Elizabeth Patterson
Known for
Elizabeth Patterson is an American actress with a place in film and television credits, and what is documented about her work is brief. She turns up in 'I Married a Witch' as well. The professional trail comes to 107 credits, no more. 'I Love Lucy' is the title most often attached to her name, where she plays Mrs. Trumbull.
Elizabeth Patterson
98 Movies
9 Series
Elizabeth Patterson is an American actress with a place in film and television credits, and what is documented about her work is brief. She turns up in 'I Married a Witch' as well. The professional trail comes to 107 credits, no more. 'I Love Lucy' is the title most often attached to her name, where she plays Mrs. Trumbull.
Movies
Plays Hannah
Little Women
1949
Plays Margaret
I Married a Witch
1942
Plays First Aunt
Love Me Tonight
1932
Plays Connie
Tall Story
1960
Plays Aunt Emma "Emmie"
Remember the Night
1940
Plays Miss Copeland
Dinner at Eight
1933
Plays Mrs. Casey
Pal Joey
1957
Plays Martha - Libby's Aunt
Hail the Conquering Hero
1944
Plays Sarah
Belle Starr
1941
Plays Tabitha Singleton
Bright Leaf
1950
Plays Aunt Hedwige
Bluebeard's 8th Wife
1938
Plays Miss Harper
Man Wanted
1932
Plays Ada Lester
Tobacco Road
1941
Plays Catherine Dennison
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
1947
Plays Aunt Charlotte Waring
Lady on a Train
1945
Plays Mrs. Sompter
I've Always Loved You
1946
Plays Aunt Jennie
The Story of Temple Drake
1933
Plays Annie
Follow the Boys
1944
Plays Mrs. Gilley
Welcome Stranger
1947
Plays Mrs. Stover
The Secret Heart
1946
Plays Aunt Susan
The Cat and the Canary
1939
Plays Jessie
Together Again
1944
Plays Mrs. MacGregor
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
1939
Plays Miss Eunice Habersham
Intruder in the Dust
1949
Plays Aunt Olivia
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
1940
Plays Mary, Cook
Secret of the Blue Room
1933
Plays Araminta Sedley
The Return of Sophie Lang
1936
Plays Eva
Her Cardboard Lover
1942
Plays Aunt Hester Fairfield
A Bill of Divorcement
1932
Plays Mary Raff
Las Vegas Shakedown
1955
Plays Ma Brannan
Small Town Girl
1936
Plays Mary Cherry
So Red the Rose
1935
Plays Rebecca
Anne of Windy Poplars
1940
Plays Mrs. Randall
No Man of Her Own
1932
Plays Juliet Mitchell
Miss Pinkerton
1932
Plays Grandma
The Vanishing Virginian
1942
Plays Maria Cooper
The Oregon Trail
1959
Plays Miss Spring
Out of the Blue
1947
Plays Mrs. Daly
Beyond the Blue Horizon
1942
Plays Ella Ferris
Men Without Names
1935
Plays Miss Tuttle
Hold Your Man
1933
Plays Nellie
Adventure in Diamonds
1940
Plays Aunt Blanche
Bulldog Drummond's Peril
1938
Plays Aunt Blanche
Bulldog Drummond's Bride
1939
Plays Cousin Emma
Colonel Effingham's Raid
1946
Plays Grandma Sherwood
My Sister Eileen
1942
Plays 'Ma' Miller
Hide-Out
1934
Plays Mrs. Fisher
The Sky's the Limit
1943
Plays Grandma Cortlandt
High, Wide and Handsome
1937
Plays Susan
The Cat Creeps
1930
TV Shows
Plays Mrs. Trumbull
I Love Lucy
1951
Plays Madame Elaine
General Electric Theater
1953
Plays Miss Bessie
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
Plays Aunt Polly
Climax!
