Beulah Bondi (May 3, 1889 - January 11, 1981) was an American actress of stage, film and television. She 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 well into her later years, winning an Emmy Award for an appearance on The Waltons in 1976.

Life and career

Bondi was born as Beulah Bondy in Valparaiso, Indiana, the daughter of Eva Suzanna (née Marble), an author, and Abraham O. Bondy, who worked in real estate. Bondi began her acting career on the stage at age seven, playing Cedric Errol 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 bachelor's and master's degrees in oratory at Valparaiso University in 1916 and 1918.

She made her Broadway debut in Kenneth S. Webb's One of the Family at the 49th Street Theatre on December 21, 1925. She next appeared in another hit, Maxwell Anderson's Saturday's Children in 1926. It was Bondi's performance in Elmer Rice's Pulitzer Prize-winning Street Scene, which opened at the Playhouse Theatre on January 10, 1929, that brought Bondi to the movies at the age of 43. Her debut movie role was as "Emma Jones" in 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. In 1940 Bondi played Mrs. Webb in Our Town.

Television

Bondi's television credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Howard Richardson's Ark of Safety on the Goodyear Television Playhouse. She appeared with Jan Clayton in "The Prairie Story" on NBC's Wagon Train. This theme is also examined in the novel The Wind by Dorothy Scarborough. The episode aired on February 1, 1961, three months after the death of Ward Bond. She made a guest appearance on Perry Mason in 1963 when she played the role of Sophia Stone in "The Case of the Nebulous Nephew."

Bondi made her final appearances as Martha Corinne Walton on The Waltons in the episodes "The Conflict" (September 1974) and "The Pony Cart" (December 1976). She received an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series for her performance in the "The Pony Cart" (December 1976), her final career screen performance. When her name was called, it first appeared that she was not present, but she received a standing ovation as she walked slowly to the podium, from which she thanked the audience for honoring her while she was still living.

Personal life and death

Despite the fact that she was known for playing mother figures, Bondi never married in real life. She died from pulmonary complications caused by broken ribs suffered when she tripped over her cat in her home on January 11, 1981, at age 91.

Partial filmography

• Street Scene (1931)
• Rain (1932)
• Registered Nurse (1934)
• Finishing School (1934)
• Ready for Love (1934)
• The Invisible Ray (1936)
• The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936)
• Hearts Divided (1936)
• The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
• Maid of Salem (1937)
• Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
• The Sisters (1938)
• The Buccaneer (1938)
• Of Human Hearts (1938)
• Vivacious Lady (1938)
• On Borrowed Time (1939)
• The Under-Pup (1939)
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
• Remember the Night (1940)
• Our Town (1940)
• Penny Serenade (1941)
• The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)
• One Foot in Heaven (1941)
• Watch on the Rhine (1943)
• Tonight We Raid Calais (1943)
• The Very Thought of You (1944)
• The Southerner (1945)
• Back to Bataan (1945)
• Sister Kenny (1946)
• It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
• The Sainted Sisters (1948)
• The Snake Pit (1948)
• So Dear to My Heart (1948)
• Mr. Soft Touch (1949)
• Reign of Terror (1949)
• The Baron of Arizona (1950)
• The Furies (1950)
• Lone Star (1952)
• Latin Lovers (1953)
• Track of the Cat (1954)
• Back from Eternity (1956)
• The Unholy Wife (1957)
• A Summer Place (1959)
• Tammy Tell Me True (1961)
• Tammy and the Doctor (1963)

Radio appearances

[ Source: Wikipedia ]