Mary Jackson
Acting • Born 1910-11-22 – Died 2005-12-10
Biography
One of those strikingly familiar matrons you just can't place, character actress Mary Jackson is probably best known for her recurring role as one of the delightfully eccentric bootlegging sisters, "Miss Emily" Baldwin, on the series The Waltons (1971) that ran for nine seasons. She was born November 22, 1910 in rural Milford, Michigan, and earned a bachelor's degree from West Michigan University in 1932. A Depression-era school teacher for one year before pursuing her interest in theater, she returned to college (this time Michigan State University) in a fine arts program. She started out on the Chicago stage and in summer stock before migrating to the larger stages in New York and Los Angeles. Film and TV roles did not come her way until well into middle age. Guesting on such TV shows as "The Andy Griffith Show," "The Twilight Zone," "My Three Sons," "Hazel," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Barnaby Jones" and "Highway to Heaven," she usually appeared as ladylike small-town citizens. She was also part of the ensemble in Peter Bogdanovich's first low-budget film thriller Targets (1968), which was Boris Karloff's last feature. In the 70s she started gathering up character bits here and there, such as her nuns in the all-star epic Airport (1970) and the horror Audrey Rose (1977). A variety of pleasant, maternal parts came her way, including Lynn Carlin's mother in the Blake Edwards' western Wild Rovers (1971) and Jane Fonda's in the comedy caper Fun with Dick and Jane (1977). She supported Fonda again in the Vietnam-era drama Coming Home (1978), was among the cast in the cultish Big Top Pee-wee (1988) and had a noticeable role in Steve Martin's Leap of Faith (1992). As for "The Waltons" success, character actress Dorothy Stickney played the part of Emily in the initial TV pilot along with Josephine Hutchinson as older sister Mamie. When the series came to fruition, Mary and actress Helen Kleeb, another one of those "I've seen her before" character faces, took over the spinster roles. Both she and Kleeb continued their sister act periodically in several Walton "reunion" TV-movies, which included assorted weddings and holiday gatherings. Both ladies made their final TV appearances in A Walton Easter (1997). Kleeb died of natural causes in 2003 at age 96. Mary passed away two years later at age 95 of complications from Parkinson's disease. - IMDb Mini Biography
Filmography
85 credits
Big Top Pee-wee
Movie • 1988
Mrs. Dill
A Death in Canaan
Movie • 1978
Sarah Biggens
The Exorcist III
Movie • 1990
Mrs. Clelia
Skinned Alive
Movie • 1990
Crawldaddy
Some Kind of Hero
Movie • 1982
Frances
A Small Killing
Movie • 1981
Rose
Audrey Rose
Movie • 1977
Mother Veronica
Targets
Movie • 1968
Charlotte Thompson
A Day for Thanks on Waltons Mountain
Movie • 1982
Emily Baldwin
Leap of Faith
Movie • 1992
Emma Schlarp
Our Time
Movie • 1974
Miss Moran
My Town
Movie • 1986
Mrs. McDaniel
Meet the Munceys
Movie • 1988
Esther Lovell-Mingott
The Failing of Raymond
Movie • 1971
Latin Teacher
A Wedding on Waltons Mountain
Movie • 1982
Emily Baldwin
Fun with Dick and Jane
Movie • 1977
Jane's Mother
Airport
Movie • 1970
Felice
The Two Lives of Carol Letner
Movie • 1981
Grandmother Mary
Between Two Brothers
Movie • 1982
Eddy Frazer
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Movie • 1967
Mrs. Stone
Friendly Persuasion
Movie • 1956
Country Woman (uncredited)
A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion
Movie • 1993
Emily Baldwin
Terror at Red Wolf Inn
Movie • 1972
Evelyn Smith
Ozone
Movie • 1994
Cleaning Lady
Wild Rovers
Movie • 1971
Sada's Mother
Coming Home
Movie • 1978
Fleta Wilson
A Family Thing
Movie • 1996
Carrie
Blume in Love
Movie • 1973
Louise
The Case of the Hillside Stranglers
Movie • 1989
Letters from Frank
Movie • 1979
Edna Miller
Kid Blue
Movie • 1973
Mrs. Evans
The Snow Queen
Movie • 1985
Grandmother
The Andy Griffith Show
TV • 1960
Mrs. Rigsby
Magnum, P.I.
TV • 1980
Grandmother MacKenzie
Family Ties
TV • 1982
Edna
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
TV • 1959
Mrs. Kenny
The Rookies
TV • 1972
L.A. Law
TV • 1986
Mildred Weedon
The F.B.I.
TV • 1965
Mrs. Otto Foshay
The Bionic Woman
TV • 1976
Quincy, M.E.
TV • 1976
The Jeffersons
TV • 1975
Route 66
TV • 1960
Highway to Heaven
TV • 1984
The Streets of San Francisco
TV • 1972
Hill Street Blues
TV • 1981
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
TV • 1983
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
TV • 1970
Mrs. Arnell
Hart to Hart
TV • 1979
Cagney & Lacey
TV • 1982
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Phyllis Barton
The Twilight Zone
TV • 1959
Miss Pepper (uncredited)
Cannon
TV • 1971
Christy
TV • 1994
Aunt Polly Teague
Hunter
TV • 1984
Clara
The Waltons
TV • 1972
Emily Baldwin
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
TV • 1955
Mrs. Wilson
The Fugitive
TV • 1963
Nurse Oberhansly
The Fugitive
TV • 1963
Carolyn Fletcher
Lancer
TV • 1968
Hazel
TV • 1961
The Philco Television Playhouse
TV • 1948
Aunt Edna
The Manhunter
TV • 1974
CBS Playhouse
TV • 1966
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV • 1950
Mrs. Gross
Stoney Burke
TV • 1962
Open All Night
TV • 1981
Parenthood
TV • 1990
When the Whistle Blows
TV • 1980
The Runaways
TV • 1978
The Fugitive
TV • 1963
Ellie Parker
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
TV • 1960
Mrs. Krieger
The F.B.I.
TV • 1965
Mrs. Howard
The F.B.I.
TV • 1965
Mrs. Corman
The F.B.I.
TV • 1965
Mrs. Dreiser
The F.B.I.
TV • 1965
Nurse
The Andy Griffith Show
TV • 1960
Miss Vogel
The Outer Limits
TV • 1963
Mrs. McCrae
Hardcastle and McCormick
TV • 1983
Sarah Wicks
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV • 1982
Grandmother
The Invaders
TV • 1967
Nurse
The Invaders
TV • 1967
Hattie Willis
Columbo
TV • 1971
Annie
The Second Hundred Years
TV • 1967
Mother Superior
The F.B.I.
TV • 1965
3rd Floor Desk Nurse