appearance in the television series The Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
in 1976.
Theater and films
Bondi was born as Beulah Bondy in Valparaiso, IndianaValparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census, making it the 2nd largest city in Porter County.-History:...
, the daughter of Eva (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Marble) and Adolphe Bondy. Bondi began her acting career on the stage at age seven, playing the title role in the play Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little Lord Fauntleroy is the first children's novel written by English playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was originally published as a serial in the St. Nicholas Magazine between November 1885 and October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's in 1886...
in a production at the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census, making it the 2nd largest city in Porter County.-History:...
. She graduated from the Frances Shimer Academy (later Shimer College
Shimer College
Shimer College is a very small, private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Founded by Frances Wood Shimer in 1853 in the frontier town of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, it was a women's school for most of its first century. It joined with the University of...
) in 1907, and gained her Bachelors and Masters degrees in oratory
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
at Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University, known colloquially as Valpo, is a regionally accredited private university located in the city of Valparaiso in the U.S. state of Indiana. Founded in 1859, it consists of five undergraduate colleges, a graduate school, a nursing school and a law school...
in 1916 and 1918, and moved to film in the 1930s. Her debut movie role was as "Emma Jones" in Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene.-Early years:...
's Street Scene
Street Scene (play)
Street Scene is a play by Elmer Rice that opened at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City on January 10, 1929 and ran for a total of 601 performances. The action of this ambitious, groundbreaking play takes place entirely on the front stoop of a New York City brownstone and in the adjacent street...
(1931), which starred Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
, and in which Bondi reprised her stage role, followed by "Mrs. Davidson" in Rain
Rain (1932 film)
Rain is a 1932 South Seas drama film directed by Lewis Milestone with portions filmed at Santa Catalina Island, California. The film stars Joan Crawford as prostitute Sadie Thompson and Walter Huston as a conflicted missionary who wants to reform Sadie, but whose own morals start decaying...
(1932), which starred Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
and Walter Huston
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
.
She was one of the first five women to be nominated for an Academy Award in the newly-created category of "Best Supporting Actress" for her work in The Gorgeous Hussy
The Gorgeous Hussy
The Gorgeous Hussy is a 1936 film directed by Clarence Brown, and starring Joan Crawford and Robert Taylor. The film's plot tells a fictionalized account of President of the United States Andrew Jackson and an innkeeper's daughter...
, although she lost the award to Gale Sondergaard
Gale Sondergaard
Gale Sondergaard was an American actress.Sondergaard began her acting career in theatre, and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her film debut in Anthony Adverse...
. Two years later, she was nominated again for Of Human Hearts
Of Human Hearts
Of Human Hearts is a 1938 film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Walter Huston, James Stewart and Beulah Bondi. Bondi was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress....
, and lost again, but her reputation as a character actress kept her employed.
She would most often be seen in the role of the mother of the star of the film for the rest of her career, with the exception of Make Way for Tomorrow
Make Way for Tomorrow
Make Way for Tomorrow is a 1937 American drama film directed by Leo McCarey. The plot concerns an elderly couple who are forced to separate when they lose their house and none of their five children will take both parents in....
(1937) as the abandoned Depression-era 'Ma' Cooper.
She often played mature roles in her early film career even though she was only in her early 40s. Bondi played James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
’s mother in four films: It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
,
Of Human Hearts
Of Human Hearts
Of Human Hearts is a 1938 film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Walter Huston, James Stewart and Beulah Bondi. Bondi was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress....
and Vivacious Lady
Vivacious Lady
Vivacious Lady is a 1938 American black-and-white romantic comedy film starring Ginger Rogers and James Stewart, produced and directed by George Stevens, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The screenplay was written by P.J. Wolfson and Ernest Pagano and adapted from a short story by I. A. R. Wylie...
.
Television
Her television credits include Alfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
and Howard Richardson
Howard Richardson (playwright)
Howard Dixon Richardson was an American playwright, best known for the 1945 play Dark of the Moon.Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Richardson graduated in 1938 from the University of North Carolina and then traveled through Europe , returning to the University of North Carolina in 1940 for his...
's Ark of Safety on the Goodyear Television Playhouse
Goodyear Television Playhouse
The Goodyear Television Playhouse produced live television dramas from 1951 to 1957 during the "Golden Age of Television".Sponsored by Goodyear, the hour-long anthology series was telecast Sundays at 9pm on NBC...
.
She made her final appearances as Martha Corinne Walton on The Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
in the episodes "The Conflict" (9/74) and "The Pony Cart" (12/76). She received an Emmy award for her performance in the latter episode. When her name was called, it first appeared that she was not present, but she was given a standing ovation as she walked slowly to the podium, where she thanked everyone for honoring her while she was still alive.
