Jane Wyatt has died - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Janice · 10-22-2006, 07:40 PM

http://apnews.excite.com/article/200...D8KU03800.html

'Father Knows Best' Actress Wyatt Dies

(AP) Actress Jane Wyatt fixes the hair ribbon for actress Natalie Wood in Hollywood, Calif., in this...Full Image

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jane Wyatt, the lovely, serene actress who for six years on "Father Knows Best" was one of TV's favorite moms, has died, said her publicist. She was 96.

Wyatt died Friday in her sleep of natural causes at her home in Bel-Air, according to publicist Meg McDonald. Her death also was confirmed by Bernard Johnson of the funeral home Gates, Kingsley & Gates Moeller Murphy Funeral Directors.

Wyatt had a successful film career in the 1930s and '40s, notably as Ronald Colman's lover in 1937's "Lost Horizon."

But it was her years as Robert Young's TV wife, Margaret Anderson, on "Father Knows Best" that brought the actress her lasting fame.

She appeared in 207 half-hour episodes from 1954 to 1960 and won three Emmys as best actress in a dramatic series in the years 1958 to 1960.

"Being a family show, we all had to stick around," she once said. "Even though each show was centered on one of the five members of the family, I always had to be there to deliver such lines as 'Eat your dinner, dear,' or 'How did you do in school today?' We got along fine, but after the first few years, it's really difficult to have to face the same people day after day."

The Anderson children were played by Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin, and all grew up on the show. In later years, critics claimed that shows like "Father Knows Best" and "Ozzie and Harriet" presented a glossy, unreal view of the American family. In defense, Wyatt commented in 1966: "We tried to preserve the tradition that every show had something to say. The children were complicated personally, not just kids. We weren't just five Pollyannas."

Zoneboy · 10-22-2006, 07:47 PM

Where and when did you see this?

Mr. Television · 10-22-2006, 07:48 PM

That's so sad. She always seemed like a classy lady and she will never be forgotten. R.I.P. Jane.

gilligan fanatic · 10-22-2006, 07:52 PM

sad she doesn't get the recognition as a lot of others from the era. I believe she also did FKB on radio.

Zoneboy · 10-22-2006, 08:02 PM

I'm still trying to figure out how this news got past me.

gidgetgrape · 10-22-2006, 08:43 PM

Oh no! She was a great TV mom.

Janice · 10-22-2006, 11:57 PM

http://apnews.excite.com/article/200...D8KU2UK80.html

'Father Knows Best' Actress Wyatt Dies

(AP) Actress Jane Wyatt us seen in this Aug. 1957 file photo. Wyatt, the lovely, serene actress who for...Full Image

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jane Wyatt, the lovely, serene actress who for six years on "Father Knows Best" was one of TV's favorite moms, has died. She was 96.

Wyatt died Friday in her sleep of natural causes at her Bel-Air home, according to publicist Meg McDonald. She experienced health problems since suffering a stroke at 85, but her mind was sharp until her death, her son Christopher Ward said.

Wyatt had a successful film career in the 1930s and '40s, notably as Ronald Colman's lover in 1937's "Lost Horizon."

But it was her years as Robert Young's TV wife, Margaret Anderson, on "Father Knows Best" that brought the actress her lasting fame.

She appeared in 207 half-hour episodes from 1954 to 1960 and won three Emmys as best actress in a dramatic series in the years 1958 to 1960.

The show began as a radio sitcom in 1949; it moved to television in 1954.

"Being a family show, we all had to stick around," she once said. "Even though each show was centered on one of the five members of the family, I always had to be there to deliver such lines as 'Eat your dinner, dear,' or 'How did you do in school today?' We got along fine, but after the first few years, it's really difficult to have to face the same people day after day."

The Anderson children were played by Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin, and all grew up on the show. In later years critics claimed that shows like "Father Knows Best" and "Ozzie and Harriet" presented a glossy, unreal view of the American family.

In defense, Wyatt commented in 1966: "We tried to preserve the tradition that every show had something to say. The children were complicated personally, not just kids. We weren't just five Pollyannas."

"In real life my grandmother embodied the persona of Margaret Anderson," said grandson Nicholas Ward. "She was loving and giving and always gave her time to other people."

(AP) The cast of "Father Knows Best", clockwise from top left: Elinor Donahue, Robert Young, Jane Wyatt,...Full Image

It was a tribute to the popularity of the show that after its run ended, it continued in reruns on CBS and ABC for three years in primetime, a TV rarity. The show came to an end because Young, who had also played the father in the radio version, had enough. Wyatt remarked in 1965 that she was tired, too.

