Adeline De Walt Reynolds

Adeline De Walt Reynolds (September 19, 1862 – August 13, 1961) was an American character actress who made her film debut at the age of 79 playing the grandmother of James Stewart in Come Live with Me (1941). She continued to play in about 25 films and numerous television series until her death.

Early life and entrance into film

Adeline De Walt Reynolds was born one of ten children during the Civil War. One of her earliest memories was of Union soldiers returning from the War.^[1] She wanted to be an actress since she was five years old, but her father - Jonathan DeWalt, a farmer - was opposed. As a young woman, she lied about her age (claiming 20 when actually 18) to get a rural area teaching job.^[2] It was a difficult teaching assignment, and had been refused by several other teachers, but De Walt Reynolds eventually gained the support of the children and their families. However, after learning her male colleagues earned more money than her, and the school board refused to pay her the same rate, she left.^[3]

She married Frank Reynolds, with whom she had four children, in 1885, shortly after leaving teaching. They initially lived in Vinton, Iowa, their hometown, but moved to Arcadia, Nebraska after a year, and the birth of their first child, Mary. Reynolds' parents had moved to Arcadia a short time before, and they offered him the father's lumber business. They remained in Arcadia for five years, and had another child, William.^[2] After 5 years, the family moved to Boston, and De Walt Reynolds attended and graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Speech. While in Boston, according to some accounts, in 1892 the famous Sir Henry Irving offered De Walt Reynolds a spot in his touring company. It is said that she turned Irving's offer down to raise her children.^[4]

The family moved to Philadelphia, as well as several other cities, before eventually moving to San Francisco, where the couple had their final 2 children, Franklin and Lela.^[1][2] After Reynolds untimely death at the beginning of the 1900s, she was forced to earn a living in order to raise her four children.^[4][5] She started studies at a secretarial school but it destroyed in San Francisco's 1906 earthquake, which she witnessed and survived.^[1] She continued to struggle to support her family. It was not until her youngest daughter, Lela, entered college at the University of California, that De Walt Reynolds once again focus on her own goals.^[2] Encouraged by her daughter, De Walt Reynolds entered Berkeley at the age of 64. She majored in French and graduated with honors at 68.^[2][6]

Upon graduation, De Walt Reynolds took acting courses at the university, under the tutelage of Professor von Neumeyer. While she was cast as Hecuba in a school production of The Trojan Women, she made contact with the celebrated stage actress Blanche Yurka, who had played the same role in a radio production of the play. The following year she traveled to Los Angeles and contacted Yurka, asking her advice on beginning a career in film. Impressed, Yurka found her an agent willing to take on an older client, and De Walt Reynolds was cast in a role in an Assistance League production of Landslide. Clarence Brown saw her in the production and cast her in his upcoming film.^[2]

Film career

De Walt Reynolds made her film debut with a supporting role in Come Live with Me (1941), playing the grandmother of James Stewart. When asked if she was tired at the end of her first day on the set, she answered, "If you had waited 70 years to do something, you wouldn't be tired."^[5] She received praise for that role. Clarence Brown called her a "potential star".^[1] Though never achieving true film stardom, she played in about two dozen films until 1955, appearing as the mother of Charles Laughton in The Tuttles of Tahiti (1942) and as the mysterious Madame Zimba in Robert Siodmak's horror film Son of Dracula (1943). She was also memorable in the last scene of in Going My Way (1944) as Mother Fitzgibbon, who travels from Ireland to the United States to see her son. Her last film was The Ten Commandments (1956) where she portrayed a frail old woman in danger. She also appeared in numerous television series between 1950 and 1960. She played her last role at the age of 98 and was the oldest member of the Screen Actors Guild.^[7] She also made publicity stories and photos which showed her practicing her fencing or doing calisthenics.^[1]

De Walt Reynolds died on August 13,1961, one month before her 99th birthday. She is buried in Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles.^[8]

Filmography

Reynolds also appeared in 13 television episodes between 1950 and 1960, including Have Gun – Will Travel, Shirley Temple's Storybook, Zane Grey Theatre

References

External links

• Adeline De Walt Reynolds at the Internet Movie Database
• Adeline De Walt Reynolds at Find a Grave