Mary Wickes
It’s not easy being a nun! Your face never looks thin, you never get to wear pants, and your love interest is always offscreen! Clearly, though, some actresses have been able to overcome those hardships and deliver memorable performances as nuns in movies, and many of those who have done so have had remarkably diversified careers in Hollywood. One actress who played a nun several times throughout her career, as well as several other notable, “bit” roles, is an actress who answered to the name of Mary Wickes.
Mary Wickes played a nun 4 times, in The Trouble With Angels (1966) and its sequel, Where Angels Go Trouble Follows (1968), and Sister Act (1992) and its sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). Her character in both of those movies was known as “the bus driving nun.” In addition to playing a nun many times, she also portrayed Emma Allen, the busybody housekeeper in White Christmas (1954), and Mrs. Squires, one of the “Clucking” ladies, in The Music Man (1962). One of the most unique things about Mary Wickes is that many of the characters that she portrayed were irascible, wisecracking, smart alecks, who always managed to provide heart-warming comic relief. She could even get a laugh, even if the movie she was in wasn’t a comedy, like in the dramatic film, Now, Voyager (1942), with Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains.
Mary Wickes also has a remarkable history throughout the Walt Disney Studios. She served as the live-action model for Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1961), when the actress who supplied the voice for the character, Betty Lou Gerson, was deemed too elegant by the studio, to provide the live-action modeling as reference for the animators. Wickes is still screen credit as a voice talent in the film, despite the fact that she didn’t actually lend her voice to it. She also starred in the live-action Disney film Snowball Express (1972). Her very last film role was another Disney Animated Feature that she did actually lend her voice to, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). She voiced Quasimodo’s gargoyle friend, Laverne in the movie. The film’s producer, Don Hahn, and co-directors, Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, (the same creative team who made Beauty and the Beast (1991), joked that for the role of Laverne, they wanted to find someone who’d be sitting on the front porch, with a shotgun! Wickes fortunately didn’t have a shotgun when they found her, and she agreed to do the film. Sadly, she passed away 8 months before the release of the film, on October 22nd, 1995, and before recording all of her dialogue had completed. The studio hired Jane Withers to do the additional “Laverne” dialogue.
In addition to films, Wickes also appeared numerous times in television and Broadway shows. In television, she starred in “The Ballet” episode of I Love Lucy (1951-1957) as the hungarian ballet mistress, Madame Lamond, where Lucy tries to get into Ricky’s ballet act at the Tropicana. Wickes, in real life, was one of Lucille Ball’s dearest friends. She often guest-starred on Ball’s follow up television series The Lucy Show (1962-1968) and Here’s Lucy (1968-1974). She had recurring roles on Disney/ABC’s Zorro (1959-1961), and Disney/ABC’s Walt Disney Presents: Annette (1958), centered around Annette Funicello, and Tabitha (a spin-off of Bewitched (1964-1972)) (1977-1978). Wickes was also very close with Doris Day, having worked with her in 2 of her movies, On Moonlight Bay (1951) and its sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). She made a guest-star appearance on her show, The Doris Day Show (1968-1973). On Broadway, she made her first appearance in 1934 in a comedy called The Farmer Takes a Wife, where she starred oppose Henry Fonda. She originated the role of Nurse Preen in The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939), and reprised that role for a film version of the same name, (1942), and in the later years of her career, she portrayed Aunt Eller in a revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! in 1979.
Mary Wickes is undoubtedly an unsung legend of Hollywood. She made every role that she portrayed seem effortless, humorous, and heartwarming to watch onscreen, especially with her role as “the bus-driving nun.” Her legacy in Hollywood will continue to live on for generations through simple, wholesome, family-oriented humor. It’s extraordinary that she was able to achieve a legacy of humor without ever coming within a mile of being nominated for a Golden Globe or an Academy Award.
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