Despite the fact that she was known for playing mother figures, Bondi never married in real life. She died from pulmonary
Human lung
The human lungs are the organs of respiration in humans. Humans have two lungs, with the left being divided into two lobes and the right into three lobes. Together, the lungs contain approximately of airways and 300 to 500 million alveoli, having a total surface area of about in...
complications due to broken ribs suffered when she tripped over her cat on January 11, 1981, aged 92.
Partial filmography
- Street SceneStreet Scene (1931 film)Street Scene is a 1931 black-and-white drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by King Vidor. With a screenplay by Elmer Rice adapted from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Street Scene takes place on a New York City street from one evening until the following afternoon...
(1931) - RainRain (1932 film)Rain is a 1932 South Seas drama film directed by Lewis Milestone with portions filmed at Santa Catalina Island, California. The film stars Joan Crawford as prostitute Sadie Thompson and Walter Huston as a conflicted missionary who wants to reform Sadie, but whose own morals start decaying...
(1932) - Finishing SchoolFinishing School (film)Finishing School is a 1934 romantic drama film starring Frances Dee as a young woman who gets into trouble after being sent to a finishing school by her neglectful parents.This film was condemned by the Legion of Decency.-Plot:...
(1934) - The Invisible Ray (1936)
- The Trail of the Lonesome PineThe Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936 film)The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1936 romance film based on the novel of the same name. It was directed by Henry Hathaway. It was the second full length feature film to be shot in three-strip Technicolor and the first in color to be shot outdoors, with the approval of the Technicolor Corporation...
(1936) - Hearts DividedHearts DividedHearts Divided is a 1936 musical film about the real-life marriage between American Elizabeth 'Betsy' Patterson and Jérôme Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon. It starred Marion Davies and Dick Powell as the couple...
(1936) - The Gorgeous HussyThe Gorgeous HussyThe Gorgeous Hussy is a 1936 film directed by Clarence Brown, and starring Joan Crawford and Robert Taylor. The film's plot tells a fictionalized account of President of the United States Andrew Jackson and an innkeeper's daughter...
(1936) - Maid of SalemMaid of SalemMaid of Salem is a 1937 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Frank Lloyd, and starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray.-Plot:It tells the story of a young girl in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692, who has an affair with adventurer...
(1937) - Make Way for TomorrowMake Way for TomorrowMake Way for Tomorrow is a 1937 American drama film directed by Leo McCarey. The plot concerns an elderly couple who are forced to separate when they lose their house and none of their five children will take both parents in....
(1937) - The SistersThe Sisters (1938 film)The Sisters is a 1938 American drama film produced and directed by Anatole Litvak. The screenplay by Milton Krims is based on the 1937 novel of the same title by Myron Brinig.-Plot:...
(1938) - The BuccaneerThe Buccaneer (1938 film)The Buccaneer is a 1938 American adventure film made by Paramount Pictures based on Jean Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. It was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille from a screenplay by Harold Lamb, Edwin Justus Mayer and C. Gardner Sullivan adapted by Jeanie...
(1938) - Of Human HeartsOf Human HeartsOf Human Hearts is a 1938 film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Walter Huston, James Stewart and Beulah Bondi. Bondi was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress....
(1938) - Vivacious LadyVivacious LadyVivacious Lady is a 1938 American black-and-white romantic comedy film starring Ginger Rogers and James Stewart, produced and directed by George Stevens, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The screenplay was written by P.J. Wolfson and Ernest Pagano and adapted from a short story by I. A. R. Wylie...
(1938) - On Borrowed TimeOn Borrowed TimeOn Borrowed Time is a 1939 film about the role death plays in life, and how humanity cannot live without it. It is adapted from Paul Osborn's 1938 Broadway hit play. The play, based on a novel by Lawrence Edward Watkin, has been revived twice on Broadway since its original run.Set in small-town...
(1939) - The Under-PupThe Under-PupThe Under-Pup is the 1939 feature film that introduced soprano singing star Gloria Jean to the screen. The story, adapted by Grover Jones from a magazine story by Australian author I. A. R. Wylie, casts Gloria as a streetwise girl who is sent to a summer camp for wealthy girls...
(1939) - Mr. Smith Goes to WashingtonMr. Smith Goes to WashingtonMr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
(1939) - Remember the NightRemember the NightRemember the Night is a 1940 American romantic comedy/drama Christmas film directed by Mitchell Leisen, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray...
(1940) - Our Town (1940)
- Penny SerenadePenny SerenadePenny Serenade is a 1941 film melodrama starring Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Beulah Bondi, and Edgar Buchanan. It was directed by George Stevens and written by Martha Cheavens and Morrie Ryskind. It depicts the story of a loving couple who must overcome adversity to keep their marriage and raise a child...
(1941) - The Shepherd of the HillsThe Shepherd of the Hills (film)The Shepherd of the Hills is a 1941 film starring John Wayne. It was Wayne's first film in Technicolor. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Harold Bell Wright.-Differences from the novel:...
