Alice Brady | |
|---|---|
 Brady c. 1916 | |
| Born | Mary Rose Brady (1892-11-02)November 2, 1892 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | October 28, 1939(1939-10-28) (aged 46) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1914–1939 |
| Spouse | James L. Crane (m.1919–div.1922) |
| Children | 1[1] |
| Father | William A. Brady |
| Signature | |
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Alice Brady (bornMary Rose Brady; November 2, 1892 – October 28, 1939) was an American actress of stage and film. She began her career in the theatre in 1911, and her first important success came onBroadway in 1912 when she created the role ofMeg March in the original production ofMarian de Forest'sLittle Women. As a screen actress she first appeared insilent films and was one of the few actresses to survive the transition intotalkies. She worked until six months before her death from cancer in 1939. Her films includeMy Man Godfrey (1936), in which she plays the flighty mother ofCarole Lombard's character, andIn Old Chicago (1938), for which she won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1960, Brady received amotion pictures star on theHollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to the film industry. Her star is located at 6201Hollywood Boulevard.[2]
Mary Rose Brady was born in New York City. Her father,William A. Brady, was an important theatrical producer.[3] Her mother, French actress Rose Marie René,[4] died in 1896, when Alice Brady was 3 years old. Alice was interested at an early age in becoming an actress. She first went on the stage when she was 14 and got her first job onBroadway in 1911 at the age of 18, in a show with which her father was associated.[5]
Billed as Mary Rose, Brady debuted on stage in 1911 in New Haven in the operettaThe Balkan Princess.[4] She had the first major success of her career in 1912 when she created the role ofMeg March in the originalBroadway and national touring productions ofMarian de Forest'sLittle Women; a play adapted from the novel byLouisa May Alcott.[6]
In 1913, Brady appeared withJohn Barrymore inA Thief for a Night (adapted byP. G. Wodehouse and playwright John Stapleton from Wodehouse's novel,A Gentleman of Leisure) atMcVicker's Theatre in Chicago.[7] She continued to perform on Broadway consistently (often in shows her father produced) for the next 22 years. In 1931 she appeared in the premiere ofEugene O'Neill'sMourning Becomes Electra.[8] Her step-mother was actressGrace George, whom her father married when Alice was a child. Her half-brother was William A. Brady Jr, the son of her father and Grace George.
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Brady's father moved into movie production and presentation in 1913,[citation needed] with hisWorld Film Company, and Brady soon followed along after him, making her first silent feature appearance inAs Ye Sow in 1914. She appeared in 53 films in the next 10 years, all while continuing to perform on stage, the film industry at the time being centered in New York.[citation needed]
In 1923, she stopped appearing in films to concentrate on stage acting, and did not appear on the screen again until 1933, when she made the move to Hollywood andMGM'sWhen Ladies Meet become her firsttalking picture. From then on she worked frequently until her death, making another 25 films in seven years. Her final film wasYoung Mr. Lincoln (1939).
Brady was married to actorJames Crane from 1919 to 1922, when they divorced. They co-starred in three silent films together:His Bridal Night (1919),Sinners (1920), andA Dark Lantern (1920). The couple had one child, Donald.
Brady died from cancer on October 28, 1939, five days before her 47th birthday. She is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in New York.[9]
For her portrayal of Mrs. Molly O'Leary – a fictionalized version ofCatherine O'Leary – in 1937'sIn Old Chicago, Brady won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[10] She had been nominated for the same award the year before as well, for her work inMy Man Godfrey.[citation needed]
A long-enduring myth states that at the Academy Awards presentation dinner, Brady's Oscar Award, a plaque (statuettes were not awarded for the Supporting categories until 1943) was stolen by a man who came onstage to accept the award on the absent actress's behalf and that it was never recovered, and the impostor was never tracked down. The Academy then issued a replacement plaque which was later presented to Brady.[11]
However, according to press at the time the film's director, Henry King, accepted on her behalf at the ceremony and friends of Ms. Brady delivered it to her home later that night. Winners were given blank awards at the ceremony and returned them to the Academy to have them engraved afterward. In 2016, the Oscar historianOlivia Rutigliano noted that Miss Brady also followed this practice, which may have led to the story that the Academy was presenting her with a replacement trophy.[12]
A sample of her more than 80films includes:
Silent
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