Jane Wyatt
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 | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 1.4032 |
| Birthday | 1910-08-12 |
| Place of Birth | Campgaw, New Jersey, USA |
| Also Known As | Jane Waddington Wyatt, |
1986
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
7.2/1642
When a huge alien probe enters the galaxy and begins to vaporize Earth's oceans, Kirk and his crew must travel back in time in order to bring back wha...
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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
1937
Lost Horizon
6.988/242
British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash-land in the Himalayas, where they are rescued by the inhabitants of the hidden, id...
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Lost Horizon
1950
House by the River
6.755/110
Wealthy writer Stephen Byrne tries to seduce the family maid, but when she resists, he kills her. Long jealous of his brother John, Stephen does his b...
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House by the River
1948
Pitfall
6.854/89
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent pr...
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Pitfall
1947
Gentleman's Agreement
6.989/273
A magazine writer poses as a Jew to expose anti-Semitism.
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Gentleman's Agreement
1949
Task Force
7/14
After learning the finer points of carrier aviation in the 1920s, career officer Jonathan Scott and his pals spend the next two decades promoting the...
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Task Force
1951
Criminal Lawyer
7.4/5
A drunken attorney tries to sober up in order to defend a friend in murder case.
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Criminal Lawyer
1949
Canadian Pacific
5.191/34
A surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railroad must fight fur trappers who oppose the building of the railroad by stirring up Indian rebellion.
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Canadian Pacific
1950
The Man Who Cheated Himself
6.15/50
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.
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The Man Who Cheated Himself
1943
The Kansan
6/8
Wounded while stopping the James gang from robbing the local bank, a cowboy wakes up in the hospital to find that he's been elected town marshal. He s...
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The Kansan
1947
Boomerang!
7.052/85
When a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner in a quiet Connecticut town, the citizens are horrified and demand action from the p...
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Boomerang!
1944
None But the Lonely Heart
6.365/52
When an itinerant reluctantly returns home to help his sickly mother run her shop, they're both tempted to turn to crime to help make ends meet.
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None But the Lonely Heart
1970
Weekend of Terror
6.143/7
Three nuns on a weekend trip are held hostage by escaped convicts.
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Weekend of Terror
1950
Our Very Own
5.857/14
During a heated argument with her sister Joan, Gail discovers the shocking news that she is adopted. With the reluctant support of her adoptive parent...
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Our Very Own
1942
The Navy Comes Through
6/11
A U.S. Navy crew aboard a merchant marine ship battle Nazis.
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The Navy Comes Through
1943
Buckskin Frontier
7/3
A railroad man and the owner of a freight line battle for control of a crucial mountain pass.
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Buckskin Frontier
1934
Great Expectations
7/5
Orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood...
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Great Expectations
1941
Kisses for Breakfast
6.333/3
A newlywed develops amnesia and can't remember his wife.
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Kisses for Breakfast
1965
Never Too Late
5.333/6
A 60-year-old lumber supply businessman is dismayed to learn his 50-year-old wife is pregnant. A film adaptation of the hit Broadway comedy, with Paul...
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Never Too Late
1978
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story
9.5/2
One of the most moving stories in the annals of sports is presented in this true drama documenting the love affair of baseball immortal Lou Gehrig and...
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A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story
1975
Katherine
6.364/11
A harrowing look at the 60s and early 70s through the eyes of Katherine Alman, a wealthy debutante who slowly, but inexorably spirals down into a figh...
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Katherine
1935
We're Only Human
7.333/3
A cop, who plays by his own rules, brings down a notorious gangster.
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We're Only Human
1973
You'll Never See Me Again
7/5
After a couple have an argument, the wife disappears. The husband searches for her, only to discover evidence that implicates him in her murder.
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You'll Never See Me Again
1941
Weekend for Three
6.75/4
Jim is hardly thrilled when his new bride, Ellen, invites an old friend, Randy, over for dinner. Yet Jim turns genuinely dismayed once Randy arrives a...
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Weekend for Three
1946
The Bachelor's Daughters
6.5/3
A department store floor walker is persuaded by four husband-seeking salesgirls to pose as their father in a Long Island mansion which they have rente...
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The Bachelor's Daughters
1961
The Two Little Bears
7/2
Two little boys use a magic potion to turn themselves into bears.
