Mary Treen

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American actress (1907–1989)

title: "Mary Treen" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1907-births", "1989-deaths", "20th-century-american-actresses", "american-film-actresses", "american-television-actresses", "actresses-from-st.-louis", "actresses-from-los-angeles", "deaths-from-cancer-in-california", "harvard-westlake-school-alumni", "california-republicans", "missouri-republicans", "american-roman-catholics", "warner-bros.-contract-players", "metro-goldwyn-mayer-contract-players", "20th-century-studios-contract-players", "rko-pictures-contract-players"] description: "American actress (1907–1989)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Treen" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actress (1907–1989) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameMary Treen
imageMary Treen 1938.jpg
captionTreen in 1938
birth_nameMary Louise Summers
birth_date
birth_placeSt. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
death_date
death_placeNewport Beach, California, U.S.
occupationActress
years_active1930–1983
spouse
familyMort Mills (cousin)
::

| name = Mary Treen | image = Mary Treen 1938.jpg | imagesize = | alt = | caption = Treen in 1938 | birth_name = Mary Louise Summers | birth_date = | birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Newport Beach, California, U.S. | resting_place = | othername = | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1930–1983 | spouse = | family = Mort Mills (cousin)

Mary Treen (born Mary Louise Summers; March 27, 1907 – July 20, 1989) was an American film and television actress. A minor actress for much of her career, she managed to secure a plain, unassuming niche for herself in dozens of movies and television shows in a Hollywood career spanning five decades, from 1930 to 1981.

Early life

Treen was the daughter of attorney Don C. Summers and actress Helene Sullivan Summers. In 1908, when she was 11 months old, her mother sued her father for divorce on the grounds that he failed to provide for her. Her father died while she was an infant. She was reared in California by her mother and stepfather, a physician. She attended Westlake School for Girls and, later, a convent school where she tried out successfully in school plays. She was a Roman Catholic.

Career

During her career, Treen was seen in over 40 films. Among her film roles were Tilly, the secretary of the Building and Loan, in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) starring James Stewart, and the role of Pat in the drama Kitty Foyle (1940) starring Ginger Rogers.

In the 1954–1955 season, Treen appeared in 38 episodes as Emily Dodger on the CBS situation comedy Willy.

Her longest-running role was as Hilda, the maid and baby nurse in 64 episodes of the NBC and CBS sitcom The Joey Bishop Show from 1962 to 1965.

Death

Treen died of cancer at her home in Newport Beach, California, on July 20, 1989, at age 82. Her only survivors were cousins, including actor Mort Mills.

Partial filmography

Film

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Mary_Treen_in_Danger_on_Wheels.jpg" caption="Treen in ''[[Danger on Wheels]]'' (1940)"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Roscoe_Karns-Mary_Treen_in_The_Navy_Way.jpg" caption="[[Roscoe Karns]] and Treen in ''[[The Navy Way]]'' (1944)"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Will_Osborne-Mary_Treen_in_Swing_Parade_of_1946.jpg" caption="Will Osborne]] and Treen in ''[[Swing Parade of 1946]]'' (1946)"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Mary_Treen_in_Bonanza_(The_Spitfire).jpg" caption="Treen in TV series ''[[Bonanza]]'' 1961 episode "The Spitfire""] ::

Television

References

References

  1. (November 21, 1908). "Mrs. Summers, Now on Stage, Wants Divorce". [[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]].
  2. ''Morning News'', January 10, 1948, ''Who Was Who in America'' (Vol. 2).{{full citation needed. (October 2020)
  3. (July 22, 1989). "Mary Treen, Actress, 82". [[The New York Times]].
  4. McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, {{ISBN. 0 14 02 4916 8, p. 916.
  5. (July 21, 1989). "Mary Treen, actress, dead at 82". [[The Ledger]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1907-births1989-deaths20th-century-american-actressesamerican-film-actressesamerican-television-actressesactresses-from-st.-louisactresses-from-los-angelesdeaths-from-cancer-in-californiaharvard-westlake-school-alumnicalifornia-republicansmissouri-republicansamerican-roman-catholicswarner-bros.-contract-playersmetro-goldwyn-mayer-contract-players20th-century-studios-contract-playersrko-pictures-contract-players