Editing Frances Bavier

{{Short description|American actress (1902–1989)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name                  = Frances Bavier
| image                 = Frances Bavier 1964.JPG
| caption               = Bavier, 1964
| birthname             = Frances Elizabeth Bavier
| birth_date            = {{Birth date|1902|12|14}}
| birth_place           = [[New York City|New York City, New York]], U.S.
| death_date            = {{Death date and age|1989|12|6|1902|12|14}}
| death_place           = [[Siler City, North Carolina]], U.S.
| resting_place         = Oakwood Cemetery, [[Siler City, North Carolina]], U.S.
| alma_mater            = [[Columbia University]]<br />[[American Academy of Dramatic Arts]]
| occupation            = Actress
| known for             = ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]''<br/>''[[Mayberry R.F.D.]]''<br/>''[[It's a Great Life (TV series)|It's a Great Life]]''
| yearsactive           = 1927–1974
}}

'''Frances Elizabeth Bavier''' (December 14, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American stage and television actress. Originally from New York theatre, she worked in film and television from the 1950s until the 1970s. She is best known for her role as [[Aunt Bee]] on ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' and ''[[Mayberry R.F.D.]]'' from 1960 to 1970. Aunt Bee logged more Mayberry years (ten) than any other character. She won an [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series|Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Comedy Actress]] for the role in 1967. Bavier was also known for playing Amy Morgan on ''[[It's a Great Life (TV series)|It's a Great Life]]'' (1954–1956).

==Early life and career==
Bavier was born in New York City in a [[brownstone]] on [[Gramercy Park]]<ref>{{cite journal|title=Childhood Jealousy Leads Frances Bavier to Stage|journal=The Ogden Standard-Examiner|date=June 26, 1936|page=13}}</ref> to Charles S. Bavier, a [[stationary engineer]], and Mary S. (née Birmingham) Bavier.  She originally planned to become a teacher after attending [[Columbia University]]. She first appeared in [[vaudeville]], later moving to the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] stage.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/08/obituaries/frances-bavier-dead-tv-performer-was-86.html|title=Frances Bavier Dead; TV Performer Was 86|date=1989-12-08|work=The New York Times|access-date=2009-05-14}}</ref>

After graduating from the [[American Academy of Dramatic Arts]] in 1925, she was cast in the stage comedy ''The Poor Nut''.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://fans-pages.com/aunt-bee-sex-symbol-and-diva|title=Aunt Bee: Sex Symbol and Diva?|last1=Carp|first1=Randy|work=Fans Pages|access-date=March 13, 2013}}</ref> Bavier's big break came in the original Broadway production of ''[[On Borrowed Time]]''. She later appeared with [[Henry Fonda]] in the play ''[[Point of No Return (play)|Point of No Return]]''.<ref name="auto"/>

Bavier had roles in more than a dozen films, and played a range of supporting roles on television. Career highlights include her turn as Mrs. Barley in the classic 1951 film ''[[The Day the Earth Stood Still]]''. In 1955, she played the rough and tough "Aunt Maggie" Sawtelle, a frontier [[Ma Barker|Ma Barker-type]] character, in the ''[[The Lone Ranger (TV series)|Lone Ranger]]'' episode "Sawtelle's Saga End". In 1957, she played Nora Martin, mother of [[Eve Arden]]'s character on ''[[The Eve Arden Show]]'', despite the fact that Arden was less than six years younger than Bavier. That same year, Bavier guest-starred in the eighth episode of ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' as Louise Marlow in "The Case of the Crimson Kiss".

She was in an episode of ''[[The Danny Thomas Show]]'', which featured [[Andy Griffith]] as Andy Taylor and [[Ron Howard]] as Opie Taylor. She played a character named Henrietta Perkins. The episode led to ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'', and Bavier was cast in the role of Aunt Bee. Bavier had a [[love-hate relationship]] with her famous role during the run of the show. As a New York City actress, she felt her dramatic talents were being overlooked, yet after playing Bee for eight seasons, she was the only original cast member to remain with the series in the [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]], ''[[Mayberry R.F.D.]]'', for two additional seasons.<ref name="kelly">{{cite book|last=Kelly|first=Richard Michael|title=The Andy Griffith Show|year=1985|pages=13–14|publisher=J.F. Blair |isbn=0-89587-043-6}}</ref>

Bavier was easily offended on the set of ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' and the production staff took a cautious approach when communicating with her. Series star Andy Griffith once admitted the two sometimes clashed during the series’ run.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/12/07/Frances-Aunt-Bea-Bavier-dead-at-86/6743629010000/ |title=Frances 'Aunt Bee' Bavier dead at 86|work=[[United Press International]]|date=December 7, 1989|access-date=5 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://statelineobserver.com/stories/columns/37-nowhere-road/6915-2014-05-29-aunt-bea-s-studebaker-and-other-fine-vehicles|title=Aunt Bee's Studebaker and other fine vehicles|work=State Line Observer|last=Foley|first=Rich|date=October 23, 2014|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-date=December 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211120656/https://statelineobserver.com/stories/columns/37-nowhere-road/6915-2014-05-29-aunt-bea-s-studebaker-and-other-fine-vehicles|url-status=dead}}</ref> On an appearance on ''Larry King Live'' (November 27, 2003), Griffith said Bavier phoned him four months before she died and apologized for being "difficult" during the series’ run. Bavier confessed in an interview with Bill Ballard for Carolina Camera that "it is very difficult for an actress ... to create a role and to be so identified that you as a person no longer exist and all the recognition you get is for a part that is created on the screen."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyhkr9nI88k Carolina Camera: Aunt Bee Retires. Ballard, Bill. www.youtube.com]</ref>

Bavier won the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy]] in 1967.

==Later years==
In 1972, Bavier retired from acting and bought a home in [[Siler City, North Carolina]].<ref name="kelly"/> On choosing to live in North Carolina instead of her native New York, Bavier said, "I fell in love with North Carolina, all the pretty roads and the trees." Bavier was said to have married Russell Carpenter briefly in her early career, but there is no proof of this having actually occurred. According to a 1981 article by Chip Womick, a staff writer of ''The Courier Tribune'', Bavier enthusiastically promoted [[Christmas]] and [[Easterseals (U.S.)|Easter Seal Societies]] from her Siler City home, and often wrote inspirational letters to fans who sought autographs.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Additionally she left a $100,000 trust fund for the police force in Siler City, North Carolina whose interest is divided among the approximately 20 employees as a bonus every December.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.courier-tribune.com/news/20190112/did-aunt-bee-leave-100k-for-siler-city-police-here8217s-answer|title=Did Aunt Bee leave $100K for the Siler City police? Here's the answer|access-date=October 18, 2021|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020024200/https://www.courier-tribune.com/news/20190112/did-aunt-bee-leave-100k-for-siler-city-police-here8217s-answer|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Gravestone on actress Francis E. Bavier image 1.jpg|thumb|Bavier's gravestone in 2017]]
Bavier was described "as living a sparse life in her later years, a very quiet life".<ref>{{cite news|title='Andy Griffith' Aunt Bee Recluse in Final Years|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-17-ca-368-story.html|access-date=August 13, 2016|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 17, 1990}}</ref> On November 22, 1989, she was admitted to Chatham Hospital, where she was kept in the coronary care unit for two weeks. She was discharged on December 4, 1989. Bavier died at 7 p.m. on December 6, 1989, two days after being released from the hospital and eight days before her 87th birthday.<ref name=":0" /> The immediate causes of death were listed as [[Heart failure|congestive heart failure]], [[myocardial infarction]], [[coronary artery disease]], and [[atherosclerosis]], with supporting factors being [[breast cancer]], [[arthritis]], and [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]] (COPD).<ref>{{cite news|title=The cast of 'Griffith Show' mourns Frances Bavier|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1989/12/08/page/125/article/cast-of-griffith-show-mourns-frances-bavier|access-date=August 13, 2016|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=December 8, 1989}}</ref><ref>[http://www.autopsyfiles.org/reports/deathcert/bavier,%20frances_dc.pdf Frances Bavier death certificate], autopsyfiles.org; accessed September 28, 2016.</ref> Bavier is interred at Oakwood Cemetery in [[Siler City, North Carolina|Siler City]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hoffman|first=James L.|author2=Grizzle, Ralph|title=Day Trips From Raleigh-Durham|publisher=Globe Pequot|year=2007|pages=184–86|isbn=978-0-7627-4543-2}}</ref> Her headstone includes the name of her most famous role, "Aunt Bee", and reads, "To live in the hearts of those left behind is not to die."<ref name="auto"/>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title:
! Role: 
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1931
| ''[[Girls About Town (film)|Girls About Town]]''
| Joy
| Uncredited
|-
| 1943
| ''[[O, My Darling Clementine]]''
| Mrs. Asbury
|
|-
| 1951
| ''[[The Day the Earth Stood Still]]''
| Mrs. Barley
|
|-
| 1951
| ''{{sortname|The|Stooge}}''
| Mrs. Rogers 
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[The Lady Says No]]''
| Aunt Alice Hatch 
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Bend of the River]]''
| Mrs. Prentiss 
| Alternative title: ''Where the River Bends''
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Sally and Saint Anne]]''
| Mrs. Kitty "Mom" O'Moyne 
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[My Wife's Best Friend]]''
| Mrs. Chamberlain
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Horizons West]]''
| Martha Hammond 
|
|-
| 1953
| ''[[Man in the Attic]]''
| Helen Harley
|
|-
| 1956
| ''{{sortname|The|Bad Seed|The Bad Seed (1956 film)}}''
| Woman in dinner party scene 
| Uncredited
|-
| 1958
| ''[[A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed]]''
| Mrs. Solitaire 
| Alternative title: ''How to Rob a Bank''
|-
| 1959
| ''[[It Started with a Kiss (film)|It Started with a Kiss]]''
| Mrs. Tappe
|
|-
| 1974
| ''[[Benji (1974 film)|Benji]]''
| Lady with cat
| (final film role)
|}

