From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mary Gordon (born Mary Gilmour, 16 May 1882 – 23 August 1963) was a Scottish actress, long in the United States, who mainly played housekeepers and mothers, most notably the landlady Mrs. Hudson in the Sherlock Holmes series of movies of the 1940s starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Her body of work included nearly 300 films between 1925 and 1950. With her mother and daughter (both also named Mary), she arrived in Los Angeles in the mid-1920s and began playing variations on the roles she would spend her career on. She became friends with John Ford while making Hangman's House in 1928 and made seven more films with him. In 1939, she took on her best-remembered role as Sherlock Holmes' landlady and played the role in ten films and numerous radio plays. She was a charter member of the Hollywood Canteen, entertaining servicemen throughout the Second World War. On the radio show Those We Love, she played the regular role of Mrs. Emmett. She entered retirement just as television reshaped the entertainment industry, making only a single appearance in that medium. She was active in the Daughters of Scotia auxiliary of the Order of Scottish Clans. She lived out her final years in Pasadena, California with her daughter and grandson. She died at age 81 on 23 August 1963 in Pasadena, California after a long illness.
Known For
| Birth Location | Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
|---|---|
| Born | 1882-05-16 |
| Died | 1963-08-23 |
Movies
West of Wyoming
as Nora Jones
1950
The File on Thelma Jordon
as Charwoman (Uncredited)
1949
Deputy Marshal
as Mrs. Lance
1949
Haunted Trails
as Aunt Libby
1949
Mr. Soft Touch
as Slatternly Woman Tenant (Uncredited)
1949
Tucson
as Housemother (uncredited)
1949
Clues to Adventure
as Woman Reading Newspaper (archive footage) (uncredited)
1949
Shamrock Hill
as Grandma Rogan
1949
Highway 13
as Aunt Myrt Lacy
1948
Kidnapped
as Scottish Woman (uncredited)
1948
The Strange Mrs. Crane
as Nora
1948
Fort Apache
as Ma (barmaid)
1948
Big Town Scandal
as Mary - Cleaning Woman (uncredited)
1948
Angels' Alley
as Mrs. Mamie Mahoney
1948
The Judge Steps Out
as Annie (Scrub Woman) (uncredited)
1947
Roses Are Red
as Cleaning Lady
1947
The Invisible Wall
as Mrs. Bledsoe
1947
Exposed
as Housekeeper
1947
The Long Night
as Old Woman in Crowd (uncredited)
1947
Sister Kenny
as Mrs. Gordon (uncredited)
1946
The Dark Horse
as Mrs. Mahoney
1946
Shadows Over Chinatown
as Mrs. Conover
1946
In Fast Company
as Mrs. Cassidy
1946
Dressed to Kill
as Mrs. Hudson
1946
The Hoodlum Saint
as Trina
1946
Sentimental Journey
as Agnes, the Cook (uncredited)
1946
Little Giant
as Ma Miller
1946
Kitty
as Nanny
1945
Strange Confession
as Mrs. O'Connor
1945
Divorce
as Ellen
1945
Captain Eddie
as Mrs. Westrom
1945
The Woman in Green
as Mrs. Hudson
1945
The Body Snatcher
as Mary McBride (uncredited)
1945
1945
See My Lawyer
as Mrs. Fillmore
1945
Hollywood Canteen
as Hostess (uncredited)
1944
The Last Ride
as Mrs. Mary Kelly
1944
The Pearl of Death
as Mrs. Hudson
1944
Secret Command
as Mrs. McKenzie (uncredited)
1944
Secrets of Scotland Yard
as Libby, the Housekeeper
1944
1944
The Hour Before the Dawn
as Annie
1944
Million Dollar Kid
as Mrs. McGinnis
1944
The Racket Man
as Mom Benson
1944
Whispering Footsteps
as Ma Murphy
1943
The Spider Woman
as Mrs. Hudson
1943
Smart Guy
as Maggie
1943
Here Comes Kelly
as Mrs. Kelly
1943
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
as Mrs. Hudson
1943
Two Tickets to London
as Mrs. Tinkle
1943
Sarong Girl
as Mattie
1943
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
as Mrs. Hudson
1943
Keep 'Em Slugging
as Mrs. Banning
1943
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
as Mrs. Hudson
1942
Gentleman Jim
as Mrs. Casey (uncredited)
1942
The Mummy's Tomb
as Jane Banning
1942
Half Way to Shanghai
as Mrs. McIntyre
1942
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
as Mrs. Hudson
1942
The Pride of the Yankees
as Maid (uncredited)
1942
Powder Town
as Mrs. Douglas
1942
It Happened in Flatbush
as Mrs. Collins
1942
Meet the Stewarts
as Mrs. Stewart
1942
Dr. Broadway
as Broadway Carrie
1942
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx
as Mrs. Scott
1942
Fly-By-Night
as Ma Prescott
1942
Bombay Clipper
as Abigail 'Mag' MacPherson
1942
Blue, White, and Perfect
as Mrs. Flaherty - Mike's Landlady (uncredited)
1942
Sealed Lips
as Mrs. Ann Morton (Fred's mother)
1942
Riot Squad
as Mrs. McGonigle
1941
Borrowed Hero
as Mrs. Riley
1941
Appointment for Love
as Martha
1941
It Started with Eve
as Mrs. O'Toole (uncredited)
1941
Unfinished Business
as Miss Brady
1941
Double Cross
as Mrs. Murray
1941
Pot o' Gold
as Mom McCorkle
1941
Flight from Destiny
as Martha
1941
The Invisible Woman
as Mrs. Bates
1940
Kitty Foyle
as Cleaning Lady (uncredited)
1940
No, No, Nanette
as Gertrude, the Cook
1940
Nobody's Children
as Mary
1940
Go West
as Train Passenger
1940
Public Deb No. 1
as Landlady
1940
Young People
as Old Woman
1940
When the Daltons Rode
as Ma Dalton
1940
Queen of the Mob
as Tenement Landlady
1940
The Last Alarm
as Mrs. Hadley
1940
Brother Orchid
as Mrs. Sweeney - Flo's Landlady (uncredited)
1940
I Take This Oath
as Mrs. Eileen Hanagan
1940
Tear Gas Squad
as Mrs. Sullivan
1940
Saps at Sea
as Mrs. O'Riley
1940
My Son, My Son!
as Mrs. Mulvaney
1940
Women Without Names
as Juror
1940
The Invisible Man Returns
as Cookie (uncredited)
1940
The Night of Nights
as 1nd Pencil Woman (uncredited)
1939
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
as Mrs. O'Leary
1939
Day-time Wife
as Scrubwoman
1939
Rulers of the Sea
as Mrs. Ogilvie (Uncredited)
1939
The Marshal Of Mesa City
as Mrs. Dudley
1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Woman (uncredited)
1939
The Escape
as Neighbor
1939
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
as Mrs. Hudson
1939
The Story That Couldn't Be Printed
as Woman Reading Newspaper (uncredited)
1939
She Married a Cop
as Ma Duffy
1939
Tell No Tales
as Mrs. Bryant (uncredited)
1939
The Jones Family in Hollywood
as Landlady (uncredited)
1939
Captain Fury
as Mrs. Bailey
1939
Code of the Streets
as Mrs. Flaherty
1939
Broadway Serenade
as Annie (uncredited)
1939
The Hound of the Baskervilles
as Mrs. Hudson
1939
Tail Spin
as Mrs. Lee
1939
Wings of the Navy
as Irene's Housekeeper
1939
Off the Record
as Mrs. Finnegan (uncredited)
1939
Campus Confessions
as Mrs. Twill
1938
Gateway
as Scottish Mother
1938
City Streets
as Mrs. Devlin
1938
Blond Cheat
as Maggie (uncredited)
1938
Kidnapped
as Mrs. MacDonald
1938
Mannequin
as Mrs. O'Rourke (Uncredited)
1938
Friend Indeed
as Housekeeper
1937
Lady Behave!
