The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

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The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by moira finnie »

Here's the thread where we will post our questions about the life and career of character actress Mary Wickes for our guest author, Steve Taravella on Saturday, Aug 31st and Sunday, September 1st.

Let's mark the unofficial end of Summer with a weekend with award-winning journalist Steve Taravella, the author of "Mary Wickes: I Know I've Seen That Face Before" (University Press of Mississippi).

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For many of us, she is a touchstone as much as one of the character actresses who helped define the classic qualities in films such as Now, Voyager, The Man Who Came to Dinner, White Christmas, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Sister Act, and more. Whenever Mary Wickes pops up in a film, you know that there is something delightful about to happen, even when this performer took roles that might seem smaller than her talent. Mary whipped each role to an entertaining, insightful froth that put the fizz into plays, television and films well beyond the words in the script. Some of the ingredients in her talent were a bit of realistic vinegar along with a dash of humorous ginger, as well as a droll and often elegant touch conveying a character's life story in a few words with just a raised eyebrow, a shrug, or an air of brisk efficiency.

Off-screen, her friendship was treasured by many people in and out of the spotlight, including playwright George S. Kaufman, Bette Davis, Lucille Ball, Doris Day, Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon. An only child and a deeply devout person, Mary was exceptionally close to her mother and father, yet avoided contact with part of her family, despite her filial devotion. A strong work ethic, a lifelong habit of reticent stoicism, and a sensitivity about her gangly, 5'10" appearance may have played a part in her remaining independent and single at a time when convention directed most women into marriage.

Working for more than a decade, biographer Steve Taravella has gathered the elements of Wickes' public and private life through his research and almost 300 interviews with various people who knew Mary Wickes. Reading his book--even though we think we know Mary Wickes from her many roles as a nurse, a housekeeper, a nun, or a likable know-it-all--unveiled much more about this individual's long career. You can read more about the background and the purchase of this welcome biography here. Did you know that:

Mary Wickes was the original Mary Poppins?
Mary Wickes was the Disney animators' model for Cruella de Vil of 101 Dalmatians fame?
Mary Wickes was a member of Orson Welles’ groundbreaking Mercury Theatre and appears in the newly restored Welles film, Too Much Johnson?
Mary Wickes was one original cast member who appeared in the stage, screen and television versions of The Man Who Came to Dinner?

If you would like to know more about this intriguing lady and exchange your thoughts with Steve Taravella, please join us, beginning two weeks from today, as we gather to celebrate the life and career of Mary Wickes. I'll bring the virtual hot dogs and cole slaw to our Labor Day weekend festival--you bring the questions, okay?:

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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

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Thanks to Steve Taravella for joining us today and tomorrow to answer our questions about his biography, "Mary Wickes: I Know I've Seen That Face Before"(University Press of Mississippi).

To kick things off, I'd like to ask about one of many things about this actress that was touched on in your book. As described in your book, one aspect of Mary Wickes' personality that impressed me was her instinctive acceptance of her appearance. It seems almost foolhardy or brave that she chose a profession that often judges a person's appearance first, especially when repeatedly told to get a makeover by people who considered themselves experts in their field. (I consider her looks really interesting. She could have played one of the three witches in MacBeth or an elegant career woman who wore clothes beautifully on her tall frame). Yet you describe the 5'10" woman with a receding chin and a prominent nose as asserting herself by saying: “God gave me this, and I’m going to keep it. This is it. Hello, world, this is me.” How did she have the self-confidence to do this?
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Steve_Taravella »

Morning, Moira! And thanks for arranging this. Really looking forward to talking about Mary. And you’re starting us off with a good question.

Mary embarked on a performing career in the 1930s, when the women succeeding at it were full of glamour, like Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard, so it was a gamble, to be sure. But Mary had a remarkable confidence in herself from an early age. It might be simply that this was her nature – throughout her life, in virtually everything she did, she was strong and driven and determined. She was completely at ease putting herself forward, even when others didn’t react well. But it’s possible her confidence could be traced to the fact that her earliest work was on stage – where the instant laughs she received provided reassurance that she was doing something right – and on radio where, of course, her appearance didn’t matter. It’s also possible that this self-assuredness was instilled in her in childhood: She was an only child of especially doting parents who let her know in every was that she was loved and valued and talented. They poured every resource into her – family life was defined by Mary’s interests and activities.

But fighting others’ perceptions of her appearance was a lifelong struggle. Mary always believed she was more attractive than others gave her credit for, and was quick to point out that, with the right clothes and make-up, she could look chic and stylish. She loved the Mainbocher gowns she wore on stage in “Park Avenue,” so she’d get a big kick out of the photo you selected at right :)
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Professional Tourist »

Welcome to Labor Day weekend at the SSO, Mr. Taravella. :)

I'm interested to know about Miss Wickes' work with Orson Welles and his Mercury Players. How did she first come to his attention? Did she work in his stage productions, or only on radio? Can you advise of any episodes of Mercury Theater on the Air, Campbell Playhouse, or any of his other radio series where we could look for her appearances?

Thank you.
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Steve_Taravella »

Hi, Tourist. Welles saw Mary in her first real stage hit, “Stage Door” in 1936 – in which she delivered acerbic lines wonderfully as “Little Mary” – and wanted to use her. He offered her a role in the Mercury’s production of “Shoemaker’s Holiday” in 1937, but she was already committed to “Father Malachy’s Miracle,” a Broadway comedy about an Irish monk and a dancehall swept out to sea. (Mary played a housekeeper, of course.) The following year, she signed with the Mercury for “Too Much Johnson” – the recently-discovered Welles film that we all saw so many headlines about a few weeks ago – and officially became a part of the Mercury company.

Yes, after stage work (she was also in the Mercury’s “Danton’s Death”), she performed in Mercury radio productions. She did three episodes of Mercury Theatre on the Air, all in 1938 – Life with Father, The Pickwick Papers, and Seventeen.
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

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Thanks for that insight into Mary's early life, Steve. Could you please discuss her relationship with her mother, Isabella? Did this strong bond affect Mary's career as well as her life?
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Steve_Taravella »

Mary was absolutely devoted to Isabella, her mother, who was by any measure the most important person in her life. Isabella and Mary lived together virtually without interruption until Isabella’s death in 1965. So Mary never really “left home,” since Isabella really was almost always with her: Isabella was the live-in chaperone when Mary was part of the Berkshire Playhouse stock company in Massachusetts in the 1930s; when Mary’s father died in 1943, Mary brought Isabella to New York to live with her; and when Mary moved to LA seeking television work in 1951, she brought Isabella with her.

But this was not a case of a duty-bound daughter begrudgingly tending to a widowed parent. Mary genuinely welcomed her mother’s company and enjoyed having her along for the ride, so to speak. She brought Isabella to industry functions the way others brought dates, and incorporated her into her own social circle in every way. Mary never married, never had children, had virtually no other relatives, and depended on her mother in ways big and small. These two solitary women were completely devoted to each other.

Living with her mother reinforced the home-spun values that shaped Mary’s life. The actor Bill Swan (Olivia de Havilland’s son in “Lady in a Cage”) remembers dropping Mary off at her apartment after a night at the Hollywood Bowl in 1957 and Mary inviting him up “for cookies and milk and you can meet Mother. She’ll be waiting up for me.” This was a time when scotch and soda was the more typical offering; Mary was 47. That same set of values drove Mary’s career decisions. She turned down numerous roles – even in pictures that became great hits, like “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Sixteen Candles” – because they offended the sensibilities Isabella instilled in her.
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Jeff »

Hello Steve. Happy Labor Day weekend. I would like to know what Mary considered her favorite performance or role in her career. I also wondered if she had any close friendships with other actors in the profession. The fact that she was in so many of Doris Day's earlier films made me wonder if they were close.
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Vecchiolarry »

Dear Mr. Taravella,

I am writing this from the Moscow airport; just waiting for my plane to Kiev......

My question:
Does Mary Wickes have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yet?

Back story:
In 2005, I had a meeting with several members of the Chamber of Commerce there and campaigned for stars to be placed for Marjorie Main, Connie Gilchrist, Mary Treen and Mary Wickes - none of whom had stars yet!!!! Can you believe it???!!!!
And, Ryan Seacrest has one.... Can you believe it!!!!

None of the illustrious (self proclaimed, I'm sure) members even knew who they were. I was assured that their names would go on a list(?) and be voted on the next year - - so far I don't know if any made it onto the star street.....

Just in passing:
I was galled to see that Paulette Goddard and Corinne Griffith (2 ladies I knew and loved dearly) were shunted onto Vine Street and not the Boulevard.

Thanks for writing a book about a gifted, talented and beautiful lady - a character actress who had character and could actually act.....

Larry
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Steve_Taravella »

Hi, Jeff. In film, Mary often cited “Now, Voyager,” “White Christmas” and “The Trouble with Angels” as among her favorites. In television, no doubt it was the 1949 “Studio One” live production of Mary Poppins that she liked most. She introduced Poppins as a severe, rigid nanny, as per the book, not the more cheerful nanny of the film later. Hers was the first portrayal of Poppins anywhere, and she always resented that she was not offered the role when it adapted for film.

Yes, Mary enjoyed close friendships with numerous well-known people, most notably, Lucille Ball. She was Lucy’s best friend for some 30 years, and the book devotes an entire chapter to this relationship. She was an important part of the larger Ball-Arnaz family, and Lucie Arnaz shares many interesting recollections of Mary. She was also close to Doris Day, as you suspect, and as recently as the late 1980s, about six years before Mary died, she visited Day at her home in Carmel, Calif. She was close to Bette Davis in the 1940s, during the years when Mary appeared in three of Davis’ films, but nothing suggests they remained close later. (With permission from Day, Lucie Arnaz, and Davis’ son Michael Merrill, the book features never-before published letters to Mary from these three women, revealing the affection and confidences Mary shared with them.)

