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May Robson is a Actor Australienne born on 17 april 1858 at Melbourne (Australie)

May Robson

May Robson
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Birth name Mary Jeanette Robison
Nationality Australie
Birth 17 april 1858 at Melbourne (Australie)
Death 20 october 1942 (at 84 years) at Beverly Hills (USA)

Mary Jeanette Robison (19 April 1858 – 20 October 1942) known professionally as May Robson, was an Australian-born American-based actress, whose career spanned 58 years, starting in 1883 when she was 25 years of age. A major stage actress of the late 19th and early 20th century, Robson is best known today for the dozens of 1930s motion pictures she appeared in when she was well into her seventies, usually playing cross old ladies with hearts of gold.

Robson was the earliest-born person to enjoy a major Hollywood career. She was also the earliest-born person to receive an Oscar nomination, for her leading role in Lady for a Day in 1933.

Biography

In an autobiographical sketch appearing in The Theatre magazine of 1907, Mary Robison starts by saying "I was born in the Australian bush". Mary Jeanette Robison was born on 19 April 1858 in Moama, New South Wales, Australia. Her parents were Henry Robison (1810-1860) from Penrith, Cumberland, England and Julia Schlesinger (1824-1914) from Liverpool, Lancashire, England who were married in Liverpool on 21 October 1847.

Henry Robison was a merchant navy seaman with the East India Company and received his Master’s Certificate of Service on 21 February 1853. However, in 1848 (after his marriage) he was listed as a watch and clock maker living at Church Street, Liverpool; a jeweller in 1850; and a silversmith in 1852. At the census of 1851 Henry, a jeweller, was visiting his brother, James Robison, wine merchant of Newton, Penrith.

Julia was the eldest daughter of Casper Wolfe Schlesinger (born c. 1801) and Adelaide Leman (born c. 1804). Casper was listed as a watch and clock maker at Pleasant Street, Liverpool in 1834; a land and house agent at Anne Street, 1848; and by 1850 he and his family were resident at Brooklyn City, New York, US. In 1848 Adelaide and Julia were listed as artists at Anne Street, Liverpool. At the 1851 census Julia (Bobson) was a silversmith living at Church Street with their two sons.

Captain Henry Robison and Julia boarded the SS Great Britain at Liverpool on 11 August 1853 for a 65-day voyage to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They took with them their three young children: William Henry Robison (born 1848), James Leman Robison (1850–1920); and Adelaide Fanny Julia Robison (1852–1930). By April 1855 Henry and Julia had established a new business in Melbourne: "HENRY ROBISON, watchmaker, jeweller, silversmith and ornamental hairworker, 7 Bourke street, next the Post office, late of Church street, Liverpool, England, and of Penrith, Cumberland…".

It was announced in August 1857 that the large brick mansion built by James Maiden at Moama (formerly known as Maiden’s Punt), New South Wales, was to be opened as a first-class bush inn by Mr Henry Robison. Henry had purchased the mansion at the auction held on 4 August 1857. The new inn was called the Prince of Wales Hotel and became the premises of "Robison and Stivens", coach proprietors for the Bendigo - Moama - Deniliquin service. Mary Jeanette Robison was born there on 19 April 1858.

Henry Robison died in Moama on 27 January 1860 as reported in The Argus (Melbourne) on 2 February 1860: "On the 27th ult., in his 49th year, at his residence, Prince of Wales Hotel, Maiden's Punt, Murray River, New South Wales, Henry Robison (of the firm of Robison and Stivens), late of Bourke-street, Melbourne, deeply regretted by a large circle of friends, leaving a wife and four children to lament their loss." His youngest daughter, Mary, was 1y 9m old.

On 19 November 1862 at St Pauls, Melbourne, Julia married Walter Moore Miller, Solicitor and Mayor of Albury, New South Wales. Walter Miller (1830-) was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England and admitted as a Solicitor there in 1854; declared insolvent in 1855; moved to Victoria, Australia and was admitted as a Solicitor in 1857 practicing in Belvoir (Wodonga). The family were living in Albury when administration of the will of Henry Robison was granted on 2 September 1865 in England.

