Mimi Gibson
Encyclopedia
Mimi Gibson is a former child actress. After the early death of her father, her mother took her and her sister to Los Angeles
. At only 18 months, she was a popular calendar model, posing with cute animals. By age two she was appearing in movies. During the 1950s and early 1960s she would appear in 35 movies and over 100 TV programs. Her last roles came as a teenage girlfriend in episodes of My Three Sons
in the late 1960s.
In 1957 she and child actress Evelyn Rudie
played the daughters of John Wayne
and Maureen O'Hara
in The Wings of Eagles
. Although they had some significant scenes, she and Rudie were not credited. The same year she was in the horror B-movie The Monster That Challenged the World
.
In 1958 she had a role as Cary Grant
's daughter — with Paul Petersen
and Charles Herbert
playing her brothers — in the light romantic comedy Houseboat
. Sophia Loren
co-starred. Gibson said, "I'd like to be remembered for Houseboat." She said "Houseboat was fun, wonderful and I loved it".
They filmed Houseboat for a month on location in Washington, D.C.
The actual houseboat was on the Virginia (or south) side of the Potomac River
. The scene at the amusement park was filmed at Glen Echo Amusement Park, on the northern side of the river. When the movie was done, Loren gave Gibson a pendant with a houseboat on one side and "To Mimi from Sophia" on the other. Grant gave each of the kids a $50 savings bond-a large sum in those days.
In 1961 she appeared in The Children's Hour
, based on the play by Lillian Hellman
. Gibson played a schoolgirl at a private school run by Audrey Hepburn
and Shirley MacLaine
. The movie involved accusations of a lesbian relationship between the co-stars' characters and was somewhat daring for its time. She said Hepburn was very nice to the girls, but that "Shirley MacLaine despised kids". She would not even speak to them.
On television, she appeared in eight Playhouse 90
dramas and many episodes of The Red Skelton Show
, as well as some episodes of Whirlybirds
.
With the end of her child acting career, Gibson's life took a turn for the worse. Her mother had appropriated all the money she earned. Lacking the funds to go college, she made a hasty marriage at age 20. But she righted her life later.
In 1999 she testified before a California
legislative panel on the need for statutory protection for child actors' earnings. She did this with Paul Petersen, who played her older brother in Houseboat. Petersen has remained a lifelong friend and is the founder in 1990 of A Minor Consideration, a non-profit group devoted to protecting and advancing the interests of child actors. Gibson has also been active in this group.
Today Gibson guards her privacy. She lives on a farm in Northern California, happily married, and where she raises goats and llamas.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. At only 18 months, she was a popular calendar model, posing with cute animals. By age two she was appearing in movies. During the 1950s and early 1960s she would appear in 35 movies and over 100 TV programs. Her last roles came as a teenage girlfriend in episodes of My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
in the late 1960s.
In 1957 she and child actress Evelyn Rudie
Evelyn Rudie
Evelyn Rudie is a playwright, director, songwriter, film and television actress and teacher. Since 1973, she has been the co-artistic director of the Santa Monica Playhouse...
played the daughters of John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
in The Wings of Eagles
The Wings of Eagles
The Wings of Eagles is a 1957 Metrocolor film about Frank "Spig" Wead and US Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is a tribute to Wead from his friend, director John Ford....
. Although they had some significant scenes, she and Rudie were not credited. The same year she was in the horror B-movie The Monster That Challenged the World
The Monster That Challenged the World
The Monster That Challenged the World is a science-fiction monster movie, about an army of giant mollusks that emerge from the Salton Sea, California. Directed by Arnold Laven, the film starred Tim Holt and Audrey Dalton....
.
In 1958 she had a role as 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...
's daughter — with Paul Petersen
Paul Petersen
William Paul Petersen is an American movie actor, singer, novelist, and activist. Primarily known for his character-type roles in the 1960s and 1970s, as an adult Petersen established the organization A Minor Consideration to support child stars and other child laborers through legislation,...
and Charles Herbert
Charles Herbert
Charles Herbert is a former American child actor of the 1950s and 1960s. Before reaching his teens, Herbert was renowned by a generation of moviegoers for an on-screen broody, mature style and wit that enabled him to go one-on-one with some of the biggest names in the industry, and his appearances...
playing her brothers — in the light romantic comedy Houseboat
Houseboat (film)
Houseboat is a 1958 romantic comedy film starring Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Martha Hyer, Paul Petersen, Charles Herbert and Mimi Gibson. The movie was directed by Melville Shavelson, who also directed the original 1968 version of Yours, Mine and Ours....
. Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
co-starred. Gibson said, "I'd like to be remembered for Houseboat." She said "Houseboat was fun, wonderful and I loved it".
They filmed Houseboat for a month on location in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The actual houseboat was on the Virginia (or south) side of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
. The scene at the amusement park was filmed at Glen Echo Amusement Park, on the northern side of the river. When the movie was done, Loren gave Gibson a pendant with a houseboat on one side and "To Mimi from Sophia" on the other. Grant gave each of the kids a $50 savings bond-a large sum in those days.
In 1961 she appeared in The Children's Hour
The Children's Hour (1961 film)
The Children's Hour is a 1961 American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the 1934 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman...
, based on the play by Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
. Gibson played a schoolgirl at a private school run by Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
and Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
. The movie involved accusations of a lesbian relationship between the co-stars' characters and was somewhat daring for its time. She said Hepburn was very nice to the girls, but that "Shirley MacLaine despised kids". She would not even speak to them.
On television, she appeared in eight Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
dramas and many episodes of The Red Skelton Show
The Red Skelton Show
The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as...
, as well as some episodes of Whirlybirds
Whirlybirds
Whirlybirds is an American drama television series....
.
With the end of her child acting career, Gibson's life took a turn for the worse. Her mother had appropriated all the money she earned. Lacking the funds to go college, she made a hasty marriage at age 20. But she righted her life later.
In 1999 she testified before a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
legislative panel on the need for statutory protection for child actors' earnings. She did this with Paul Petersen, who played her older brother in Houseboat. Petersen has remained a lifelong friend and is the founder in 1990 of A Minor Consideration, a non-profit group devoted to protecting and advancing the interests of child actors. Gibson has also been active in this group.
Today Gibson guards her privacy. She lives on a farm in Northern California, happily married, and where she raises goats and llamas.
Filmography
- If He Hollers, Let Him Go (1968) - Marion
- The Children's Hour (1961) - Evelyn
- One Hundred and One DalmatiansOne Hundred and One DalmatiansOne Hundred and One Dalmatians, often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians, is a 1961 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith...
(1961) - (voice) Lucky - I'll Give My Life (1960) - Jodie Bradford
- The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959) - Elizabeth Pennypacker
- The Buccaneer (1958) - Marjorie
- Houseboat (1958) - Elizabeth Winters
- No Down Payment (1957) - (uncredited) Sandra Kreitzer
- The Brothers Rico (1957) - Felici, Little Girl
- The Three Faces of Eve (1957) - Eve (younger)
- DrangoDrangoDrango is a 1957 American motion picture produced by Jeff Chandler's own production company Earlmar Productions, written and directed by Hall Bartlett, and released by United Artists. Starring Chandler in the title role, the film also features Ronald Howard, Joanne Dru, Julie London and Donald Crisp...
(1957) - Ellen Bryant - The Monster that Challenged the World (1957) - Sandy MacKenzie
- The Oklahoman (1957) - Louise Brighton
- The Wings of Eagles (1957) - (uncredited) Lila Wead
- Courage of Black Beauty (1957) - Lily Rowden
- The Ten Commandments (1956) - Egyptian Girl
- Strange Intruder (1956) - Libby Carmichael
- Rebel in Town (1956) - Lisbeth Anstadt
- Three for Jamie Dawn (1956) - (uncredited) Cindy Lorenz
- World Without End (1956) - (uncredited) Ginny Jaffe
- The Bottom of the Bottle (1956) - (uncredited) Jeanie Martin
- At Gunpoint (1955) - (uncredited) Cynthia Clark
- Lay That Rifle Down (1955) - (uncredited) Terry Fetcher
- The Eternal Sea (1955) - (uncredited) Mary Sue Hoskins
- There's No Business Like Showbusiness (1954) - Katy Donahue (age 4)
- The Egyptian (1954) - princess
- Torch Song (1953) - (scenes eventually deleted) Susie
- Sweethearts on Parade (1953) - (uncredited)
- A Slight Case of Larceny (1953) - Mary Ellen Clopp
- My Pal Gus (1952) - Judy
- Everything I Have is Yours (1952) - Pamela (age 3)
- I'll See You in My Dreams (1951) - Irene (age 3)
- Corky of Gasoline Alley (1951) - Clovia