"The first year was pure joy," she said. "The second year was when the problems set in. We licked them, and the third year was smooth going. Fatigue began to set in during the fourth year. We got through the fifth year because we all thought it would be the last. The sixth? Pure hell."

The role wasn't the only time in her 60 years in films and TV that Wyatt was cast as the warm, compassionate wife and mother. She even played Mr. Spock's mom in the original "Star Trek" series and the feature "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home."

She got her start in films in the mid-'30s, appearing in "One More River,""Great Expectations,""We're Only Human" and "The Luckiest Girl in the World." When Frank Capra chose her to play the Shangri-la beauty in "Lost Horizon," her reputation was made. Moviegoers were entranced by the scene - chaste by today's standards - in which Colman sees her swimming nude in a mountain lake.

Never a star, Wyatt enjoyed career longevity with her reliable portrayals of genteel, understanding women. Among the notable films:

(AP) Actress Jane Wyatt, left, thanks the audience after receiving the lifetime achievement award during...Full Image

"Buckskin Frontier" (with Richard Dix), "None But the Lonely Heart" (Cary Grant), "Boomerang" (Dana Andrews), "Gentleman's Agreement" (Gregory Peck), "Pitfall" (Dick Powell), "No Minor Vices" (Dana Andrews), "Canadian Pacific" (Randolph Scott), "My Blue Heaven" (Betty Grable, Dan Dailey) and "Criminal Lawyer" (Pat O'Brien).

"Father Knows Best" enjoyed such lasting popularity in reruns and people's memories that the cast returned years later for two reunion movies. She also remained active on other projects, such as "Amityville: The Evil Escapes" in 1989, and in charity work.

When Young died in 1998, Wyatt paid tribute to him as "simply one of the finest people to grace our industry."

"Though we never socialized off the set, we were together every day for six years, and during that time he never pulled rank (and) always treated his on-screen family with the same affection and courtesy he showed his loved ones in his private life," she said.

Wyatt was born in Campgaw, N.J., into a wealthy family in 1910, according to McDonald, her publicist. Her father, an investment banker, came from an old-line New York family, as did her mother, who wrote drama reviews. They gave their daughter a genteel upbringing, with her schooling at the fashionable Miss Chapin's school and Barnard College.

(AP) Actress Jane Wyatt fixes the hair ribbon for actress Natalie Wood in Hollywood, Calif., in this...Full Image

She left college after two years to apprentice at the Berkshire Playhouse in Stockbridge, Mass. For two years she alternated between Berkshire and Broadway, appearing with Charles Laughton, Louis Calhern and Osgood Perkins.

While acting with Lillian Gish in "Joyous Season" in 1934, she got a contract offer from Universal Pictures. She agreed, on condition she could spend half each year in the theater.

During college, Wyatt attended a party at Hyde Park, N.Y., given by the sons of Franklin D. Roosevelt. There she met a Harvard student, Edgar Ward. In 1935 she married Ward, then a businessman, in Santa Fe, N.M.

The family will gather for a funeral mass Friday, followed by a private interment, family members said. Wyatt is survived by sons Christopher, of Piedmont, California and Michael of Los Angeles; three grandchildren Nicholas, Andrew and Laura; and five great grandchildren.

Edison · 10-23-2006, 01:42 AM

~

80sTrivia · 10-23-2006, 05:58 AM

Very sad to hear of Ms. Wyatt's passing. She had a long and prosperous life and career and will certainly be missed...

Jrnygrl · 10-23-2006, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 80sTrivia

Very sad to hear of Ms. Wyatt's passing. She had a long and prosperous life and career and will certainly be missed...

I agree. Very sad loss.

Scoobiedoo30 · 10-23-2006, 10:32 AM

Rest in eace

BensonFan · 10-23-2006, 11:29 AM

Can't say I've seen a whole lot of this show but I was sorry to hear of her passing. May she rest in peace.

bossradio93 · 10-23-2006, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrocker22

Where and when did you see this?

I didn't hear about it till this morning while hearing on KCBS Newsradio (740), San Francisco, CA online.

Yooch · 10-23-2006, 06:58 PM

A class act.

talltideman@aol.com · 10-26-2006, 01:13 AM

This sunday October 29, 4 episodes will air in honor of Wyatt, of course they are all Margaret themed episodes for those in the Chicago area.

10-22-2006, 07:40 PM	#1
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	Jane Wyatt has died http://apnews.excite.com/article/200...D8KU03800.html 'Father Knows Best' Actress Wyatt Dies (AP) Actress Jane Wyatt fixes the hair ribbon for actress Natalie Wood in Hollywood, Calif., in this...Full Image LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jane Wyatt, the lovely, serene actress who for six years on "Father Knows Best" was one of TV's favorite moms, has died, said her publicist. She was 96. Wyatt died Friday in her sleep of natural causes at her home in Bel-Air, according to publicist Meg McDonald. Her death also was confirmed by Bernard Johnson of the funeral home Gates, Kingsley & Gates Moeller Murphy Funeral Directors. Wyatt had a successful film career in the 1930s and '40s, notably as Ronald Colman's lover in 1937's "Lost Horizon." But it was her years as Robert Young's TV wife, Margaret Anderson, on "Father Knows Best" that brought the actress her lasting fame. She appeared in 207 half-hour episodes from 1954 to 1960 and won three Emmys as best actress in a dramatic series in the years 1958 to 1960. "Being a family show, we all had to stick around," she once said. "Even though each show was centered on one of the five members of the family, I always had to be there to deliver such lines as 'Eat your dinner, dear,' or 'How did you do in school today?' We got along fine, but after the first few years, it's really difficult to have to face the same people day after day." The Anderson children were played by Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin, and all grew up on the show. In later years, critics claimed that shows like "Father Knows Best" and "Ozzie and Harriet" presented a glossy, unreal view of the American family. In defense, Wyatt commented in 1966: "We tried to preserve the tradition that every show had something to say. The children were complicated personally, not just kids. We weren't just five Pollyannas."

10-22-2006, 07:47 PM	#2
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,349	Where and when did you see this?
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10-22-2006, 07:48 PM	#3
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,128	That's so sad. She always seemed like a classy lady and she will never be forgotten. R.I.P. Jane.
	__________________ Sonny

10-22-2006, 07:52 PM	#4
gilligan fanatic Born to Be Bad Forum Fanatic Join Date: May 06, 2001 Location: down by the Lagoon Posts: 9,954	sad she doesn't get the recognition as a lot of others from the era. I believe she also did FKB on radio.
	__________________ Matt Filmaf ~ Twitter ~ Last.FM

10-23-2006, 01:42 AM	#8
Edison Member Senior Member Join Date: Oct 01, 2006 Posts: 2,430	~ Attached Images
	Last edited by Edison; 11-24-2006 at 04:07 AM.

10-22-2006, 08:02 PM	#5
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,349	I'm still trying to figure out how this news got past me.

10-22-2006, 08:43 PM	#6
gidgetgrape Forever Gidget Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 20, 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 3,503	Oh no! She was a great TV mom.

