Nana Bryant

Nana Irene Bryant (November 23, 1888 – December 24, 1955) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1955.

Nana Bryant
Bryant in 1948
Born	Nana Irene Bryant (1888-11-23)November 23, 1888 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died	December 24, 1955(1955-12-24) (aged 67) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting place	Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1912-1955
Spouse	Ted MacLean

Biography

Bryant was born 1888 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She appeared in stock companies in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and spent several seasons on tour. She also played on Broadway, appearing in the then non-singing role of Morgan le Fay in Rodgers and Hart's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, before working in films. Her other Broadway credits included Marriage Is for Single People (1945), Baby Pompadour (1934), A Ship Comes In (1934), The First Apple (1933), The Dubarry (1932), The Stork is Dead (1932), Heigh-Ho, Everybody (1932), The Padre (1926), The Wild Rose (1926), No More Women (1926), The Firebrand (1924).^[1]

Bryant had a supporting role in the Frank Morgan Show, a summer replacement for Jack Benny's program in 1946.^[2]

On television, she played Connie's mother in The First Hundred Years^[3]: 344 and Mrs. Nestor in Our Miss Brooks.^[3] She also made several appearances as the mother of Margaret Williams (Jean Hagen) during the first three seasons of Make Room for Daddy.^{[citation needed]}

Bryant appeared for the first time in a musical role October 1 to November 1, 1912 in The Man Who Owns Broadway at Morosco's Burbank Theatre, produced by David M. Hartford. Her role was Sylvia, Anthony Bridwell's daughter. She sang Song of the Soul in Act 1 and I'm in love with one of the stars. She was accompanied by Sophia Caldwell of Wheeling, West Virginia; Caldwell was then studying for the opera.^[4]

Personal life

Bryant was married to writer Ted MacLean.^[5]

