Editing May Robson

{{short description|Australian-American actress (1858–1942)}}
{{for|the American stage actress|May Waldron}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = May Robson
| image              = May Robson in Broadway to Hollywood trailer (2).png
| caption            = [[Trailer (promotion)|Trailer]] for ''[[Broadway to Hollywood (film)|Broadway to Hollywood]]'' (1933)
| birth_name         = Mary Jeanette Robison
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1858|04|19|df=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Moama]], [[New South Wales]], Australia
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1942|10|20|1858|04|19|df=yes}}
| death_place        = [[Beverly Hills]], [[California]], U.S.
| resting_place      = [[Flushing Cemetery]], [[Queens]], New York City
| occupation         = Actress
| years_active       = 1883–1942
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Charles L. Gore|1875|1883|reason=d.}}
* {{marriage|Augustus H. Brown|1889|1920|reason=d.}}
}}
| children           = 3
}}

'''Mary Jeanette Robison''' (19 April 1858 – 20 October 1942), known professionally as '''May Robson''', was an Australian-born America-based actress whose career spanned 58 years, starting in 1883 when she was 25. A major stage actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, she is remembered for the dozens of films she appeared in during the 1930s, when she was in her 70s.

Robson was the earliest-born person, and the first Australian to be nominated for an [[Academy Award]] (for her leading role in ''[[Lady for a Day]]'' in 1933).<ref name=Nissen184>{{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=184|isbn=978-0-7864-2746-8|year=2007}}</ref><ref name="Academy Award nom">{{cite news | url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/02/20/1234633067981.html | title=O stands for Oscar and also for Oz | author=Phillipa Hawker | date=February 21, 2009 | website=The Age | access-date=13 November 2016 }}</ref>

==Early life==
[[File:May Robson - DPLA - 4c35bb41416f5a1f7a58cab5c55bb0fb (page 1).jpg|thumb|May Robson carte de visite]]
Mary Jeanette Robison was born 19 April 1858 at [[Moama]],{{efn|The obituary for Robson in the ''Berkshire Evening Eagle'' and ''Billboard Magazine'',<ref name=Berkshire /><ref name="Inc.1942" /> as well as the summary of her life at the Library of Congress, stated that she was born in [[Melbourne, Victoria]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://rs5.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2013/ms013070.pdf |title=May Robson Papers: A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress|website=Library of Congress| access-date=11 November 2016 }}</ref> but the family was living in [[Moama]], New South Wales at the time of her birth.<ref name=Bendigo /><ref name="Henry's obit" />}} in the [[Colony of New South Wales]],<ref name="Town like Moama" />{{efn|At the time, [[New South Wales]] (NSW) was a [[self-governing colony]] of Britain; Australia did not officially exist until the [[Federation of Australia|federation]] of six separate British colonies, in 1901.}} in what she described as "the Australian bush".<ref name=Theatre>{{cite journal|last1=Robson|first1=May|title=My Beginnings|journal=The Theatre|date=November 1907|volume=7|issue=81|pages=305–310|url=https://archive.org/details/theatremagazine07newyuoft|access-date=1 June 2015}}</ref> She was the fourth child of Julia, née Schlesinger (or Schelesinger) and Henry Robison;<ref name=Berkshire>{{cite journal|title=May Robson, Stage, Screen Star, Is Dead: Character Actress Began Long Career in 1883|journal=Berkshire Evening Eagle|location=Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts|date=October 20, 1942|page=1}}</ref><ref name=Nissen185/> her siblings were Williams, James and Adelaide.<ref name="Town like Moama">{{cite news | url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/a-town-like-moama/news-story/da525f3d5e74360f75b7c3cce4cd385a | title=A Town like Moama | website=The Daily Telegraph | date=15 January 2016 | author=Marea Donnelly, History Writer| access-date=12 November 2016 }}</ref>

