Mary Gordon (actress)

Mary Gordon (actress)
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
With her mother and daughter, she arrived in Los Angeles in the mid-1920s and began playing variations on the roles she would spend her career on. 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
References
External links
1882 births
1963 deaths
British expatriate actresses in the United States
Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park
Actresses from Glasgow
Scottish actresses
Scottish film actresses
Scottish silent film actresses
Scottish radio actors
Scottish theatre people
20th-century Scottish actresses
Scottish emigrants to the United States