This Day in History February 24, 1890

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Did you ever watch a Ma and Pa Kettle film?  I have seen a couple.  The actress who played her, Marjorie Main, was born on this date in 1890.  I first saw her in Meet Me In St. Louis since I was quite a Judy Garland fan as I was growing up.  She starred in a great number of films.

Mary Tomlinson was her original name, and she was an Indiana native.  Since her father was a minister, she took a stage name so she did not embarrass him as she appeared in vaudeville, the circus, Broadway, and finally film.

Here's something interesting.  She donated most of her paychecks over the years to schools.  Go figure!  And she only married one man, and she lived as a widow for a good portion of her life.  I always enjoyed her roles because she was "no nonsense."  And she played characters that were strong and in charge.  You just didn't argue with her character unless you wanted a lot of turmoil!

She died of lung cancer April 10, 1975 at the age of 85.

For more information on this wonderful lady, please check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Main
http://humor.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.imdb.com/Name%3FMain%2C%2BMarjorie