Marion Lorne

Remembering the life of Marion Lorne for her Birthday! Forever embraced as the mumbling, bumbling Aunt Clara on the Bewitched television series, endearing character actress Marion Lorne had a five-decade-long career on the stage before ever becoming a familiar TV household name. Born Marion Lorne MacDougall on August 12, 1883 (other sources list 1885 and 1888), she grew up in her native Pennsylvania, the daughter of Scottish and English immigrants. Trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, she appeared in stock shows, and was on the Broadway boards by 1905. She married English playwright Walter C. Hackett and performed in many of his plays throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including Hyde Park Corner and The Gay Adventure. They at one point settled in England where they co-founded the Whitehall Theater. It was there that Marion began to sharpen and patent her fidgety comedy eccentrics in such plays as Pansy's Arabian Knight, Sorry You've Been Troubled, Espionage and London After Dark. Upon Hackett's death in 1944, she returned to the States and again, after a brief retirement, became a hit in such tailor-made stage shows as Harvey. Marion made a definitive impression via her movie debut at age 60+ in Alfred Hitchcock's immortal suspense thriller Strangers on a Train (1951) as murderer Robert Walker's clueless, smothering mother. Surprisingly Hollywood used her only a couple more times on film after that auspicious beginning, including The Girl Rush (1955) starring Rosalind Russell, her character was also named Aunt Clara in that, and Mike Nichols' The Graduate (1967) appearing in a scene with future Bewitched star Alice Ghostley, . Marion wisely turned to TV and proved a dithery delight in such sitcoms as Mister Peepers (1952) and Sally (1957), gaining quirky status as well as part of the comedy ensemble on The Garry Moore Show (1958). It was, however, her role as Elizabeth Montgomery's befuddled, muttering aunt on Bewitched (1964-1968) -- whether bouncing into walls or conjuring up some unintended piece of witchcraft, Lorne would then perform the most side-splittingly funny double takes imaginable in response, Aunt Clara usually visited by coming down the chimney; her hobby was collecting doorknobs, and she often brought her collection with her on visits. Lorne had an extensive collection of doorknobs in real life, some of which she used as props in the series. For that role she deservedly won an Emmy trophy for Best Supporting Actress -- albeit posthumously. Montgomery accepted her award. Sadly, Marion succumbed to a heart attack on May 9, 1968, just ten days before the actual ceremony. Elizabeth Montgomery gave a touching acceptance speech on her behalf. The producers of Bewitched decided that Lorne's character as Aunt Clara could not be replaced by another actress. (Aunt Clara was never mentioned in any subsequent Bewitched episode.) Comedic actress Alice Ghostley was recruited to fill the gap as Esmeralda, a different type of older witch with wobbly magic whose spells often went astray.