Beatrice Maude

Beatrice Maude (July 22, 1892 – October 14, 1984) was an American actress and theatrical director born in California. Her family had deep roots in performance: her mother, Maud Madison, was both an actress and a dancer, and her grandmother was also an actress. Her mother's papers, including letters addressed to Maude, are preserved in the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library.

Maude's Broadway career spanned nearly two decades, from 1916 to 1934. Her stage appearances included The Happy Ending (1916), Seventeen (1918), Jonathan Makes a Wish (1918), A Night in Avignon (1919), and George Washington (1920), in which she portrayed Betsy Ross. That same year, she performed both Ophelia and Juliet as part of Walter Hampden's repertory company. Subsequent Broadway credits included The Married Woman (1921–1922), The World We Live In (1922–1923), in which she played a butterfly, Try It With Alice (1924), The Buccaneer (1925), Tragic 18 (1926), The Light of Asia (1928), Mourning Becomes Electra (1932), The Show Off (1932), and Dodsworth (1934–1935).

Beyond performing, Maude held several leadership roles in regional theater. In 1928, she operated a summer stock company in Stamford, Connecticut, where she employed actor Robert Montgomery. She served as executive director of the Robin Hood Theatre in Arden, Delaware, in 1932 and 1933, and was co-manager of the Cape May Playhouse in 1935.

Maude also worked extensively in film and television. Her screen credits included the silent film The Final Judgment (1915), as well as Dodsworth (1936), Arkansas Judge (1941), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941), Born to Kill (1947), Lawless Code (1949), Slaves of Babylon (1953), Women's Prison (1955), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). On television, she appeared in small roles on Your Favorite Story (1954), I Married Joan (1955), and I Led 3 Lives (1955). Maude died in Los Angeles on October 14, 1984, at the age of 92.