CINEFILER

Jane Wyatt

Born
August 12, 1910
Died
October 20, 2006
From Wikipedia Jane Wyatt (August 12, 1910 – October 20, 2006) was an American actress best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the NBC and CBS television comedy series, Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek. Wyatt was a three-time Emmy Award-winner. Jane Waddington Wyatt was born on August 12, 1910 in Mahwah, New Jersey, but raised in Manhattan. Her father, Christopher Billopp Wyatt, Jr., was a Wall Street investment banker, and her mother, the former Euphemia Van Rensselaer Waddington, was a drama critic for the Catholic World. Both of her parents were Roman Catholic converts. She made her film debut in 1934 in One More River. In arguably her most famous role, she co-starred as Ronald Colman's character's love interest in Frank Capra's Columbia Pictures film Lost Horizon (1937). Other film appearances included Gentleman's Agreement with Gregory Peck, None but the Lonely Heart with Cary Grant, Boomerang with Dana Andrews, and Our Very Own. Her film career suffered because of her outspoken opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy, the chief figure in the anti-Communist investigations of that era, and was temporarily derailed for having assisted in hosting a performance by the Bolshoi Ballet during the Second World War, even though it was at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Wyatt returned to her roots on the New York stage for a time and appeared in such plays as Lillian Hellman's The Autumn Garden, opposite Fredric March. For many people, Wyatt is best remembered as Margaret Anderson on Father Knows Best, which aired from 1954 to 1960. She played opposite Robert Young as the devoted wife and mother of the Anderson family in the Midwestern town of Springfield. This role won Wyatt three Emmy Awards for best actress in a comedy series. After Father Knows Best, Wyatt guest starred in several other series. On June 13, 1962, she was cast in the lead in "The Heather Mahoney Story" on NBC's Wagon Train. In 1963, she portrayed Kitty McMullen in "Don't Forget to Say Goodbye" on the ABC drama, Going My Way, with Gene Kelly and Leo G. Carroll, a series about the Catholic priesthood in New York City. In 1965, Wyatt was cast as Anne White in "The Monkey's Paw – A Retelling" on CBS's The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Wyatt was married to investment broker Edgar Bethune Ward from November 9, 1935, until his death on November 8, 2000, just one day short of the couple's 65th wedding anniversary. The couple reportedly met in the late 1920s when both were weekend houseguests of Franklin D. Roosevelt at Hyde Park, New York. Ward later converted to the Catholic faith of his wife. Wyatt suffered a mild stroke in the 1990s, but recovered well. She remained in relatively good health for the rest of her life Jane Wyatt died on October 20, 2006 of natural causes at her home in Bel-Air, California, aged 96. She was interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, next to her husband.
Known For
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
(1986)
Amanda
Lost Horizon
(1937)
Sondra Bizet
Gentleman's Agreement
(1947)
Jane
Canadian Pacific
(1949)
Dr. Edith Cabot
Amityville: The Evil Escapes
(1989)
Alice Leacock
House by the River
(1950)
Marjorie Byrne
Pitfall
(1948)
Sue Forbes
Full Filmography
Acting
Great Expectations
(1934)
Estella
One More River
(1934)
Dinny Cherrell
We're Only Human
(1935)
Sally Rodgers
The Luckiest Girl in the World
(1936)
Pat Duncan
Lost Horizon
(1937)
Sondra Bizet
Girl from God's Country
(1940)
Anne Webster
Kisses for Breakfast
(1941)
Laura Anders
Weekend for Three
(1941)
Ellen 'Gretch' Craig
Hurricane Smith
(1941)
Joan Bradley
The Navy Comes Through
(1942)
Myra Mallory
Army Surgeon
(1942)
Elizabeth Ainsley
The Kansan
(1943)
Eleanor Sager
Buckskin Frontier
(1943)
Vinnie Marr
None But the Lonely Heart
(1944)
Aggie Hunter
The Bachelor's Daughters
(1946)
Marta Jordan
Strange Conquest
(1946)
Dr. Mary Palmer
Gentleman's Agreement
(1947)
Jane
Boomerang!
(1947)
Madge Harvey
Pitfall
(1948)
Sue Forbes
No Minor Vices
(1948)
Miss Darlington
Task Force
(1949)
Mary Morgan
Canadian Pacific
(1949)
Dr. Edith Cabot
Bad Boy
(1949)
Mrs. Maud Brown
House by the River
(1950)
Marjorie Byrne
The Man Who Cheated Himself
(1950)
Lois Frazer
Our Very Own
(1950)
Lois Macaulay
My Blue Heaven
(1950)
Janet Pringle
Criminal Lawyer
(1951)
Maggie Powell
Interlude
(1957)
Pure Stubbins
The Two Little Bears
(1961)
Anne Davis
See How They Run
(1964)
Augusta Flanders
Never Too Late
(1965)
Grace Kimbrough
Weekend of Terror
(1970)
Sister Frances
Neighbors
(1971)
You'll Never See Me Again
(1973)
Mary Alden
Tom Sawyer
(1973)
Aunt Polly
Katherine
(1975)
Emily Alman
Amelia Earhart
(1976)
Amy Earhart
Treasure of Matecumbe
(1976)
Aunt Effie
The Father Knows Best Reunion
(1977)
Margaret Anderson
Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas
(1977)
Margaret Anderson
Superdome
(1978)
Fay Bonelli
The Nativity
(1978)
Anna
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story
(1978)
Eleanor's Mother
The Millionaire
(1978)
Mrs. Mathews
Missing Children: A Mother's Story
(1982)
Judge Eloise Walker
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
(1986)
Amanda
Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist
(1987)
Herself
Amityville: The Evil Escapes
(1989)
Alice Leacock
The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors
(1993)
Narrator (voice)
Frank Capra's American Dream
(1997)
Self
Data provided by TMDB