Skip to main content
Janet Beecher

Janet Beecher

Acting1884Jefferson City, Missouri, USA

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Janet Beecher (October 21, 1884 – August 6, 1955) was an American stage and screen actress.

Beecher was a supporting player and lead on the Broadway stage between the 1900s and 1940s. Her Broadway debut came in The Education of Mr. Pipp (1905). Her final Broadway play was The Late George Apley (1944).

Between 1915 and 1943, she appeared in about fifty motion pictures. She remains perhaps best-remembered as a character actress during Hollywood's golden age, often seen in roles as "firm but compassionate matriarchs". She was known for her roles as Ginger Rogers' mother in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), Tyrone Power's mother in the adventure film The Mark of Zorro (1940), and Henry Fonda's mother in Preston Sturges' screwball comedy The Lady Eve (1941). She retired from film business in 1943, but managed to play a role in the television series Lux Video Theatre in 1952.

Acting History

1997
1943
1942
A Tragedy at Midnight
as Third Mrs. Charles Miller (uncredited)
Silver Queen
as Mrs. Laura Forsythe
Men of Texas
as Mrs. Sam Houston
Reap the Wild Wind
as Mrs. Mottram
A Letter From Bataan
as Mrs. 'Ma' Lewis
Hi, Neighbor
as Hattie Greenfield
1941
The Lady Eve
as Janet Pike
For Beauty's Sake
as Miss Merton
West Point Widow
as Mrs. Graves
A Very Young Lady
as Miss Steele
1940
The Gay Caballero
as Kate Brewster
Bitter Sweet
as Lady Daventry
The Mark of Zorro
as Senora Isabella Vega
1939
Man of Conquest
as Mrs. Sarah Lea
I Was a Convict
as Mrs. Martha Harrison
Slightly Honorable
as Mrs. Cushing
Career
as Amy Cruthers
Laugh It Off
as Mary Carter
Land of Liberty
as (archive footage)
1938
Yellow Jack
as Miss Macdade
Say It in French
as Mrs. Laura Carrington
Woman Against Woman
as Mrs. Holland
1937
The Good Old Soak
as Matilda Hawley
Big City
as Sophie Sloane
My Dear Miss Aldrich
as Mrs. Sinclair
Between Two Women
as Miss Pringle
Rosalie
as Miss Baker
The Thirteenth Chair
as Lady Alicia Crosby
Beg, Borrow or Steal
as Mrs. Agatha Steward
Give Till It Hurts
as Cathy Gaffney
1936
The Longest Night
as Mrs. Briggs
I'd Give My Life
as Stella Bancroft
1935
Village Tale
as Amy Somerville
The Dark Angel
as Mrs. Shannon
So Red the Rose
as Sally Bedford
Let's Live Tonight
as Mrs. Routledge
1934
The Mighty Barnum
as Nancy Barnum
The Last Gentleman
as Helen Barr, Cabot's daughter
1933
Gallant Lady
as Maria Sherwood

Social Media

Personal Info

Known For
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
10/20/1884
Day of Death
8/6/1955
Place of Birth
Jefferson City, Missouri, USA