Alma Kruger


Alma Kruger was an American actress.

Career

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kruger had a long career on stage before appearing in films. From 1907 to 1935, she featured in theatre plays on Broadway, mostly in Shakespearean plays such as Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew, and The Merchant of Venice.
Kruger was brought to Hollywood by Samuel Goldwyn. She appeared in her first film These Three while in her 60s. She then proceeded to act in over 40 films in the space of little more than a decade. Among her notable roles was Nurse Molly Byrd, the superintendent of nurses in the popular Dr. Kildare/Dr. Gillespie film series, appearing in all but the first two of the 16 movies.
She portrayed Empress Maria Theresa of Austria in Marie Antoinette and the almost mother-in-law of Rosalind Russell's lead character in His Girl Friday. In 1942, she appeared as the subversive society matron Henrietta Sutton in Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur. Kruger's last film appearance was in the film Forever Amber.
On radio, Kruger played Emily Mayfield on Those We Love and the captain's wife on Show Boat.

Death

Kruger died of natural causes April 5, 1960 in a nursing home in Seattle, Washington.

Filmography