1954
Plays Mrs. Couche
Cavalcade of America
1952
Plays Mrs. Melvane
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
1960
Plays Ma / Mother Baker
Four Star Playhouse
1952
Plays Mrs. Kale
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
Plays Mrs. Matthews
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Tall Story
Full Filmography
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
Mrs. Melvane · 1 episode
1960–1961
TV
Tall Story
Connie
1960
Film
The Oregon Trail
Maria Cooper
1959
Film
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Miss Bessie · 1 episode
1957–1958
TV
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Mrs. Kale · 1 episode
1958
TV
Pal Joey
Mrs. Casey
1957
Film
Cavalcade of America
Mrs. Couche · 1 episode
1955–1956
TV
Climax!
Aunt Polly · 1 episode
1955
TV
Las Vegas Shakedown
Mary Raff
1955
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elizabeth Patterson still alive?
Elizabeth Patterson passed away on January 31, 1966 at age 91.
What are the most famous roles of Elizabeth Patterson?
Elizabeth Patterson is best known for roles in I Married a Witch, Little Women, Dinner at Eight.
How many movies has Elizabeth Patterson been in?
Over a 40-year career (since 1926), Elizabeth Patterson has appeared in 98 movies and 9 TV shows.
What was Elizabeth Patterson's first movie?
The career of Elizabeth Patterson began with The Boy Friend (1926).
What is Elizabeth Patterson's most recent movie or series?
Elizabeth Patterson's most recent release is The Barbara Stanwyck Show, which premiered on September 19, 1960.
What TV shows has Elizabeth Patterson appeared in?
On television, Elizabeth Patterson has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, I Love Lucy, Adventures of Superman, 77 Sunset Strip.
Elizabeth Patterson
1874-11-21 · Savannah, Tennessee, USA
Mary Elizabeth Patterson (November 22, 1874 – January 31, 1966) was an American theatre, film, and television character actress who gained popular recognition late in her career playing the elderly neighbor Matilda Trumbull on the television comedy series I Love Lucy.
In 1926, at the age of 51, Patterson was cast in her first movie, a silent film, The Boy Friend. Transitioning successfully into the era of "talkies", she remained a very busy actress in Hollywood throughout the 1930s, averaging more than five films a year during that decade, usually in supporting roles. A few of her screen credits at that time include Tarnished Lady; Husband's Holiday; A Bill of Divorcement; So Big!; The Story of Temple Drake; Hold Your Man; Dinner at Eight; High, Wide, and Handsome; and No Man of Her Own. She also appeared in the role of Susan in two adaptations of John Willard's popular play The Cat and the Canary: The Cat Creeps in 1930 and The Cat and the Canary in 1939.
Patterson continued to perform frequently in the 1940s, when she was cast in more than 30 additional films. Among her notable roles is her 1949 portrayal of the heroic character Eunice Habersham in the groundbreaking racial crime drama Intruder in the Dust, a film based on the William Faulkner novel of the same name and set in the Deep South. Although she would appear in a few more feature films in the 1950s, such as Washington Story and Pal Joey, Patterson by then began to focus her work increasingly on roles in the rapidly expanding medium of television.
In 1952, at the age of 77, Patterson made her first appearance on the hit CBS-TV sitcom I Love Lucy in the episode "The Marriage License". Her character on I Love Lucy proved to be so popular among viewers, as well as useful to the writers of the series, that she continued in the role for three more years, often serving in episode storylines as a convenient babysitter for "Little Ricky".
Prior to, during, and after her work on I Love Lucy, Patterson appeared in many other American television series during the 1950s and early 1960s. Her first credited performance on the "small screen" was in March 1950 in "The Walking Stick", a teleplay on the NBC anthology series The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre. During the 11 years after that initial televised performance to her final role on television in 1961, she portrayed characters in a variety of other series, including Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, Studio One in Hollywood, General Electric Theater, Stage 7, Lux Video Theatre, Crossroads, The Star and the Story, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Adventures of Superman, New York Confidential, 77 Sunset Strip, Johnny Stacatto, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Playhouse 90, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, and The New Breed.
Patterson, who never married, lived at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during her 35-year film and television career.. On January 31, 1966, she died at age 91 in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia. Her gravesite is in Savannah Cemetery in her hometown in Tennessee.