Biography:
Aline MacMahon (May 3, 1899 – October 12, 1991) was an Oscar-nominated American actress.
Early life:
MacMahon was born Aline Laveen MacMahon in the Pittsburgh suburb of McKeesport, Pennsylvania; her family was Jewish and the origin of their surname, "MacMahon", is unclear. She was raised in New York City and educated at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York and at Barnard College in New York, New York.
Asked how to say her surname, she told The Literary Digest it was mack-MAN. (Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.)
Career:
MacMahon began appearing on Broadway in the early 1920s. Her first film role was in 1931 in Five Star Final, but she jumped back and forth between Broadway and Hollywood throughout her career.
In 1944 MacMahon appeared in the film Dragon Seed, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in that film. Other films included the film version of Sinclair Lewis's novel Babbitt (1934), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), The Life of Jimmy Dolan, Ah, Wilderness! (1935), When You're in Love (1937), The Flame and the Arrow (1950), All the Way Home (1961), and The Young Doctors (1963), I Could Go On Singing (1963).
Death:
MacMahon died at the age of 92 of pneumonia in New York, New York. Her husband, Clarence Stein, the legendary planner and architect and the founder of the Regional Planning Association died in 1975. They had no children.
Filmography:
- For the Use of the Hall (1975) (TV) .... Bess
- Antigone (1974/I) (TV) .... Nurse
- "NET Playhouse" .... Penelope (1 episode, 1971)
- "The Defenders" .... Mary Alice Trotter / ... (2 episodes, 1963-1964)
- "The Nurses" .... Betty Anderson (1 episode, 1964)
- All the Way Home (1963) .... Aunt Hannah
- I Could Go on Singing (1963) .... Ida
- Diamond Head (1963) .... Kappa Lani Kahanna
- The Young Doctors (1961) .... Dr. Lucy Grainger
- "Lamp Unto My Feet" .... Narrator (1 episode, 1961)
- Cimarron (1960) .... Mrs. Mavis Pegler
- "Play of the Week" .... Nurse (1 episode, 1959)
- "Studio One" .... Mrs. Greene / ... (2 episodes, 1957-1958)
- The Man from Laramie (1955) .... Kate Canady
- The Eddie Cantor Story (1953) .... Grandma Esther
- "Celanese Theatre" (1 episode, 1952)
- "Pulitzer Prize Playhouse" (1 episode, 1952)
- "The Philco Television Playhouse" (1 episode, 1950)
- The Flame and the Arrow (1950) .... Nonna Bartoli
- Roseanna McCoy (1949) .... Sarie McCoy
- The Search (1948) .... Mrs. Murray
- The Mighty McGurk (1947) .... Mamie Steeple
- Guest in the House (1944) .... Aunt Martha
- Dragon Seed (1944) .... Ling Tan's Wife
- Reward Unlimited (1944) .... Mrs. Scott
- Seeds of Freedom (1943) .... Odessa Citizen
- Tish (1942) .... Lizzie Wilkins
- The Lady Is Willing (1942) .... Buddy
- Out of the Fog (1941) .... Florence Goodwin
- Back Door to Heaven (1939) .... Miss Williams
- When You're in Love (1937) .... Marianne Woods
- Ah, Wilderness! (1935) .... Lily Davis
- Kind Lady (1935) .... Mary Herries
- I Live My Life (1935) .... Betty Collins
- Mary Jane's Pa (1935) .... Ellen Preston
- While the Patient Slept (1935) .... Nurse Sarah Keate
- Babbitt (1934) .... Myra Babbitt
- Big Hearted Herbert (1934) .... Elizabeth Kainess
- Side Streets (1934) .... Bertha Krasnoff
- The Merry Frinks (1934) .... Hattie 'Mom' Frink
- Heat Lightning (1934) .... Olga
- The World Changes (1933) .... Anna Nordholm
- Heroes for Sale (1933) .... Mary Dennis
- The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) .... Auntie - Mrs. Moore
- Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) .... Trixie Lorraine
- Silver Dollar (1932) .... Sarah Martin
- Once in a Lifetime (1932) .... May Daniels
- One Way Passage (1932) .... Countess Barilhaus (Barrel House Betty)
- Life Begins (1932) .... Miss Bowers
- Week-end Marriage (1932) .... Agnes Davis
- The Mouthpiece (1932) .... Miss Hickey, Day's secretary
- The Heart of New York (1932) .... Bessie, the Neighbor
- Five Star Final (1931) .... Miss Taylor
