Madge Kennedy(1891-1987)
- Actress
In 1906, Madge went to New York City to study at the Art Students
League where she hoped to become an illustrator. This lasted until she
appeared in a student musical, which led to a full time job in a
traveling stock company. By 1912, Madge was a Broadway Star with the
bedroom farce "Little Miss Brown". For the next five years, Madge
continued to find success on Broadway appearing in similar roles.
Within 3 months of the formation of Goldwyn Pictures, Sam Goldwyn had
signed Madge Kennedy to a big movie contract. Goldwyn was at his best
when it came to publicity. It was Goldwyn himself who gave Madge the
title of "winsome", and Madge was as winsome and sweet as her light
comedies suggested. Some of her films were 'Baby Mine (1917)', 'Our
Little Wife (1918)', The Kingdom of Youth (1918)' and 'Dollars and
Sense (1920)'. While at Goldwyn, Madge shared a dressing room with
actress Mabel Normand. After 21 films, Madge left Goldwyn Pictures and
appeared in a handful of films produced by her husband, Harold Bolster.
These films included 'The Purple Highway (1923)' and 'Bad Company
(1925)'. After that, Madge retired from the screen and returned to the
stage. After a few years and her remarriage, Madge retired from acting
altogether. In 1952, Madge was coaxed out of retirement by George Cukor
for the small role of Judge Carroll in 'The Marrying Kind (1952)'. With
that, she started another career as Character Actress appearing in
films like 'Lust for Life (1956)', 'The Catered Affair (1956)', 'North
by Northwest (1959)' and 'The Day of the Locust (1975)'. On the small
screen, Madge played the part of Aunt Martha on "Leave It to Beaver
(1957)".
