Mary Wickes
Encyclopedia
Mary Wickes was an American film and television actress.
, Missouri
, of German
Irish Protestant
extraction. She graduated at the age of eighteen with a degree in political science
from Washington University in St. Louis
, where she joined the Phi Mu
women's fraternity
. Wickes' first Broadway
appearance was in Marc Connelly
's The Farmer Takes a Wife
in 1934 with Henry Fonda
. She began acting in films in the late 1930s, and was also a member of the Orson Welles
troupe on his radio drama
Mercury Theatre of the Air
. One of her earliest significant film appearances was in The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), reprising her stage
role of "Nurse Preen".
A tall (5'10"), gangling woman with a distinctive voice, Wickes would ultimately prove herself adept as a comedienne, but she first attracted attention in the film Now, Voyager
(1942), as the wisecracking nurse who helped Bette Davis
' character during her mother's illness. (She had already appeared earlier that year with Davis in The Man Who Came To Dinner
, and appeared with Davis again six years later in June Bride
.) Also in 1942 she had a large part in the Abbott
and Costello
comedy Who Done It?. She continued playing supporting roles in films during the next decade, usually playing wisecracking characters. A prime example was her deadpan characterization of Stella, the harassed housekeeper, in the Doris Day
vehicles By the Light of the Silvery Moon
and On Moonlight Bay
. She played similar roles in two later movies with Rosalind Russell
: The Trouble with Angels and Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows
in the mid 1960s.
Moving to the new medium of television in the 1950s, Wickes played the warm, yet jocular maid Katie in the Mickey Mouse Club
serial Walt Disney Presents: Annette
and regular roles in the sitcoms Make Room for Daddy and Dennis the Menace, as well as appearing as Emma the housekeeper in the holiday classic White Christmas
(1954), starring Bing Crosby
, Danny Kaye
, Rosemary Clooney
and Vera-Ellen
. She also played the part of a ballet teacher, Madame Lamond, in the I Love Lucy
episode, The Ballet in 1952. Wickes also served as the live-action reference model for Cruella De Vil
in Walt Disney
's One Hundred and One Dalmatians
(1961), and played Mrs. Squires in the film adaptation of Meredith Willson
's The Music Man
(1962).
In 1953, Wickes played the housekeeper, Martha, to Ezio Pinza
's character in NBC
's short-lived Bonino
sitcom. Pinza portrayed an Italian-American opera singer trying to rear six children. Among the child actor
s on the program were Van Dyke Parks
and Chet Allen. In 1954-1955, she played Alice, the housekeeper to a college president, in the CBS sitcom The Halls of Ivy
. In 1956, Wickes appeared with Thelma Ritter
in "The Babysitter" episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
.
In the 1961-1962 season, she appeared as Maxfield with Gertrude Berg
in CBS's Mrs. G. Goes to College
. For her work in the sitcom, Wickes was nominated for an Emmy Award
for "Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actress".
A longtime friend of Lucille Ball
, Wickes played frequent guest roles in Ball's three CBS series, I Love Lucy
, The Lucy Show
and Here's Lucy
. In 1970-1971, she guest starred on CBS's The Doris Day Show
. (Day was another of her friends.) She was also a regular on the Sid and Marty Krofft
children's television show Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
, and the sitcom Doc
. She made numerous appearances as a celebrity panelist on the game show Match Game
. By the 1980s, her appearances in television series such as Our Man Higgins
, M*A*S*H, The Love Boat
, Kolchak: The Night Stalker
and Murder, She Wrote
had made her a widely recognizable character actress
. She also appeared in a variety of Broadway shows, including a 1979 revival of Oklahoma!
, where she portrayed Aunt Eller.
's character's mother in the 1990 film Postcards from the Edge
and from 1989 to 1991, portrayed Marie Murkin in the television movie and series adaptations of Father Dowling Mysteries
. She played Sister Mary Lazarus in Sister Act
(1992) and in the sequel
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
(1993). She appeared in the 1994 film version of Little Women
before she became ill.
, massive gastrointestinal bleeding
, severe low blood pressure
, ischemic cardiomyopathy
, anemia
and breast cancer
(stage of cancer unknown), which cumulatively resulted in her passing away while undergoing surgery on October 22, 1995.
