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IMDbPro

Lee Patrick(1901-1982)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Lee Patrick
Trailer for 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
Play trailer3:10
7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)
7 Videos
49 Photos
The highly versatile character actress Lee Patrick could readily play a tough, scrapping, hard-bitten dame as she did in the gritty women's prison drama Caged (1950), or a meek and twittery wife as exemplified by her uppity socialite Doris Upson in the freewheeling farce Auntie Mame (1958). She would have plenty of places to show off her range from the late 1930's on for over five decades.

She was born in New York City on November 22, 1901, the daughter of an editor of a trade paper who initially prompted her interest in theater. Lee started off on the stock stage as a teen and debuted on Broadway as part of the ensemble of the musical "The Bunch and Judy" with the dancing Astaires in 1922. She continued regularly on Broadway, despite many short runs, in more visible roles with "The Green Beetle" (1924), "Bachelor Brides" (1925), "The Matrimonial Bed" (1927), "June Moon" (1929), "Little Women" (as Meg) (1931), "Blessed Event" (1932), "Knock on Wood" (1935), "Stage Door" (1936) and "Michael Drops In" (1938).

Lee's film career began at the advent of sound. Making her debut as the star of the drama Strange Cargo (1929), she focused thereafter on theatre work until returning to the big screen with a vengeance in 1937 when she was featured in the RKO western Border Cafe (1937) starring Harry Carey. Appearing in scores of films, Lee made strong impressions as a stock player in such Warner Bros. films as Law of the Underworld (1938), The Sisters (1938), Invisible Stripes (1939), Saturday's Children (1940), City for Conquest (1940), Ladies Must Live (1940), Dangerously They Live (1941), Footsteps in the Dark (1941), Million Dollar Baby (1941), Kisses for Breakfast (1941), Now, Voyager (1942), In This Our Life (1942), and Mildred Pierce (1945), as well as other studio pictures of quality, including A Night to Remember (1942), Larceny with Music (1943), Mrs. Parkington (1944) and See My Lawyer (1945). Lee's most fondly-remembered role of that period would be that of Effie, the wry, altruistic Girl Friday to Humphrey Bogart' 's Sam Spade in the Warner film noir classic The Maltese Falcon (1941).

Lee also found time to do radio with a running part on the family drama "The O'Neils." She later appeared in the 50's detective drama "Let George Do It" and in "Suspense." She continued in post-WWII filming with roles including The Walls Came Tumbling Down (1946), Mother Wore Tights (1947), The Snake Pit (1948), The Fuller Brush Girl (1950) and Tomorrow Is Another Day (1951). During her potboiler run at Warner Bros., she seemed to play everything with a biting, cynical edge, from nurses to floozies, but in the mid-1950's, the more matronly actress suddenly seemed to blossom into a dithery and obtuse Billie Burke-like delight.

As she geared herself towards these comedy eccentrics, TV got a heads up on this delightful angle and signed her to play society doyenne Henrietta Topper, the flighty, quivery-voiced wife of Leo G. Carroll on the popular ghostly sitcom Topper (1953) which ran from 1953 to 1955. Henrietta was initially played on late 1930's film by none other than Billie Burke.

There would be other fun and fluttery film turns as snooty patricians or gossipy types in such films as Pillow Talk (1959), Wives and Lovers (1963) and 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), to name a couple, in addition to standard dramas like Vertigo (1958), Summer and Smoke (1961) and A Girl Named Tamiko (1962). TV guest appearances would include "Circus Boy," "The Lineup," "Wagon Train," "Lawman," "Hawaiian Eye," "77 Sunset Strip," "The Real McCoys," "The Farmer's Daughter," "The Donna Reed Show" and "Hazel." She also had a recurring role on Mr. Adams and Eve (1957) and occasionally lent her voice to animated projects ("The Alvin Show").

In the mid-1960s Lee retired to travel and paint, but was coaxed back one more time to revive her role of Effie in the Maltese Falcon spoof The Black Bird (1975) starring George Segal as Sam Spade, Jr. The only one to join her from the original cast was Elisha Cook Jr.. Long and happily married to newsman-writer H. Thomas ("Tom") Wood of the book "The Lighter Side of Billy Wilder," Lee was plagued by health problems (heart disease) in later years. Following a New York trip with her husband and a guest appearance on a live segment of Good Morning America (1975) honoring her Topper (1953) TV series, the couple returned to their Laguna Hills, California home. She died just days later of a coronary occlusion on November 25, 1982, three days after her 81st birthday. Many references list the date of her death as November 21st, but her death certificate confirms the date of November 25th. The couple had no children.
BornNovember 22, 1901
DiedNovember 25, 1982(81)
BornNovember 22, 1901
DiedNovember 25, 1982(81)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos49

George Barraud, Russell Gleason, and Lee Patrick in Strange Cargo (1929)
Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, and Lee Patrick in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Lee Patrick in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Humphrey Bogart and Lee Patrick in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Humphrey Bogart and Lee Patrick in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Bette Davis and Lee Patrick in Now, Voyager (1942)
Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Lee Patrick, and James Rennie in Now, Voyager (1942)
Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, and Lee Patrick in Mildred Pierce (1945)
Errol Flynn and Lee Patrick in Footsteps in the Dark (1941)
Errol Flynn and Lee Patrick in Footsteps in the Dark (1941)
George Barraud, Russell Gleason, Claude King, June Nash, Lee Patrick, and Frank Reicher in Strange Cargo (1929)
George Barraud, Russell Gleason, Claude King, June Nash, Lee Patrick, Frank Reicher, and Ned Sparks in Strange Cargo (1929)

