Editing May Robson (section)

==Career==
[[File:May Robson.tif|thumb|May Robson in 1907]]
[[File:Lady-for-a-Day-William-Robson.jpg|thumb|[[Warren William]] and May Robson in ''[[Lady for a Day]]'' (1933)]]
[[File:May Robson in A Star is Born.jpg|thumb|May Robson in ''[[A Star Is Born (1937 film)|A Star is Born]]'' (1937)]]
[[File:May Robson in Four Daughters trailer.jpg|thumb|May Robson in ''[[Four Daughters (1938 film)|Four Daughters]]'' (1938)]]
On 17 September 1883, Robison became an actress in ''Hoop of Gold'' at the [[Brooklyn]] Grand Opera House stage.<ref name=Nissen184-5 /><ref>{{cite book|author=George Clinton Densmore Odell|title=Annals of the New York Stage|year=1940|publisher=Columbia University Press|page=364}}</ref> Her name was misspelled "Robson" in the billing, and she used it from that point forward "for good luck".<ref name=Nissen184-5>{{cite book|title=Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties|author=Nissen, Axel|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|pages=184–185|isbn=978-0-7864-2746-8|year=2007}}</ref> Over the next several decades, she flourished on the stage as a comedian and character actress. Her success was due partly to her affiliation with powerful manager and producer [[Charles Frohman]] and the [[Theatrical Syndicate]]. She established her own touring theatrical company in 1911.<ref name=Jones/>

Robson's initial appearances in film date back as early as 1903 or 1904 with uncredited roles in Edison short film productions. She appeared as herself in a cameo in the 1915 silent film ''[[How Molly Made Good]]'';<ref>{{cite book|editor=Grey Smith and James L. Halperin |title=Heritage Vintage Movie Posters Signature Auction #603|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRneNDY2oeIC&pg=PA3|publisher=Heritage Capital Corporation|isbn=978-1-932899-15-3|page=3}}</ref> which was probably her first feature film and starred in the 1916 silent film ''A Night Out'', an adaptation of the play she co-wrote, ''The Three Lights''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/498973/a-night-out|title=Screenplay Info for A Night Out (1916)|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|access-date=June 1, 2008}}</ref> She picked up another film role in 1916 appearing in the [[Marguerite Clark]] version of ''[[Snow White (1916 film)|Snow White]]'' and in 1919 made a guest appearance in the [[Jack Pickford]] ''[[In Wrong]]''. Respected and firmly established in the theatre Robson's fame and recognition allowed her to appear in films uncredited. As so many silent films are missing or lost, she may have appeared in many more.

In 1927, she went to Hollywood, where she began a successful film career as a senior woman often in comedic roles and nearly rivaling her long time friend [[Marie Dressler]].<ref name=Nissen3>{{cite book|title=Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties|author=Nissen, Axel|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|page=3|isbn=978-0-7864-2746-8|year=2007}}</ref> Among her starring roles was in ''The She-Wolf'' (1931) as a miserly millionaire businesswoman, based on real-life miser [[Hetty Green]].<ref name=Palmer>{{cite book|title=A Who's Who of Australian and New Zealand Film Actors: The Sound Era|author=Palmer, Scott|year=1988|page=[https://archive.org/details/whoswhoofaustral0000palm/page/142 142]|publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-2090-0|url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoofaustral0000palm/page/142}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=The New York Times|title=The She-Wolf (1931)| author=Hall, Mordaunt|date=May 28, 1931|access-date=August 3, 2012|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9807E4DA153AEE3ABC4051DFB366838A629EDE }}</ref>

She also starred in the final segment of the anthology film ''[[If I Had a Million]]'' (1932) as a rest-home resident who gets a new lease on life when she receives a $1,000,000 check from a dying business tycoon.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The New York Times|title=If I Had a Million (1932)|author=Hall, Mordaunt|date=December 3, 1932|access-date=August 3, 2012|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9901E1DE1F31E333A25750C0A9649D946394D6CF }}</ref>  She played the Queen of Hearts in ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1933 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1933), Countess Vronsky in ''[[Anna Karenina (1935 film)|Anna Karenina]]'' (1935), Aunt Elizabeth in ''[[Bringing Up Baby]]'' (1938), Aunt Polly in ''[[The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938 film)|The Adventures of Tom Sawyer]]'' (1938), and a sharp-tongued Granny in ''[[A Star Is Born (1937 film)|A Star Is Born]]'' (1937). She was top-billed as late as 1940, starring in ''[[Granny Get Your Gun]]'' at 82. Her last film was 1942's ''[[Joan of Paris]]''.<ref name=Palmer/><ref>{{cite book|title=American Classic Screen Features|editor=John C. Tibbetts, James M. Welsh|publisher = Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, Maryland|year=2010|page=253|isbn=978-0-81087678-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties|author=Nissen, Axel|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|pages=3, 187–8|isbn=978-0-7864-2746-8|year=2007}}</ref>