Kathryn Givney

Kathryn Givney (October 27, 1896 – March 16, 1978) was an American actress whose career spanned theater, film, and television across several decades. Born Catharine Givney in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, she built a professional life that took her from regional repertory work to Broadway stages and Hollywood productions.

Givney's early stage career included membership in the S. E. Cochran Repertory Company in 1928 and an appearance at the Hollywood Playhouse in Stepping Sisters in 1930. Her Broadway career extended from 1927 to 1946, encompassing nearly two decades and a wide range of productions. Her earliest Broadway appearances came in 1927 with Ballyhoo, We All Do, and Nightstick, followed by The Behavior of Mrs. Crane in 1928. She continued with Peter Flies High in 1931, Absent Father in 1932, Lost Horizons in 1934, and If This Be Treason in 1935. The late 1930s brought Fulton of Oak Falls and One Thing After Another, both in 1937, and The Happiest Days in 1939. Her Broadway work in the 1940s included Little Dark Horse (1941), the comedy The Flowers of Virtue (1942), the drama Tomorrow the World (1943), the comedy Wallflower (1944), Good Night, Ladies (1945), and This, Too, Shall Pass (1946).

Givney also pursued an extensive film career, appearing in productions including Follow Thru, My Friend Irma, A Place in the Sun, Guys and Dolls, Three Coins in the Fountain, Daddy Long Legs, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and That Touch of Mink, among many others. On television, she appeared in a 1962 episode of Hazel and in three episodes of Perry Mason between 1957 and 1966, playing the characters Amelia Haskins, Matilda Bendon, and Wilma Gregson.

Givney was married twice. Her first marriage, to J. George Stutzman in 1919, ended in divorce. She later married Francis Connolly, who died in 1960. Givney died on March 16, 1978, at her home in Hollywood at the age of 81 and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.