Nydia Westman

Nydia Westman
File:Nydia Westman.jpg
Born	(1902-02-19)February 19, 1902 New York City, U.S.
Died	May 23, 1970(1970-05-23) (aged 68) Burbank, California, U.S.
Resting place	Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth, California
Years active	1932–1970
Spouse	Robert Sparks (1930–1937) (divorced) 1 child
Children	Kate Williamson

Nydia Eileen Westman (February 19, 1902 – May 23, 1970) was an American actress and singer of stage, screen and television.

Early years

Westman's parents, Theodore and Lily (Wren) Westman were active in vaudeville in her native New York City. In addition to their working together on stage, her mother was a writer and her father was a composer. She attended the Professional Children's School.

Her sisters, Lolita and Neville were actresses, and her brother, Theodore (d. November 20, 1927), was an actor and playwright.

Career

Westman's career ranged from episodic appearances on TV series such as That Girl and Dragnet and uncredited bit roles in movies to appearances in groundbreaking films (such as Craig's Wife, which starred Rosalind Russell, and the first film version of Little Women.

Westman's screen debut came in Strange Justice (1922). She appeared in 31 films in the 1930s.

She appeared as the housekeeper Mrs. Featherstone in the 1962–1963 ABC series, Going My Way, which starred Gene Kelly and Leo G. Carroll as Roman Catholic priests in New York City.

Westman's first Broadway play was Pigs (1924); her last was Midgie Purvis (1961).

She broke ground on stage, debuting the role of Nell off-Broadway in Samuel Beckett's Endgame, for which she won one of the first Obie awards.

Personal life

Westman was married to Robert Sparks, a producer, from 1930 until 1937; they had a daughter, actress Kate Williamson, born on September 19, 1931.

Westman died of cancer at the age of sixty-eight in Burbank, California.

Filmography

• Rabbit, Run (1970)
• Silent Night, Lonely Night (1969)
• The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968)
• The Reluctant Astronaut (1967)
• The Swinger (1966)
• The Chase (1966)
• The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)
• For Love or Money (1963)
• Don't Knock the Twist (1962)
• The Velvet Touch (1948)
• The Late George Apley (1947)
• Her Primitive Man (1944)
• Princess O'Rourke (1943)
• Hers to Hold (1943)
• They All Kissed the Bride (1942)
• The Remarkable Andrew (1942)
• The Chocolate Soldier (1941)
• The Bad Man (1941)
• Hullabaloo (1940)
• Forty Little Mothers (1940)
• The Cat and the Canary (1939)
• When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
• Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1938)
• The First Hundred Years (1938)
• The Goldwyn Follies (1938)
• Bulldog Drummond's Revenge (1937)
• Bulldog Drummond Comes Back (1937)
• When Love Is Young (1937)
• Pennies from Heaven (1936)
• Rose Bowl (1936)
• Craig's Wife (1936)
• The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
• The Invisible Ray (1936)
• Three Live Ghosts (1936)
• A Feather in Her Hat (1935)
• Dressed to Thrill (1935)
• Sweet Adeline (1934)
• One Night of Love (1934)
• Ladies Should Listen (1934)
• Success at Any Price (1934)
• Manhattan Love Song (1934)
• The Trumpet Blows (1934)
• Two Alone (1934)
• Cradle Song (1933)
• Little Women (1933) as Mamie
• The Way to Love (1933)
• Bondage (1933)
• King of the Jungle (1933)
• From Hell to Heaven (1933)
• Should Crooners Marry (1933)
• Manhattan Tower (1932)
• Strange Justice (1932)

Television work

• Play of the Week (1 episode, 1960) as Armande Mangebois
• Going My Way (30 episode, 1962-1963)
• Route 66 (1 episode, 1963) as Mrs. LeMay
• The Addams Family (1 episode, 1964) as Miss Morrison
• The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1 episode, 1964) as Aunt Ida Maye
• Perry Mason (1 episode, 1964) as Ivy Stanton
• Bonanza (1 episode, 1964) as Martha Washburn
• Ben Casey (1 episode, 1964) as Mrs. Simmons
• The Donna Reed Show (1 episode, 1965) as Mrs. Robbins
• The Munsters (1 episode, 1965) as Elderly Woman
• F Troop (1 episode, 1965) as Mama Dobbs
• My Favorite Martian (1 episode, 1965) as Matilda
• Please Don't Eat The Daisies (2 episode, 1965-1966) as Aunt Alice / Emma
• That Girl (episode "Rain, Snow, Ice" 1967) as Lady
• Family Affair (1 episode, 1967) as Mrs. Elkins
• Premiere (1 episode, 1968) as Woman
• Lancer (1 episode, 1969) as Bridget McGloin
• Adam-12 (1 episode, 1969) as Alice Hoyt
• Dragnet 1967 (6 episodes, 1967–1970) as Martha Anderson / Myrtle Perriwinkle / Mrs. Morrison / Phoebe Kensington / Jennifer Salt / Mrs. Mary Burnside
• Bewitched (1 episode, 1970) as Mrs. Quigley
• The Murdocks and the McClays (1970, TV Movie) as Grandma Murdock

• The United States Steel Hour (1 episode, 1957)
• Kaiser Aluminum Hour (1 episode, 1957)
• Producers' Showcase (1 episode, 1956)
• Ford Television Theatre (1 episode, 1955)
• Studio One (1 episode, 1955)
• Kraft Television Theatre (5 episodes, 1954–1955)
• Philip Morris Playhouse (1 episode, 1954)
• Broadway Television Theatre (1 episode, 1953)
• Robert Montgomery Presents (1 episode, 1952)
• Young Mr. Bobbin (1951) TV Series
• Philco Television Playhouse (2 episodes, 1949–1951)
• The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1 episode, 1950)
• Actors Studio (1 episode, 1948)
• Mary Kay and Johnny (unknown episodes, 1947–1950)

External links

• Nydia Westman at IMDb
• Nydia Westman at the Internet Broadway Database
• filmsandtv.com bio
• Nydia Westman at AllMovie
• Nydia Westman at Find a Grave