Henry Robison was born in [[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith, Cumberland]], England<ref name="Master's certificate" /> and lived in [[Liverpool]].<ref name="Melbourne shop" /> He served 24 years in the foreign trade of the [[Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)|British Merchant Navy]] as a mate and a sea captain.<ref name=Theatre /><ref name="Master's certificate">{{citation | title=Henry Robison, Master's Certificate of Service, Number 52.653, Liverpool  | publisher=Registrar General of Seamen, London | date=21 February 1853 }}</ref> He retired at half-pay due to his poor health<ref name=Theatre /> and travelled with Julia Robison to [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]], Australia in 1853 on the [[SS Great Britain|SS ''Great Britain'']].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28644897 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |volume=XXXIV |issue=5128 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=27 October 1853 |access-date=28 October 2016 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> By April 1855, he was a watchmaker, jeweller, silversmith and ornamental hairworker in Melbourne.<ref name="Melbourne shop">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154898394 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[The Age]] |volume=I |issue=163 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=27 April 1855 |access-date=28 October 2016 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> According to Robson, her parents both suffered from ''[[phthisis pulmonalis]]'', and moved to "the bush" for their health.<ref name=Theatre />  Henry bought a large brick mansion in [[Moama]], [[New South Wales]] in August 1857 and opened the Prince of Wales Hotel. From there, he co-operated Robison & Stivens, coach proprietors for the [[Bendigo]]-Moama-[[Deniliquin]] service.<ref name=Bendigo>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87986545 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[Bendigo Advertiser]] |volume=VI |issue=1145 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=25 January 1859 |access-date=28 October 2016 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The hotel was Robson's first home.<ref name="Town like Moama" /> Henry died in Moama Maiden's Punt on 27 January 1860.<ref name="Henry's obit">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87941411 |title=Family Notices - Henry Robison |newspaper=[[Bendigo Advertiser]] |volume=VII |issue=1463 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=1 February 1860 |access-date=28 October 2016 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia |quote= On the 27th ult., in his 49th year, at his residence, Prince of Wales Hotel, Maiden's Punt, Murray River, New South Wales, Henry Robison (of the firm of Robison and Stivens), late of Bourke-street, Melbourne, deeply regretted by a large circle of friends, leaving a wife and four children to lament their loss."}}</ref>{{efn|Nissen states that Robson was seven when her father died,<ref name=Nissen185/> but her father died in 1860<ref name="Henry's obit" /> and she was born in 1858.<ref name=Nissen185 /> Robson says in her biography for ''Theatre Magazine'' that she was three months old when her father died.<ref name=Theatre />}}

On 19 November 1862, Julia married Walter Moore Miller, solicitor and [[mayor of Albury]], New South Wales, at [[St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6481376 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |issue=5,139 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=24 November 1862 |access-date=28 October 2016 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Julia, Walter and the four children moved to Melbourne in 1866.<ref name="Town like Moama" /> Miller was a partner with De Courcy Ireland in the firm of Miller & Ireland in Melbourne in November 1867, and until 20 January 1870, when it was mutually dissolved.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5811121 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |issue=7,377 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=31 January 1870 |access-date=28 October 2016 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In 1870, the family moved to London.<ref name="Town like Moama" />{{efn|Nissen says that the family moved to London when Robson was seven.<ref name=Nissen185 />}} Robson attended [[Society of the Sacred Heart|Sacred Heart Convent School]] at [[Highgate]] in north London<ref name=Nissen185 /><ref name=Theatre /> and studied languages in Brussels. She went to Paris for her examinations in French.<ref name=Theatre /> According to her obituary, she was also educated in Australia.<ref name=Berkshire/>

==Marriages and children==
Robson ran away from home to marry her first husband, 18 year-old Charles Leveson Gore, in London.<ref name=Theatre /><ref name=Nissen185/> They were married on 1 November 1875 at the parish church in [[Camden Town]], London.<ref name="Gore marriage">{{cite news | title=Marriages | newspaper=The Times | location=London, England | date=5 November 1875 | issue=28465 | page=1 }}</ref>{{efn|Although Robson said that she was 16 when she married,<ref name=Theatre /><ref name=Nissen185/> she was 17 years-of-age, based upon her date of birth, when she married Charles Gore.<ref name="Gore marriage" /> Her husband's name has been said to be Charles Leveson Gore,<ref name=Jones>{{cite book|author=Jones, Jan|title=Renegades, Showmen & Angels: A Theatrical History of Fort Worth, 1873-2001|publisher=Texas A & M University Press|pages=37–38|isbn=0-87565-318-9|year=2006}}</ref> Charles Livingston Gore,<ref name=Nissen185/> Edward H. Gore,<ref name=James/><ref>{{cite book|author1=Alison McKay|author2=Bayside Historical Society|title=Bayside|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q04jD4bfvakC&pg=PT132|date=August 4, 2008|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-1-4396-2027-4|page=132}}</ref> and E. H. Gore.<ref name="Inc.1942" /><ref>{{cite news | url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1942/10/21/page/20/article/may-robson-78-film-and-stage-actress-is-dead | title=May Robson, 78, film and stage actress is dead | newspaper=Chicago Tribune | date=21 October 1942 | access-date=12 November 2016 }}</ref>}} They traveled on the steamer [[SS Vaderland|SS ''Vaderland'']] and arrived in New York on 17 May 1877. They purchased 380 acres of land in [[Fort Worth, Texas]] where they built a house and established a cattle ranch. According to Jan Jones, "the Gores survived two years in their prairie manor house before homesickness, rural isolation, and repeated bouts of fever convinced them to sell and try their fortunes in the more settled East."<ref name=Jones /> They  moved to [[New York City]]<ref name=Nissen185 /> with little money and Robson said that Gore died shortly thereafter.<ref name=Nissen185 />{{efn| According to Jan Jones, when Gore wanted to return to England, Robson decided that she wanted to stay in New York and the couple divorced. Gore returned to London.<ref name=Theatre /><ref>{{cite book|author=Jan Jones|title=Renegades, Showmen & Angels: A Theatrical History of Fort Worth from 1873-2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=roHkr0fNxTwC&pg=PA38|year=2006|publisher=TCU Press|isbn=978-0-87565-318-1|page=38}}</ref> He died in the early 1880s.<ref name=Nissen185 />}}

Robson supported her children by crocheting hoods and embroidery, designing dinner cards, and teaching painting.<ref name=Nissen185>{{cite book|title=Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties|author=Nissen, Axel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IbpwDl1nt0MC&pg=PA185|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|page=185|isbn=978-0-7864-2746-8|year=2007}}</ref><ref name=Theatre /> By the time she began her acting career in 1883, two of her three children had died from illnesses,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Two Brilliant Women, They are Both Bright Ornaments of the Stage: Viola Allen and May Robson|journal=The Olean Democrat|location=Olean, New York|date=November 29, 1892|page=6}}</ref>{{efn|Robson says that the children both died of scarlet fever.<ref name=Theatre /> Axel Nissen states the causes of death as diphtheria and scarlet fever.<ref name="Nisson p. 189">{{cite book|author=Axel Nissen|title=Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IbpwDl1nt0MC&pg=PA189|year=2007|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-2746-8|page=189}}</ref> ''Who's Who on the stage'' states that the children's death came about as the result of poverty (i.e., not a specific cause of death, but an influencing factor).<ref>{{cite book|author1=Walter Browne|author2=Fredrick Arnold Austin|title=Who's who on the stage; the dramatic reference book and biographic al dictionary of the theatre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xIoXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA191|year=1906|publisher=W. Browne & F. A. Austin|page=191}}</ref>}} leaving only Edward Hyde Leveson Gore.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alison McKay|title=Bayside|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q04jD4bfvakC&pg=PA96|date=July 30, 2008|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-1-4396-2027-4|page=96}}</ref>{{efn|Her son, whose full name was Edward Hyde Leveson Gore, was born on December 2, 1876<ref>{{cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2XDG-BGT|title=England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837–1920|publisher=FamilySearch|access-date=July 4, 2014}}</ref> and died September 23, 1954<ref>{{cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VP75-3CF|title=California, Death Index, 1940–1997|publisher=FamilySearch|access-date=July 4, 2014}}</ref> Her son Edward and daughter-in-law were alive at the time of his mother's death.<ref name="James p. 185"/> They had a son, Robson Gore.<ref name="Inc.1942">{{cite magazine|title=May Robson|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FwwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT26|date=October 31, 1942|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=27|issn=0006-2510}}</ref>}}

Six years after beginning her stage career, Robson married Augustus Homer Brown, a police surgeon, on 29 May 1889. They were together until his death on 1 April 1920.<ref name=James>{{cite book|title=Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary, vol 2|author1=Edward T. James |author2=Janet Wilson James |author3=Paul S. Boyer |year=1971|publisher=Radcliffe College|page=185|isbn=0-674-62734-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=New York State journal of medicine, Volume 20|author=New York State Medical Association, Medical Society of the State of New York|year=1920|page=170|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrhYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA170}}</ref> Robson's son, Edward Gore, was her business manager.<ref name=Berkshire>{{cite journal|title=May Robson, Stage, Screen Star, Is Dead: Character Actress Began Long Career in 1883|journal=Berkshire Evening Eagle|location=Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts|date=October 20, 1942|page=1}}</ref>

==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>

==Academy Award nomination==
In 1933, at age 75, Robson was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] for ''[[Lady for a Day]]'', but lost to [[Katharine Hepburn]].<ref name="Nissen 3, 187"/><ref name="Edwards"/> Both actresses appeared in the Hepburn–[[Cary Grant|Grant]] classic ''[[Bringing Up Baby]]'' (1938).<ref>{{cite book|author=Leonard Maltin|title=Leonard Maltin's 2010 Movie Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WRGnKhowF4gC&pg=PT425|date=August 4, 2009|publisher=Penguin Group US|isbn=978-1-101-10876-5|page=425}}</ref>

Robson was the first Australian to be nominated for an acting Oscar, and, for many years, was also the [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees|oldest performer nominated]].<ref name="Nissen 3, 187">{{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|isbn=978-0-7864-2746-8|year=2007}}</ref><ref name="Edwards">{{cite book|title=Katharine Hepburn: A Remarkable Woman|author=Edwards, Anne|year=2000|orig-year=1985|page=456|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=0-312-20656-9}}</ref>

==Death==
Robson died in 1942 at her [[Beverly Hills, California]], home at age 84.<ref name="James p. 185">{{cite book|author1=Edward T. James|author2=Janet Wilson James|author3=Paul S. Boyer|title=Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary|url=https://archive.org/details/notableamericanw02jame_0|url-access=registration|date=January 1, 1971|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-62734-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/notableamericanw02jame_0/page/185 185]}}</ref> In its obituary, the ''Nevada State Journal'' said that she died of "a combination of ailments, aggravated by neuritis and advanced age."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Hollywood's Oldest Film Queen Dies; May Robson's Age is Revealed as 78|journal=Nevada State Journal|location=Reno, Nevada|date=October 21, 1942}}</ref>{{efn|She was critically ill for three weeks before her death and in ill health for months before.<ref name="Inc.1942"/> A biographical sketch of Robson in the ''Notable American Women, 1607–1950'' stated that she died of cancer.<ref name="James p. 185"/>}} Her remains were cremated<ref>{{cite journal|title=Robson Burial Services Set|journal=Reno Evening Gazette|location=Reno, Nevada|date=October 22, 1942|page=5}}</ref> and buried at the [[Flushing Cemetery]] in [[Queens]], [[New York (state)|New York]], next to those of her second husband, Augustus Brown.<ref name=James/><ref name="Nisson p. 189"/>

The ''New York Times'' called Robson the "dowager queen of the American screen and stage".<ref name=Nissen184/>

