Mildred Dunnock was an American theater, film and television actress. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated from Western Senior High School, Dunnock was a school teacher who did not start acting until she was in her early thirties. She attended Goucher College where she was a member of Alpha Phi sorority. After a couple of roles in Broadway productions, Dunnock won praise for her performance as a Welsh school teacher in The Corn is Green . The 1945 film version marked her screen debut opposite Bette Davis. During the 1940s Dunnock performed mostly on stage, in such dramas as Another... Part of the Forest and Death of a Salesman and in the musical Lute Song . She reprised her Salesman role in the 1951 film version. She originated the role of Big Mama in the Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, although she lost the movie role to Judith Anderson. Her films include The Trouble with Harry , Love Me Tender , Baby Doll , Peyton Place , The Nun's Story , Butterfield 8 , and Sweet Bird of Youth .
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