(1941) - One Foot in HeavenOne Foot in HeavenOne Foot in Heaven is a 1941 American biographical film starring Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi, Gene Lockhart and Elisabeth Fraser.The movie was adapted by Casey Robinson from the autobiography by Hartzell Spence...
(1941) - Watch on the RhineWatch on the RhineWatch on the Rhine is a 1943 American drama film directed by Herman Shumlin. The screenplay by Dashiell Hammett is based on the 1941 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman.-Plot:...
(1943) - Tonight We Raid Calais (1943)
- The Very Thought of YouThe Very Thought of You (film)The Very Thought of You is a 1944 romantic drama film starring Dennis Morgan and Eleanor Parker. In World War II, an American soldier on a short leave falls in love with and marries a woman.-Cast:*Dennis Morgan as Sergeant David Stewart...
(1944) - The SouthernerThe Southerner (1945 film)The Southerner is a 1945 American film directed by Jean Renoir, based on the novel Hold Autumn in Your Hand by George Sessions Perry. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Director, Original Music Score and Sound. Renoir was named Best Director by the National Board of Review, which also...
(1945) - Back to BataanBack to BataanBack to Bataan is a World War II war film produced by Robert Fellows, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. It was produced by RKO Radio Pictures. It depicts events that took place after the Battle of Bataan on the island of Luzon in the Philippines...
(1945) - Sister KennySister KennySister Kenny is a 1946 biographical film about Sister Elizabeth Kenny, an Australian bush nurse, who fought to help people who suffered from polio, despite opposition from the medical establishment...
(1946) - It's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
(1946) - The Sainted SistersThe Sainted SistersThe Sainted Sisters is a 1948 comedy film starring Veronica Lake and co-starring Joan Caulfield, Barry Fitzgerald, George Reeves, William Demarest and Beulah Bondi...
(1948) - The Snake PitThe Snake PitThe Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick.The film was...
(1948) - So Dear to My HeartSo Dear to My HeartSo Dear to My Heart is a 1948 feature film produced by Walt Disney, released in Chicago on November 29, 1948 and nationwide on January 19, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. Like 1946's Song of the South, the film combines animation and live action...
(1948) - Mr. Soft TouchMr. Soft TouchMr. Soft Touch is a 1949 film about a man on the run from the Mob. It stars Glenn Ford and Evelyn Keyes.-Plot:Polish American Joe Miracle returns from fighting in World War II, only to find his San Francisco nightclub under the control of the Mob, and his friend and partner Leo missing and...
(1949) - Reign of TerrorReign of Terror (film)Reign of Terror is a 1949 drama film set in the French Revolution. Plotters seek to bring down Maximilien Robespierre and end his bloodthirsty Reign of Terror...
(1949) - The Baron of ArizonaThe Baron of ArizonaThe Baron of Arizona is a 1950 film by Samuel Fuller and starring Vincent Price. Ed Wood was a stunt double in the film.The film concerns a master forger's attempted use of false documents to lay claim to the territory of Arizona late in the 19th century, and is based on the case of James Reavis,...
(1950) - The FuriesThe Furies (film)The Furies is a Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Wendell Corey, and, in his last performance, Walter Huston.In 2008, the film was released on DVD in the U.S. by the Criterion Collection.-Plot:T.C...
(1950) - Lone StarLone Star (1952 film)Lone Star is a 1952 Western film starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Broderick Crawford, Ed Begley, and Lionel Barrymore as President Andrew Jackson...
(1952) - Latin LoversLatin Lovers (1953 film)Latin Lovers is a Technicolor 1953 romantic musical comedy film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy, and written by Isobel Lennart...
(1953) - Track of the CatTrack of the CatTrack of the Cat is a William A. Wellman film starring Robert Mitchum and Teresa Wright. The film is based on a 1949 adventure novel of the same name by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. This was Wellman's second adaptation of a Clark novel, the first being The Ox-Bow Incident...
(1954) - Back from EternityBack from EternityBack from Eternity is a 1956 drama film about a planeload of people stranded in the South American jungle and subsequently menaced by headhunters. It is a remake of an earlier 1939 film, Five Came Back, starred Chester Morris and Lucille Ball, also directed and produced by John Farrow...
(1956) - The Unholy WifeThe Unholy WifeThe Unholy Wife is a color film noir drama film produced and directed by John Farrow at RKO Radio Pictures and released by Universal Pictures as RKO was in its final stages of closing down...
(1957) - A Summer PlaceA Summer Place (film)A Summer Place is a 1959 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sloan Wilson. It was directed by Delmer Daves and stars Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire, Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee...
(1959) - Tammy Tell Me True (1961)
- Tammy and the Doctor (1963)