Linda Mathews Watkins (May 23, 1908 – October 31, 1976) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actress.
Early years
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, as Linda Mathews Watkins, the daughter of Gardiner and Elizabeth R. (née Mathews) Watkins.[1] Her father was active in real estate in Boston. She was related to physicist Albert A. Michelson and painter Arthur Radclyffe Dugmore.[2] Linda married Gabriel Lorie Hess, a prominent motion pictures industry attorney, in January 1932 but maintained her maiden name as her stage name. She had one son, Adam Hess, and he and his wife Marjorie Hess had three daughters, one of whom, Faye, followed in her grandmother's acting footsteps.[citation needed]
Watkins attended a teachers' college because her parents wanted her to teach. She later went to study at the Theatre Guild.[3]
Career
Stage
After six months Watkins began to appear with the Theater Guild's summer repertory program in Scarborough, New York. Three weeks after she finished a course at the Theater Guild's Dramatic School, she had the lead in The Devil in the Cheese.[4] When producer Charles Hopkins[5] asked Watkins if she preferred playing comedy or drama, she replied, "Tragedy". He was casting for a comedy production and Watkins was offered the lead role.[citation needed]
Watkins gained additional acting experience during a season with the Hartman stock theater company in Columbus, Ohio, after which the Shubert Organization gave her the lead in its Chicago production of Trapped.[3]
Aged 17, she performed in the Tom Cushing comedy The Devil In The Cheese with Fredric March at the Charles Hopkins Theater in New York City.[6] In 1928, she appeared in the Forest Theater production of Trapped by Samuel Shipman. She appeared in a revival of The Wild Duck in November 1928, starred in the George S. Kaufman/Ring Lardner comedy June Moon in 1929, and co-starred with Ralph Morgan in Sweet Stranger in 1930.[7]
Film
She debuted in movies in Sob Sister (1931), a film in which she plays a female reporter. Reviewer Muriel Babcock remarked that Watkins "is cool, blond, poised, good to look upon. She plays the title role with admirable restraint and gives every evidence of being a comer in films."[citation needed]
Her second movie was Good Sport (1931), a screen adaptation of a story by William J. Hurlbut. Produced by the Fox Film Company, Watkins played Marilyn Parker, a naive wife caught up in a love triangle. Her co-stars were Alan Dinehart and John Boles. She appeared in Charlie Chan's Chance, a lost 1932 film starring Warner Oland as the famous detective.[citation needed] Edmund Lowe and Watkins co-starred in Cheaters at Play (1932).
Her other film credits included From Hell It Came (1957), Ten North Frederick (1958), As Young as We Are (1958), Cash McCall (1960), Because They're Young (1960), The Parent Trap (1961), Good Neighbor Sam (1964), Huckleberry Finn (1974) and Bad Ronald (1974).[citation needed]
Television
Watkins appeared in numerous television broadcasts beginning in 1950 with an episode of The Billy Rose Show. Other television shows appearances include The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Asphalt Jungle, Bonanza, The David Niven Show, Death Valley Days, The Doris Day Show, Gunsmoke (S7E3 - as Mattie in the episode “Miss Kitty” & S8E10 - as Mrs. Dorf in the episode “The Hunger”), Hazel, How to Marry a Millionaire, Ichabod and Me, The Investigators, M Squad, McMillan & Wife, The Munsters, Perry Mason, Peter Gunn, and Wagon Train.[citation needed]
One of her last television roles as a guest star was as Maggie MacKenzie in The Waltons in the episode "The Journey" (1973).[8]
Personal life
Marriage
Watkins married lawyer Gabriel Lorie Hess, a widower, at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago on January 28, 1932.[9]
Death
Watkins died in Los Angeles in 1976, aged 68, from undisclosed causes.[10]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Sob Sister | Jane Ray | |
| 1931 | Good Sport | Marilyn Parker | |
| 1932 | Charlie Chan's Chance | Gloria Garland | |
| 1932 | Cheaters at Play | Tess Boyce | |
| 1932 | The Gay Caballero | Ann Grey | |
| 1933 | Playthings of Desire | Gloria Dawn | |
| 1957 | From Hell It Came | Mrs. Mae Kilgore | |
| 1958 | Going Steady | Aunt Lola | |
| 1958 | Ten North Frederick | Peg Slattery | |
| 1958 | As Young as We Are | Mrs. Hutchins | |
| 1960 | Cash McCall | Marie Austen | |
| 1960 | Because They're Young | Frances McCalla | |
| 1961 | The Parent Trap | Edna Robinson | |
| 1964 | Good Neighbor Sam | Edna Bailey | |
| 1974 | Huckleberry Finn | Mrs. Grangerford | |
| 1974 | Bad Ronald | Mrs. Schumacher | TV movie, (final film role) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | The Billy Rose Show | Season 1 Episode 4: "Tattle Tale Red" | |
