Introduction
Aline Laveen MacMahon(May 3, 1899 – October 12, 1991) was an American actress. Her career began on stage in 1921. She worked extensively in film and television until her retirement in 1975. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Dragon Seed (1944).
Early life
MacMahon was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania to William Marcus MacMahon (died September 6, 1931) and Jennie (née Simon; died December 31, 1984). Her father was an editor with the Associated Press and the editor of Munsey's Magazine.
Her parents married on July 14, 1898 in Columbus, Ohio. Her father died on September 6, 1931. Her mother Jennie was born in Russia of Jewish descent, and died in 1984, aged 106.
MacMahon was entertaining as early as 1908, when a newspaper article reported "a series of songs and dances by Aline MacMahon" at St. Jude's Church in Brooklyn.
Education
MacMahon was raised in Brooklyn in New York City and educated at Public School 103, Erasmus Hall High School (Brooklyn) and Barnard College.
Career
MacMahon made her professional debut in 1914.
She began appearing on Broadway in 1921 in The Madras House. (Another source says that her first Broadway performance was in The Mirage in 1921.) Her Broadway credits include 24 shows. Her first film role was the Pre-Code Five Star Final (1931); she alternated between Broadway and Hollywood throughout her career.
Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors says of MacMahon (in part) "She proved to be a fine, sympathetic actress with a quick wit and tart tongue who then moved into character roles with ease as she became plumper and more motherly looking."
Personal life
On March 28, 1928, MacMahon married Clarence Stein, an architect and city planner, who founded the Regional Planning Association. He died in 1975. They had no children. MacMahon was chairwoman of the Equity Library Theater in 1950. She organized productions for community theaters and was active in relief charities.
Death
MacMahon died in 1991, aged 92, of pneumonia in New York City, seven years after the death of her mother, Jennie, who died at age 106.
Papers
The New York Public Library has a collection of MacMahon's papers that document various aspects of her life. They are housed in the library's Billy Rose Theatre Division.
Filmography
- Five Star Final (1931)
- The Heart of New York (1932)
- The Mouthpiece (1932)
- Week-End Marriage (1932)
- Life Begins (1932)
- Once in a Lifetime (1932)
- One Way Passage (1932)
- Silver Dollar (1932)
- Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
- The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
- Heroes for Sale (1933)
- The World Changes (1933)
- Heat Lightning (1934)
- The Merry Frinks (1934)
- Side Streets (1934)
- Big Hearted Herbert (1934)
- Babbitt (1934)
- While the Patient Slept (1935)
- Mary Jane's Pa (1935)
- I Live My Life (1935)
- Kind Lady (1935)
- Ah, Wilderness! (1935)
- When You're in Love (1937)
- Back Door to Heaven (1939)
- Out of the Fog (1941)
- The Lady is Willing (1942)
- Tish (1942)
- Stage Door Canteen (1943)
- Seeds of Freedom (1943)
- Reward Unlimited (1944 short)
- Dragon Seed (1944)
- Guest in the House (1944)
- The Mighty McGurk (1947)
- The Search (1948)
- Roseanna McCoy (1949)
- The Flame and the Arrow (1950)
- The Eddie Cantor Story (1953)
- The Man from Laramie (1955)
- Cimarron (1960)
- The Young Doctors (1961)
- Diamond Head (1963)
- I Could Go On Singing (1963)
- All the Way Home (1963)
Census and other data
- The 1910 United States Federal Census for Brooklyn, New York, April 16, 1910, Enumeration District 1409, Sheet 5.
- The 1920 United States Federal Census for Manhattan Assembly District 13, January 25, 1920, Enumeration District 943, Sheet 9A.
- U.S. Passport Applications 1795–1925, Roll 1533-6376-6749, March 19-21 1921 (Ancestry.com)