Her final film role, voicing the gargoyle
Laverne in Disney's animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame
was released posthumously in 1996. She was interred beside her parents at the Shiloh Valley Cemetery in Shiloh, Illinois
.
and made a $2 million bequest, in memory of her parents, for the Isabella and Frank Wickenhauser Memorial Library Fund for Television, Film and Theater Arts. She was the longtime companion of playwright Abby Conrad.
Short Subject
s:
Career
Wickes was born as Mary Isabelle Wickenhauser in St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Irish Protestant
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
extraction. She graduated at the age of eighteen with a degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, where she joined the Phi Mu
Phi Mu
Phi Mu is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. It was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The organization was founded as the Philomathean Society on January 4, 1852, and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same year...
women's fraternity
Fraternity
A fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...
. Wickes' first Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
appearance was in Marc Connelly
Marc Connelly
Marcus Cook Connelly was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930.-Biography:...
's The Farmer Takes a Wife
The Farmer Takes a Wife
The Farmer Takes a Wife is a 1934 play by Frank B. Elser and Marc Connelly based on the novel Rome Haul by Walter D. Edmonds. It was well-received upon its opening night on Broadway on October 30, 1934 at the 46th Street Theatre. The production was directed by Marc Connelly and used set designs by...
in 1934 with Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
. She began acting in films in the late 1930s, and was also a member of the Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
troupe on his radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
Mercury Theatre of the Air
Mercury Theatre
The Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and John Houseman. After a string of live theatrical productions, in 1938 the Mercury Theatre progressed into their best-known period as The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series that included one of the...
. One of her earliest significant film appearances was in The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), reprising her stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
role of "Nurse Preen".
A tall (5'10"), gangling woman with a distinctive voice, Wickes would ultimately prove herself adept as a comedienne, but she first attracted attention in the film Now, Voyager
Now, Voyager
Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty....
(1942), as the wisecracking nurse who helped Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
' character during her mother's illness. (She had already appeared earlier that year with Davis in The Man Who Came To Dinner
The Man Who Came to Dinner
The Man Who Came to Dinner is a comedy in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. It then enjoyed a number of New York and London revivals. The first London production was staged at The Savoy Theatre starring Robert...
, and appeared with Davis again six years later in June Bride
June Bride
June Bride is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Bretaigne Windust. Ranald MacDougall's screenplay, based on the unproduced play Feature for June by Eileen Tighe and Graeme Lorimer, was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Comedy. The film starred Bette...
.) Also in 1942 she had a large part in the Abbott
Bud Abbott
William Alexander "Bud" Abbott was an American actor, producer and comedian. He is best remembered as the straight man of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Lou Costello.-Early life:...
and Costello
Lou Costello
Louis Francis "Lou" Costello was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott...
comedy Who Done It?. She continued playing supporting roles in films during the next decade, usually playing wisecracking characters. A prime example was her deadpan characterization of Stella, the harassed housekeeper, in the Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
vehicles By the Light of the Silvery Moon
By the Light of the Silvery Moon
By the Light of the Silvery Moon may refer to:*"By the Light of the Silvery Moon" , a 1909 popular song*By the Light of the Silvery Moon , a 1953 musical film starring Doris Day...
and On Moonlight Bay
On Moonlight Bay
On Moonlight Bay may refer to:* "On Moonlight Bay" , a popular song by Percy Wenrich * On Moonlight Bay , a musical starring Doris Day...
. She played similar roles in two later movies with Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
: The Trouble with Angels and Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows
Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows
Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows is a movie comedy starring Rosalind Russell and Stella Stevens. The film is a sequel to The Trouble with Angels and was written by Blanche Hanalis from a story by Jane Trahey, and directed by James Neilson....
in the mid 1960s.
Moving to the new medium of television in the 1950s, Wickes played the warm, yet jocular maid Katie in the Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
serial Walt Disney Presents: Annette
Walt Disney Presents: Annette
Walt Disney Presents: Annette was a television serial that ran on The Mickey Mouse Club during the show's third season . It starred Annette Funicello as Annette McCloud, a poor, orphaned country girl who moves into town with her upper-class aunt and uncle...
and regular roles in the sitcoms Make Room for Daddy and Dennis the Menace, as well as appearing as Emma the housekeeper in the holiday classic White Christmas
White Christmas (film)
White Christmas is a 1954 Technicolor musical film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular "White Christmas"...