==Works==

===Stage===
The following is a partial list of her stage performances:<ref name=James/><ref>{{cite book|title=A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, Volume 3|url=https://archive.org/details/ldpd_6864656_003|author=Brown, Thomas Allston|publisher=Dodd, Mead & Company|location=New York|pages=42, 63, 180, 217, 263, 265, 267, 349, 352, 366, 425–6, 427, 429, 431, 439, 523, 533, 536, 538|year=1903}}</ref>
{{Div col}}
* ''[[Called Back (novel)|Called Back]]'' (1884)
* ''An Appeal to the Muse'' (1885)
* ''[[Robert Elsmere]]'' (1889)
* ''The Charity Ball'' (1890)
* ''Nerves'', adapted from ''[[Ernest Blum|Les Femmes Nerveuses]]'' (1891)
* ''[[Lady Florence Dixie#Politics and feminism|Gloriana]]'' (1892)
* ''Lady Bountiful'' (1892)
* ''Americans Abroad'' (1893)
* ''The Family Circle'' (1893)
* ''The Poet and the Puppets'' (1893)
* ''Squirrel Inn'' (1893)
* ''No. 3A'' (1894)
* ''As You Like It'' (1894)
* ''Liberty Hall'' (1894)
* ''The Fatal Card'' (1895)
* ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' (1895)
* ''A Woman's Reason'' (1895)
* ''The First Born'' (1897)
* ''His Excellency, The Governor'' (1900)
* ''Are You a Mason?'' (1901)
* ''[[The Billionaire (musical)|The Billionaire]]'' (1902)
* ''[[Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall]]'' (1904)
* ''Cousin Billy'' (1905–1907)
* ''The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary'' (1907)
* ''The Three Lights (A Night Out)'' (1911)
{{div col end}}

===Filmography===

====Silent====
{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! Year
! Film 
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1906 || ''The Terrible Kids'' || ||Short
|-
|1907 || ''Getting Evidence'' || ||Short
|-
|1915 || ''[[How Molly Made Good]]'' || Herself ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1916 || ''A Night Out'' || Granmum ||
|-
| ''[[Snow White (1916 film)|Snow White]]'' || Hex Witch ||Replaced originally scheduled Alice Washburn
|-
| 1919 ||''[[In Wrong]]'' ||Woman visiting store || Uncredited
|-
|1920 || ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920 Paramount film)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]'' || Prostitute outside of music hall ||Uncredited
|-
|1926 || ''[[Pals in Paradise]]'' || Esther Lezinsky ||
|-
|rowspan=7|1927 || ''[[Rubber Tires]]'' || Mrs. Stack ||
|-
| ''[[The King of Kings (1927 film)|The King of Kings]]'' || Mother of Gestas ||
|-
| ''[[The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary]]'' || Aunt Mary Watkins ||
|-
| ''[[The Angel of Broadway]]'' || Big Bertha ||
|-
| ''[[A Harp in Hock]]'' || Mrs. Banks ||
|-
| ''[[Turkish Delight (1927 film)|Turkish Delight]]'' || Tsakran ||
|-
| ''[[Chicago (1927 film)|Chicago]]'' || Mrs. Morton - Matron ||
|-
|1928 || ''[[The Blue Danube (1928 film)|The Blue Danube]]'' || ||
|}