==Television credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Racket Squad]]''
| Martha Carver
| 1 episode
|-
| 1952–<br />1953
| ''[[Gruen Guild Playhouse]]''
| Sarah Cummings
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1953
| ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]''
| Lou Bloor
| 1 episode
|-
| 1953–<br />1954
| ''[[City Detective (TV series)|City Detective]]''
| Various roles
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1953–<br />1954
| ''[[Letter to Loretta]]''
| Various roles
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1953–<br />1955
| ''[[Dragnet (franchise)|Dragnet]]''
| Hazel Howard
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1954
| ''{{sortname|The|Pepsi-Cola Playhouse}}''
| Thelma
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1954–<br />1955
| ''Waterfront''
| Martha<br />Amy
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1954–<br />1956
| ''[[It's a Great Life (TV series)|It's a Great Life]]'' 
| Mrs. Amy Morgan
| 62 episodes
|-
| 1955
| ''{{sortname|The| Lone Ranger|Lone Ranger#Television|sort=Lone Ranger}}''
| Aunt Maggie Sawtelle
| Season 4 Episode 29:  "Sawtelle Saga's End"
|-
| 1955
| ''[[Soldiers of Fortune (TV series)|Soldiers of Fortune]]''
| Amelia Lilly
| 1 episode
|-
| 1955
| ''Damon Runyon Theater''
|
| 1 episode
|-
| 1955
| ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]''
| Mrs. Fergusen
| Season 1 Episode 1: ''[[List of Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes|Revenge]]''
|-
| 1956
| ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]''
|
| 1 episode
|-
| 1956
| ''[[Cavalcade of America]]''
| Mrs. Hayes
| 1 episode
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Fireside Theatre|Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre]]''
|
| 1 episode
|-
| 1957
| ''[[General Electric Theater]]''
| Miss Trimingham
| 1 episode
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]''
| Louise Marlow
| 1 episode
|-
| 1957–<br />1958
| ''{{sortname|The|Eve Arden Show}}''
| Mrs. Nora Martin
| 5 episodes
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Colgate Theatre (1958 TV series)|Colgate Theatre]]''
|
| Season 1 Episode 8:  "If You Knew Tomorrow"
|-
| 1959
| ''{{sortname|The|Ann Sothern Show}}''
| Mrs. Wallace
| 1 episode
|-
| 1959
| ''{{sortname|The|Thin Man|nolink=1}}''
|
| 1 episode
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Sugarfoot]]''
| Aunt Nancy Thomas
| 1 episode
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Wagon Train]]''
| Sister Joseph
| 1 episode - "The Sister Rita Story"
|-
| 1959
| ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]''
| Grandma Fenwick
| 1 episode
|-
| 1960
| ''{{sortname|The|Danny Thomas Show}}''
| Henrietta Perkins
| 1 episode
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]''
| Ellen Ferguson
| 1 episode
|-
| 1960–<br />1968
| ''{{sortname|The|Andy Griffith Show}}''
| Aunt Beatrice "Bee" Taylor
| 175 episodes<br />[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series]] (1967)
|-
| 1967
| ''[[Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.]]''
| Aunt Bee Taylor
| 1 episode
|-
| 1968–<br />1970
| ''[[Mayberry R.F.D.]]''
| Aunt Bee Taylor
| 24 episodes
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*{{IMDb name}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{Playbill person}}
*{{TCMDb name}}
*[http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/b/Bavier,Frances.html Frances Bavier Papers, 1930s-1990]

{{EmmyAward ComedySupportingActress}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bavier, Frances}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:Actresses from Manhattan]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:People from Siler City, North Carolina]]
[[Category:American vaudeville performers]]
[[Category:People from Gramercy Park]]
[[Category:Deaths from coronary artery disease]]
[[Category:Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United States]]