Mary Kathleen O'Malley (March 31, 1924 – February 25, 2019) was an American film and television actress, who was the daughter of vaudevillian and actor Pat O'Malley. Her screen debut came during the silent film era as a thirteen month old baby in 1926, when she appeared alongside her father and her sister Sheila in the western My Old Dutch.[1]
Kathleen O'Malley | |
|---|---|
Publicity Photo of Kathleen O'Malley | |
| Born | Mary Kathleen O'Malley March 31, 1924 Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | February 25, 2019 (aged 94) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1926–1998 |
| Spouse |
James Maloney
(m. 1954; died 1994) |
| Children | 2 |
O'Malley went on to appear in several films and television shows during a seven decade career, including Cover Girl, Lady on a Train, Two Tickets to Broadway, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Rawhide, Leave it to Beaver and General Hospital. O'Malley also appeared in the second season of Barnaby Jones; episode titled, "Blind Terror" (09/16/1973).[2] Her last acting credit came in 1998 when she appeared in the short-lived American crime drama Buddy Faro.
Early life
editO'Malley was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to vaudevillian, stage and film actor Pat O'Malley.[3] She made her screen debut at age 13 months in the film My Old Dutch, starring her father and including her older sister Sheila. It was released the following year in 1926.[4] All three sisters (Eileen, Sheila & Kathleen) worked in show business as children.[5]
Career
edit1940s
editIn 1943, she played the part of a college girl in the Vincent Sherman directed film Old Acquaintance which starred Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins and Gig Young.[6] The following year she was in the Charles Vidor directed Cover Girl, a film about a night club owner who was in love with a dancing girl who has other ambitions. In it she played the cigarette girl. The main stars of the film were Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly.[7] In November 1944, she appeared in the November 23 issue of the Sarasota Herald Tribune, pictured with a small caption "The Most Delightful Target for Our Bomb Sights." She was chosen by bombardiers of the US Army Air Forces.[8] In 1947 she played the part of Dolly in the Alexander Hall-directed musical fantasy Down to Earth, which again starred Hayworth and Roland Culver.[9] In 1949 she played the part of Nita in Ladies of the Chorus which starred Marilyn Monroe, Adele Jergens and Rand Brooks.[10]
1950s
editO'Malley had a prominent role in John Ford's 1950 film, Wagon Master. She played the part of pretty Mormon girl Prudence Perkins.[11][12] Her character Prudence creates an issue due to marrying young Mormon man Sandy instead of Jackson.[13][14] Prudence is also the cause of a fight between two men who are both pursuing her.[15] In 1952, she appeared as Mrs. Norton, a pilot's wife in the Tay Garnett Korean war film One Minute to Zero which starred Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth.[16]
Death
editO'Malley died of Alzheimer's disease on February 25, 2019, at age 94.[17][18]
Personal life
editO'Malley was married to James Maloney who was also her agent.[19] The couple had two children: Sean (b. 1958) and Darren (b. 1960). Maloney died on March 23, 1994.[18]
Selected filmography
editEarly years
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | My Old Dutch | Herbert Brown, infant | |
| 1943 | Old Acquaintance | College girl | |
| 1944 | Cover Girl | Cigarette Girl | [20] |
| 1945 | Salome Where She Danced | Salome girl | |
| 1945 | Sudan | Handmaiden / Girl | |
| 1945 | Lady on a Train | Photographer | |
| 1945 | This Love of Ours | Chorus Girl | |
| 1946 | Gallant Journey | Mary | |
| 1946 | Devotion | Girl | |
| 1946 | Night in Paradise | Arthur Lubin | |
| 1947 | Down to Earth | Dolly | |
| 1948 | A-Hunting They Did Go | Girl | |
| 1949 | French Fried Frolic | Mabel Brown | |
| 1950 | Watch the Birdie | Woman Who Undresses | |
| 1950 | Wagon Master | Prudence Perkins | |
| 1950 | Shadow on the Wall | Telephone Operator | |
| 1950 | Hugs and Mugs | Ella | The Three Stooges series |
| 1951 | Two Tickets to Broadway | Showgirl | |
| 1952 | The Merry Widow | Girl at Maxim's | |
| 1952 | Eight Iron Men | Girl in Daydream | |
| 1952 | Affair in Trinidad | Stewardess | |
| 1953 | Confidentially Connie | Nurse | |
| 1954 | Brigadoon | Girl with Milk Pails | |
| 1954 | Naked Alibi | Jean Jenkins | |
| 1955 | Mister Roberts | Nurse |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Valerie Anderson | Season 1 Episode 15: "The Thirty-First of February" |
| 1964 | The Munsters | The Wife | Episode "Tin-Can Man" (Nov 1964) |
1970s-1990s
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Airport | Mrs. Chuck Beale – Passenger | Uncredited |
| 1971 | Dirty Harry | Lady in Jaffe's cafe | Uncredited |
| 1971 | Minnie and Moskowitz | Uncredited | |
| 1973 | Charley Varrick | Jessie | |
| 1976 | Amelia Earhart | Mrs Gallagher | 2 part television series |
| 1976 | The Shootist | School Teacher | |
| 1977 | The Hunted Lady | Nurse | TV movie |
| 1977 | Telefon | Mrs. Maloney | [21] |
| 1978 | The Toolbox Murders | Screamer Woman | |
| 1979 | Marciano | Supervisor | TV movie |
| 1981 | Isabel's Choice | Housekeeper | TV movie |
| 1982 | Jinxed! | Mother | |
| 1996 | Black Sheep | Mrs Oneacre |
References
edit- ^ "Western treasures". Western Clippings. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- ^ "The Footlight Club, America's oldest community theatre, presents applause". Archive.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- ^ "News Notes From Movieland". The Oshkosh Northwestern. May 15, 1924. p. 8. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ "Youngest O'Malley Before the Camera". Quad-City Times. May 31, 1925. p. 16. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ "You Must Plan Your Child's Future". The Nebraska State Journal. November 15, 1936. p. 46. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ Turner Classic Movies. Old Acquaintance, Overview, Cast & Crew
- ^ Hollywood's Miracles of Entertainment By John Howard Reid Pages 60–61 Cover Girl
- ^ Sarasota Herald-Tribune November 23, 1944 Page 2 Teasing Target
- ^ Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928–1982 Page 63 Down to Earth, Cast:
- ^ Turner Classic Movies. Ladies of the Chorus, Cast & Crew
- ^ Western Film Highlights: The Best of the West, 1914–2001 By Henryk Hoffmann Page 161 90. Wagon Master
- ^ Music in the Western: Notes From the Frontier – By Kathryn Kalinak Page 44
- ^ The great book of movie villains: a guide to the screen's meanies, tough guys, and bullies – Jan Stacy, Ryder Syvertsen Page 54
- ^ The Western Reader – Jim Kitses, Gregg Rickman Page 99
- ^ Three Bad Men: John Ford, John Wayne, Ward Bond By Scott Allen Nollen Page 206
- ^ Turner Classic Movies One Minute to Zero, Overview, Cast & Crew
- ^ SAG-AFTRA-Spring Edition 2019, In Memoriam
- ^ a b "Obituaries: Kathleen O'Malley (1924–2019)". The Three Stooges Journal (171). Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania: The Three Stooges Fan Club, Inc.: 3 Fall 2019.
- ^ Page 6 Part 2 SNAPS Archived 2016-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Milwaukee Sentinel March 6, 1958.
- ^ Hollywood's Miracles of Entertainment – John Howard Reid Page 60 Cover Girl
- ^ TV Guide Telefon, 1977 | Movie, Cast