Jean Adair

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Jean Adair
Jean Adair.jpg
Jean Adair
Born
Violet McNaughton

(1873-06-13)June 13, 1873
DiedMay 11, 1953(1953-05-11) (aged 79)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1922–1953

Jean Adair (born Violet McNaughton; June 13, 1873 – May 11, 1953) was a Canadian actress.

Life and career[]

Born as Violet McNaughton in Hamilton, Ontario, she worked primarily on stage but also made several film appearances late in her career, most notably as Aunt Martha, one of Cary Grant's dotty old aunts in Arsenic and Old Lace, a role she originated on Broadway. Her final performance was as the beloved matriarch Rebecca Nurse in the original production of The Crucible. Like many stage actresses of her era, she also appeared in vaudeville.[1]

She died at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City on 11 May 1953, aged 79. She was cremated at Ferncliff Crematory in Hartsdale, New York. Her ashes were collected by playwright Howard Lindsay.[2]

Broadway productions[]

  • It's a Boy! (1922-?)
  • The Jay Walker (1926)
  • Devils (1926)
  • The Good Fellow (1926)
  • Machinal (1928) (*with a young unknown Clark Gable)
  • That Ferguson Family (1928-9)
  • Scarlet Pages (1929)
  • Everything's Jake (1930)
  • Rock Me, Julie (1931)
  • Blessed Event (1932)
  • Best Years (1932)
  • Black Sheep (1932)
  • The Show Off (1932-3)
  • For Services Rendered (1933)
  • Murder at the Vanities (1933-4)
  • Broomsticks, Amen! (1934)
  • Picnic (1934-?)
  • Mid-West (1936-?)
  • Sun Kissed (1937-?)
  • On Borrowed Time (1938)
  • Morning's at Seven (1939–40)
  • Goodbye in the Night (1940)
  • Arsenic and Old Lace (1941-4)
  • Star-Spangled Family (1945)
  • The Next Half Hour (1945)
  • Detective Story (1949–50)
  • Bell, Book and Candle (1950-1)
  • The Crucible (1953)

Filmography[]

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1933 Advice to the Lovelorn Mrs. Prentiss Uncredited
1944 Arsenic and Old Lace Aunt Martha Brewster
1947 Living in a Big Way Abigail Morgan
1947 Something in the Wind Aunt Mary Collins
1948 The Naked City Little Old Lady Uncredited

References[]

  1. ^ Laurie, Jr., Joe (1953). Vaudeville: From the Honky-tonks to the Palace. New York: Henry Holt. p. 50. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  2. ^ Resting Places: The Burial Site of 14,000 Famous Persons by Scott wilson

External links[]


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