Lillian Bronson originated the part of recurring character Grandma Nussbaum, Fonzie and Chachi's grandmother in the Happy Days the third season opening episode "Fonzie Moves In", before she was replaced by Frances Bay in the role. A veteran character actress,[1][2] Lillian appeared in over 80 films overall, 60 of the films from 1939 to 1964 and has appeared in over one hundred television productions from 1949 to 1975.[1][2]
Biography[]
Bronson was born Lillian Rumsey Rronson in Lockport, New York, the daughter of a carriage builder, and attend the University of Michigan. He began his artistic career by performing plays at Broadway. During the Great Depression, Bronson and her late sister, Dorothy, opened the Bronson Studio in New York, designing and making toy animals and pillows.[3]
In 1939, Bronson appeared in the movie Happy Land as Mattie Dyer [3] and on television in the episode "The Druid Circle" of The Philco Television Playhouse, that aired on March 6, 1949, in the role of Miss Dagnall.
She then appeared in a long series of minor characters for many television series episodes from the early days of television until the mid-1970s, including many western genres. She became widely known for her role as the grandmother in the Kings Row television series.
Lillian's final appearance on the small screen was as "Grandma Nussbaum", Fonzie's grandmother, in the episode "Fonzie Moves In" of the ABC-TV sitcom series Happy Days, which aired on September 9, 1975.
Her final big screen appearance was in the film Kisses for My President (1964), in which she plays the part of Miss Currier.
Family/Personal life[]
Bronson was married to the late Henry Daniels Mygatt on New Year's Day, January 1, 1936; they divorced on May 7, 1943; they did not have children.[3]
Death/Legacy[]
Lillian died on August 2, 1995, in a San Clemente, CA hospital. She was 93 years old.[1][2]
In early 2016, after years of legal wrangling amidst offers from numerous vending suitors, Twitchell was finally successful in getting Los Angeles Valley College to approve and agreement to repaint his original "Lady of the Freeway" mural,[4] which depicts Bronson with an Afghan draper around the body in the context of promotional events Cultural level organized by the local county. Twitchell was granted a $180,000 offer to recreate her courtesy of a voter-approved community colleges bond-building program.[4]
The original 1974 "Freeway Lady", which Twitchell painted on a wall of a Downtown Los Angeles building which looked down from the Angeles Prince Hotel in Echo Park onto the Hollywood Freeway,[4] mural had became victim to neglect by L.A. city officials, as a garage was built to obscure Bronson's bottom half and then a billboard company had whitewashed the image in 1986. Then, in 1995, while being repainted after a legal settlement, L.A.’s taggers killed off the Freeway Lady project with graffiti.[2][4]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Oliver, Myrna. "Obituaries : Lillian Bronson; Longtime Actress, Model for Mural - Los Angeles Times", Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com), August 4, 1995. Retrieved on August 8, 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Lillian Bronson, 92, Character Actress", New York Times (.com), August 5, 1995. Retrieved on August 8, 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2
Lillian Bronson at the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "LA’s Freeway Lady mural to be retired in San Fernando Valley", Los Angeles Daily News (.com), April 13, 2016. Retrieved on August 8, 2017.
External links[]
- Lillian Bronson at the Internet Movie Database
- Lillian Bronson article at Wikipedia