10-22-2006, 11:57 PM	#7
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	http://apnews.excite.com/article/200...D8KU2UK80.html 'Father Knows Best' Actress Wyatt Dies (AP) Actress Jane Wyatt us seen in this Aug. 1957 file photo. Wyatt, the lovely, serene actress who for...Full Image LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jane Wyatt, the lovely, serene actress who for six years on "Father Knows Best" was one of TV's favorite moms, has died. She was 96. Wyatt died Friday in her sleep of natural causes at her Bel-Air home, according to publicist Meg McDonald. She experienced health problems since suffering a stroke at 85, but her mind was sharp until her death, her son Christopher Ward said. Wyatt had a successful film career in the 1930s and '40s, notably as Ronald Colman's lover in 1937's "Lost Horizon." But it was her years as Robert Young's TV wife, Margaret Anderson, on "Father Knows Best" that brought the actress her lasting fame. She appeared in 207 half-hour episodes from 1954 to 1960 and won three Emmys as best actress in a dramatic series in the years 1958 to 1960. The show began as a radio sitcom in 1949; it moved to television in 1954. "Being a family show, we all had to stick around," she once said. "Even though each show was centered on one of the five members of the family, I always had to be there to deliver such lines as 'Eat your dinner, dear,' or 'How did you do in school today?' We got along fine, but after the first few years, it's really difficult to have to face the same people day after day." The Anderson children were played by Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin, and all grew up on the show. In later years critics claimed that shows like "Father Knows Best" and "Ozzie and Harriet" presented a glossy, unreal view of the American family. In defense, Wyatt commented in 1966: "We tried to preserve the tradition that every show had something to say. The children were complicated personally, not just kids. We weren't just five Pollyannas." "In real life my grandmother embodied the persona of Margaret Anderson," said grandson Nicholas Ward. "She was loving and giving and always gave her time to other people." (AP) The cast of "Father Knows Best", clockwise from top left: Elinor Donahue, Robert Young, Jane Wyatt,...Full Image It was a tribute to the popularity of the show that after its run ended, it continued in reruns on CBS and ABC for three years in primetime, a TV rarity. The show came to an end because Young, who had also played the father in the radio version, had enough. Wyatt remarked in 1965 that she was tired, too. "The first year was pure joy," she said. "The second year was when the problems set in. We licked them, and the third year was smooth going. Fatigue began to set in during the fourth year. We got through the fifth year because we all thought it would be the last. The sixth? Pure hell." The role wasn't the only time in her 60 years in films and TV that Wyatt was cast as the warm, compassionate wife and mother. She even played Mr. Spock's mom in the original "Star Trek" series and the feature "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." She got her start in films in the mid-'30s, appearing in "One More River,""Great Expectations,""We're Only Human" and "The Luckiest Girl in the World." When Frank Capra chose her to play the Shangri-la beauty in "Lost Horizon," her reputation was made. Moviegoers were entranced by the scene - chaste by today's standards - in which Colman sees her swimming nude in a mountain lake. Never a star, Wyatt enjoyed career longevity with her reliable portrayals of genteel, understanding women. Among the notable films: (AP) Actress Jane Wyatt, left, thanks the audience after receiving the lifetime achievement award during...Full Image "Buckskin Frontier" (with Richard Dix), "None But the Lonely Heart" (Cary Grant), "Boomerang" (Dana Andrews), "Gentleman's Agreement" (Gregory Peck), "Pitfall" (Dick Powell), "No Minor Vices" (Dana Andrews), "Canadian Pacific" (Randolph Scott), "My Blue Heaven" (Betty Grable, Dan Dailey) and "Criminal Lawyer" (Pat O'Brien). "Father Knows Best" enjoyed such lasting popularity in reruns and people's memories that the cast returned years later for two reunion movies. She also remained active on other projects, such as "Amityville: The Evil Escapes" in 1989, and in charity work. When Young died in 1998, Wyatt paid tribute to him as "simply one of the finest people to grace our industry." "Though we never socialized off the set, we were together every day for six years, and during that time he never pulled rank (and) always treated his on-screen family with the same affection and courtesy he showed his loved ones in his private life," she said. Wyatt was born in Campgaw, N.J., into a wealthy family in 1910, according to McDonald, her publicist. Her father, an investment banker, came from an old-line New York family, as did her mother, who wrote drama reviews. They gave their daughter a genteel upbringing, with her schooling at the fashionable Miss Chapin's school and Barnard College. (AP) Actress Jane Wyatt fixes the hair ribbon for actress Natalie Wood in Hollywood, Calif., in this...Full Image She left college after two years to apprentice at the Berkshire Playhouse in Stockbridge, Mass. For two years she alternated between Berkshire and Broadway, appearing with Charles Laughton, Louis Calhern and Osgood Perkins. While acting with Lillian Gish in "Joyous Season" in 1934, she got a contract offer from Universal Pictures. She agreed, on condition she could spend half each year in the theater. During college, Wyatt attended a party at Hyde Park, N.Y., given by the sons of Franklin D. Roosevelt. There she met a Harvard student, Edgar Ward. In 1935 she married Ward, then a businessman, in Santa Fe, N.M. The family will gather for a funeral mass Friday, followed by a private interment, family members said. Wyatt is survived by sons Christopher, of Piedmont, California and Michael of Los Angeles; three grandchildren Nicholas, Andrew and Laura; and five great grandchildren.

10-23-2006, 05:58 AM	#9
80sTrivia Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 23, 2002 Posts: 21,715	Very sad to hear of Ms. Wyatt's passing. She had a long and prosperous life and career and will certainly be missed...
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10-23-2006, 10:32 AM	#11
Scoobiedoo30 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Jun 27, 2002 Location: KENNER, LOUISIANA Posts: 27,654	Jane Wyatte has Died *Rest in eace*
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10-23-2006, 11:29 AM	#12
BensonFan Board Psychologist Senior Member Join Date: Mar 16, 2004 Location: Chicago, IL USA Posts: 2,733	Can't say I've seen a whole lot of this show but I was sorry to hear of her passing. May she rest in peace.
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10-23-2006, 06:58 PM	#14
Yooch Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 07, 2006 Location: California Posts: 3,180	A class act.
	__________________ "The true meaning of America, you ask? It's in a Texas rodeo, in a policeman's badge, in the sound of laughing children, in a political rally, in a newspaper...In all these things and many more, you'll find freedom. And freedom is what America means to the world. And to me." --Audie Leon Murphy June 20, 1924-- May 28, 1971

10-26-2006, 01:13 AM	#15
talltideman@aol.com Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 27, 2002 Location: indiana Posts: 30	Chicago Channel 23 METV airs episodes This sunday October 29, 4 episodes will air in honor of Wyatt, of course they are all Margaret themed episodes for those in the Chicago area.