Sylvia Field | |
---|---|
Sylvia Field in 1927
|
|
Born |
Harriet Louisa Johnson February 28, 1901 Allston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | July 31, 1998 Fallbrook, California, U.S. |
(aged 97)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1918–1975 |
Spouse(s) |
Robert J. Frowhlich (m. 1924–29) Harold Moffat (m. 1930; his death 1938) Ernest Truex (m. 1941; his death 1973) |
Sylvia Field (February 28, 1901– July 31, 1998) was an American actress whose career encompassed performances on stage, screen, and TV. She was best known for playing the understanding Mrs. Martha Wilson (Mr. Wilson's wife) on the television sitcom Dennis the Menace on CBS from 1959 to 1962.
Born Harriet Louisa Johnson in Allston, Massachusetts, she attended Arlington High School in Arlington, Massachusetts. Field began her acting career on the stage. She made her Broadway debut at age 17 in 1918 in The Betrothal (1918). After appearing in various stage productions, Field made her film debut in the 1928 drama The Home Girl.
Field began appearing in guest spots on television in the late 1940s. In 1949, she starred in a locally produced sitcom about her life, The Truex Family. In 1952, she landed the role of Mrs. Remington in the sitcom Mister Peepers. The show, which aired until 1955, co-starred Field's real-life husband Ernest Truex. After the end of Mr. Peepers, Field continued to guest star on episodic television, including in roles on Producers' Showcase, Star Tonight, General Electric Theater, and The Ann Sothern Show. In 1957, Field made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as defendant Belle Adrian in "The Case of the Angry Mourner." In 1958, she played Aunt Lila in the Walt Disney serial Annette, starring Annette Funicello.
In 1959, Field began appearing as Martha Wilson in the CBS sitcom Dennis the Menace. Field's character was written out of the series in 1962 owing to the death of Joseph Kearns, who portrayed George Wilson, Martha's husband. Field continued in television guest spots during the 1960s, including on the ABC sitcoms Our Man Higgins with Stanley Holloway and Hazel. She made her final onscreen appearance in Kathleen Collins's 1980 film "The Cruz Brothers and Mrs Malloy".