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Marjorie Main was the stage name of Mary Tomlinson, who was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and 1950s, and for her role as Ma Kettle in ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies. Main started her career in vaudeville and theatre and appeared in films classics, such as Dead End (1937), Dark Command (1940), The Shepherd of the Hills (1941), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), and Friendly Persuasion (1956).
Birth Name
Mary Tomlinson
Born
Monday, 24 February 1890
Died
Thursday, 10 April 1975
Actress Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Abbott and Costello in the Movies | Self | 2002 |
| The World of Abbott and Costello | Widow Hawkins / Widow Hawkins in The Wistful Widow Of Wagon Gap | 1965 |
| Wagon Train | Cassie Tanner | 1957 |
| The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm | Ma Kettle | 1957 |
| Friendly Persuasion | The Widow Hudspeth | 1956 |
| The Kettles in the Ozarks | Ma Kettle | 1956 |
| Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki | Ma' Kettle / Ma Kettle | 1955 |
| Ricochet Romance | Pansy Jones | 1954 |
| December Bride | Self | 1954 |
| Ma and Pa Kettle at Home | Ma Kettle | 1954 |
Actress Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Abbott and Costello in the Movies | Self | 2002 |
| The World of Abbott and Costello | Widow Hawkins / Widow Hawkins in The Wistful Widow Of Wagon Gap | 1965 |
| Wagon Train | Cassie Tanner | 1957 |
| The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm | Ma Kettle | 1957 |
| Friendly Persuasion | The Widow Hudspeth | 1956 |
| The Kettles in the Ozarks | Ma Kettle | 1956 |
| Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki | Ma' Kettle / Ma Kettle | 1955 |
| Ricochet Romance | Pansy Jones | 1954 |
| December Bride | Self | 1954 |
| Ma and Pa Kettle at Home | Ma Kettle | 1954 |
| Rose Marie | Lady Jane Dunstock | 1954 |
| The Long, Long Trailer | Mrs. Hittaway | 1954 |
| Fast Company | Ma Parkson | 1953 |
| Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation | Ma Kettle | 1953 |
| The Belle of New York | Mrs. Phineas Hill / Mrs Phineas Hill | 1952 |
| Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair | Ma Kettle | 1952 |
| It's a Big Country: An American Anthology | Mrs. Wrenley | 1951 |
| The Law and the Lady | Julia Wortin | 1951 |
| Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm | Ma Kettle | 1951 |
| Mr. Imperium | Mrs. Cabot | 1951 |
| Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone | Hattie O'Malley / Harriet O'Malley | 1950 |
| Summer Stock | Esme | 1950 |
| Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town | Ma Kettle | 1950 |
| Big Jack | Flapjack Kate | 1949 |
| Ma and Pa Kettle | Ma Kettle / Phoebe 'Ma' Kettle | 1949 |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | Self | 1948 |
| Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' | Maribel Mathews | 1948 |
| The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap | Widow Hawkins | 1947 |
| The Egg and I | Phoebe 'Ma' Kettle / Ma Kettle | 1947 |
| The Show-Off | Mrs. Fisher | 1946 |
| Undercurrent | Lucy | 1946 |
| Bad Bascomb | Abbey Hanks | 1946 |
| The Harvey Girls | Sonora Cassidy | 1946 |
| Gentle Annie | Annie Goss | 1945 |
| Murder, He Says | Mamie Fleagle Smithers Johnson | 1945 |
| Meet Me in St. Louis | Katie (Maid) | 1944 |
| Rationing | Iris Tuttle | 1944 |
| Johnny Come Lately | 'Gashouse' Mary | 1943 |
| Heaven Can Wait | Mrs. Strabel | 1943 |
| Tennessee Johnson | Mrs. Maude Fisher | 1942 |
| Tish | Miss Letitia 'Tish' Carberry | 1942 |
| Jackass Mail | Clementine 'Tina' Tucker / Clementine 'Tiny' Tucker | 1942 |
| The Affairs of Martha | Mrs. McKissick | 1942 |
| We Were Dancing | Judge Sidney Hawkes / Judge Hawkes | 1942 |
| The Bugle Sounds | Susie 'Suz' / Susie | 1942 |
| Honky Tonk | Mrs. Varner | 1941 |
| The Shepherd of the Hills | Granny Becky | 1941 |
| A Woman's Face | Emma Kristiansdotter | 1941 |
| Barnacle Bill | Marge Cavendish | 1941 |
| The Trial of Mary Dugan | Mrs. Collins | 1941 |
| The Wild Man of Borneo | Irma / Irma, the Cook | 1941 |
| Wyoming | Mehitabel / Mehitabel Belle | 1940 |
| The Captain Is a Lady | Sarah May Willett | 1940 |
| Susan and God | Mary / Mary Maloney | 1940 |
| Turnabout | Nora | 1940 |
| Dark Command | Mrs. Adams / Mrs. Cantrell | 1940 |
| Women Without Names | Mrs. Lowery - Prison Matron / Mrs. Lowery | 1940 |
| I Take This Woman | Gertie | 1940 |
| Two Thoroughbreds | Hildegarde 'Hildy' Carey | 1939 |
| Another Thin Man | Mrs. Dolley | 1939 |
| The Women | Lucy | 1939 |
| Angels Wash Their Faces | Mrs. Arkelian | 1939 |
| They Shall Have Music | Mrs. Miller | 1939 |
| Lucky Night | Mrs. Briggs | 1939 |
| There Goes My Heart | Fireless Cooker Customer | 1938 |
| Girls' School | Miss Armstrong | 1938 |
| Too Hot to Handle | Miss Wayne | 1938 |
| Under the Big Top | Sara Post | 1938 |
| Little Tough Guy | Mrs. Boylan | 1938 |
| Prison Farm | Matron Brand | 1938 |
| Romance of the Limberlost | Nora | 1938 |
| Three Comrades | Old Woman by Phone | 1938 |
| Test Pilot | Landlady | 1938 |
| King of the Newsboys | Mrs. Stephens | 1938 |
| City Girl | Mrs. Ward | 1938 |
| The Shadow | Hannah Gillespie | 1937 |
| Boy of the Streets | Mrs. Mary Brennan | 1937 |
| The Wrong Road | Martha Foster | 1937 |
| The Man Who Cried Wolf | Amelia Bradley | 1937 |
| Dead End | Mrs. Martin | 1937 |
| Stella Dallas | Mrs. Martin | 1937 |
| Love in a Bungalow | Miss Emma Bisbee | 1937 |
| Music in the Air | Anna / Anna (Uncredited) | 1934 |
| Crime Without Passion | Backstage Wardrobe Woman | 1934 |
| Art Trouble | Woman Who Sits on Painting | 1934 |
| Close Relations | Woman in Depot | 1933 |
| New Deal Rhythm | Arizona Representative / Delegate from Arizona | 1933 |
| Hot Saturday | Gossip in Window | 1932 |
| Broken Lullaby | Frau Schmidt - Townswoman | 1932 |
| A House Divided | Townswoman at Wedding | 1931 |
| Harry Fox and His Six American Beauties | Statler Hotel Beauty | 1929 |
| Year | Type | Category | Won |
|---|
| 1957 | Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
| 1948 | Oscar | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
