Aline MacMahon


Aline Laveen MacMahon was an American actress. Her career began on stage in 1921. She worked extensively in film and television until her retirement in 1975. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Dragon Seed.

Early life

MacMahon was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, to William Marcus MacMahon and Jennie. Her father was an editor with the Associated Press and the editor of Munsey's Magazine.
Her parents married on July 14, 1898, in Columbus, Ohio. Her father died on September 6, 1931. Her mother, an avid bell collector, died in 1984, aged 106.
MacMahon was entertaining as early as 1908, when a newspaper article reported "a series of songs and dances by Aline MacMahon" at St. Jude's Church in Brooklyn.

Education

MacMahon was raised in Brooklyn in New York City and educated at Public School 103, Erasmus Hall High School and Barnard College.

Career

MacMahon made her professional debut in 1914.
She began appearing on Broadway in 1921 in The Madras House. Her Broadway credits include 24 shows. Her first film role was the Pre-Code Five Star Final ; she alternated between Broadway and Hollywood throughout her career.
Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors says of MacMahon "She proved to be a fine, sympathetic actress with a quick wit and tart tongue who then moved into character roles with ease as she became plumper and more motherly looking."

Personal life

On March 28, 1928, MacMahon married Clarence Stein, an architect and city planner, who founded the Regional Planning Association. For long periods throughout their marriage, she lived in Los Angeles, while Stein lived in New York City. He died in 1975. They had no children. MacMahon was chairwoman of the Equity Library Theater in 1950. She organized productions for community theaters and was active in relief charities.

Death

MacMahon died in 1991, aged 92, of pneumonia in New York City, seven years after the death of her mother, Jennie, who died at age 106 in 1984.

Papers

The New York Public Library has a collection of MacMahon's papers that document various aspects of her life. They are housed in the library's Billy Rose Theatre Division.

Partial filmography