Mary Treen

Louis, Missouri in 1907, her father dying while she was still an infant. Raised in Southern California by her mother, who once performed under the stage name Helene Sullivan, and her stepfather, a physician, she attended Westlake School for Girls as well as a convent where she tried out successfully in school plays. Treen began dancing in vaudeville shows and revues before seeking her fame in the movies. Tall (5'9") and stringy-framed, she formed a musical comedy duo with Marjorie Barnett, who was 5'3", billing themselves as "Treen and Barnett: Two Unsophisticated Vassar Co-eds". Much of the comedy was centered around their difference in height. Not a beauty by Hollywood standards, she relied on humor to get attention.

Treen performed onstage in vaudeville and musicals before switching to film in the 1930s

In 1934, Warner Brothers signed her up after seeing her in a local play. After three years, she freelanced. Her scores of pudgy-cheeked nurses, waitresses, career girls, wallflowers and confidantes enhanced many a comedy or, at the very least, offered a brief respite in a heavier drama.

A few of her highlights would include such films as Kentucky Moonshine (1938), I Love a Soldier (1944) (the role was written especially for her), Don Juan Quilligan (1945), and the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946) (as James Stewart's cousin Tilly). In later years both Jerry Lewis and Elvis Presley utilized her talents in their movie vehicles.

Was in three Oscar Best Picture nominees: Kitty Foyle (1940), It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and The Snake Pit (1948).

She actually did marry in 1944 to Herbert C. Pearson, a wholesale liquor dealer. They had no children.

About as reliable as one could ever find, character actress Mary Treen was a familiar face to most and could always be counted on to bring a bit of levity to any film scene. A minor actress for much of her career, she managed to secure a plain, unassuming niche for herself in 40s, 1950s/60s Hollywood. She was born Mary Louise Summers in St.

She was given a bit more to do on television and actually stole some scenes as maid/baby nurse Hilda Hinkelmeyer on The Joey Bishop Show (1961) for three seasons. She typically guested on lightweight sitcoms such as "The Andy Griffith Show", "Green Acres", "Here's Lucy", "Happy Days", and "The Dukes of Hazzard". Perhaps because she could play old maid types so easily in later years, she was often thought to have never married.

Her longest-running role was as "Hilda Hinkelmeyer" in 64 episodes (1962-65) of the NBC/CBS sitcom The Joey Bishop Show (1961). In the 1954-55 season, she appeared as "Emily Dodger" in 38 episodes of the CBS sitcom Willy (1954).

He died in 1965. She later moved in with her ex-vaudeville partner, Marjorie Barnett-Klein, also widowed. In later years the two performed their old routines to the delight of other senior citizens.

On October 21, 2018, she was honored with a Sketch of the Day caricature on the website Star Portraits by a United States based artist known as Odoxesky.