She was also very close to Vincent Price, a fellow St. Louisan, and spent many holidays at the Price home in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Mary and Price often celebrated their June birthdays together. Another of her closest friends was Max Showalter, the character actor who might be best remembered as the earnest honeymooner in a cabin near Marilyn Monroe’s in “Niagara”.
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Steve_Taravella »

Vecchiolarry wrote: Does Mary Wickes have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yet?"
Hi, Larry. Interesting how these decisions are made, isn't it? No, Mary has no star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But she does have one on the St. Louis Walk of Fame, a similar path of brass stars and bronze plaques that celebrates St. Louisans of significant cultural accomplishments. Friends of Mary had campaigned for one for years, but they succeeded only in 2004, about nine years after her death. Others included on the walk include Betty Grable, Agnes Moorehead, Shelly Winters, Tina Turner and Vincent Price.
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Rita Hayworth »

Good Weekend - Labor Day,

Mr. Tarvella,

I did not see much of Mary Wickes in Movies - but I did see her a lot in Television and one of my favorites is when she appears in M.A.S.H of which she played a Colonel and I adore her in that episode of which she and Major Burns played by Larry Linville was priceless. That is one of my favorite of all time.

Two part questions

1) Her favorite Television Role and 2) Her Least favorite Television Role.

One of my favorite Christmas Movies - White Christmas Starring Bing Crosby and Danny Faye - she was wonderful in that movie and I wanted to asked you this - what is her thoughts on this enduring Christmas Classic - and I was impressed by her role as Emma Allen and if you could share anything about this movie at all ... Anything

Thanks Mr. Tarvella.
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Sue Sue Applegate »

Steve, we are so grateful for your visit to The Silver Screen Oasis. I can't wait to order your book as Mary Wickes is one of my favorite character actresses. I am happy to know some of her favorite performances are also some of mine, but I have never seen her perform Mary Poppins. Is it available anywhere?

I also feel that the antics in White Christmas would not have worked as well with anyone else as Emma.

Did Mary Wickes have any connections with any of my other favorite character actresses like Florence Bates or Thelma Ritter?

Thank you!
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Post by Steve_Taravella »

Hi, Erik. You’ll be pleased to know the M*A*S*H role was created specifically for Mary. It was written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum, who were writers on the Mrs. G Goes to College series, for which Mary received an Emmy nomination. Mary liked the M*A*S*H role, too, mostly because it was in such a high-profile series. The episode doesn’t hold up over time well; it’s really suggesting that women claim rape when it does not happen, and treats the subject awfully cavalierly. Trapper says, “I’ve never been to a rape before,” and Hawkeye replies, “Maybe for your next birthday,” as if watching a rape would be a treat. I can’t imagine this script being green-lighted today.

You’re right to suspect that Mary really enjoyed “White Christmas.” She liked everything about it –- the stars, the director (Curtiz had directed her twice before this, in “The Story of Will Rogers” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams”), the big budget attention it received (it was the first film shot in VistaVision) and more. She liked it so much that, in later years, she couldn’t understand why screenings of it were not promoted more.

While Mary liked working with Rosemary Clooney, and lived only about two miles from her, the two women did not see each other again until 1994, when Clooney attended Christmas Eve services at Mary’s church (All Saints’ Episcopal in Beverly Hills), where Clooney’s son Gabriel Ferrer was serving as rector. But Mary’s eyesight by this point had deteriorated so badly that she did not recognize her former co-star.
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Re: The Q & A with Mary Wickes Biographer, Steve Taravella

Post by Steve_Taravella »

Sue Sue Applegate wrote: Steve, I have never seen her perform Mary Poppins. Is it available anywhere? Did Mary Wickes have any connections with any of my other favorite character actresses like Florence Bates or Thelma Ritter?
Hi, Sue Sue. Fortunately, the Poppins episode is preserved on kinescope at the Museum of Television & Radio in NY (now The Paley Center). It's wonderful to see, partly for the state of special effects in 1949; a "flying" Mary is lowered down to the stage by a pretty rudimentary hook-and-pulley contraption. The episode even includes an early Betty Furness commercial for Westinghouse TV sets with an “electronic magnifying knob” with “synchro-tuning” for a clearer picture :) Some Studio One programs are available on DVD, but I don't believe Poppins is one of them.

Ahhh, Thelma Ritter! I consider Mary and Ritter the two premier comic character actresses of the 20th century. They worked together three times -- in a failed Broadway tryout called "Larger than Life" in 1936, a radio version of "Rip Van Winkle" in 1948, and an episode of TV's "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" in 1956. The women never became intimate friends, but certainly they liked each other, even though they competed for the same type of role. Mary's papers contain numerous letters she saved from Ritter; they are warm and chatty, sharing news of a family christening, and at least one included photos of Ritter's children.

I'm not aware of any connection with Bates.
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