Nydia Westman | |
---|---|
Born |
New York City, New York, U.S. |
February 19, 1902
Died | May 23, 1970 Burbank, California, U.S. |
(aged 68)
Cause of death | Cancer |
Resting place | Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth, California |
Years active | 1932–1970 |
Spouse(s) | Robert Sparks (1930–1937) (divorced) 1 child |
Children | Kate Williamson |
Nydia Eileen Westman (February 19, 1902 – May 23, 1970) was an American actress and singer of stage, screen and television.
Westman's career ranged from episodic appearances on TV series such as That Girl and Dragnet and uncredited bit roles in movies to appearances in groundbreaking films (such as Craig's Wife, which starred Rosalind Russell, and the first film version of Little Women which starred Katharine Hepburn in her first great movie success).
She appeared as the housekeeper Mrs. Featherstone in the 1962–1963 ABC series, Going My Way, which starred Gene Kelly and Leo G. Carroll as Roman Catholic priests in New York City.
She also broke ground on stage, debuting the role of Nell off-Broadway in Samuel Beckett's Endgame, for which she won one of the first Obie awards.
Westman's parents, Theodore and Lily (Wren) Westman were actors in vaudeville in her native New York City. Her sisters, Lolita and Neville were actresses, and her brother, Theodore (d. November 20, 1927), was an actor and playwright.
She was married to Robert Sparks, a producer, from 1930 until 1937; they had a daughter, actress Kate Williamson (1930–2013).
Westman died of cancer at the age of sixty-eight in Burbank, California.