====Sound====
{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! Year
! Film 
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1931 || ''[[The She-Wolf (1931 film)|The She-Wolf]]''|| Harriet Breen ||
|-
|rowspan=5|1932 || ''[[Letty Lynton]]'' || Mrs. Lynton, Letty's Mother ||
|-
| ''[[Red-Headed Woman]]'' || Aunt Jane ||
|-
| ''[[Strange Interlude (film)|Strange Interlude]]'' || Mrs. Evans ||
|-
| ''[[Little Orphan Annie (1932 film)|Little Orphan Annie]]'' || Mrs. Stewart ||
|-
| ''[[If I Had a Million]]'' ||Mrs. Mary Walker ||
|-
|rowspan=11|1933 || ''[[Men Must Fight]]'' || Maman Seward ||
|-
| ''[[The White Sister (1933 film)|The White Sister]]'' || Mother Superior ||
|-
| ''[[Reunion in Vienna]]'' ||Frau Lucher ||
|-
| ''[[Dinner at Eight (1933 film)|Dinner at Eight]]'' || Mrs. Wendel, the cook ||
|-
| ''[[One Man's Journey]]''|| Sarah ||
|-
| ''[[Broadway to Hollywood (film)|Broadway to Hollywood]]''|| Veteran Actress ||
|-
| ''[[Beauty for Sale]]'' || Mrs. Merrick ||
|-
| ''[[Lady for a Day]]'' || Apple Annie || Nominated - [[Academy Award for Best Actress]]
|-  
| ''[[The Solitaire Man]]'' || Mrs. Vail ||
|-
| ''[[Dancing Lady]]'' || Dolly Todhunter ||
|-
| ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1933 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' || Queen of Hearts ||
|-
|rowspan=4|1934 || ''[[You Can't Buy Everything]]''|| Mrs. Hannah Bell ||
|-
| ''[[Straight Is the Way]]'' || Mrs. Horowitz ||
|-
| ''[[Lady by Choice]]'' || Patricia Patterson ||
|-
| ''Mills of the Gods'' || Mary Hastings ||
|-
|rowspan=7|1935 || ''[[Grand Old Girl]]'' ||Laura Bayles ||
|-
| ''[[Vanessa: Her Love Story]]'' || Madame Judith Paris ||
|-
| ''[[Reckless (1935 film)|Reckless]]'' || Granny ||
|-
| ''[[Strangers All]]'' || Anna Carter ||
|-
| ''[[Age of Indiscretion]]'' || Emma Shaw ||
|-
| ''[[Anna Karenina (1935 film)|Anna Karenina]]''|| Countess Vronsky ||
|-
| ''[[Three Kids and a Queen]]'' || Mary Jane 'Queenie' Baxter ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1936 || ''[[Wife vs. Secretary]]''|| Mimi Stanhope ||
|-
| ''[[The Captain's Kid]]'' || Aunt Marcia Prentiss ||
|-
| ''[[Rainbow on the River]]'' || Mrs. Harriet Ainsworth ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1937 || ''[[Woman in Distress]]''||Phoebe Tuttle ||
|-
| ''[[A Star Is Born (1937 film)|A Star Is Born]]''|| Grandmother Lettie Blodgett ||
|-
| ''[[The Perfect Specimen]]'' || Mrs. Leona Wicks ||
|-
|rowspan=4|1938 || ''[[The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938 film)|The Adventures of Tom Sawyer]]'' ||Aunt Polly ||
|-
| ''[[Bringing Up Baby]]''||Aunt Elizabeth ||
|-
| ''[[Four Daughters (1938 film)|Four Daughters]]'' || Aunt Etta ||
|-
| ''[[The Texans]]'' || Granna ||
|-
|rowspan=7|1939 || ''[[They Made Me a Criminal]]'' || Grandma ||
|-
| ''[[Yes, My Darling Daughter (film)|Yes, My Darling Daughter]]'' ||'Granny' Whitman ||
|-
| ''[[The Kid from Kokomo]]'' ||Margaret 'Maggie' / 'Ma' Manell ||
|-
| ''[[Daughters Courageous]]'' || Penny, the Housekeeper ||
|-
| ''[[Nurse Edith Cavell]]'' ||Mme. Rappard ||
|-
| ''[[That's Right—You're Wrong]]'' || Grandma ||
|-
| ''[[Four Wives]]'' ||Aunt Etta ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1940 || ''[[Granny Get Your Gun]]''|| Minerva Hatton ||
|-
| ''[[Irene (1940 film)|Irene]]'' || Granny O'Dare ||
|-
| ''[[Texas Rangers Ride Again]]'' ||Cecilia Dangerfield ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1941 || ''[[Four Mothers]]'' || Aunt Etta ||
|-
| ''[[Million Dollar Baby (1941 film)|Million Dollar Baby]]'' || Cornelia Wheelwright ||
|-
| ''[[Playmates (1941 film)|Playmates]]''|| Grandma Kyser ||
|-
|1942 || ''[[Joan of Paris]]'' || Mlle. Rosay||Final film role
|}

== See also ==

{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[List of Australian Academy Award winners and nominees]]
* [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|author=Margherita Arlina Hamm|title=Eminent Actors in Their Homes: Personal Descriptions and Interviews|chapter=May Robson|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CwIOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA115|year=1909|publisher=J. Pott|pages=115–124}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0733480}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{Find a Grave|7259972}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robson, May}}
[[Category:1858 births]]
[[Category:1942 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian film actresses]]
[[Category:American silent film actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:Australian silent film actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian actresses]]
[[Category:Australian stage actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Melbourne]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate actresses in the United States]]
[[Category:Burials at Flushing Cemetery]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian actresses]]
[[Category:Colony of New South Wales people]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. contract players]]
[[Category:RKO Pictures contract players]]