Alma Kruger

Alma Kruger (September 13, 1871 – April 5, 1960) was an American actress.
Career
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1871 (or 1868 according to other sources), Kruger had a long career on stage before appearing in films. From 1907 to 1935, she featured in theatre plays on Broadway, mostly in Shakespearean plays such as Hamlet (as Gertrude), Twelfth Night (as Olivia), Taming of the Shrew (Widow), and The Merchant of Venice (Nerissa).
Kruger was brought to Hollywood by Samuel Goldwyn. She appeared in her first film These Three (1936) while in her 60s. She then proceeded to act in over 40 films in the space of little more than a decade. Among her notable roles was Nurse Molly Byrd, the superintendent of nurses in the popular Dr. Kildare/Dr. Gillespie film series, appearing in all but the first two of the 16 movies.
She portrayed Empress Maria Theresa of Austria in Marie Antoinette (1938) and the almost mother-in-law of Rosalind Russell's lead character in His Girl Friday (1940), after already playing an in-law to Russell's character four years earlier in Craig's Wife. In 1942, she appeared as the subversive society matron Henrietta Sutton in Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur (1942). Kruger's last film appearance was in the film Forever Amber (1947).
On radio, Kruger played Emily Mayfield on Those We Love and the captain's wife on Show Boat.
Death
Kruger died of natural causes April 5, 1960 in a nursing home in Seattle, Washington.
Filmography
These Three (1936) – Mrs. Amelia Tilford
Craig's Wife (1936) – Ellen Austen
Love Letters of a Star (1936) – Veronica Todd
The Mighty Treve (1937) – Mrs. Davis
Breezing Home (1937) – Mrs. Evans
The Man in Blue (1937) – Mrs. Dunne
Vogues of 1938 (1937) – Sophie Miller
One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) – Mrs. Tyler
The Toy Wife (1938) – Madame Vallaire
Marie Antoinette (1938) – Empress Maria Theresa
Mother Carey's Chickens (1938) – Aunt Bertha
Tarnished Angel (1938) – Mrs. Harry Stockton
The Great Waltz (1938) – Mrs. Strauss
Made for Each Other (1939) – Sister Madeline
Calling Dr. Kildare (1939) – Molly Byrd
The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939) – Head Nurse Molly Byrd
Balalaika (1939) – Mrs. Danchenoff
His Girl Friday (1940) – Mrs. Baldwin
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (1940) – Molly Byrd, Superintendent of Nurses
Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) – Mrs. Stephen Pringle
Dr. Kildare Goes Home (1940) – Molly Byrd
You'll Find Out (1940) – Aunt Margo
Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940) – Molly Byrd
Blonde Inspiration (1941) – Victoria
The Trial of Mary Dugan (1941) – Dr. Saunders
The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941) – Molly Byrd
Puddin' Head (1941) – Molly Byrd
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day (1941) – Molly Byrd
Dr. Kildare's Victory (1942) – Molly Byrd
Saboteur (1942) – Mrs. Sutton
Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942) – Molly Byrd
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant (1942) – Molly Byrd
That Other Woman (1942) – Grandma Borden
Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case (1943) – Molly Byrd
Three Men in White (1944) – Molly Byrd
Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944) – Mrs. Lamberton
Babes on Swing Street (1944) – Martha Curtis
Mrs. Parkington (1944) – Mrs. Jacob Livingstone (uncredited)
Between Two Women (1945) – Nurse Molly Byrd
Crime Doctor's Warning (1945) – Mrs. Wellington Lake (uncredited)
Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946) – Mrs. Clyde Manadue (uncredited)
Do You Love Me (1946) – Mrs. Joshua Frederick Crackleton (uncredited)
A Scandal in Paris (1946) – Marquise De Pierremont
Fun on a Weekend (1947) – Mrs. Van Orsdale
Dark Delusion (1947) – Molly Byrd
Forever Amber (1947) – Lady Redmond (final film role)
References
External links
1960 deaths
Actresses from Pittsburgh
American stage actresses
American film actresses
American radio actresses
American Shakespearean actresses
Year of birth uncertain
20th-century American actresses
19th-century births