Alice Brady
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Alice Brady
Brady, Alice (1892–1939) actress. The daughter of producer William A. Brady, she was born in New York and studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music with the intention of becoming an opera singer but turned to the stage in 1909, making her debut as a minor courtier in Robert Mantell's mounting of As You Like It. Brady was featured in musicals, such as The Balkan Princess (1911), and in a 1912 series of Gilbert and Sullivan revivals, but she also essayed dramatic roles, such as Meg in Little Women (1912), the loyal wife Alice Nelson in The Family Cupboard (1913), the sentimental Beulah Randolph in Things That Count (1913), and Mary Horton who hides her past in Sinners (1915). She then enjoyed long runs as Jennie in Forever After (1918), the hostage Mamie in Zander the Great (1923), the guilt‐ridden Ina Bowman in Bride of the Lamb (1926), and blackmailer Laura Sargent in A Most Immoral Lady (1928). Brady's last role was generally acknowledged as her best: Lavinia Mannon in Mourning Becomes Electra (1931). Brooks Atkinson wrote, “Miss Brady . . . has one of the longest parts ever written. None of her neurotic dramatics in the past has prepared us for the demonic splendor of her Lavinia. She speaks in an ominous, full voice that only once or twice breaks into the splintery diffusion of artificial climaxes.” She enjoyed a successful film career in the 1930s.
AMG AllMovie Guide:
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Alice Brady
Biography
American actress Alice Brady first came to prominence in the silent films produced by World Studios, which was owned and operated by Brady's father, the influential theatrical producer William H. Brady. A star from her first film, As Ye Sow (1914), onward, she was applauded for her acting skills, though critics at the time noted that her somewhat offbeat facial features would be better suited to character roles than to ingenues. Brady devoted the 1920s to motherly and matronly portrayals on stage - which, as it turned out, were far more rewarding professionally than the heroines she'd played at World. Making her talking-picture debut in 1933's When Ladies Meet, Brady rapidly became one of Hollywood's most prolific portrayers of addlebrained society matrons and world-weary matriarchs. Her comic skills won her roles in such classics as My Man Godfrey (1936) and Three Smart Girls, but it was for her dramatic portrayal of the resilient, much-maligned Mrs. O'Leary in In Old Chicago (1938) that she won an Academy Award. Shortly after completing her work on John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Brady passed away at the age of 46. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviFilmography:
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Alice Brady
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Alice Brady
| Alice Brady | |
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| Born | Mary Rose Brady November 2, 1892 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 28, 1939 (aged 46) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1914–1939 |
| Spouse | James L. Crane (1919–1922) 1 son |
Alice Brady (born Mary Rose Brady, November 2, 1892 – October 28, 1939) was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked up until six months before her death from cancer in 1939. Her films include My Man Godfrey (1936), in which she played the flighty mother of Carole Lombard's character, and In Old Chicago (1938) for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
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Career
Brady was born in New York City and was interested at an early age in becoming an actress. Her father, William A. Brady, was an important theatrical producer,[1] and her mother was Rose Marie Rene, who died in 1896 when Alice was four. Alice first went on the stage when she was 14 and got her first job on Broadway in 1911 at the age of 18, in a show her father was associated with.[2] She continued to perform there (often in shows her father produced) consistently for the next 22 years. In 1931 she appeared in the premiere of Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra.[3] Her step-mother was Broadway star Grace George (1879–1961), whom her father married when Alice was a child. Her half-brother was William A. Brady Jr, the son of her father & Grace George.
Brady's father moved into movie production and presentation in 1913,[4] with his World Film Corporation, and Brady soon followed along after him, making her first silent feature appearance in As 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.[5]
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 and M-G-M's When Ladies Meet become her first talking picture. From then on she worked frequently until her death, making another 25 films in seven years. Her final film was Young Mr. Lincoln (1939).
Personal life
Brady was married to actor James Crane from 1919 to 1922, when they divorced. They co-starred in three silent films together His Bridal Night (1919), Sinners (1920) and A Dark Lantern (1920); the couple had one child, Donald.
Death
Alice Brady died from cancer on October 28, 1939, five days before her 47th birthday.[5]
Awards
For her portrayal of Mrs. Molly O'Leary — a fictionalized version of Catherine O'Leary – in 1937's In Old Chicago, Brady won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[6] She had been nominated for the same award the year before as well, for her work in My Man Godfrey.
At the Academy Award presentation dinner, Brady's Oscar statuette was stolen by a man who came onstage to accept the award on the absent actress' behalf. It was never recovered, and the impostor was never tracked down. The Academy issued a replacement statue which was later presented to Brady. [1]
Filmography
A sample of her more than 80 films includes:
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Silent
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Sound
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References
- ^ William A. Brady at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ The Balkan Princess at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Alice Brady at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ William A. Brady at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ a b Alice Brady at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Quinlan, David (1996) Quinlan's Film Stars, 4th edn., B.T.Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-7751-2, pg. 63
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alice Brady |
- Alice Brady at the Internet Movie Database
- Alice Brady at the Internet Broadway Database
- Alice Brady at AllRovi
- Literature on Alice Brady
- Alice Brady portrait 1910s
- Alice Brady at the NY Public Library Billy Rose Collection
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Oxford Companion to American Theatre
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Mentioned in
Dark Lantern
(1920 Film)
Spurs of Sybil
(1918 Film)
The Island of Hope
(1921 Film)
James Crane
(Actor, Drama/Romance)
Allan Melvin
(Actor, Comedy)
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