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Character actress Beulah Bondi was born in Chicago on this day in 1888. You likely know her best as Jimmy Stewart’s mother, Ma Bailey, in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” She’s terrifying in the “Life without George” sequence as the operator of a run-down boarding house.

She played Jimmy Stewart’s mother in four films. (The other three are: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Of Human Hearts, and Vivacious Lady.)

Here she is, singing and dancing in 1948′s, “So Dear to My Heart,” a Disney country yarn with folksinger Burl Ives.



Beulah made her first Hollywood film “Street Scene” in 1931 — she was 42, and went on to appear in over 70, with her last role on TV’s “The Waltons.” She also played Mrs. Greer in “The Snake Pit,” who suffered from delusions of grandeur.

Her “Walk of Fame” star is at 1730 N. Vine St. (near Capitol Records).

She died New Year’s Day 1981 at age 92 of injuries sustained in her three-story Hollywood Hills home when she fell over her cat.

“What distinguishes the real actor from the pseudo is the passionate desire to know what is going on in the hearts and minds of people.”

–Beulah Bondi

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