Known for

Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Maltese Falcon
8.0
  • Effie Perine
  • 1941
Coral Browne, Peggy Cass, Fred Clark, Patric Knowles, Rosalind Russell, Roger Smith, and Forrest Tucker in Auntie Mame (1958)
Auntie Mame
7.9
  • Doris Upson
  • 1958
Vertigo (1958)
Vertigo
8.3
  • Car Owner Mistaken for Madeleine
  • 1958
Eve Arden, Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, and Zachary Scott in Mildred Pierce (1945)
Mildred Pierce
7.9
  • Maggie Biederhof
  • 1945

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • George Segal in The Black Bird (1975)
    The Black Bird
    • Effie
    • 1975
  • Whitney Blake, Shirley Booth, Bobby Buntrock, and Don DeFore in Hazel (1961)
    Hazel
    • Cora
    • Mrs. Durham
    • TV Series
    • 1965
  • Shelley Fabares, Donna Reed, Carl Betz, and Paul Petersen in The Donna Reed Show (1958)
    The Donna Reed Show
    • Maudie Baker
    • TV Series
    • 1965
  • Inger Stevens and William Windom in The Farmer's Daughter (1963)
    The Farmer's Daughter
    • Geraldine Addison
    • TV Series
    • 1964
  • Summer Playhouse
    • Miss Birch
    • TV Series
    • 1964
  • The New Interns (1964)
    The New Interns
    • Mrs. Hitchcock
    • 1964
  • Barbara Eden and Tony Randall in 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)
    7 Faces of Dr. Lao
    • Mrs. Howard Cassin
    • 1964
  • Janet Leigh, Ray Walston, Shelley Winters, Van Johnson, Martha Hyer, and Jeremy Slate in Wives and Lovers (1963)
    Wives and Lovers
    • Mrs. Swanson
    • 1963
  • Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan in The Real McCoys (1957)
    The Real McCoys
    • Aunt Wilma
    • Clarissa Webster
    • TV Series
    • 1961–1963
  • A Girl Named Tamiko (1962)
    A Girl Named Tamiko
    • Mary Hatten
    • 1962
  • The only authorized DVD edition of all episodes in  Season One.
    The Rifleman
    • Leota Carraway
    • TV Series
    • 1962
  • Tuesday Weld in Follow the Sun (1961)
    Follow the Sun
    • Lila Jones
    • Phyllis Curran
    • TV Series
    • 1962
  • Gardner McKay in Adventures in Paradise (1959)
    Adventures in Paradise
    • Millicent
    • TV Series
    • 1962
  • Laurence Harvey and Geraldine Page in Summer and Smoke (1961)
    Summer and Smoke
    • Mrs. Ewell
    • 1961
  • The Alvin Show (1961)
    The Alvin Show
    • Various character voices (1961-1962) (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 1961

Soundtrack

  • Sterling Hayden and Ann Sheridan in Take Me to Town (1953)
    Take Me to Town
    • performer: "OH, YOU RED-HEAD" (uncredited)
    • 1953
  • Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Mona Freeman, and Connie Marshall in Mother Wore Tights (1947)
    Mother Wore Tights
    • performer: "Stumbling" (uncredited)
    • 1947
  • Brenda Marshall, Wayne Morris, and Alexis Smith in The Smiling Ghost (1941)
    The Smiling Ghost
    • performer: "Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)" (1850) (uncredited)
    • 1941
  • Dennis Morgan, Shirley Ross, and Jane Wyatt in Kisses for Breakfast (1941)
    Kisses for Breakfast
    • Soundtrack ("My Song of Love", uncredited)
    • 1941
  • Errol Flynn and Brenda Marshall in Footsteps in the Dark (1941)
    Footsteps in the Dark
    • performer: "Love Me" (uncredited)
    • 1941
  • Chester Morris and Anne Shirley in Law of the Underworld (1938)
    Law of the Underworld
    • performer: "Yours Alone" (uncredited)
    • 1938

Videos7

Official Trailer
Trailer 1:13
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:17
Official Trailer
The Snake Pit
Trailer 2:23
The Snake Pit
7 Faces of Dr. Lao
Trailer 3:10
7 Faces of Dr. Lao
Caged (1950)
Trailer 2:05
Caged (1950)
There's No Business Like Show Business
Trailer 2:45
There's No Business Like Show Business
Honeymoon For Three
Trailer 2:29
Honeymoon For Three

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 3½″ (1.61 m)
  • Born
    • November 22, 1901
    • New York City, New York, USA
  • Died
    • November 25, 1982
    • Laguna Hills, California, USA(coronary occlusion)
  • Spouse
    • Thomas WoodApril 1, 1937 - November 25, 1982 (her death)
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    She was not in good standing with Louella Parsons and it kept her career stuck in the "B" ranks. Lee's husband, magazine writer Tom Wood, wrote a frank piece on Parsons which did not go over well with the powerhouse columnist.
  • Quotes
    I never really got over my love for the live theatre. I started on Broadway and found a camaraderie, professionalism and generosity there that was rarely found in film.

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