(1954), starring Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
and Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen was an American actress and dancer, principally celebrated for her filmed dance partnerships with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye and Donald O'Connor.-Early life:...
. She also played the part of a ballet teacher, Madame Lamond, in the I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
episode, The Ballet in 1952. Wickes also served as the live-action reference model for Cruella De Vil
Cruella de Vil
Cruella de Vil is a fictional character and the iconic villain in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 animated film adaptation One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Disney's live-action film adaptations 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. In all her incarnations,...
in Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's One Hundred and One Dalmatians
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
One Hundred and One Dalmatians, often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians, is a 1961 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith...
(1961), and played Mrs. Squires in the film adaptation of Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
's The Music Man
The Music Man (1962 film)
The Music Man is a 1962 musical film starring Robert Preston as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name by Meredith Willson...
(1962).
In 1953, Wickes played the housekeeper, Martha, to Ezio Pinza
Ezio Pinza
Ezio Pinza was an Italian basso opera singer with a rich, smooth and sonorous voice. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas...
's character in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's short-lived Bonino
Bonino (TV series)
Bonino is an ethnic situation comedy television series starring Ezio Pinza as an Italian-American opera singer trying to rear his six children after the death of their mother. The program aired on NBC from September 12 to December 26, 1953....
sitcom. Pinza portrayed an Italian-American opera singer trying to rear six children. Among the child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
s on the program were Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
and Chet Allen. In 1954-1955, she played Alice, the housekeeper to a college president, in the CBS sitcom The Halls of Ivy
The Halls of Ivy
The Halls of Ivy is an NBC radio sitcom that ran from 1950-1952. It was created by Fibber McGee & Molly co-creator/writer Don Quinn before being adapted into a CBS television comedy produced by ITC Entertainment and Television Programs of America...
. In 1956, Wickes appeared with Thelma Ritter
Thelma Ritter
Thelma Ritter was an American supporting and character actress from the 1940s until her death in 1969.-Early life:...
in "The Babysitter" episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred 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...
.
In the 1961-1962 season, she appeared as Maxfield with Gertrude Berg
Gertrude Berg
Gertrude Berg was an American actress and screenwriter. A pioneer of classic radio, she was one of the first women to create, write, produce and star in a long-running hit when she premiered her serial comedy-drama The Rise of the Goldbergs , later known as The Goldbergs.-Career:Berg was born...
in CBS's Mrs. G. Goes to College
Mrs. G. Goes to College
Mrs. G. Goes To College is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from October 4, 1961 to April 5, 1962...
. For her work in the sitcom, Wickes was nominated for 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 "Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actress".
A longtime friend of Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, Wickes played frequent guest roles in Ball's three CBS series, I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
and Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...
. In 1970-1971, she guest starred on CBS's The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run...
. (Day was another of her friends.) She was also a regular on the Sid and Marty Krofft
Sid and Marty Krofft
Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft , are a sibling team of television producers who were influential in children's television and variety show programs in the USA, particularly throughout the 1970s and early 1980s....
children's television show Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters was an American children's television series that ran from 1973 to 1975, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft and aired on Saturday mornings...
, and the sitcom Doc
Doc (1975 TV series)
Doc is an American sitcom which aired on CBS from September 1975 to October 1976.-Synopsis:Doc starred Barnard Hughes as Dr. Joe Bogert, an elderly, kind-hearted general practitioner who divided his time between dealing with his dysfunctional patients and his even more dysfunctional family...
. She made numerous appearances as a celebrity panelist on the game show Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
. By the 1980s, her appearances in television series such as Our Man Higgins
Our Man Higgins
Our Man Higgins is a 34-episode situation comedy, the story of an English butler — portrayed by Stanley Holloway, who is inherited by a suburban American family, resulting in a cultural clash that grows into a cultural blending. A Screen Gems presentation, Our Man Higgins was seen on ABC television...
, M*A*S*H, The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
, Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law...
and Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
had made her a widely recognizable character actress
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
. She also appeared in a variety of Broadway shows, including a 1979 revival of Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
, where she portrayed Aunt Eller.
Later career
She was cast as Shirley MacLaineShirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
's character's mother in the 1990 film Postcards from the Edge
Postcards from the Edge (film)
Postcards from the Edge is a 1990 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Carrie Fisher is based on her 1987 semi-autobiographical novel of the same title.-Plot:...
and from 1989 to 1991, portrayed Marie Murkin in the television movie and series adaptations of Father Dowling Mysteries
Father Dowling Mysteries
Father Dowling Mysteries is an American television mystery series that appeared between November 30, 1987 and May 2, 1991. For its first season, the show was on NBC; it moved to ABC network for its last two seasons...
