Wikipedia

Gloria Henry

For the similarly named actress born in 1949, see Gloria Hendry.

Gloria Henry (born Gloria Eileen McEniry; April 2, 1923 – April 3, 2021) was an American actress, best known for her role as Alice Mitchell, Dennis' mother, from 1959 to 1963 on the CBS family sitcom Dennis the Menace.

Gloria Henry
Henry c. 1947
Born
Gloria Eileen McEniry

(1923-04-02)April 2, 1923
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedApril 3, 2021(2021-04-03) (aged 98)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1947–2005, 2012
Spouses
  • Robert D. Lamb
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1943; div. 1948)​
  • Craig Ellwood
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1949; div. 1977)​
Children3

Early life

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Henry was born Gloria Eileen McEniry[1] on April 2, 1923.[2] She lived and grew up on the edge of the Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana. She was educated at the Worcester Art Museum School in Massachusetts.[3] Henry moved to Los Angeles in her late teens and worked on a number of radio shows and commercials using the stage name of Gloria Henry. Her topics of discussions were gossip, fashion, and sports.[4] She also performed in little theater groups.

Career

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Early career

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Signed by an agent, Henry transitioned into film work via Columbia Studios in 1946, and made her debut as the female lead in the horse racing film Sport of Kings (1947).[5] She had featured roles in the romantic comedy Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949) that starred Lucille Ball, and the western Rancho Notorious (1952) with Marlene Dietrich. Henry also appeared in three sports-themed stories; the football film Triple Threat (1948), the horse race tale Racing Luck (1948), and the William Bendix baseball comedy Kill the Umpire (1950).

The 1950s were a mixture of B films and episodic TV guest parts such as My Little Margie (1952) and the premiere episode of Perry Mason, "The Case of the Restless Redhead" (1957). She was also a regular on the detective series The Files of Jeffrey Jones (1954), starring Don Haggerty, but was written out of the show when she became pregnant. She also appeared on The Abbott and Costello Show in an episode entitled "The Pigeon".

Dennis the Menace

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Henry with her Dennis the Menace co-stars, Herbert Anderson and Jay North, 1959

In 1959, Henry landed the role for which she would become most well-known, that of Dennis' mother "Alice Mitchell" on the CBS comedy television series Dennis the Menace.[6] The series co-starred Herbert Anderson as her husband, and young Jay North in the title role of Dennis. Henry portrayed sunny domesticity and maternal warmth for four seasons until the series' cancellation in 1963.

After Dennis the Menace

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Henry's career slowed down considerably after Dennis the Menace. In 1992, she stated that she had become so associated with the role of Alice Mitchell that she had become typecast in mother roles.[7] She appeared occasionally in TV movies playing assorted bit-part matrons, and in 1989, she played a small role as an art-collecting society matron in the prime time soap opera Dallas.

Henry returned to the big screen in a brief role in Her Minor Thing (2005), a romantic comedy directed by Charles Matthau, Walter Matthau's son. She occasionally attended film festivals and nostalgia conventions. In 2012, she guest-starred on the Parks and Recreation episode "Campaign Shake-Up", playing the role of Mary-Elizabeth Clinch.

Personal life

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Henry was of Scottish and Irish ancestry. She was married to Robert D. Lamb between 1943 and 1948.[8] She wed architect Craig Ellwood in 1949; they divorced in 1977. The couple had three children, Jeffrey, Adam, and Erin Ellwood.

Henry died at her home in Los Angeles, on April 3, 2021, one day after her 98th birthday.[9][10]

Filmography

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Year Title Role
1947 Sport of Kings[11][12] Doc Richardson
Keeper of the Bees[11][12] Alice
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back[11][12] Ellen Curtiss
1948 Adventures in Silverado[11][12] Jeannie Manning
Port Said[12][13] Gila Lingallo/Helena Guistano
The Arkansas Swing[11][12] Margie MacGregor
The Strawberry Roan[11][12] Connie Bailey
Triple Threat[11][12] Ruth Nolan
Racing Luck[11][12] Phyllis Warren
1949 Rusty Saves a Life[11][12] Lyddy Hazard
Law of the Barbary Coast[11][12] Julie Adams
Johnny Allegro[12][13] Addie
Air Hostess[12][13] Ruth Jackson
Miss Grant Takes Richmond[12][13] Helen White
Feudin' Rhythm[11][12] Valerie Kay
Riders in the Sky[11][12] Anne Lawson
1950 Kill the Umpire[12][13] Lucy Johnson
Rookie Fireman[12][13] Peggy Walters
The Tougher They Come[11][12] Rattle Rafferty
Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard[12] Martha Holden
Lightning Guns[11][12] Susan Atkins
1951 Al Jennings of Oklahoma[11][12] Alice Calhoun
Yellow Fin[12][13] Nina Torres
1952 Rancho Notorious[11][12] Beth Forbes
1953 Hot News[11][12] Kerry Barker
1958 Gang War[11][12] Edie Avery
1988 Doin' Time on Planet Earth[11][14] Mary Richmond
2005 Her Minor Thing Mrs. Porter

Television appearances

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References

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  1. ^ "Women's World". Chicago Tribune. March 14, 1948. p. 7. Retrieved September 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Collura, Joe (November 2021). "Gloria Henry: Columbia Cutie". Classic Images. pp. 12–15, 58–61.
  3. ^ "Ex-Radio Announcer Announcer Stars in First Film". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 26, 1947. p. 32. Retrieved October 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Parsons, Louella O. (January 24, 1947). "Hollywood". Middletown Times Herald. p. 12. Retrieved December 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Schallert, Edwin (February 26, 1947). "Gloria Henry in 'Keeper of Bees'". Los Angeles Times. p. 3 Part II. Retrieved October 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Voger, Mark (April 1, 2011). "'Dennis the Menace: Season One'; Gloria Henry and Jeannie Russell interviews". The Star-Ledger. Newark. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Lowery, Steve (May 24, 1992). "The Typecast Lot of TV Moms". San Francisco Examiner. p. 116. Retrieved December 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Adams, Marjorie (September 9, 1949). "Movie question box". The Boston Globe. p. 27. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  9. ^ "Gloria Henry, Mom on 'Dennis the Menace,' Dies at 98". Extra. April 4, 2021.
  10. ^ Todisco, Eric (April 5, 2021). "'Dennis the Menace' Actress Gloria Henry Dies One Day After Her 98th Birthday: 'She's Flying Now'". People. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "Gloria Henry". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "Gloria Henry". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g "Gloria Henry". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 10, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g "Gloria Henry List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
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