Classic Entertainment Autographs

Cat. #0019914121: ELIZABETH PATTERSON

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Scarce vintage black blue fountain pen signature on a roughly 3x4-inch portion of a light blue autograph album page, acquired in-person in 1942. In good condition for its age, with close cropping around the writing. Gawky, birdlike Elizabeth Patterson had a long career on the stage, primarily playing Shakespearean roles, until reaching middle age, after which she found new work as a character actress in Hollywood. She specialized in playing feisty old biddy types, stealing every scene in films like Dinner at Eight (1933), So Red the Rose (1935), Night of Mystery (1937), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), Scandal Street (1938), Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1938), The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police (1939), Bulldog Drummond's Bride (1939), Remember the Night (1940), Who Killed Aunt Maggie? (1940), Tobacco Road (1941), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), Lady on a Train (1945), Intruder in the Dust (1949), and Pal Joey (1957).  Her numerous contributions to the horror, sci-fi and fantasy film genres included roles in The Return of Peter Grimm (1926), The Cat Creeps (1930), the Lionel Atwill gem The Secret of the Blue Room (1933), The Cat and the Canary (1939), Earthbound (1940), Beyond the Blue Horizon (1942), and I Married a Witch (1942). Approaching her eighties, Patterson gained new popularity in the 1950s, with her recurring role as the Ricardos' neighbor and babysitter Mrs. Trumbull on T.V.'s "I Love Lucy" (1952-1956).