MARGARET WYCHERLY A.K.A. MARGARET DE WOLFE, THE CROTON CONNECTION

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON. 

Always delighted when we discover that yet another well known actress lived in the village---in this case Margaret Wycherly (married to and later divorced playwright and producer Bayard Veiller).

On screen she played mother to Gary Cooper (Sergeant York) and James Cagney (White Heat). Click on the photos and links.  Some bios follow below.

Margaret Wycherly was born in London, England on October 26, 1881. She was predominately a stage actress, continuing stage work even after performing in films. Her first film role came when she appeared in The Fight (1915) at 34 years old. It was not until 1929 that audiences got another glimpse of her in The Thirteenth Chair (1929). Playing largely character roles, one of her finest performances was as Gary Cooper's mother in Sergeant York (1941). She later gave stellar performances in The Yearling (1946) and Forever Amber (1947). She appeared on the then-new medium of television on The Philco Television Playhouse (1948). After a small role in The President's Lady (1953), Margaret retired at age 72. Three years later, on June 6, 1956, she died at age 74.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson & MO

This British actress, born in 1881, is probably best remembered as the mother in her two best-known roles, Sergeant York (1941) opposite 'Gary Cooper' and White Heat (1949) opposite James Cagney who closes out the film screaming "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" as he goes to a fiery death. Margaret spent her early acting days on stage touring across England, and later working with stock theatre companies in the US, before making the jump to Broadway. There she starred in two memorable plays, Tobacco Road, a successful commercial play, and The Thirteenth Chair which proved to be a critical success. 

Her performances caught the attention of the studios and she wound up reprising her role in the The Thirteenth Chair (1929) film adaptation opposite Bela Lugosi. Returning to the stage, she periodically returned to Hollywood, making the film Midnight (1934), followed by roles in 17 movie films.

JUNE 1923, SHADOWLAND

The most notable being Sergeant York (1941) for which she earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

-IMDb Mini Biography By: Keith Burnage webmaster@sgt-york.co, & MO

And check out this review of her performance as "MA JARRETT" IN WHITE HEAT; click here. 

Note: All content on this blog is Copyright (c) by Maria Cudequest and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content or photos may be republished or sold, without prior written consent from your editor and the individual who contributed the content in question. For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact the editor.