as Cook
1937
You're Only Young Once
as Mary's Mother (uncredited)
1937
A Damsel in Distress
as Cook (uncredited)
1937
Double Wedding
as Mrs. Keough
1937
You Can't Have Everything
as YWCA Scrub Woman (uncredited)
1937
Meet the Boy Friend
as Mrs. Grimes
1937
Her Husband Lies
as Mrs. Jenks
1937
The Great O'Malley
as Mrs. O'Malley
1937
The Plough and the Stars
as Woman at Barricades
1936
After the Thin Man
as Rose (uncredited)
1936
The Plot Thickens
as Woman with Bag
1936
Great Guy
as Mrs. Ogilvie
1936
Stage Struck
as Mrs. Cassidy
1936
Mary of Scotland
as Nurse
1936
The White Angel
as Nursing Applicant (uncredited)
1936
Little Miss Nobody
as Mrs. Biddle
1936
Share the Wealth
as Ma MacClyde
1936
Laughing Irish Eyes
as Mrs. O'Keefe
1936
The Lady Consents
as Apple Lady
1936
Mutiny on the Bounty
as Peddler (uncredited)
1935
Waterfront Lady
as Mrs. O'Flaherty
1935
Bonnie Scotland
as Mrs. Bickerdike
1935
The Irish in Us
as Ma O'Hara
1935
Ginger
as Mrs. Monahan (uncredited)
1935
$10 Raise
as Landlady (uncredited)
1935
Bride of Frankenstein
as Hans' Wife
1935
Vanessa: Her Love Story
as Mrs. Leathwaite
1935
The Little Minister
as Nanny
1934
Our Daily Bread
as Community Woman in Cottage (uncredited)
1934
Charlie Chan in London
as Prison Visitor (uncredited)
1934
The Man from Hell
as Mrs. Frank McCarrol
1934
One More River
as Cook (Uncredited)
1934
The Defense Rests
as Scrub Woman
1934
Cross Streets
as Sonny's Mother
1934
Baby Take a Bow
as Mrs. O'Brien (Uncredited)
1934
Change of Heart
as Woman in Street
1934
Manhattan Melodrama
as Boat Passenger (uncredited)
1934
The Woman Condemned
as Crying Woman at Night Court (uncredited)
1934
Beloved
as Mrs. O'Leary
1934
Design for Living
as Theatre Chambermaid (uncredited)
1933
The Invisible Man
as Screaming Woman (uncredited)
1933
Broadway Thru a Keyhole
as Cleaning Woman
1933
Meet the Baron
as Washer Woman (uncredited)
1933
The Power and the Glory
as Nurse (uncredited)
1933
My Woman
as Woman at Ironing Board (Uncredited)
1933
Doctor Bull
as Townswoman at Meeting
1933
The Kiss Before the Mirror
as Scrubwoman (uncredited)
1933
Sweepings
as Mrs. Patrick O'Leary (Uncredited)
1933
The Whirlwind
as Mrs. Curtis
1933
Nature in the Wrong
as Mrs. Clancy
1933
Men Must Fight
as Pacifist Audience Member
1933
She Done Him Wrong
as Cleaning Lady (uncredited)
1933
Ladies They Talk About
as Prisoner in Visiting Room
1933
Call Her Savage
as Lady in Tenement (Uncredited)
1932
Wild Girl
as Washerwoman (uncredited)
1932
Blonde Venus
as Landlady (uncredited)
1932
Pack Up Your Troubles
as Mrs. MacTavish (uncredited)
1932
70,000 Witnesses
as Scrubwoman (uncredited)
1932
Beauty Parlor
as Landlady
1932
Radio Patrol
as Landlady (uncredited)
1932
Dancers in the Dark
as Scrubwoman
1932
The Expert
as Neighbor
1932
The Impatient Maiden
as Irish Neighbor (uncredited)
1932
Texas Cyclone
as Kate
1932
A House Divided
as Townswoman (uncredited)
1931
Possessed
as Woman at Political Rally (uncredited)
1931
24 Hours
as Nurse
1931
Waterloo Bridge
as Distraught Woman on Stairway (uncredited)
1931
The Brat
as Angry Wife in Night Court (uncredited)
1931
The Black Camel
as Mrs. MacMasters
1931
Subway Express
as Mrs. Delaney
1931
Oh, for a Man!
as Stage Door Admirer with Violets
1930
Anybody's Woman
as Maid
1930
Roaring Ranch
as Mrs. O'Riley (uncredited)
1930
When the Wind Blows
as Chubby's Mother (uncredited)
1930
The Ghosts
as Chubby's Mama
1930
His Honor the Mayor
as His Wife
1930
Song o' My Heart
as Irish Woman
1930
Hell's Heroes
as Choir Member (uncredited)
1929
The Saturday Night Kid
as Reducing customer (uncredited)
1929
Is Everybody Happy?
as Neighbor (uncredited)
1929
Madame X
as Nursemaid (uncredited)
1929
The Ol' Gray Hoss
as First taxi passenger
1928
Hangman's House
as The Woman at Hogan's Hideout
1928
The Matinee Idol
as Woman in Audience (uncredited)
1928
Naughty Nanette
as Mrs. Rooney
1927
Black Paradise
as Mrs. Murphy
1926
The Home Maker
as Mrs. Hennessy
1925
Movies
The Little Minister
Dialogue Coach
1934