{{Short description|American actress (1898–1950)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox person | image = Margaret Irving (Feb 1923).png | caption = Margaret Irving in 1923 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1898|1|18}} | birth_place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1988|3|15|1898|1|18}} | death_place = Westminster, California, US | occupation = Actress | spouse = William Frederick James | years_active = 1922–1955 }}
'''Margaret Irving''' (January 18, 1898 – March 5, 1988) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered today for her roles as Aunt Gus in the 1950s sitcom ''The People's Choice''{{sfn|Irvin|2014|page=85}} and as Mrs. Whitehead in ''Animal Crackers'' (1930) starring the Marx Brothers, a role she originated on the Broadway stage.
==Biography== Margaret Irving was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 18, 1898.{{sfn|Wilson|2016|page=367}} In 1917 she portrayed Lady of Dreams in the Broadway musical ''Jack O'Lantern'' at the Globe Theatre; a work created by Ivan Caryll, Anne Caldwell and R. H. Burnside.{{sfn|Dietz|2021|pages=397-398}} After this she worked for Florence Ziegfeld on Broadway in the revues ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1919''{{sfn|Baral|1970|page=268}} and ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1920''{{sfn|Emmet|Kimball|2005|page=189}} before appearing in Irving Berlin's ''Music Box Revue'' during the 1921-1922{{sfn|Sears|2012|page=68}} and 1922-1923 seasons at the Music Box Theatre.{{sfn|Mantle|1923|page=477}} This was followed by the role of June in William B. Friedlander and Con Conrad's ''Mercenary Mary'' (1925, Longacre Theatre); a show which lasted less than four months.{{sfn|Dietz|2019|page=254}}
Irving created the role of Clementina in Sigmund Romberg's hit musical ''The Desert Song'' which had a long Broadway run at the Casino Theatre in 1926-1927.{{sfn|Dietz|2019|pages=341-342}} The production then transferred to first the Century Theatre (1927) and then the Imperial Theatre (1927-1928) for a collective run of 471 performances.{{sfn|Dietz|2019|page=341}} This was followed by the role of Mrs. Whitehead in Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby's musical ''Animal Crackers'' which had a successful run at the 44th Street Theatre with a cast led by the four Marx Brothers and Margaret Dumont.{{sfn|Dietz|2019|page=486}} Irving reprised this role in the 1930 sound film adaptation of this show;{{sfn|Crafton|1999|page=458}} having previously worked as a silent film actress in the pictures ''Radio-Mania'' (1922){{sfn|Soister|Nicolella|Joyce|2014|page=385}} and ''The Broadway Boob'' (1926).{{sfn|American Film Institute|1997|page=88}}
During the 1930s Irving worked more often in film than on the stage. Some of her film credits during this decade included ''Sheer Luck'' (1931), ''Thanks a Million'' (1935),{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=666}} ''San Francisco'' (1936),{{sfn|Neibaur|2021|page=129}} ''Captain Calamity'' (1936),{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=85}} ''Follow Your Heart'' (1936),{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=203}} ''Charlie Chan at the Opera'' (1936),{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=97}} and ''Mr. Moto's Last Warning'' (1939).{{sfn|Andrews|2023|page=73}} In 1939 she returned to the stage as Marguerite Worms in the play ''Where There's a Will'' at Broadway's John Golden Theatre.<ref>{{cite news|title=From Paris|work=Brooklyn Eagle|date= January 15, 1939|page= 38}}</ref> This was followed by multiple roles in the musical revue ''The Streets of Paris'' which ran at the Broadhurst Theatre in 1939-1940.{{sfn|Dietz|2018|page=579}} In the 1940-1941 Broadway season she portrayed Sierra in E. Y. Harburg and Burton Lane's musical ''Hold On to Your Hats'' at the Shubert Theatre.{{sfn|Dietz|2015|page=35}} Her final Broadway roles were Mrs. Warren in Harold Orlob's ''Hairpin Harmony'' (1943){{sfn|Dietz|2015|page=190}} and Gail in Anita Loos's ''Happy Birthday'' (1946).<ref>{{cite news|work=New York Daily News|date= November 1, 1946|page=53|title=Miss Hayes Does Her Fine Best In Underserving ''Happy Birthday''}}</ref> She also made a few films in the 1940s, including ''In Society'' (1944){{sfn|Coniam|Santa Maria| 2023|page=159}} and ''The Beautiful Cheat'' (1945).{{sfn|Thompson|1985|page=285}} Her final film was ''Ain't Misbehavin''' (1955).{{sfn|Lowe|2016|page=79}}
She was married to William Frederick James. She died on March 5, 1988 in Westminster, California, at the age of 90.{{sfn|Wilson|2016|page=367}}
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes and References |- |1922|| ''Radio-Mania'' || Mary Langdon ||{{sfn|Soister|Nicolella|Joyce|2014|page=385}} |- |1926|| ''The Broadway Boob'' || Mabel Golden ||{{sfn|American Film Institute|1997|page=88}} |- |1930|| ''Animal Crackers'' || Mrs. Whitehead ||{{sfn|Crafton|1999|page=458}} |- |1931|| ''Sheer Luck'' || Patsy || |- |1935|| ''Thanks a Million'' || Mrs. Kruger ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=666}} |- |1936|| ''Exclusive Story'' || Mrs. Higgins ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=180}} |- |1936|| ''Wife vs. Secretary'' || Edna Wilson ||{{sfn|Harris|2010|page=393}} |- |1936|| ''Captain Calamity'' || Mamie Gruen ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=85}} |- |1936|| ''I Married a Doctor'' || Maude Dyer ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=300}} |- |1936|| ''San Francisco'' || Della Bailey ||{{sfn|Neibaur|2021|page=129}} |- |1936|| ''Women Are Trouble'' || Frances Blaine ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=762}} |- |1936|| ''Follow Your Heart'' || Louise Masetti ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=203}} |- |1936|| ''Four Days' Wonder'' || Aunt Jessica ||<ref>{{cite news|work=The Toronto Telegram|date= September 12, 1936|page= 16|title=''Four Days' Wonder'' is A. A. Milne Mystery}}</ref> |- |1936|| ''Charlie Chan at the Opera'' || Mme. Lilli Rochelle ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=97}} |- |1937|| ''Men in Exile'' || Mother Haines ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=415}} |- |1937|| ''The Outcasts of Poker Flat'' || The Duchess ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=487}} |- |1937|| ''Wife, Doctor and Nurse'' || Mrs. Cunningham ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=749}} |- |1937|| ''Under Suspicion'' || Laura Walters ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=713}} |- |1937|| ''Sh! The Octopus'' || Polly Crane ||{{sfn|Senn|2015|page=476}} |- |1938|| ''Little Miss Roughneck'' || Mrs. Gertrude 'Gert' LaRue ||<ref>{{cite news|work=Sulphur Times-Democrat|date= February 24, 1938|page=5|title=''Little Miss Roughneck''}}</ref> |- |1938|| ''The Baroness and the Butler'' || Countess Olga ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=35}} |- |1938|| ''Love, Honor and Behave'' || Nan Bowleigh ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=380}} |- |1938|| ''The Toy Wife'' || Madame DeCambri ||{{sfn|Fetrow|1992|page=697}} |- |1938|| ''Sweethearts'' || Madame ||<ref>{{cite news|title=Icy Model|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|date= November 6, 1938|page= 31}}</ref> |- |1938|| ''Kentucky'' || Woman with Man at Race Track ||<ref>{{cite news|title=Reel Reviews: ''Kentucky''|work=The Brooklyn Citizen|date= December 24, 1938|page= 8}}</ref> |- |1939|| ''Mr. Moto's Last Warning'' || Madame Delacour ||{{sfn|Andrews|2023|page=73}} |- |1944|| ''In Society'' || Mrs. Winthrop || {{sfn|Coniam|Santa Maria| 2023|page=159}} |- |1945|| ''The Beautiful Cheat'' || Olympia Haven ||{{sfn|Thompson|1985|page=285}} |- |1955|| ''Ain't Misbehavin''' || Mrs. Grumbacher ||{{sfn|Lowe|2016|page=79}} |}
==References== ===Citations=== {{reflist}} ===Bibliography=== *{{cite book|author=American Film Institute|year=1997|title= The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. Feature Films, 1921-1930|volume= F2| publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-20969-9|editor-first=Kenneth W.|editor-last=Munden|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_American_Film_Institute_Catalog_of_M/rlLbRAPOgP0C?hl=en&gbpv=1}} *{{cite book|title=American Rivals of James Bond|first= Graham|last= Andrews|year= 2023|isbn= 9781476673684|publisher=McFarland & Company}} *{{cite book|title=Revue: A Nostalgic Reprise of the Great Broadway Period|first=Robert|last= Baral|year=1970|publisher=Fleet Publishing Corporation|isbn=9780830300914}} *{{cite book|title=The Annotated Abbott and Costello: A Complete Viewer's Guide to the Comedy Team and Their 38 Films|first1=Matthew|last1= Coniam|first2= Nick|last2= Santa Maria|year=2023|isbn= 9781476647760|publisher=McFarland & Company}} *{{cite book|last=Crafton|first=Donald|title=The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926-1931|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KFB_oT-jupQC&pg=PA458|year=1999|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-22128-4}} *{{cite book|first1=Dan|last1=Dietz|title=The Complete Book of 1910s Broadway Musicals|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2021|isbn=9781538150283|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LecZEAAAQBAJ}} *{{cite book|first1=Dan|last1=Dietz|title=The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2019|isbn=9781442245280|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRmGDwAAQBAJ}} *{{cite book|first1=Dan|last1=Dietz|title=The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2018|isbn=9781538102770|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L0hNDwAAQBAJ&q=The+Complete+Book+of+1930s+Broadway+Musicals}} *{{cite book|first1=Dan|last1=Dietz|title=The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2015|isbn=9781442245280|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VRiMBgAAQBAJ}} *{{cite book|title=The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin|editor-first=Linda|editor-last=Emmet|editor-first2= Robert|editor-last2= Kimball|year= 2005|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn= 9781557836816}} *{{cite book|title=Sound films, 1927-1939: A United States Filmography|year=1992|last=Fetrow|first= Alan G.|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0899505466}} *{{cite book|title=Clark Gable: A Biography|first=Warren G.|last= Harris|year=2010|isbn= 9780307555175|publisher=Crown Publishing Group}} *{{cite book|last=Irvin|first=Richard|title=George Burns Television Productions: The Series and Pilots, 1950-1981|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1WOWAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85|year= 2014|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-7864-9486-6}} *{{cite book|title=Atomic Blonde: The Films of Mamie Van Doren|first= Barry|last= Lowe|year=2016|isbn=9780786482733|publisher=McFarland & Company}} *{{cite book|title=The Best Plays of 1922-1923|year=1923|editor-first=Burns|editor-last=Mantle|publisher=Dodd, Mead & Co.|editor-link=Burns Mantle}} *{{cite book|title=Clark Gable in the 1930s: The Films That Made Him King of Hollywood|first=James L.|last= Neibaur|year= 2021|isbn=9781476680446|publisher=McFarland & Company}} *{{cite book|title=The Irving Berlin Reader|publisher=Oxford University Press|editor-first=Benjamin|editor-last= Sears|year=2012|isbn=9780199913503}} *{{cite book|title=Golden Horrors: An Illustrated Critical Filmography of Terror Cinema, 1931-1939|first= Bryan|last= Senn|year= 2015|isbn=9781476610894|publisher=McFarland & Company}} *{{cite book |last1=Soister |first1=John T. |last2=Nicolella |first2=Henry |last3=Joyce |first3=Steve |title=American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913–1929 |volume=II|publisher=McFarland Publishing |year=2014 |isbn= 9780786487905}} *{{cite book|title=Between Action and Cut: Five American Directors|year=1985|isbn=9780810817449|publisher=Scarecrow Press|editor-first=Frank T.|editor-last= Thompson}} *{{cite book|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, Third Edition|first= Scott|last= Wilson|year=2016|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=9780786479924}}
==External links== {{commons category|Margaret Irving}} *{{IMDb name|0410303}} *{{IBDB name}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Margaret}} Category:1898 births Category:1988 deaths Category:American film actresses Category:Actresses from Pittsburgh Category:20th-century American actresses