This woman's composure and customary dignity are distinctly ruffled
when she is literally spanked on her bottom by a grizzly 'George
'Gabby' Hayes' in the John Wayne 1944 mystery-western,
Tall in the Saddle (1944).
After her death in 1958, her body was donated to medical
science.
Starred in English silent films between 1913 and 1917. From 1918, worked in the United States, becoming a member of the Theatre Guild. In Hollywood from 1935, usually seen as cranky or narrow-minded aunt or mother.
Star actress of UK silents who became a Hollywood character player in the sound era, typically portraying stern, autocratic elders.
Appeared twice with Irene Dunne: "Theodora goes wild" (1936) and "Life with father" (1947).
Father: John Jenkins Risdon; Mother: Martha Cartwright Harrop.
Raised her stepson after the death of her first husband--his first wife had died in 1908, which left his son an orphan.
Initially a student instructor at London's Academy of Dramatic Art.
Made her Broadway debut in 1912 with "Fanny's First Play."
Biography in "Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties" by Axel Nissen.