
Frances Bavier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frances Elizabeth Bavier (December 14, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American stage and television actress. Originally from New York theatre, Bavier worked in film and television from the 1950s. She is best known for her role of Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. from 1960–70. Aunt Bee logged more Mayberry years (ten) than any other character. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Comedy Actress for the role in 1967.
Bavier had roles in more than a dozen films, as well as playing a range of supporting roles on television. Career highlights include her turn as Mrs. Barley in the classic 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still. In 1955, she played the rough and tough "Aunt Maggie" Sawtelle, a frontier Ma Barker-type character, in the Lone Ranger episode "Sawtelle's Saga End". In the episode, she fights with Tonto while the Lone Ranger battles with her nephew. At the conclusion, Tonto says that he would like to trade opponents next time. In 1957, she played Nora Martin, mother to Eve Arden's character on The Eve Arden Show, despite the fact that Arden was only 6 or 7 years younger than Bavier. That same year, Bavier guest-starred in the eighth episode of Perry Mason as Louise Marlow in "The Case of the Crimson Kiss".
She was in an episode of Make Room for Daddy, which featured Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor and Ron Howard as Opie Taylor. She played a character named Henrietta Perkins. The episode led to The Andy Griffith Show, and Bavier was cast in the new role of Aunt Bee. Bavier had a love-hate relationship with her famous role during the run of the show. As a New York City actress, she felt her dramatic talents were being overlooked, yet after playing Bee for eight seasons, she was the only original cast member to remain with the series in the spin-off, Mayberry R.F.D., for two additional seasons.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 0.069 |
Birthday | 1902-12-14 |
Place of Birth | Manhattan, New York, USA |
Also Known As | Frances Elizabeth Bavier, |

1951

The Day the Earth Stood Still
7.5/1138
An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.
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The Day the Earth Stood Still

1974

Benji
6.2/147
Benji is a stray who has nonetheless worked his way into the hearts of a number of the townspeople, who give him food and attention whenever he stops...
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1953

Man in the Attic
5.5/47
London, 1888: on the night of the third Jack the Ripper killing, soft-spoken Mr. Slade, a research pathologist, takes lodgings with the Harleys, inclu...
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Man in the Attic

1952

Horizons West
5.7/17
Brothers Dan and Neil Hammond return to Texas after the Civil War. Ambitious Dan turns to rustling and then shady land deals to build an empire. Being...
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Horizons West

1952

Bend of the River
6.9/184
Two men with questionable pasts, Glyn McLyntock and his friend Cole, lead a wagon-train load of homesteaders from Missouri to the Oregon territory...
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Bend of the River

1951

The Stooge
6.6/32
Bill Miller is an unsuccessful Broadway performer until his handlers convince him to enhance his act with a stooge—Ted Rogers, a guy positioned in the...
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The Stooge

1952

The Lady Says No
4.5/12
The feminist author of a national best-seller titled The Lady Says No meets a sexist magazine photographer and decides she'd rather say yes.
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The Lady Says No

1958

A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed
3.3/3
Two bunglers (Tom Ewell, Mickey Rooney) rob a bank and buy a racehorse, then try to rob another bank.
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A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed

1952

Sally and Saint Anne
8/2
An Irish-American girl asks the saint to guide her family and save them from an alderman.
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Sally and Saint Anne

1959

It Started with a Kiss
5.3/14
While on leave in New York, a serviceman both weds a chorus girl and wins a red convertible in a charity raffle. Both his wife and the car turn out to...
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It Started with a Kiss

1952

My Wife's Best Friend
5.4/5
When a man confesses to his wife that he has been unfaithful, she imagines all the different ways that historical figures such as Cleopatra and Joan o...
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My Wife's Best Friend

1956

The Bad Seed
7.1/244
Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps he...
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The Bad Seed

1931

Girls About Town
6.4/8
A dynamic duo in silk and ermine entertain hick businessmen looking for a good time while in Manhattan.
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Girls About Town

1956

The Blessed Midnight
5/1
When a boy steals a cake for his beloved aunt on Christmas Eve, his young friend tries to set things straight.
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