Book Review - Mary Wickes: I Know I've Seen That Face Before

 
I think I might write a monthly book review...just picking one...some months, like this one, I read or listen to quite a bit of books (well quite a bit for me). Other months, I may not even read or listen to a book.  

This month, I finished FOUR

1)  The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

2) Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tommorrow

3) Mary Wickes" I Know I've Seen That Face Before

4) Daisy Jones & The Six

I am selecting "Mary Wickes: I Know I've Seen That Face Before" by Steve Taravella.  The reason I am picking this book is because I bought this book over 5 years ago...gosh I can't believe it was that long ago....I bought it second hand.  I have always liked Mary Wickes and enjoyed her in every thing I've seen her in so I wanted to read more about her.

Who is Mary Wickes, you might say?  Well, she really IS the face you've seen before. She never had a leading role but she had hundreds of supporting roles.  Most of the time, she was cast as a house-keeper, a nurse or a nun.

You may know her from the 1950s as the house-keeper/inn-keeper in "White Christmas"

Or perhaps you recognize her from the 1960s as she appeared in various roles over several episodes

My friends from the 1970s will definitely know her from "Sigmund & The Sea Monsters", where she appeared as "Aunt Zelda"

In the 1980s, we all know her as Maggie in the "The Father Dowling Mysteries"

In the 1990s, one of her more recognized roles was in "Sister Act" as Sister Mary Lazarus, the previous choir director.

After reading the book, which was incredibly researched, I found that I liked her even more.  I won't go into her whole life story, but she was a single child raised by conservative, high-moral parents.  She was very close to them.  

Her strong morals followed her throughout her life and I so admired her for this.  Her contracts usually included the right to change the dialogue with words or subject matter she found inappropriate.  Sometimes, she even had a say so over the whole script, not just her role.  

She lived a frugal life.  While she made very good money for her roles, she never took anything for granted.  She lived a modest and frugal life and lived in her apartment (which she purchased when they were converted to condos).  She just didn't see a need to waste money.  

She was EXTREMELY close friends with Lucille Ball...best of friends!  Mary was an only child and Lucy didn't have any biological sisters and it seems these two had a real sisterhood.  They were so close that Lucy Arnez delivered Mary's eulogy when she passed since Mary was just a part of the family.

 Some might have seen Mary as a prude as she grew older but she wasn't.  She was set in her ways, and lived a good, righteous life.  She didn't have a large circle of friends but she was very, very loyal to those the friends she had and maintained long lasting friendships.  

Mary, in my opinion, never really got the full recognition she deserved from Hollywood.  She was often overlooked for awards and such because she didn't have major roles.  Even after she passed, the Academy Awards didn't reference her in their annual memorial segment...I mean, come on!  But...to their credit, Mary was kind of private and only let those close to her know what was going on in her life, so perhaps the Academy didn't even know she had passed.

So...if you are watching an old movie like "The Trouble with Angels" or "Sister Act" or an old TV Show like "Bewitched", "The Beverly Hillbillies" or "The Danny Thomas Show" - you'll be sure to spot Mary - take a minute and thank her for her contribution to entertainment.