In the 1907 article Mary Robison remembers fishing from the St Kilda Pier in Melbourne. She would have been there in the period about 1866 to 1870 when she was between 8 and 12 years old. Walter Miller was a partner with De Courcy Ireland in the firm of "Miller and Ireland" at 100 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne in November 1867. The partnership was dissolved by mutual consent on 20 January 1870 with James L. Robison acting as witness to the legal notice.

Later in the article Mary describes the family’s next move from Melbourne to England across the Pacific –"We sailed in a vessel modeled after my grandmother's rocking chair in movement. She was so unsteady that she was known as ‘The Rolling Moses’". The Rolling Moses was the nickname for the 1,000-ton SS Moses Taylor, which in the period 1871 to 1873 was used by William H. Webb's San Francisco-Honolulu-Australia Line on the Honolulu to San Francisco section. No relevant passenger list has been located but it is likely that the family, including Mary who was 13 years old, traveled from Melbourne to London, via San Francisco, Panama Canal (opened in 1869), and New York arriving in England after the 1871 census conducted on 3 April 1871.

In London Mary Robison attended La Sainte Union Catholic School on Highgate Road. "From the Sacred Heart Convent, Highgate, I was sent to school at Brussels, and there I studied the languages. I went to Paris for my examinations in French and returned to my home for a vacation. I ran away from home to marry a boy of eighteen, and this English Romeo and Juliet, aged eighteen and sixteen, went to Fort Worth, Tex[as]., and tried to live up to their dignified name as inscribed on their new cards, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Charles Livingston Gore’".

In the marriage allegation signed by Charles Leveson Gore (1856 – c. 1881) on 28 October 1875, Mary gave her residence as her married sister Adelaide’s address at Medbourne, Leicestershire, claiming that she was 20 years old (she was 17 and he was 19). They were married on 1 November 1875 at Camden Town, London. His full name was Charles Edward Frederick Collier Leveson Gore. Their first son, Edward Hyde Leveson Gore, was born in Leicestershire on 2 December 1876.

Charles and Mary were attracted by stories of limitless business opportunities in Texas, USA and on 17 May 1877 the family arrived in New York on the steamer Vaderland and traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, to establish a cattle ranch. They purchased 380 acres of land and built a substantial house. "The Gores survived two years in their prairie manor house before homesickness, rural isolation, and repeated bouts of fever convinced them to sell and try their fortunes in the more settled east." A second son, James Beryl Gore, was born about May 1879.

Sending Mary and the children ahead to New York, Charles Gore accepted an offer to trade the land and house for seven hundred horses. But most of the herd died on the way to market and the remainder were sold at a loss. Charles joined Mary in New York, where a daughter, Nellie Candler Gore, was born on 28 April 1880. At the 1880 census, Charles, ‘Poppy’ and three children were living at 36th Street. Mary says "We came to New York, my husband, my three children and myself, and began life over again practically without a dollar. Shortly afterwards my husband died." Biographer Jan Jones stated that Gore wanted to return to England after his financial losses, and the couple divorced when Robson decided to stay in New York. Jones further said that Gore returned to London, but died soon after.

Mary produced crocheted hoods and embroidery, designed dinner cards and taught painting to support her three children. Her youngest son died on 26 April 1882 and her daughter died shortly after on 1 May 1882. One died of diphtheria and the other from scarlet fever. During these difficult times no mention is made of any family support for Mary. She had grandparents who were living in New York in 1850, and she may have had uncles, aunts and cousins still there in the early 1880s. She may also have had her brother James nearby.

James Leman Robison was naturalized in Newark, New Jersey, on 11 April 1877 and lived in San Francisco from about 1880 to his death in 1920. In 1880 he was listed as a teacher, as a journalist in 1886 and as an attorney in 1896. His mother, Julia, and step-father, Walter Miller, were defendants in a court case in England in 1875 and 1878, but by 1880 Julia is recorded as living in California with James. Julia is also recorded in California from 1912 to her death in 1914.