. She played Sister Mary Lazarus in Sister Act
Sister Act
Sister Act is a 1992 American comedy film released by Touchstone Pictures. Directed by Emile Ardolino, it features musical arrangements by Marc Shaiman and stars Whoopi Goldberg as a Reno lounge singer who has been put under protective custody in a San Francisco convent and has to pretend to be a...
(1992) and in the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit is a 1993 comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg. Directed by Bill Duke, and released by Touchstone Pictures, it is the sequel to the successful 1992 film Sister Act...
(1993). She appeared in the 1994 film version of Little Women
Little Women (1994 film)
Little Women is a 1994 American drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong. The screenplay by Robin Swicord is based on the Louisa May Alcott novel of the same name. It is the fifth feature film adaptation of the Alcott classic, following silent versions released in 1917 and 1918, a 1933 George...
before she became ill.
Death
Wickes was hospitalized the following year suffering from numerous ailments, including kidney failureRenal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
, massive gastrointestinal bleeding
Gastrointestinal bleeding
Gastrointestinal bleeding or gastrointestinal hemorrhage describes every form of hemorrhage in the gastrointestinal tract, from the pharynx to the rectum. It has diverse causes, and a medical history, as well as physical examination, generally distinguishes between the main forms...
, severe low blood pressure
Hypotension
In physiology and medicine, hypotension is abnormally low blood pressure, especially in the arteries of the systemic circulation. It is best understood as a physiologic state, rather than a disease. It is often associated with shock, though not necessarily indicative of it. Hypotension is the...
, ischemic cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy, which literally means "heart muscle disease," is the deterioration of the function of the myocardium for any reason. People with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death or both. Cardiomyopathy can often go undetected, making it especially dangerous to...
, anemia
Anemia
Anemia is a decrease in number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin...
and breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
(stage of cancer unknown), which cumulatively resulted in her passing away while undergoing surgery on October 22, 1995.
Her final film role, voicing the gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
Laverne in Disney's animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is inspired by Victor Hugo's novel of...
was released posthumously in 1996. She was interred beside her parents at the Shiloh Valley Cemetery in Shiloh, Illinois
Shiloh, Illinois
Shiloh is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. A 2005 census recorded a population of 11,000.-Geography:Shiloh is located at ....
.
Personal
She never married. Wickes left a large estateEstate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
and made a $2 million bequest, in memory of her parents, for the Isabella and Frank Wickenhauser Memorial Library Fund for Television, Film and Theater Arts. She was the longtime companion of playwright Abby Conrad.
Filmography
Features:- The Man Who Came to DinnerThe Man Who Came to Dinner (film)The Man Who Came to Dinner is a 1942 American comedy film directed by William Keighley. The screenplay by Julius and Philip G. Epstein is based on the 1939 play of the same title by Moss Hart and George S...
(19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
) - Blondie's Blessed EventBlondie (film)Blondie is a 1938 movie directed by Frank Strayer, based on the comic strip of the same name. The screenplay was written by Chic Young and Richard Flournoy....
(1942) - Private BuckarooPrivate BuckarooPrivate Buckaroo is a 1942 American Musical film directed by Edward F. Cline and starring The Andrews Sisters, Dick Foran, Harry James, Shemp Howard, Joe E...
(1942) - The Mayor of 44th Street (1942)
- Now, VoyagerNow, VoyagerNow, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty....
(1942) - Who Done It? (1942)
- How's About It (19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - Rhythm of the Islands (1943)
- My Kingdom for a Cook (1943)
- Happy LandHappy Land (film)Happy Land is a 1943 film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Don Ameche.-Synopsis:Lew Marsh, s pharmacist to the small community of Hartfield, Iowa, is lunching with his devoted wife Agnes when a telegram arrives notifying them that their only child, Russell, whom they called Rusty, has been...
(1943) - Higher and HigherHigher and Higher (film)Higher and Higher is a 1943 musical film starring Michèle Morgan, Jack Haley, and Frank Sinatra, loosely based on a 1940 Broadway musical written by Gladys Hurlbut and Joshua Logan. The film, however, written by Jay Dratler and Ralph Spence with additional dialogue by William Bowers and Howard...