| 1957 | Wagon Train | Lottie Tarback | Season 1 Episode 5: "The Les Rand Story" |
| 1957 | M Squad | Mrs. Gardner | Season 1 Episode 11: "The Alibi Witness" |
| 1957 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Customer in Bar | Season 3 Episode 2: "Mail Order Prophet" |
| 1958 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Lila Shank | Season 3 Episode 20: "On the Nose" |
| 1958 | The Adventures of Jim Bowie | Ellie Franklin | Season 2 Episode 35: "Bowie's Baby" |
| 1958 | How to Marry a Millionaire | Nellie | Season 1 Episode 20: "The Maid" |
| 1959 | Perry Mason | Grace Runyan | Season 2 Episode 28: "The Case of the Spanish Cross" |
| 1959 | The David Niven Show | Floss | Season 1 Episode 6: "A Day of Small Miracles" |
| 1959-60 | Death Valley Days | Hannah Phoebe Stoner Kate |
Season 2 Episode 7: "One in a Hundred" as Hannah Season 8 Episode 5: "Fair Exchange" as Phoebe Stoner Season 8 Episode 26: "The Man Everyone Hated" as Kate |
| 1959-61 | Peter Gunn | Louise Sinclair Laura Mitchell |
Season 1 Episode 23: "Dirty Word" as Louise Sinclair Season 3 Episode 33: "A Bullet for the Boy" as Laura Mitchell |
| 1959–1973 | Gunsmoke | Kate Elsie Mattie Mrs. Dorf Ma Abby Shadler |
Season 4 Episode 23: "Sky" (1959) as Kate Season 6 Episode 15: "Old Fool" (1960) as Elsie Season 7 Episode 3 (1961): "Miss Kitty" as Mattie Season 8 Episode 10: "The Hunger" (1962) as Mrs. Dorf Season 10 Episode 6: "Take Her, She's Cheap" (1964) as Ma Season 18 Episode 17: "Shadler" (1973) as Abby Shadler |
| 1961 | The Asphalt Jungle | Mrs. Ainslee | Season 1 Episode 1: "The Burglary Ring" |
| 1961 | Ichabod and Me | Miss Prouty | Season 1 Episode 10: "Ichabod's Romance" |
| 1961 | The Investigators | Madelaine Fowler | Season 1 Episode 12: "Something for Charity" |
| 1963–1964 | Hazel | Grace Gracie |
Season 3 Episode 2: "An Example for Hazel" as Grace Season 3 Episode 18: "Scheherazade and Her Frying Pan: Part 1" as Gracie Season 3 Episode 19: "Scheherazade and Her Frying Pan: Part 2" as Gracie |
| 1964 | The Munsters | Lydia Gardner | Season 1 Episode 10: "Autumn Croakus" |
| 1968 | The Doris Day Show | Maggie Wells | Season 1 Episode 11: "The Job" |
| 1971–1972 | McMillan & Wife | Emily Hull | reoccurring role as mother of Sally McMillan (Susan St. James) in 3 episodes Season 1 Episode 0: "Once Upon a Dead Man" Season 1 Episode 2: "The Easy Sunday Murder Case" Season 1 Episode 6: "Till Death Do Us Part" |
| 1973 | The Waltons | Maggie MacKenzie | Season 2 Episode 1: "The Journey" |
References
- ^ Watkins' parents' names from Massachusetts Vital Records, 1908 births, vol. 577, pg. 101.
- ^ Peak, Mayme Ober (August 20, 1931). "Selection of 'Baby Stars' Causes Row in Filmdom". The Boston Globe. Massachusetts, Boston. p. 26. Retrieved July 12, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Linda Watkins Says She Owes Ohio Debt". The Akron Beacon Journal. Ohio, Akron. October 2, 1931. p. 18. Retrieved July 12, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sidelights of the Stage and Screen". The Billings Gazette. Montana, Billings. February 27, 1927. p. 21. Retrieved July 12, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Charles Hopkins at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Devil in the Cheese at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ "Linda Watkins". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ TV Guide: Volume 37. Triangle Publications. 1989. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
- ^ "HOLLYWOOD HEYDAY: January 29, 1932". hollywoodheyday.blogspot.com. October 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
- ^ "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPHT-DLH : 26 November 2014), Linda M Hess, 31 Oct 1976; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
Sources
- Fresno Bee, "Linda Watkins Hinted To Be A Bride", January 27, 1932, pg. 5.
- Los Angeles Times, "Baby Stars Vote Splits Up WAMPAS", August 15, 1931, pg. A1.
- Los Angeles Times, "New Move Marks War On Wampas", August 24, 1931, pg. A1.
- Los Angeles Times, "Studios Place Stars Together", August 29, 1931, pg. 11.
- Los Angeles Times, "Sob Sister Proffered At Loews", October 23, 1931, pg. A11.
- New York Times, "A New Ingenue", January 9, 1927, pg. X4.
- New York Times, "Trapped To Open Aug. 7", July 25, 1928, pg. 13.
- New York Times, "In Sweet Stranger Cast", August 28, 1930, pg. 27.
- New York Times, "The Screen", December 12, 1931, pg. 23.
- New York Times, "Linda Watkins Weds G.L. Hess In Chicago", January 29, 1932, pg. 12.
- Zanesville Register, "Along Broadway", Monday, May 4, 1959, pg. 5.
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