Six years after beginning her stage career, Mary Robison married Augustus Homer Brown, a police surgeon, on 29 May 1889. They remained together until his death on 1 April 1920.

Mary Robison's son, Edward Hyde Gore, was her business manager.

Best films

Lady for a Day (1933)
(Actress)

Usually with

Adrian
Adrian
(16 films)
Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis
(7 films)
David Butler
David Butler
(3 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of May Robson (59 films)

Display filmography as list

Actress

Joan of Paris, 1h31
Directed by Robert Stevenson, James Anderson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Romance
Themes Transport films, Aviation films, Political films, Films about capital punishment, Disaster films, Films about aviation accidents or incidents, Histoire de France, L'Occupation allemande en France
Actors Michèle Morgan, Paul Henreid, Thomas Mitchell, Laird Cregar, May Robson, Alexander Granach
Roles Mlle. Rosay
Rating67% 3.3932653.3932653.3932653.3932653.393265
In German-occupied Paris, an announcer reports during a blackout that the Second Front has begun, with British forces invading the Continent, and that five Royal Air Force fighters have been shot down. The downed pilots split up and make their way to Paris to try to arrange their escape back to England. On the way, they break into a tavern in search of civilian clothes. When a German soldier shows up for a drink, Squadron Leader Paul Lavallier (Paul Henreid), a member of the Free French, knocks him out and takes his money. In Paris, Paul contacts an old teacher of his, Father Antoine (Thomas Mitchell), who agrees to hide the reunited men in the sewers underneath his cathedral.
Million Dollar Baby, 1h40
Directed by Curtis Bernhardt
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors Priscilla Lane, Jeffrey Lynn, Rosemary Lane, Ronald Reagan, May Robson, Lee Patrick
Roles Cornelia Wheelwright
Rating63% 3.196173.196173.196173.196173.19617
When wealthy American expatriate Cornelia Wheelwright (Robson) is informed by her longtime lawyers that her late father swindled his partner, Fortune McCallister, out of $700,000, she acts decisively. First, because James Amory is the only lawyer in the firm to be outraged by the injustice, she hires him and fires the rest of the firm. His first task is to locate all of McCallister's heirs. It turns out there is only one: granddaughter Pam McCallister (Lane).
Playmates
Playmates (1941)
, 1h36
Directed by David Butler, Fred Fleck
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical
Actors John Barrymore, Lupe Vélez, May Robson, Patsy Kelly, Peter Lind Hayes
Roles Grandma Kyser
Rating54% 2.7124452.7124452.7124452.7124452.712445
Lulu Monahan, played by Patsy Kelly is a press agent for John Barrymore, who plays himself. Lulu tries to get a sponsor for his radio program. Lulu and the agent for bandleader Kay Kyser, playing himself, make up a story that the great Shakespearean actor will teach Kyser how to play Shakespeare.
Granny Get Your Gun, 56minutes
Directed by George Amy
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Crime, Western
Actors May Robson, Harry Davenport, Margot Stevenson, Hardie Albright, Clem Bevans, Clay Clement
Roles Minerva Hildegard Hatton
Rating60% 3.0469053.0469053.0469053.0469053.046905
Irene
Irene (1940)
, 1h41
Directed by Herbert Wilcox
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Théâtre, Musical films, Films based on plays, Films based on musicals
Actors Anna Neagle, Ray Milland, Roland Young, Alan Marshal, May Robson, Billie Burke
Roles Granny O'Dare
Rating62% 3.1477453.1477453.1477453.1477453.147745