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The Two Little Bears
1949
Bad Boy
7/7
A lawman tries to find the source of a juvenile delinquent's bad behavior.
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Bad Boy
1964
See How They Run
6/3
Three children are stalked by hired killers after they unknowingly take evidence pointing to the existence of a corrupt international cartel, which ha...
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See How They Run
1948
No Minor Vices
7.125/8
Perry Ashwell is a self-satisfied child psychologist who takes his colleagues and wife somewhat for granted. So confident is he of his position that h...
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No Minor Vices
1934
One More River
5.222/9
A young lady leaves her brutal husband and meets another man on board a ship.
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One More River
1976
Amelia Earhart
0/0
Biography follows the life of famed woman pilot Amelia Earhart, including her marriage to a famous publisher and her disappearance during a flight in...
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Amelia Earhart
1957
Interlude
6.333/6
A young woman touring Germany is caught between a married symphony conductor and a doctor from back home.
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Interlude
1989
Amityville: The Evil Escapes
4.579/139
After moving into their matriarch's gothic seaside mansion, the Evans family soon becomes host to an uninvited demonic force in the form of a mysterio...
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Amityville: The Evil Escapes
1950
My Blue Heaven
7.5/4
Radio star Kitty Moran, long married to partner Jack, finds she's pregnant, but miscarries. For a change, the couple turn their act into a series on e...
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My Blue Heaven
1978
Superdome
4.667/12
It's the biggest event of the year — the Super Bowl! But the star players for the Cougars, gathered in New Orleans for the big game, are preoccupied w...
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Superdome
1936
The Luckiest Girl in the World
7.25/2
A wealthy society girl must live on $150 a month to prove to her father that she can stand being married to a poor man.
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The Luckiest Girl in the World
1978
The Millionaire
8/1
Three people's lives are drastically changed when they are suddenly given one million dollars each by an eccentric billionaire in this pilot to a pros...
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The Millionaire
1942
Army Surgeon
6/7
Drama about military doctors and nurses during wartime.
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Army Surgeon
1976
Treasure of Matecumbe
6.527/37
In post-Civil War Kentucky, young David Burnic becomes the unexpected heir to the family secret, a map leading to buried treasure on the Florida isle...
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Treasure of Matecumbe
1978
The Nativity
7.5/2
The story of the courtship of Joseph and Mary, and of the events leading up to the first Christmas.
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The Nativity
1940
Girl from God's Country
9/1
Jim Holden, a young doctor practicing in Alaska, eagerly awaits the arrival of his new nurse, Anne Webster. All of his previous left within a few week...
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Girl from God's Country
1941
Hurricane Smith
4.75/4
Rodeo rider Hurricane Smith is wrongly convicted of murder and robbery, but escapes and creates a new life, but one of the real criminals shows up to...
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1993
The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors
3.667/3
A documentary exploring the origins of the pioneers of women directors during the silent era.
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1982
Missing Children: A Mother's Story
7.5/4
A young mother hands her children into what she thinks is a childcare center while she finds a new home, but returns to find that they have been adopt...
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Missing Children: A Mother's Story
1977
The Father Knows Best Reunion
5.7/3
First of two reunion movies starring the original cast of the popular 1950's series "Father Knows Best." Jim and Margaret Anderson invite their childr...
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The Father Knows Best Reunion
1987
Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist
6.667/3
This one-hour film, narrated by Actor BURT LANCASTER, explores the lingering effects of The Hollywood Blacklist, which occurred in the late forties an...
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Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist
1946
Strange Conquest
8/1
Two doctors try to find the cure for a fatal disease, while battling each other for the affection of a beautiful woman doctor.
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Strange Conquest
1976
Tom Sawyer
6.833/3
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, two friends in a Mississippi River town, have one adventure after another - including attending their own funeral and...
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Tom Sawyer
1971
Neighbors
7/1
Racial tensions come out of the woodwork when an upper-class white couple puts their suburban home on the market and the listing draws a pair of equal...
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Neighbors
1977
Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas
7.3/3
The original cast of "Father Knows Best" returns for the second reunion movie. After learning that none of the children will be home for Christmas, Ji...
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Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas
1997
Frank Capra's American Dream
6.5/8
A documentary looking at the life and career of film director Frank Capra. Hosted by Ron Howard.
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