Peggy Wood - wikipedia Peggy Wood For the chess player, see Peggy Wood ( chess ). Peggy Wood Photograph of Peggy Wood, c. 1917 Mary Margaret Wood ( 1892 - 02 - 09 ) February 9, 1892 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. March 18, 1978 ( 1978 - 03 - 18 ) ( aged 86 ) Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. Occupation Actress, Singer Years active 1910 -- 68 Spouse ( s ) John Weaver ( m. 1924 ; d. 1938 ) William Walling ( m. 1946 ; d. 1973 ) Children Mary Margaret `` Peggy '' Wood ( February 9, 1892 -- March 18, 1978 ) was an American actress of stage, film and television. She is best remembered for her performance as the title character in the CBS television series Mama ( 1949 -- 1957 ), for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series ; her starring role as Naomi, Ruth 's mother - in - law, in The Story of Ruth ( 1960 ) ; and her final screen appearance as Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music ( 1965 ), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Contents 1 Early career 2 Later career 3 Last appearances 4 Personal life 5 Death 6 Filmography 6.1 Film 6.2 Television 7 Stage ( partial list of appearances ) 8 References 9 External links Early career Peggy Wood and Charles Purcell in the original Broadway production of Maytime ( 1917 ) Wood was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Eugene Wood, a journalist, and Mary Gardner, a telegraph operator. She was a direct descendant of Daniel Boone. Wood was an early member of the Actors ' Equity Association, spending nearly 50 years on the stage, beginning in the chorus and becoming known as a Broadway singer and star. She made her stage debut in 1910, as part of the chorus for Naughty Marietta. In 1917, she starred in Maytime, in which she introduced the song `` Will You Remember ''. She starred in several other musicals before playing the role of Portia in a 1928 production of The Merchant of Venice. From the late 1920s until the late 1930s, Wood had lead roles in musicals staged in London and New York. She was a member of the Algonquin Round Table. Later career In 1941, she starred in the New York premiere of Blithe Spirit as Ruth Condomine, whose husband is tormented by the ghost of his deceased first wife. Wood did not star in many films. Her few film appearances include roles in Jalna, A Star is Born, Call It a Day, The Housekeeper 's Daughter, The Bride Wore Boots, Magnificent Doll, and Dream Girl. From 1949 to 1957, she played matriarch Marta Hansen in the popular CBS - TV series Mama, based on the 1943 Broadway play and 1948 film I Remember Mama. When General Foods cancelled the program, there was so much protest that CBS brought it back on Sunday afternoon, this time as a filmed series. As the network did not have all the affiliate station clearances that were needed, the show was put into syndication, where it was a huge success. 26 episodes were filmed. Following `` Mama '', Wood was also seen in episodes of Zane Grey Theater and The Nurses. She co-starred with comedian Imogene Coca on Broadway in The Girls in 509. In October 1963, she and Ruth Gates appeared in a one - act play, Opening Night, which played in off - Broadway. Wood portrayed Fanny Ellis, a once famous star who prepares for a performance ; the play lasted 47 performances. Ruth Gates was Aunt Jenny on the `` Mama '' series with Wood. Last appearances She returned to movies in the 1960 CinemaScope production The Story of Ruth in a co-starring role, as what she referred to in her own book as a `` blonde, blue - eyed Jewess ''. Her final screen appearance was as the gentle, wise Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music ( 1965 ), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture. She was thrilled to be in the movie although she knew that she could no longer sing `` Climb Ev'ry Mountain ''. She was dubbed ( for singing ) by Margery McKay. In her autobiography, Marni Nixon, who appeared in the film as Sister Sophia, said Peggy especially liked McKay 's singing voice because she sounded as Peggy did in her younger days. In 1969, Wood joined the cast of the ABC - TV soap, One Life to Live as Dr. Kate Nolan and had a recurring role until the end of the year. Her first autobiography, How Young You Look, was published by Farrar and Rinehart in 1941. An update, Arts and Flowers, appeared in 1963. She also wrote a biography of actor John Drew, Jr., as well as a novel called The Star Wagon and was a co-author of a play called Miss Quis. Wood received numerous awards for her theatrical work and for a while was president of the American National Theater and Academy ( ANTA ). Personal Life Wood was married and widowed twice. Her first husband ( poet / writer John V.A. Weaver ) died at the age of 44. She gave birth to their son ( David Weaver ) in 1924 at the age of 32. Her second husband ( in 1946 William H. Walling ) was an executive in the printing business who died in 1973. They were married for 27 years. She was a devout Episcopalian and a member of the Episcopal Actors Guild. Death Wood died on March 18, 1978, in Stamford, Connecticut, following a stroke. She was 86 years old. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1919 Almost a Husband Eva McElwyn 1929 Wonder of Women Brigitte 1934 Handy Andy Ernestine Yates 1935 The Right to Live Nurse Wayland Jalna Meg Whiteoaks 1937 Call It a Day Ethel Francis A Star Is Born Miss Phillips - Central Casting Clerk 1939 The Housekeeper 's Daughter Olga 1946 The Bride Wore Boots Grace Apley Magnificent Doll Mrs. Payne 1948 Dream Girl Lucy Allerton 1960 The Story of Ruth Naomi 1965 The Sound of Music Virgilia The Reverend Mother Abbess Nominated -- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated -- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress -- Motion Picture Television Year Title Role Notes 1948 The Philco Television Playhouse Mrs. Oliver Jordan episode : Dinner at Eight 1949 The Philco Television Playhouse Florence McDavid episode : Dark Hammock 1951 Pulitzer Prize Playhouse Gladys episode : The Skin of Our Teeth 1949 -- 1957 Mama Mama Marta Hansen 10 episodes Nominated -- Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress ( 1953 ) Nominated -- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Series ( 1957 ) 1957 Zane Grey Theatre Sarah Jolland episode : The Bitter Land 1959 The United States Steel Hour Lillian Granet episode : Seed of Guilt 1962 Dr. Kildare Katie Harris episode : An Ancient Office 1963 The Doctors and the Nurses Marcella Higgins episode : The Saturday Evening of Time 1965 For the People Mrs. Murray episode : The Killing of One Human Being 1969 One Life to Live Dr. Kate Nolan Stage ( partial list of appearances ) Peggy Wood in Buddies ( 1919 ) The Lady of the Slipper ( 1912 ) Love O ' Mike ( 1917 ) Maytime ( 1917 ) Buddies ( 1919 ) Marjolaine ( 1922 ) The Clinging Vine ( 1922 ) Bitter Sweet ( 1929 ) Champagne, Sec ( 1934 ) Old Acquaintance ( 1941 ) Blithe Spirit ( 1941 ) The Girls in 509 ( 1958 ) References Jump up ^ Great Stars of the American Stage by Daniel Blum Profile # 105 ; c. 1952 ( with this being the 1954 2nd edition ) Jump up ^ Members of the Algonquin Round Table Jump up ^ Great Stars of the American Stage, A Pictorial Record by Daniel Blum c. 1954 2nd Edition Profile # 105, on Peggy Wood ; ( * there are no page numbers to Blum 's book, all artists articles are listed as ' Profiles ' ) Jump up ^ http://littlechurch.org/#/who-we-are/episcopal-actors-guild External links Biography portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peggy Wood. Peggy Wood on IMDb Peggy Wood at the Internet Broadway Database Peggy Wood at the Internet Off - Broadway Database Peggy Wood at Find a Grave Peggy Wood portrait gallery at NY Public Library Billy Rose Collection 1916 portrait with her K9 pal ( Univ. of Washington, Sayre collection ) Peggy Wood with literary friends,... bottom left to right, Blanche Oelrichs, Dorothy Parker, Woods... top left to right : John Colton, Howard Greer, Dudley Murphy VIAF : 22334122 LCCN : no89001354 ISNI : 0000 0001 1022 5690 GND : 134574192 BNF : cb13954645r ( data ) MusicBrainz : bcb6078e - 6ab6 - 4ebb - 9435 - 950cea2f27f1 SNAC : w6tx3h1c Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peggy_Wood&oldid=823483569 '' Categories : 1892 births 1978 deaths Actresses from New York City American stage actresses American film actresses American television actresses People from Brooklyn Disease - related deaths in Connecticut 20th - century American actresses American Episcopalians Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Articles with IBDb links Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Use mdy dates from July 2012 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu تۆرکجه Català Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français Italiano עברית Nederlands Polski Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska Tagalog Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 1 February 2018, at 15 : 13. 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Question: who played the reverend mother in the sound of music
Answer: Mary Margaret "Peggy" Wood