Upholsterer's assistant Irene O'Dare meets wealthy Don Marshall while she is measuring chairs for Mrs. Herman Vincent at her Long Island estate. Charmed by the young girl, Don anonymously purchases Madame Lucy's, an exclusive Manhattan boutique, and instructs newly hired manager Mr. Smith to offer Irene a job as a model. She soon catches the eye of socialite Bob Vincent, whose mother is hosting a ball at the family mansion. In order to promote Madame Lucy's dress line, Mr. Smith arranges for his models to be invited to the soiree.
The Texas Rangers Ride Again, 1h8
Directed by James Patrick Hogan
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Western
Actors Ellen Drew, John Howard, Akim Tamiroff, May Robson, Broderick Crawford, Charley Grapewin
Roles Cecilia Dangerfield
Rating60% 3.0011753.0011753.0011753.0011753.001175
Lorsque des milliers de têtes de bétail sont volées au ranch "White Sage" au début des années 1930, les Texas Rangers sont de nouveaux appelés à la rescousse. Grâce à l'un de leurs agents, les Texas Rangers vont infiltrer le gang de voleurs, et tenter de récupérer le trésor des fermiers.
Daughters Courageous, 1h47
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Théâtre, Films based on plays
Actors Priscilla Lane, Gale Page, John Garfield, Jeffrey Lynn, Claude Rains, Rosemary Lane
Roles Penny, the Housekeeper
Rating65% 3.294293.294293.294293.294293.29429
Freewheeling Jim Masters returns home after a 20-year absence, during which he was declared dead, to find that his wife, Nancy, is about to marry Sam Sloane, a stable local man in Carmel, California. She must now choose between her ex-husband and her new fiancé. The Masters daughters are also upset that their irresponsible father has re-entered their lives after so long an absence. Meanwhile, the youngest daughter, Buff, is drawn to tough-guy Gabriel Lopez, a man that reminds Jim Masters of himself.
Four Wives
Four Wives (1939)
, 1h50
Directed by Michael Curtiz, Byron Haskin
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Films about families
Actors Priscilla Lane, Claude Rains, Rosemary Lane, Eddie Albert, Lola Lane, John Garfield
Roles Aunt Etta
Rating63% 3.1943453.1943453.1943453.1943453.194345
Malgré le récent décès de son époux, Ann souhaite se remarier au plus vite avec Felix, qu'elle vient de rencontrer. Or, la jeune femme apprend qu'elle est enceinte de son mari défunt et cache la vérité à Felix car elle sait que son futur époux déteste les enfants et pourrait la quitter...
They Made Me a Criminal, 1h32
Directed by Busby Berkeley, Hal B. Wallis, Benjamin Glazer
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Actors John Garfield, Claude Rains, Ann Sheridan, May Robson, Gloria Dickson, Billy Halop
Roles Grandma Rafferty
Rating67% 3.396423.396423.396423.396423.39642
Johnnie Bradfield (John Garfield) is a world champion boxer falsely accused of murder. He disappeared and is presumed dead. The only witnesses who could have exonerated him were his manager and girlfriend, both of whom have died in an automobile accident. Detective Monty Phalen (Claude Rains) believes that Johnnie is still alive and hasn't given up the search for him. Johnnie, meanwhile, is hiding out on Grandma Rafferty's (May Robson) farm in Arizona. It is there that Johnnie meets up with some juvenile delinquents, Tommy (Billy Halop), Angel (Bobby Jordan), Spit (Leo Gorcey), Dippy (Huntz Hall), T.B. (Gabriel Dell), and Milty (Bernard Punsly), who are under the guardianship of Tommy's sister Peggy (Gloria Dickson).
Yes, My Darling Daughter, 1h26
Directed by William Keighley
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romance
Themes Théâtre, Films based on plays
Actors Priscilla Lane, Jeffrey Lynn, Roland Young, Fay Bainter, May Robson, Genevieve Tobin
Roles 'Granny' Whitman
Rating62% 3.14383.14383.14383.14383.1438
This script must be run from the command line
The Kid from Kokomo, 1h33
Directed by Lewis Seiler
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romance
Actors Pat O'Brien, Wayne Morris, Joan Blondell, May Robson, Jane Wyman, Stanley Fields
Roles Margaret 'Maggie' / 'Ma' Manell
Rating63% 3.1911253.1911253.1911253.1911253.191125