Alice Brady (November 2, 1892 - October 28, 1939) was an Academy Award-winning American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked up until six months before her death from cancer in 1939. She is perhaps best remembered as the flighty mother of Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey, released in 1936.
Brady was born in New York City as Mary Rose Brady, and was interested at an early age in becoming an actress. Her father, William A. Brady, was an important theatrical producer, and she got her first job on Broadway in 1911 at the age of 18, in a show her father was associated with. She continued to perform there (often in shows her father produced) consistently for the next 22 years. In 1931 she appeared in the premiere of Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra.
Brady's father moved into movie production and presentation in 1913, with his World Film Corporation, and Brady soon followed along after him, making her first silent feature appearance in As Ye Sow in (1914). She appeared in 53 films in the next 10 years, all while continuing to perform on stage, the film industry at the time being centered in New York.
In 1923, she stopped appearing in films to concentrate on stage acting, and did not appear on the screen again until 1933, when she made the move to Hollywood and M-G-M's When Ladies Meet become her first talking picture. From then on she worked frequently until her death, making another 25 films in seven years. Her final film was Young Mr. Lincoln (1939).
Eugene Pallette, Mischa Auer and Alice Brady
in My Man Godfrey
Brady was married to actor James Crane from 1919 to 1922, when they divorced. They had one child, Donald. Alice Brady died from cancer on October 28, 1939, five days before her 47th birthday.
For her portrayal of Mrs. Molly O'Leary in 1937's In Old Chicago, Brady won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She had been nominated for the same award the year before as well, for her work in My Man Godfrey.
At the Academy Award presentation dinner, Brady's Oscar statuette was stolen by a man who came onstage to accept the award on the absent actress' behalf. It was never recovered, and the imposter was never tracked down. Before the Academy could re-issue another statuette, Brady passed away.
A sample of her more than 80 films includes:
