Chicago-born former salesgirl Nella Walker started in show business as a
vaudeville performer with her husband
Wilbur Mack, notably in "Little
Bits of Everyday Life". She made her film debut in 1929 and was quickly
typecast as frilly-laced and snobbish upper-crust society matrons. Although she usually played
Margaret Dumont-type characters, she was also, on occasion,
reduced to becoming the foil to slapstick comedy acts, such as
Stan Laurel and
Oliver Hardy and
Bud Abbott and
Lou Costello. She remained an extremely busy supporting
actress until her final role as
Humphrey Bogart's and
William Holden's
mother in
Sabrina (1954).
