Beulah Bondi

American character actress whose stage training and plain-spoken honesty made her a fixture of Hollywood supporting roles for four decades. Born in 1889, she often played mothers and grandmothers, including James Stewart's mother in It's a Wonderful Life and Vivacious Vivian in Penny Serenade (1941). She was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar twice and won an Emmy late in life for a guest role on The Waltons.