Kathryn Givney

Broadway actress Kathryn Givney first came to Hollywood in 1930 to repeat her stage role as "golf widow" Mrs. Bascomb in the film version of the hit musical Follow Through. She then returned to the stage, reemerging before the cameras as a character actress in 1948. Usually cast as imperious dowagers, she is best remembered for such characterizations as the haughty Mrs. Rhinelander in My Friend Irma and Salvation Army general Matilda B. Cartwright in Guys and Dolls. Kathryn Givney was also a familiar presence on television; one of her best TV assignments was as a reclusive old woman who "kidnaps" housewife Donna Stone on a mid-'60s installment of The Donna Reed Show.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide