Jane Wyatt
Encyclopedia
Jane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best
, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock
on the science fiction
television series
Star Trek
. Wyatt was a three-time Emmy Award
-winner.
), but was raised in New York City
. Her father, Christopher Billopp Wyatt, Jr., was a Wall Street
investment banker, and her mother, the former Euphemia Van Rensselaer Waddington, was a drama critic for the Catholic World
. Both of her parents were Roman Catholic converts.
One of her ancestors, Rufus King
, was a signer
of the U.S. Constitution
, a U.S. Senator
and ambassador
, and the Federalist
candidate in the 1816 United States presidential election
. She was also a descendant of British Royal Navy captain Christopher Billopp.Through her connection with Captain Billopp she is also related to James Willis. She was a distant cousin of Eleanor Roosevelt
and the poet Harry Crosby
, through their shared descent from Philip Livingston
, also a signer of the Declaration of Independence
.
While in New York City
, Wyatt attended the Chapin School and later attended two years of Barnard College
. After leaving Barnard
, she joined the apprentice school of the Berkshire Playhouse at Stockbridge, Massachusetts
, where for six months she played a varied assortment of roles.
was as understudy to Rose Hobart
in a production of Trade Winds–a career move that cost her her listing in the New York Social Register
(she later was relisted upon her marriage). Receiving favorable notices on Broadway and celebrated for her understated beauty, Wyatt made the transition from stage to screen and was placed under contract at Universal
, where she co-starred as Ronald Colman
's love interest in Frank Capra's Columbia
film Lost Horizon (1937). This was arguably her most famous role. Of her experience in Lost Horizon, she noted in an article in the St. Anthony Messenger newsletter, "During the war
, they cut out all the pacifist
parts of the film—the High Lama talking about peace in the world. All that was cut because they were trying to inspire those G.I.'s to get out there and go 'bang! bang! bang!' which sort of ruined the film." Other film appearances included Gentleman's Agreement
with Gregory Peck
, None but the Lonely Heart with Cary Grant
, Boomerang
with Dana Andrews
, and Our Very Own
.
Her film career suffered because of her outspoken opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy
, the chief figure in the anti-Communist investigations
of that era. Her career was temporarily damaged for having assisted in hosting a performance by the Bolshoi Ballet
during the Second World War, even though it was at President Roosevelt's request. As a result, she returned to her roots on the New York stage for a time and appeared in such plays as Lillian Hellman
's The Autumn Garden
opposite Fredric March
.
Father Knows Best
from 1954 to 1960. Her role, opposite Robert Young
, was of the devoted wife and mother in the show which chronicled the life and times of the Anderson family in the Midwestern
town of Springfield
. This role won Wyatt three Emmy Award
s for best actress in a comedy series. Billy Gray
, Elinor Donahue, and Lauren Chapin
played the Anderson children.
In addition to Father Knows Best
, Wyatt also starred as Amanda Grayson, Spock
's mother, in the 1967 episode "Journey to Babel" of the original Star Trek
series and the 1986 film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
. Late in her career, she played Katherine Auschlander, the wife of hospital administrator Dr. Daniel Auschlander (Norman Lloyd
), on the 1980s medical drama St. Elsewhere
. Wyatt was once quoted as saying her fan mail for the first two roles exceeded that for her appearance in Lost Horizon. She also appeared as Anna
, mother of the Virgin Mary, in the 1978 TV film The Nativity
.
, at Hyde Park
.
She suffered a mild stroke
in the 1990s, but recovered well. She remained in relatively good health for the rest of her life.
Jane Wyatt died on October 20, 2006 of natural causes at her home in Bel-Air, California. She was 96 years old. She is buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery
, next to her husband. Wyatt was survived by two sons, and according to an obituary in The Washington Post
, a third son died in infancy in the early 1940s. Wyatt is survived by her sons Christopher and Michael Ward, three grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best is an American radio and television comedy series which portrayed a middle class family life in the Midwest. It was created by writer Ed James in the 1940s.-Radio:...
, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
on the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
. Wyatt was a three-time Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winner.
Early life
Jane Wyatt was born on August 12, 1910 in Campgaw (now part of Mahwah, New JerseyMahwah, New Jersey
Mahwah is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 25,890. The name Mahwah is derived from the Lenni Lenape word "mawewi" which means "Meeting Place" or "Place Where Paths Meet".The area that is now Mahwah was...
), but was raised in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Her father, Christopher Billopp Wyatt, Jr., was a Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
investment banker, and her mother, the former Euphemia Van Rensselaer Waddington, was a drama critic for the Catholic World
Catholic World
Catholic World was a periodical founded by Paulist Father Isaac Thomas Hecker in April 1865. It featured many articles by Orestes Brownson, including the May 1870 essay "Church and State", which described Brownson's understanding of the proper relationship between the Church and the state.-...
. Both of her parents were Roman Catholic converts.
One of her ancestors, Rufus King
Rufus King
Rufus King was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress. He also attended the Constitutional Convention and was one of the signers of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, was a signer
Philadelphia Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from...
of the U.S. Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
, a U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
, and the Federalist
Federalist Party (United States)
The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...
candidate in the 1816 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 1816
The United States presidential election of 1816 came at the end of the two-term presidency of Democratic-Republican James Madison. With the Federalist Party in collapse, Madison's Secretary of State, James Monroe, had an advantage in winning the presidency against very weak opposition...
. She was also a descendant of British Royal Navy captain Christopher Billopp.Through her connection with Captain Billopp she is also related to James Willis. She was a distant cousin of Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
and the poet Harry Crosby
Harry Crosby
Harry Crosby was an American heir, a bon vivant, poet, publisher, and for some, epitomized the Lost Generation in American literature. He was the son of one of the richest banking families in New England, a member of the Boston Brahmin, and the nephew of Jane Norton Grew, the wife of financier J....
, through their shared descent from Philip Livingston
Philip Livingston
Philip Livingston was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1778, and signed the Declaration of Independence.-Family history:...
, also a signer of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
.
While in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Wyatt attended the Chapin School and later attended two years of Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
. After leaving Barnard
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
, she joined the apprentice school of the Berkshire Playhouse at Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...
, where for six months she played a varied assortment of roles.
Films
One of her first jobs on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
was as understudy to Rose Hobart
Rose Hobart
Rose Hobart was an American actress.-Career:Born in New York City, her father was a cellist in the New York Symphony...
in a production of Trade Winds–a career move that cost her her listing in the New York Social Register
Social Register
Specific to the United States, the Social Register is a directory of names and addresses of prominent American families who form the social elite, . The "Directory" automatically includes the President of the United States and the First Family, and in the past always included the U.S. Senators and...
(she later was relisted upon her marriage). Receiving favorable notices on Broadway and celebrated for her understated beauty, Wyatt made the transition from stage to screen and was placed under contract at Universal
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, where she co-starred as Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
's love interest in Frank Capra's Columbia
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
film Lost Horizon (1937). This was arguably her most famous role. Of her experience in Lost Horizon, she noted in an article in the St. Anthony Messenger newsletter, "During the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, they cut out all the pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
parts of the film—the High Lama talking about peace in the world. All that was cut because they were trying to inspire those G.I.'s to get out there and go 'bang! bang! bang!' which sort of ruined the film." Other film appearances included Gentleman's Agreement
Gentleman's Agreement
Gentleman's Agreement is a 1947 drama film about a journalist who goes undercover as a Jew to conduct research for an exposé on antisemitism in New York City and the affluent community of Darien, Connecticut...
with Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, None but the Lonely Heart with Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, Boomerang
Boomerang (1947 film)
Boomerang! is a 1947 film based on the true story of a vagrant who was accused of murder, only to be found innocent through the efforts of the prosecutor...
with Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
, and Our Very Own
Our Very Own (1950 film)
Our Very Own is a 1950 American drama film directed by David Miller. The screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert focuses on a teenaged girl who learns she was adopted as an infant.-Plot:...
.
Her film career suffered because of her outspoken opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
, the chief figure in the anti-Communist investigations
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
of that era. Her career was temporarily damaged for having assisted in hosting a performance by the Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...
during the Second World War, even though it was at President Roosevelt's request. As a result, she returned to her roots on the New York stage for a time and appeared in such plays as Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
's The Autumn Garden
The Autumn Garden
The Autumn Garden is a 1951 play by Lillian Hellman. The play is set in September, 1949 in a summer home in a resort on the Gulf of Mexico, about 100 miles from New Orleans. The play is a study of the defeats, disappointments and diminished expectations of people reaching middle age. For...
opposite Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
.
Television
For many people, Wyatt is best remembered for her television role as Margaret Anderson in the television comedyTelevision comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best is an American radio and television comedy series which portrayed a middle class family life in the Midwest. It was created by writer Ed James in the 1940s.-Radio:...
from 1954 to 1960. Her role, opposite Robert Young
Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
, was of the devoted wife and mother in the show which chronicled the life and times of the Anderson family in the Midwestern
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
town of Springfield
Springfield (toponym)
Springfield is a famously common place-name in the English-speaking world, especially in the United States. According to the U.S. Geological Survey there are currently 34 populated places in 25 states named Springfield throughout the United States, including at least four in Wisconsin;...
. This role won Wyatt three Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for best actress in a comedy series. Billy Gray
Billy Gray (actor)
William Thomas "Billy" Gray , is a former American actor known primarily for his role as James "Bud" Anderson, Jr., in 193 episodes of the NBC and CBS situation comedy, Father Knows Best, which aired between 1954 and 1960. Gray's fellow cast members were Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue,...
, Elinor Donahue, and Lauren Chapin
Lauren Chapin
Lauren Chapin, born May 23, 1945 in Los Angeles, California, is an American former child actress, most remembered for her role as the youngest child "Kathy Anderson" in the television show Father Knows Best, which was produced between 1954 and 1960. Chapin was awarded five Jr. Emmy's for Best...
played the Anderson children.
In addition to Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best is an American radio and television comedy series which portrayed a middle class family life in the Midwest. It was created by writer Ed James in the 1940s.-Radio:...
, Wyatt also starred as Amanda Grayson, Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
's mother, in the 1967 episode "Journey to Babel" of the original Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
series and the 1986 film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
. Late in her career, she played Katherine Auschlander, the wife of hospital administrator Dr. Daniel Auschlander (Norman Lloyd
Norman Lloyd
Norman Lloyd is an American actor, producer, and director with a career in entertainment spanning more than seven decades. Lloyd, who currently resides in Los Angeles, has appeared in over sixty films and television shows....
), on the 1980s medical drama St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
. Wyatt was once quoted as saying her fan mail for the first two roles exceeded that for her appearance in Lost Horizon. She also appeared as Anna
Saint Anne
Saint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...
, mother of the Virgin Mary, in the 1978 TV film The Nativity
The Nativity (television film)
The Nativity is a 98-minute long 1978 television film set around the Nativity of Jesus and based on the accounts in the canonical Gospels of Matthew and Luke, in the apocryphal gospels of Pseudo-Matthew and James, and in the Golden Legend. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, written by Morton S...
.
Personal life
Though one of her early suitors was John D. Rockefeller III, Wyatt was married to investment broker Edgar Bethune Ward from November 9, 1935, until his death on November 8, 2000, just one day short of the couple's 65th wedding anniversary. The couple met in the late 1920s when both were weekend houseguests of Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, at Hyde Park
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
.
She suffered a mild stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in the 1990s, but recovered well. She remained in relatively good health for the rest of her life.
Jane Wyatt died on October 20, 2006 of natural causes at her home in Bel-Air, California. She was 96 years old. She is buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery
San Fernando Mission Cemetery
The San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery located at 11160 Stranwood Avenue in the Mission Hills community of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, near the San Fernando Mission....
, next to her husband. Wyatt was survived by two sons, and according to an obituary in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, a third son died in infancy in the early 1940s. Wyatt is survived by her sons Christopher and Michael Ward, three grandchildren and five great grandchildren.