Mary Gordon
Acting1882Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary Gordon (born Mary Gilmour, 16 May 1882 – 23 August 1963) was a Scottish actress, long in the United States, who mainly played housekeepers and mothers, most notably the landlady Mrs. Hudson in the Sherlock Holmes series of movies of the 1940s starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Her body of work included nearly 300 films between 1925 and 1950. With her mother and daughter (both also named Mary), she arrived in Los Angeles in the mid-1920s and began playing variations on the roles she would spend her career on. She became friends with John Ford while making Hangman's House in 1928 and made seven more films with him. In 1939, she took on her best-remembered role as Sherlock Holmes' landlady and played the role in ten films and numerous radio plays. She was a charter member of the Hollywood Canteen, entertaining servicemen throughout the Second World War. On the radio show Those We Love, she played the regular role of Mrs. Emmett.
She entered retirement just as television reshaped the entertainment industry, making only a single appearance in that medium.
She was active in the Daughters of Scotia auxiliary of the Order of Scottish Clans.
She lived out her final years in Pasadena, California with her daughter and grandson. She died at age 81 on 23 August 1963 in Pasadena, California after a long illness.
Known For
Acting History
1950
West of Wyoming
as Nora Jones
The Cisco Kid
TVas Mary O'Toole
1949
Mr. Soft Touch
as Slatternly Woman Tenant (Uncredited)
Tucson
as Housemother (uncredited)
The File on Thelma Jordon
as Charwoman (uncredited)
Deputy Marshal
as Mrs. Lance
Haunted Trails
as Aunt Libby
Clues to Adventure
as Woman Reading Newspaper (archive footage) (uncredited)
Shamrock Hill
as Grandma Rogan
1948
Fort Apache
as Ma (barmaid)
Big Town Scandal
as Mary - Cleaning Woman (uncredited)
The Strange Mrs. Crane
as Nora
Kidnapped
as Scottish Woman (uncredited)
Angels' Alley
as Mrs. Mamie Mahoney
Highway 13
as Aunt Myrt Lacy
1947
The Invisible Wall
as Mrs. Bledsoe
Roses Are Red
as Cleaning Lady
The Long Night
as Old Woman in Crowd (uncredited)
Exposed
as Housekeeper
The Judge Steps Out
as Annie (Scrub Woman) (uncredited)
1946
Shadows Over Chinatown
as Mrs. Conover
The Dark Horse
as Mrs. Mahoney
Little Giant
as Ma Miller
Sister Kenny
as Mrs. Gordon (uncredited)
The Hoodlum Saint
as Trina
In Fast Company
as Mrs. Cassidy
Sentimental Journey
as Agnes, the Cook (uncredited)
Dressed to Kill
as Mrs. Hudson
1945
The Woman in Green
as Mrs. Hudson
Strange Confession
as Mrs. O'Connor
Captain Eddie
as Mrs. Westrom
The Body Snatcher
as Mary McBride (uncredited)
Kitty
as Nanny
See My Lawyer
as Mrs. Fillmore
Divorce
as Ellen
1944
Hollywood Canteen
as Hostess (uncredited)
The Pearl of Death
as Mrs. Hudson
Million Dollar Kid
as Mrs. McGinnis
The Hour Before the Dawn
as Annie
Secret Command
as Mrs. McKenzie (uncredited)
The Last Ride
as Mrs. Mary Kelly
Secrets of Scotland Yard
as Libby, the Housekeeper
The Racket Man
as Mom Benson
1943
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
as Mrs. Hudson
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
as Mrs. Hudson
Whispering Footsteps
as Ma Murphy
The Spider Woman
as Mrs. Hudson
Here Comes Kelly
as Mrs. Kelly
Sarong Girl
as Mattie
Smart Guy
as Maggie
Keep 'Em Slugging
as Mrs. Banning
Two Tickets to London
as Mrs. Tinkle
1942
Meet the Stewarts
as Mrs. Stewart
Half Way to Shanghai
as Mrs. McIntyre
The Pride of the Yankees
as Maid (uncredited)
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
as Mrs. Hudson
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
as Mrs. Hudson
Sealed Lips
as Mrs. Ann Morton (Fred's mother)
Fly By Night
as Ma Prescott
Bombay Clipper
as Abigail 'Mag' MacPherson
Dr. Broadway
as Broadway Carrie
The Mummy's Tomb
as Jane Banning
Blue, White, and Perfect
as Mrs. Flaherty - Mike's Landlady (uncredited)
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx
as Mrs. Scott
It Happened in Flatbush
as Mrs. Collins
Powder Town
as Mrs. Douglas
Gentleman Jim
as Mrs. Casey (uncredited)
1941
Unfinished Business
as Miss Brady
Pot o' Gold
as Mom McCorkle
Double Cross
as Mrs. Murray
Flight from Destiny
as Martha
Appointment for Love
as Martha
Riot Squad
as Mrs. McGonigle
Borrowed Hero
as Mrs. Riley
It Started with Eve
as Mrs. O'Toole (uncredited)
1940
Saps at Sea
as Mrs. O'Riley
The Invisible Woman
as Mrs. Bates
The Invisible Man Returns
as Cookie (uncredited)
Women Without Names
as Juror
Nobody's Children
as Mary
Go West
as Train Passenger
Brother Orchid
as Mrs. Sweeney - Flo's Landlady (uncredited)
Kitty Foyle
as Cleaning Lady (uncredited)
Tear Gas Squad
as Mrs. Sullivan
Young People
as Old Woman
Queen of the Mob
as Tenement Landlady
The Last Alarm
as Mrs. Hadley
When the Daltons Rode
as Ma Dalton
I Take This Oath
as Mrs. Eileen Hanagan
My Son, My Son!
as Mrs. Mulvaney
Public Deb No. 1
as Landlady
No, No, Nanette
as Gertrude, the Cook
1939
The Hound of the Baskervilles
as Mrs. Hudson
Racketeers of the Range
as Mary-Benson's Housekeeper
She Married a Cop
as Ma Duffy
The Jones Family in Hollywood
as Landlady (uncredited)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Woman (uncredited)
Off the Record
as Mrs. Finnegan (uncredited)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
as Mrs. Hudson
The Night of Nights
as 1nd Pencil Woman (uncredited)
Tail Spin
as Mrs. Lee
Day-time Wife
as Scrubwoman
Wings of the Navy
as Irene's Housekeeper
Tell No Tales
as Mrs. Bryant (uncredited)
Broadway Serenade
as Annie (uncredited)
Captain Fury
as Mrs. Bailey
Rulers of the Sea
as Mrs. Ogilvie (Uncredited)
The Marshal Of Mesa City
as Mrs. Dudley
The Escape
as Neighbor
Code of the Streets
as Mrs. Flaherty
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
as Mrs. O'Leary
The Story That Couldn't Be Printed
as Woman Reading Newspaper (uncredited)
1938
City Streets
as Mrs. Devlin
Kidnapped
as Mrs. MacDonald
Mannequin
as Mrs. O'Rourke (Uncredited)
Blond Cheat
as Maggie (uncredited)
Gateway
as Scottish Mother
Campus Confessions
as Mrs. Twill
1937
You're Only Young Once
as Mary's Mother (uncredited)
The Great O'Malley
as Mrs. O'Malley
Double Wedding
as Mrs. Keough
A Damsel in Distress
as Cook (uncredited)
Lady Behave!
as Cook
Meet the Boy Friend
as Mrs. Grimes
Her Husband Lies
as Mrs. Jenks
Friend Indeed
as Housekeeper
You Can't Have Everything
as YWCA Scrub Woman (uncredited)
One Man Justice
as Bridget
1936
Stage Struck
as Mrs. Cassidy
The White Angel
as Nursing Applicant (uncredited)
Great Guy
as Mrs. Ogilvie
The Plot Thickens
as Woman with Bag (uncredited)
The Plough and the Stars
as Woman at Barricades
After the Thin Man
as Rose (uncredited)
Little Miss Nobody
as Mrs. Biddle
The Lady Consents
as Apple Lady
Share the Wealth
as Ma MacClyde
Laughing Irish Eyes
as Mrs. O'Keefe
Forgotten Faces
as Mrs. O'Leary
Mary of Scotland
as Nurse
1935
Mutiny on the Bounty
as Peddler (uncredited)
Bonnie Scotland
as Mrs. Bickerdike
Ginger
as Mrs. Monahan (uncredited)
Bride of Frankenstein
as Hans' Wife
The Irish in Us
as Ma O'Hara
Waterfront Lady
as Mrs. O'Flaherty
Vanessa: Her Love Story
as Mrs. Leathwaite
Vagabond Lady
as Myrtle, Scrubwoman (uncredited)
$10 Raise
as Landlady (uncredited)
1934
The Defense Rests
as Scrub Woman
One More River
as Cook (Uncredited)
Manhattan Melodrama
as Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Beloved
as Mrs. O'Leary
Charlie Chan in London
as Prison Visitor (uncredited)
The Man from Hell
as Mrs. Frank McCarrol
Murder at the Vanities
as Assistant Wardrobe Woman (uncredited)
Our Daily Bread
as Community Woman in Cottage (uncredited)
The Loudspeaker
as Landlady
Cross Streets
as Sonny's Mother
The Woman Condemned
as Crying Woman at Night Court (uncredited)
Change of Heart
as Woman in Street (uncredited)
Whom the Gods Destroy
as Newfoundlander
Baby Take a Bow
as Mrs. O'Brien (Uncredited)
The Little Minister
as Nanny
The Little Minister
Dialogue Coach
1933
The Invisible Man
as Screaming Woman (uncredited)
My Woman
as Woman at Ironing Board (Uncredited)
Nature in the Wrong
as Mrs. Clancy
Doctor Bull
as Townswoman at Meeting
Sweepings
as Mrs. Patrick O'Leary (Uncredited)
Ladies They Talk About
as Prisoner in Visiting Room (uncredited)
She Done Him Wrong
as Cleaning Lady (uncredited)
The Power and the Glory
as Nurse (uncredited)
Meet the Baron
as Washer Woman (uncredited)
Broadway Thru a Keyhole
as Cleaning Woman
The World Changes
as Lady at Party (uncredited)
Men Must Fight
as Pacifist Audience Member
Design for Living
as Theatre Chambermaid (uncredited)
The Kiss Before the Mirror
as Scrubwoman (uncredited)
The Whirlwind
as Mrs. Curtis
1932
The Impatient Maiden
as Irish Neighbor (uncredited)
The Expert
as Neighbor
Radio Patrol
as Landlady (uncredited)
Skyscraper Souls
as Charwoman
Pack Up Your Troubles
as Mrs. MacTavish (uncredited)
Call Her Savage
as Lady in Tenement (Uncredited)
Blonde Venus
as Landlady (uncredited)
Wild Girl
as Washerwoman (uncredited)
Texas Cyclone
as Kate
Dancers in the Dark
as Scrubwoman
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
as Court Matron (uncredited)
Beauty Parlor
as Landlady
70,000 Witnesses
as Scrubwoman (uncredited)
1931
Waterloo Bridge
as Distraught Woman on Stairway (uncredited)
24 Hours
as Nurse
A House Divided
as Townswoman (uncredited)
Subway Express
as Mrs. Delaney
The Black Camel
as Mrs. MacMasters
The Brat
as Angry Wife in Night Court (uncredited)
Possessed
as Woman at Political Rally (uncredited)
1930
His Honor the Mayor
as His Wife
Roaring Ranch
as Mrs. O'Riley (uncredited)
The Ghosts
as Chubby's Mama
Let Us Be Gay
as Mrs. McIntyre (uncredited)
Song o' My Heart
as Irish Woman
When the Wind Blows
as Chubby's Mother (uncredited)
Anybody's Woman
as Maid
Oh, for a Man!
as Stage Door Admirer with Violets
1929
Hell's Heroes
as Choir Member (uncredited)
Dynamite
as Neighbor at Store
Madame X
as Nursemaid (uncredited)
The Saturday Night Kid
as Reducing customer (uncredited)
Is Everybody Happy?
as Neighbor (uncredited)
1928
The Matinee Idol
as Woman in Audience (uncredited)
The Ol' Gray Hoss
as First taxi passenger
Hangman's House
as The Woman at Hogan's Hideout
1927
Naughty Nanette
as Mrs. Rooney
Clancy's Kosher Wedding
as Molly Clancy
1926
Black Paradise
as Mrs. Murphy
1925