Frances Bavier
Frances Bavier | |
|---|---|
 Frances Bavier (1964) | |
| Born | Frances Elizabeth Bavier December 14, 1902 Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 6, 1989 (aged 86) |
| Resting place | Oakwood Cemetery, Siler City, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Columbia University American Academy of Dramatic Arts |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1927–1974 |
| Known for | The Andy Griffith Show Mayberry R.F.D. |
Frances Elizabeth Bavier (December 14, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American stage and television actress. Originally from New York theatre, she worked in film and television from the 1950s until the 1970s. She is best known for her role of Aunt Bea on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. from 1960 to 1970. Aunt Bea logged more Mayberry years (ten) than any other character. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Comedy Actress for the role in 1967.
Early life and career
Born in New York City in a brownstone on Gramercy Park[1] to Charles S. Bavier, a stationary engineer, and Mary S. (née Birmingham) Bavier, Frances originally planned to become a teacher after attending Columbia University. She first appeared in vaudeville, later moving to the Broadway stage.[2]
After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1925, she was cast in the stage comedy The Poor Nut.[3] Bavier's big break came in the original Broadway production of On Borrowed Time. She later appeared with Henry Fonda in the play Point of No Return.[3]
Bavier had roles in more than a dozen films, as well as playing a range of supporting roles on television. Career highlights include her turn as Mrs. Barley in the classic 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still. In 1955, she played the rough and tough "Aunt Maggie" Sawtelle, a frontier Ma Barker-type character, in the Lone Ranger episode "Sawtelle's Saga End". In 1957, she played Nora Martin, mother of Eve Arden's character on The Eve Arden Show, despite the fact that Arden was less than six years younger than Bavier. That same year, Bavier guest-starred in the eighth episode of Perry Mason as Louise Marlow in "The Case of the Crimson Kiss".
She was in an episode of Make Room for Daddy, which featured Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor and Ron Howard as Opie Taylor. She played a character named Henrietta Perkins. The episode led to The Andy Griffith Show, and Bavier was cast in the role of Aunt Bea. Bavier had a love-hate relationship with her famous role during the run of the show. As a New York City actress, she felt her dramatic talents were being overlooked, yet after playing Bea for eight seasons, she was the only original cast member to remain with the series in the spin-off, Mayberry R.F.D., for two additional seasons.[4]
Bavier was easily offended on the set of The Andy Griffith Show and the production staff took a cautious approach when communicating with her. Series star Andy Griffith once admitted the two sometimes clashed during the series run.[5][6] On an appearance on Larry King Live (November 27, 2003), Griffith said Bavier phoned him four months before she died and apologized for being "difficult" during the series run. Bavier confessed in an interview with Bill Ballard for Carolina Camera that "it is very difficult for an actress ... to create a role and to be so identified that you as a person no longer exist and all the recognition you get is for a part that is created on the screen."[7]
Bavier won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy in 1967.
Later years
In 1972, Bavier retired from acting and bought a home in Siler City, North Carolina.[4] On choosing to live in North Carolina instead of her native New York, Bavier said, "I fell in love with North Carolina, all the pretty roads and the trees." Bavier never married nor had children. According to a 1981 article by Chip Womick, a staff writer of The Courier Tribune, Bavier enthusiastically promoted Christmas and Easter Seal Societies from her Siler City home, and often wrote inspirational letters to fans who sought autographs.[citation needed] Additionally she left a $100,000 trust fund for the police force in Siler City, North Carolina. The interest of the trust provides a Christmas bonus every year for all the police personnel.[1]
Death
Bavier was described "as living a sparse life in her latter years, a very quiet life".[8] On November 22, 1989, she was admitted to Chatham Hospital, where she was kept in the coronary care unit for two weeks. She was discharged on December 4, 1989, and died at her home two days later, eight days before her 87th birthday. The immediate causes of death were listed as congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, and atherosclerosis, with supporting factors being breast cancer, arthritis, and COPD.[9] [10] Bavier is interred at Oakwood Cemetery in Siler City.[11] Her headstone includes the name of her most famous role, "Aunt Bea", and reads, "To live in the hearts of those left behind is not to die."[3]