(1943) - June BrideJune BrideJune Bride is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Bretaigne Windust. Ranald MacDougall's screenplay, based on the unproduced play Feature for June by Eileen Tighe and Graeme Lorimer, was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Comedy. The film starred Bette...
(19481948 in filmThe year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
) - The Decision of Christopher Blake (1948)
- Anna Lucasta (19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
) - The Petty GirlThe Petty GirlThe Petty Girl is a musical romantic comedy film starring Robert Cummings and Joan Caulfield. Cummings portrays painter George Petty.-Plot:...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - On Moonlight BayOn Moonlight Bay (film)On Moonlight Bay is a 1951 musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth which tells the story of the Winfield family at the turn of the century. The movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington. There was a 1953 sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon.-Plot:On Moonlight Bay centers on...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - I'll See You in My Dreams (1951)
- Young Man with Ideas (19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - The Story of Will Rogers (1952)
- Bloodhounds of BroadwayBloodhounds of Broadway (1952 film)Bloodhounds of Broadway is a 1952 musical film based on a Damon Runyon story and starred young starlet Mitzi Gaynor, along with Scott Brady, Mitzi Green, Marguerite Chapman, Michael O'Shea, Wally Vernon and George E. Stone. It was directed by Harmon Jones....
(1952) - By the Light of the Silvery MoonBy the Light of the Silvery Moon (film)By the Light of the Silvery Moon is a 1953 musical film. It is the sequel to On Moonlight Bay. Like its predecessor, the movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington.-Plot:...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) - Half a Hero (1953)
- The ActressThe ActressThe Actress is an 1953 American comedy-drama film based on Ruth Gordon's autobiographical play Years Ago. Gordon herself wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by George Cukor and stars Jean Simmons, Spencer Tracy, Teresa Wright, and Anthony Perkins in his film debut.The film was nominated for...
(1953) - Ma and Pa Kettle at HomeMa and Pa KettleMa and Pa Kettle are comic film characters of the successful film series of the same name, produced by Universal Studios, in the late '40s and '50s. They are a hillbilly couple with fifteen children whose lives turn upside-down when they win a model-home-of-the-future in a slogan-writing contest...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - White ChristmasWhite Christmas (film)White Christmas is a 1954 Technicolor musical film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular "White Christmas"...
(1954) - DestryDestry (film)Destry is a 1954 western starring Mari Blanchard, Audie Murphy, and Thomas Mitchell. The third and final film version of Max Brand's Destry Rides Again, this 1954 version is closer to the 1939 Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart film version than it is to the Brand original. Indeed Halliwells film...
(1954) - Good Morning Miss DoveGood Morning Miss DoveGood Morning, Miss Dove is a 1955 film which tells the sentimental story of a beloved schoolteacher who reflects back on her life and former students when she is hospitalized...
(19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - Dance with Me HenryDance with Me HenryDance with Me, Henry is a 1956 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It is the final film that they starred in together, although Costello went on to star in one more film before his death, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock.-Plot:...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - Don't Go Near the WaterDon't Go Near the Water (film)Don't Go Near the Water is a 1957 comedy film about a U.S. Navy public relations unit stationed on an island in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. It is an adaptation of the 1956 novel of the same name by William Brinkley. Glenn Ford and Gia Scala starred...
(19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - The Proud Rebel (19581958 in filmThe year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
) - It Happened to JaneIt Happened to JaneIt Happened to Jane is a 1959 romantic comedy film starring Doris Day, Jack Lemmon, and Ernie Kovacs directed by Richard Quine and written by Norman Katkov and Max Wilk.The film was co-produced by Quine and star Day's husband at the time, Martin Melcher....
(19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) - CimarronCimarron (1960 film)Cimarron is a 1960 western film based on the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron, featuring Glenn Ford and Maria Schell. It was directed by Anthony Mann, known for his westerns and film noirs....
(19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) - One Hundred and One DalmatiansOne Hundred and One DalmatiansOne Hundred and One Dalmatians, often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians, is a 1961 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith...
(19611961 in filmThe year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) (voice) - The Sins of Rachel CadeThe Sins of Rachel CadeThe Sins of Rachel Cade is a 1961 drama film starring Angie Dickinson in the title role as well as Peter Finch and Roger Moore.-Plot:During World War II, Protestant medical missionary Rachel comes to the village of Dibela in the Belgian Congo. Widowed military administrator Colonel Derode is...
(1961) - The Music ManThe Music Man (1962 film)The Music Man is a 1962 musical film starring Robert Preston as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name by Meredith Willson...
(19621962 in filmThe year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
) - Fate Is the HunterFate Is the Hunter (film)Fate Is the Hunter is a 1964 film about the crash of an airliner and the subsequent investigation released by 20th Century Fox. It was nominally based on the bestselling 1961 book of the same name by Ernest K. Gann, but the author was so disappointed with the result that he asked to have his name...
(19641964 in filmThe year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
) - Dear Heart (1964)
- How to Murder Your WifeHow to Murder Your WifeHow to Murder Your Wife is a 1965 American comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and Virna Lisi. It was directed by Richard Quine, who also directed Lemmon in My Sister Eileen, It Happened to Jane, Operation Mad Ball and Bell, Book and Candle....
(19651965 in filmThe year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - The Trouble with Angels (19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - The Spirit Is Willing (19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
) - Where Angels Go, Trouble FollowsWhere Angels Go, Trouble FollowsWhere Angels Go, Trouble Follows is a movie comedy starring Rosalind Russell and Stella Stevens. The film is a sequel to The Trouble with Angels and was written by Blanche Hanalis from a story by Jane Trahey, and directed by James Neilson....
(19681968 in filmThe year 1968 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.* November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.-Top grossing films :- Awards :...
) - Napoleon and SamanthaNapoleon and SamanthaNapoleon and Samantha is a 1972 family/adventure/drama directed by Bernard McEveety and written by Stewart Raffill. Filmed in and around John Day, Oregon, it stars Michael Douglas, Jodie Foster, and Johnny Whitaker.-Plot:...
(19721972 in filmThe year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
) - Snowball ExpressSnowball ExpressSnowball Express is a 1972 screwball comedy film made by Walt Disney Productions about a man who leaves his desk job to run a hotel left to him by his uncle.-Plot:...
(1972) - M*A*S*H
- Touched by LoveTouched by LoveTouched by Love is a 1980 drama film about a therapist who tries a novel approach with a girl afflicted with cerebral palsy; she has her charge become a pen pal with the girl's favorite singer, Elvis Presley...
(19801980 in film- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
) - The Canterville GhostThe Canterville Ghost (1985 film)The Canterville Ghost is a 1985 American fantasy-comedy film. It is one of many treatments based on the novella of Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost.-Plot:The ghost of Sir Simon Canterville has been roaming his castle for centuries...
(1985) - Postcards from the EdgePostcards from the Edge (film)Postcards from the Edge is a 1990 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Carrie Fisher is based on her 1987 semi-autobiographical novel of the same title.-Plot:...
(19901990 in filmThe year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
) - Sister ActSister ActSister Act is a 1992 American comedy film released by Touchstone Pictures. Directed by Emile Ardolino, it features musical arrangements by Marc Shaiman and stars Whoopi Goldberg as a Reno lounge singer who has been put under protective custody in a San Francisco convent and has to pretend to be a...
(19921992 in filmThe year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
) - Sister Act 2: Back in the HabitSister Act 2: Back in the HabitSister Act 2: Back In The Habit is a 1993 comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg. Directed by Bill Duke, and released by Touchstone Pictures, it is the sequel to the successful 1992 film Sister Act...
(19931993 in filmThe year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:...
) - Little WomenLittle Women (1994 film)Little Women is a 1994 American drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong. The screenplay by Robin Swicord is based on the Louisa May Alcott novel of the same name. It is the fifth feature film adaptation of the Alcott classic, following silent versions released in 1917 and 1918, a 1933 George...
(19941994 in film1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
) - The Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is inspired by Victor Hugo's novel of...
(19961996 in filmMajor releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
) (voice)
Short Subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
s:
- Watch the Birdie (19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
) - Too Much JohnsonToo Much JohnsonToo Much Johnson is a 1938 comedy film written and directed by Orson Welles. The film was made three years before Welles directed Citizen Kane, but it was never publicly screened...
(19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) - Seeing Red (19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - Keeping Fit (19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
) - Open Window (19721972 in filmThe year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
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