Dorothy Stickney

Dorothy Stickney (June 21, 1896 – June 2, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actress, best known for appearing in the long running Broadway hit Life with Father.[1]

Dorothy Stickney
Born
Dorothy Hayes Stickney

(1896-06-21)June 21, 1896
Dickinson, North Dakota, U.S.
DiedJune 2, 1998(1998-06-02) (aged 101)
New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationStage, film, television actress
Years active1931-1977
Spouse(s)Howard Lindsay (m.1927-1968; his death)

Biography

Stickney was born in Dickinson, North Dakota, but because of a medical condition, she was unable to go into bright places and spent most of her childhood indoors to protect her sensitive eyes. Her introduction to reading came from family members who read the classics to her. Because she had difficulty reading, she focused on skills like dancing and elocution. She was also fond of going to the theater with her family, and this sparked her interest in being an actress. Thanks to several eye surgeries, by her teens, Stickney was able to continue her education and pursue a career in the theater.[2]

Stickney attended the North Western Dramatic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[3] She sang and danced as one of the four Southern Belles in vaudeville and began acting in summer stock companies including Atlanta's Forsyth Players in the early 1920s before she married Howard Lindsay. In 1927, Stickney and Lindsay were married, and the two stayed married until Lindsay's death in 1968.[1][2]

Stickney made her Broadway debut in 1926 in The Squall and had a string of hits, frequently playing eccentric characters.[3] She was Liz, the mad scrubwoman, in the original nonmusical version of Chicago, and Mollie Molloy, who dives out of the pressroom window, in The Front Page. With increasingly important roles, she moved on to Philip Goes Forth,[4] Another Language, On Borrowed Time, The Small Hours, To Be Continued[5] and The Honeys. Stickney received the Barter Award for Best Performance of the Year in 1940 for her role as Vinnie in Life with Father, which had been written by her husband, Lindsay, who also co-starred. The award was presented to her by Eleanor Roosevelt.

She also appeared in some films and TV programs, and wrote several poems including "You're Not the Type" and "My Dressing Room". She played the Queen in the original 1957 TV production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella,[3] and later Aunt Abby in the 1962 Hallmark TV production of Arsenic and Old Lace, co-starring Boris Karloff.

In 1961, she was the second inductee of the North Dakota Roughrider Award. On November 16, 1966, Stickney appeared on ABC's Stage 67 anthology program in Stephen Sondheim's macabre television musical, "Evening Primrose", as Mrs. Monday, the leader of the mannequins who come to life every evening in a department store.[3] One of her later stage roles was as Berthe in the original Broadway run of Pippin in 1972–77. She took over the role in 1973 from Irene Ryan who died during the run. She created the role of Emily Baldwin, one of the Baldwin sisters, in the television film The Homecoming : A Christmas Story, which was the pilot for The Waltons TV series.

In 1979, Stickney published Openings and Closings, a memoir that chronicled her long career as well as her secret battle with stage fright.[1]

Stickney and Howard maintained a longtime home in Stanton, New Jersey.[6]

Death

She died a few weeks before her 102nd birthday in New York City. She had no children and no immediate family survivors.[1]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1931My SinMrs. Jenkins, the LandladyUncredited
1931Working GirlsLoretta
1932WaywardHattie
1934Murder at the VanitiesNorma Watson
1934The Little MinisterJean
1936The Moon's Our HomeHilda
1936And So They Were MarriedMiss Peabody
1938I Met My Love AgainMrs. Emily Towner
1939What a LifeMiss Wheeler
1944The UninvitedMiss Bird
1948Miss Tatlock's MillionsEmily Tatlock
1954The Great Diamond RobberyEmily Drumman
1956The Catered AffairMrs. Rafferty
1959The Remarkable Mr. PennypackerAunt Jane Pennypacker
1962Arsenic & Old LaceAbby BrewsterTV movie
1970I Never Sang for My FatherMargaret Garrison
1971The WaltonsEmily BaldwinEpisode: "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story"

References
  1. Gussow, Mel. "Dorothy Stickney Dies at 101; Acted in Many Broadway Hits", The New York Times, June 3, 1998. Accessed December 1, 2007.
  2. Eriksmoen, Curtis (September 27, 2015). "Eriksmoen: Acclaimed actress Dorothy Stickney came from Dickinson, N.D." InForum. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  3. "Dorothy Stickney Dies at 101: The First Mother of 'Life with Father'". Playbill. June 3, 1998. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  4. Jordan, Elizabeth (February 28, 1931). "Dramatics". Entertainment Review. 44 (21): 508–510.
  5. Lewis, Theophilus (May 10, 1952). "Theatre". Entertainment Review. 87 (6): 182.
  6. Bouman-Stickney House, Readington Township. Accessed June 9, 2016. "In 1935, Broadway playwright and producer Howard Lindsay purchased the house and surrounding property as a gift for his wife, Broadway and movie actress Dorothy Stickney. Ms. Stickney and Mr. Lindsay used the house as a weekend and vacation retreat until Mr. Lindsay's death in 1968."
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