Bryant died in Hollywood, California, in 1955, aged 67.^{[citation needed]}

Partial filmography

• Unknown Woman (1935) - Aunt Mary
• Atlantic Adventure (1935) - Joan Hill (uncredited)
• A Feather in Her Hat (1935) - Lady Drake
• Guard That Girl (1935) - Sarah
• Crime and Punishment (1935) - Madam (uncredited)
• One Way Ticket (1935) - Mrs. Bourne
• The Lone Wolf Returns (1935) - Aunt Julie Stewart
• You May Be Next (1936) - Miss Abbott
• Lady of Secrets (1936) - Aunt Harriet
• The King Steps Out (1936) - Louise
• Meet Nero Wolfe (1936) - Sarah Barstow
• Blackmailer (1936) - Mrs. Lindsay
• The Man Who Lived Twice (1936) - Margaret Schuyler
• Theodora Goes Wild (1936) - Ethel Stevenson
• Pennies from Heaven (1936) - Miss Howard
• Let's Get Married (1937) - Mrs. Willoughby
• The League of Frightened Men (1937) - Agnes Burton
• The Devil Is Driving (1937) - Mrs. Sanders
• A Dangerous Adventure (1937) - Marie
• Counsel for Crime (1937) - Mrs. Maddox
• Man-Proof (1938) - Meg Swift
• Midnight Intruder (1938) - Mrs. John Clark Reitter Sr.
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) - Mrs. Thatcher
• Mad About Music (1938) - Louise Fusenot
• Sinners in Paradise (1938) - Mrs. Franklin Sydney
• Give Me a Sailor (1938) - Mrs. Minnie Brewster
• Always in Trouble (1938) - Mrs. Minnie Darlington
• Out West with the Hardys (1938) - Dora Northcote
• Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus (1938) - Mrs. Henry Peck
• Swing, Sister, Swing (1938) - Hyacinth Hepburn
• Lincoln in the White House (1939, Short) - Mary Todd Lincoln (uncredited)
• Street of Missing Men (1939) - Mrs. Putnam
• Parents on Trial (1939) - Margaret Ames
• Espionage Agent (1939) - Mrs. Corvall
• Our Neighbors – The Carters (1939) - Louise Wilcox
• Brother Rat and a Baby (1940) - Mrs. Harper
• If I Had My Way (1940) - Marian Johnson
• A Little Bit of Heaven (1940) - Mom
• Father Is a Prince (1940) - Susan Bower
• The Reluctant Dragon (1941) - Mrs. Benchley
• Nice Girl? (1941) - Mary Peasley
• Thieves Fall Out (1941) - Martha Matthews
• One Foot in Heaven (1941) - Mrs. Morris
• Public Enemies (1941) - Emma
• The Corsican Brothers (1941) - Madame Dupre
• Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942) - Mrs. Marshall Todwell
• Get Hep to Love (1942) - Aunt Addie
• Youth on Parade (1942) - Agatha Frost
• Thunder Birds (1942) - Mrs. Blake
• Madame Spy (1942) - Alicia Rolf
• Hangmen Also Die! (1943) - Mrs. Hellie Novotny
• Get Going (1943) - Mrs. Daughtery
• Best Foot Forward (1943) - Mrs. Dalrymple
• The West Side Kid (1943) - Mrs. Winston
• Princess O'Rourke (1943) - Mrs. Mulvaney (uncredited)
• The Song of Bernadette (1943) - Mere Imbert (uncredited)
• The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944) - Mrs. Langdon
• Jungle Woman (1944) - Miss Gray - Nurse
• Bathing Beauty (1944) - Dean Clinton
• Take It or Leave It (1944) - Miss Burke
• Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944) - Nurse
• Can't Help Singing (1944) - Mrs. Carstairs (uncredited)
• Brewster's Millions (1945) - Mrs. Gray
• Week-End at the Waldorf (1945) - Mrs. H. Davenport Drew
• Black Market Babies (1945) - Mrs. Grace Andrews
• The Virginian (1946) - Mrs. Wood (uncredited)
• The Runaround (1946) - Mrs. Mildred Hampton
• Big Town (1946) - Mrs. Crane
• The Perfect Marriage (1947) - Corinne Williams
• Millie's Daughter (1947) - Mrs. Cooper Austin
• The Big Fix (1947) - Mrs. Carter
• Possessed (1947) - Pauline Graham (uncredited)
• The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival (1947) - Mrs. Cornelius Belmont Sr., in 'Fabulous Joe'
• The Fabulous Joe (1947) - Mrs. Belmont
• The Unsuspected (1947) - Mrs. White
• Her Husband's Affairs (1947) - Mrs. Winterbottom
• Dangerous Years (1947) - Miss Templeton
• Goodbye, Miss Turlock (1948, Short) - Miss Turlock (uncredited)
• Reaching from Heaven (1948) - Kay Bradley
• On Our Merry Way (1948) - Housekeeper (deleted sequence) (uncredited)
• Stage Struck (1948) - Mrs. Howard
• Eyes of Texas (1948) - Hattie Waters
• Lady at Midnight (1948) - Lydia Forsythe
• Inner Sanctum (1948) - Mrs. Mitchell
• The Return of October (1948) - Cousin Therese
• The Kissing Bandit (1948) - Nun (uncredited)
• Ladies of the Chorus (1948) - Mrs. Adele Carroll
• State Department: File 649 (1949) - Peggy Brown
• Hideout (1949) - Sybil Elwood Kaymeer
• The Lady Gambles (1949) - Mrs. Dennis Sutherland
• The Blonde Bandit (1950) - Mrs. Henley
• Key to the City (1950) - Mrs. Cabot (uncredited)
• I Was a Shoplifter (1950) - Aunt Clara (uncredited)
• A Modern Marriage (1950) - Mrs. Brown
• Three Secrets (1950) - Mrs. Gilwyn, Supervisor of 'The Shelter' (uncredited)
• Let's Dance (1950) - Mrs. Bryant (uncredited)
• Harvey (1950) - Mrs. Hazel Chumley
• The Du Pont Story (1950) - Elizabeth du Pont
• A Modern Marriage (1951)
• Follow the Sun (1951) - Sister Beatrice
• Only the Valiant (1951) - Mrs. Drumm
• Bright Victory (1951) - Mrs. Claire Nevins
• Geraldine (1953) - Dean Blake
• About Mrs. Leslie (1954) - Mrs. McKay
• The Outcast (aka The Fortune Hunter) (1954) - Mrs. Banner
• The Private War of Major Benson (1955) - Mother Redempta

References

1. "Nana Bryant". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
2. "Morgan Replaces Benny For Summer on Nets" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 27, 1946. p. 16. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
3. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 798. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
4. Brochure from the show and Personal Scrap Book of Sophia Caldwell McCrystal in the Larry Roeder Archives.
5. "Miss Nana Bryant, at Seattle Theatre, Just Couldn't Stay Away From Spotlight's Glare". The Seattle Star. Washington, Seattle. April 19, 1913. p. 7. Retrieved March 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Nana Bryant at IMDb
• Nana Bryant at the Internet Broadway Database
• Nana Bryant at AllMovie
• Nana Bryant at Find a Grave
• Nana Bryant papers, 1917-1955, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts