Hope Emerson

Hope Emerson
Studio Publicity Photo, 1950s.
Born	(1897-10-30)October 30, 1897 Hawarden, Iowa, U.S.
Died	April 24, 1960(1960-04-24) (aged 62) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Liver disease
Occupation	Actress, vaudeville performer, strongwoman, nightclub performer
Years active	1900-1960

Hope Emerson (October 30, 1897 – April 24, 1960) was an American actress, vaudeville and nightclub performer, and strongwoman. She stood 6'2" and weighed 190 lbs in her prime.

Emerson was born in Hawarden, Iowa to John Alvin and Josie L. (née Washburn) Emerson, the middle and only surviving child of three (her two siblings died in infancy). She began her career at age 3, touring Iowa with her mother, a character actress. Following her graduation from West High School in Des Moines in 1916, she moved to New York City, where she performed in vaudeville.

Emerson made her Broadway début in Lysistrata in 1930, when theatrical producer Norman Bel Geddes cast her for the role of Lamputo, an Amazon. She made her film début in Smiling Faces (1932) but then returned to the theater. In 1947, critic Brooks Atkinson called her performance in Street Scene "vastly entertaining as the garrulous old crone." In the 1940s, Emerson was also known as the voice of Elsie the Cow in Borden Milk commercials on radio.

Standing 6 ft.-2 in. (1.88m), Emerson's most memorable roles were as a circus strongwoman in the film Adam's Rib (1949), lifting actor Spencer Tracy up in the air; a masseuse-conspirator in the noirish Cry of the City (1948); and a mail-order bride in Westward the Women (1952). Her most famous role, as sadistic prison matron Evelyn Harper in Caged (1950), garnered her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

On television, Emerson guest starred on the series finale ("The Housekeeper") of It's a Great Life, playing a bossy housekeeper who temporarily takes charge while Amy Morgan, played by Frances Bavier, is away on vacation.