Filmography
| Year | Title: | Role: | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Girls About Town | Joy | Uncredited |
| 1943 | O, My Darling Clementine | Mrs. Asbury | |
| 1951 | The Day the Earth Stood Still | Mrs. Barley | |
| 1951 | The Stooge | Mrs. Rogers | |
| 1952 | The Lady Says No | Aunt Alice Hatch | |
| 1952 | Bend of the River | Mrs. Prentiss | Alternative title: Where the River Bends |
| 1952 | Sally and Saint Anne | Mrs. Kitty "Mom" O'Moyne | |
| 1952 | My Wife's Best Friend | Mrs. Chamberlain | |
| 1952 | Horizons West | Martha Hammond | |
| 1953 | Man in the Attic | Helen Harley | |
| 1956 | The Bad Seed | Woman in dinner party scene | Uncredited |
| 1958 | A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed | Mrs. Solitaire | Alternative title: How to Rob a Bank |
| 1959 | It Started with a Kiss | Mrs. Tappe | |
| 1974 | Benji | Lady with cat | (final film role) |
Television credits
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Racket Squad | Martha Carver | 1 episode |
| 1952– 1953 |
Gruen Guild Playhouse | Sarah Cummings | 2 episodes |
| 1953 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Lou Bloor | 1 episode |
| 1953– 1954 |
City Detective | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1953– 1954 |
Letter to Loretta | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1953– 1955 |
Dragnet | Hazel Howard | 3 episodes |
| 1954 | The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse | Thelma | 2 episodes |
| 1954– 1955 |
Waterfront | Martha Amy |
2 episodes |
| 1954– 1956 |
It's a Great Life | Mrs. Amy Morgan | 62 episodes |
| 1955 | The Lone Ranger | Aunt Maggie Sawtelle | 1 episode |
| 1955 | Soldiers of Fortune | Amelia Lilly | 1 episode |
| 1955 | Damon Runyon Theater | 1 episode | |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Revenge | Mrs. Fergusen | 1 episode |
| 1956 | Lux Video Theatre | 1 episode | |
| 1956 | Cavalcade of America | Mrs. Hayes | 1 episode |
| 1957 | Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre | 1 episode | |
| 1957 | General Electric Theater | Miss Trimingham | 1 episode |
| 1957 | Perry Mason | Louise Marlow | 1 episode |
| 1957– 1958 |
The Eve Arden Show | Mrs. Nora Martin | 5 episodes |
| 1958 | Colgate Theatre | 1 episode | |
| 1959 | The Ann Sothern Show | Mrs. Wallace | 1 episode |
| 1959 | The Thin Man | 1 episode | |
| 1959 | Sugarfoot | Aunt Nancy Thomas | 1 episode |
| 1959 | Wagon Train | Sister Joseph | 1 episode - "The Sister Rita Story" |
| 1959 | 77 Sunset Strip | Grandma Fenwick | 1 episode |
| 1960 | The Danny Thomas Show | Henrietta Perkins | 1 episode |
| 1960 | Rawhide | Ellen Ferguson | 1 episode |
| 1960– 1968 |
The Andy Griffith Show | Aunt Beatrice "Bea" Taylor | 175 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series (1967) |
| 1967 | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. | Aunt Bea Taylor | 1 episode |
| 1968– 1970 |
Mayberry R.F.D. | Aunt Bea Taylor | 24 episodes |
References
- ^ "Childhood Jealousy Leads Frances Bavier to Stage". The Ogden Standard-Examiner: pg. 13. June 26, 1936.
{{cite journal}}:|page=has extra text (help) - ^ "Frances Bavier Dead; TV Performer Was 86". The New York Times. December 8, 1989. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
- ^ a b c Carp, Randy. "Aunt Bee: Sex Symbol and Diva?". Fans Pages. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ^ a b Kelly, Richard Michael (1985). The Andy Griffith Show. pp. 13–14. ISBN 0-89587-043-6.
- ^ "Frances 'Aunt Bea' Bavier dead at 86". United Press International. December 7, 1989. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
- ^ Foley, Rich (October 23, 2014). "Aunt Bee's Studebaker and other fine vehicles". State Line Observer. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
- ^ Carolina Camera: Aunt Bee Retires. Ballard, Bill. www.youtube.com
- ^ "'Andy Griffith' Aunt Bee Recluse in Final Years". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1990. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ^ "The cast of 'Griffith Show' mourns Frances Bavier". Chicago Tribune. December 8, 1989. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ^ Frances Bavier death certificate, autopsyfiles.org; accessed September 28, 2016.
- ^ Hoffman, James L.; Grizzle, Ralph (2007). Day Trips From Raleigh-Durham. Globe Pequot. pp. 184–86. ISBN 0-7627-4543-6.
External links
- Frances Bavier at IMDb
- Frances Bavier at the Internet Broadway Database
- Frances Bavier at AllMovie
- Frances Elizabeth Bavier at Find a Grave
- Frances Bavier Papers, 1930s-1990
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1902 births
- 1989 deaths
- Actresses from New York City
- 20th-century American actresses
- American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni
- American film actresses
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- Disease-related deaths in North Carolina
- Columbia University alumni
- Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
- People from Siler City, North Carolina
- Vaudeville performers
- People from Gramercy Park