ACTOR · BORN 1888 · DIED 1981
Beulah Bondi
- Born
- 3 May 1888
- Died
- 11 January 1981
- Known for
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
13 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
Beulah Bondi (3 May 1888 – 11 January 1981) was an actor best known for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
13 Interesting Facts About Beulah Bondi
Interesting Facts (4)
- #001
Bondi always said her greatest regret was not winning the role of Ma Joad in John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (1940). She was also deeply disappointed when, after replacing the ailing May Robson in Selznick's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), Robson recovered from her illness sooner than expected and took the part back.
- #002
The New Year's song "Auld Lang Syne" features prominently in two of her films, It's a Wonderful Life and Remember the Night.
- #003
Beulah Bondi was born Beulah Bondy in Chicago, IL, to Adolph O. Bondy and Eva M. Marble.
- #004
Axel Nissen's biography is titled "Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties."
Characters & Cast (1)
- #005
She made her stage debut at the age of 9 at the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso, Indiana, in the title role of Little Lord Fauntleroy.
Career & Awards (2)
- #006
Beulah changed the spelling of her surname from Bondy to Bondi so that all the letters would fit on a single line and secure the best billing in film promotions; the "y" in Bondy dropped below the other letters and created a spacing problem. It was reported that the name change stemmed from A. O. Bondy's (her father's) ill feelings toward Beulah's acting career. The opposite is true: A. O. Bondy was the manager of the Memorial Opera House at the time Beulah made her big breakthrough in the role of Little Lord Fauntleroy.
- #007
She made her Broadway debut in One of the Family (1925) at the age of 37, playing a 70-year-old woman.
Life & Family (6)
- #008
Although she often played loving mothers and wives, Beulah Bondi never married and had no children.
- #009
She died at her home in California from injuries sustained after tripping over her cat.
- #010
She earned a master's degree in oratory from Valparaiso University.
- #011
She played James Stewart's mother in four films — It's a Wonderful Life (1946), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Of Human Hearts (1938) and Vivacious Lady (1938) — and in one episode of the series The Jimmy Stewart Show (1971).
- #012
She was the paternal granddaughter of Gabriel and Mary (née Rosenblatt) Bondy (1825-1907). Both were born in Germany and emigrated to America in 1853.
- #013
She was the maternal granddaughter of Jonathan (1810-1869), born in Pennsylvania, and Melissa (née Fisher) Marble (1829-1914), born in Indiana.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work