From Palmyra, Missouri, Jane Darwell later starred in 'Gone with the Wind' and 'The Grapes of Wrath'

Jane Darwell (1920).Photo byUniversity of Washington, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Born Patti Woodard (Oct. 15, 1879 - Aug. 13, 1967), and later holding the name of Jane Darwell, she became an actress. Darwell won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1941 for The Grapes of Wrath (1940). Her character was Ma Joad. Before that movie, Darwell played Mrs. Merriwether in Gone with the Wind (1939).

Darwell started her acting career in the theatre in Chicago. She also appeared in films with Shirley Temple. Darwell appeared in over 100 films. Her last role was in 1964 in Mary Poppins as the old woman who was feeding the pigeons.

Jane Darwell in 1918.Photo byJ. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Because of Darwell's contributions to the film industry, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Her film career began in the era of silent films. According to the New York Times, she made so many movies with Henry Fonda, that he was calling her "Ma" and she was calling him "son."

During the 1930s, in nearly every Shirley Temple film, Darwell either played Temple's grandmother or the housekeeper.

1945 publicity photo.Photo byPhotographer: John E. Reed, Hollywood, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Darwell's father, William R. Woodward, was the president of the Louisville and Southern Railroad and the Toronto, Hamilton, and Buffalo Railroads.

When Darwell was four, her family moved to Chicago. They kept a summer home in Palmyra. Darwell studied instrumental music, voice, and dramatics. Her father talked her out of wanting to be an opera singer or a circus performer. When she completed her studies, she found a job in a stock production company in Chicago.

When she was in Hollywood, she starred in many silent films in the early 1900s. She was in several Cecil B. DeMille productions.

In 1961, Darwell starred as Grandmother McCoy in The Real McCoys. She had television guest appearances in guest appearances on shows such as The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, My Friend Flicka, Maverick, Wagon Train, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour."

Darwell died in 1967 of a heart attack at the age of 87. She had a brief marriage to PVT Guy Harold “Hal” Cooley (1899-1967).

Thanks for reading and sharing.