Actress. Born Mary Josephine Sherwood in Newtonville, Massachusetts, she attended the New England Conservatory of Music followed by Radcliffe College, where she majored in drama. She joined a Boston stock theatre company where she met and married fellow actor, Shelley Hull, in 1910. Widowed after less than ten years, she returned to the theatre under her late husband's name, making a splash on Broadway in George Kelly's Pulitzer-winning ‘Craig's Wife' in 1926. She was also noted for her performance in "You Can't Take It With You" in 1936, and perhaps was most memorable in the roles she originated in ‘Arsenic and Old Lace' in which she portrayed the sweet faced serial killer, Aunt Abby, from January 1941 to June 1944; and as the long suffering Veta Simmons in ‘Harvey,' which ran from November 1944 to January 1949. She reprised both roles for the film versions of the plays which were released in 1944 and 1950 respectively. She earned both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in ‘Harvey.' Hull made only one more film, ‘The Lady from Texas,' in 1951, before returning to the stage for a final performance, starring in ‘The Solid Gold Cadillac' which ran from November 1953 to February 1955. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6500 Hollywood Blvd.
Actress. Born Mary Josephine Sherwood in Newtonville, Massachusetts, she attended the New England Conservatory of Music followed by Radcliffe College, where she majored in drama. She joined a Boston stock theatre company where she met and married fellow actor, Shelley Hull, in 1910. Widowed after less than ten years, she returned to the theatre under her late husband's name, making a splash on Broadway in George Kelly's Pulitzer-winning ‘Craig's Wife' in 1926. She was also noted for her performance in "You Can't Take It With You" in 1936, and perhaps was most memorable in the roles she originated in ‘Arsenic and Old Lace' in which she portrayed the sweet faced serial killer, Aunt Abby, from January 1941 to June 1944; and as the long suffering Veta Simmons in ‘Harvey,' which ran from November 1944 to January 1949. She reprised both roles for the film versions of the plays which were released in 1944 and 1950 respectively. She earned both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in ‘Harvey.' Hull made only one more film, ‘The Lady from Texas,' in 1951, before returning to the stage for a final performance, starring in ‘The Solid Gold Cadillac' which ran from November 1953 to February 1955. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6500 Hollywood Blvd.
Bio by: Iola
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