Sara Haden: Movies & Box Office

Sara Haden (born Catherine Haden on November 17, 1898) was an American actress whose career spanned more than four decades, beginning on the legitimate stage in the early 1920s. Some sources place her birth in Center Point, Texas, while others claim Galveston, Texas, but she was unquestionably the daughter of noted actress Charlotte Walker. Haden first appeared with Walter Hampden's troupe in October 1920, honing a disciplined craft that led to her Broadway debut in Trigger (1927). After a decade of theatrical work, she transitioned to the silver screen with a supporting role in the Katharine Hepburn vehicle Spitfire (1934), just a year after her mother's retirement. Her deft ability to embody stern, humor‑less characters quickly made her a reliable contract player for Metro‑Goldwyn‑Mayer, and she became a familiar face in a string of studio productions throughout the late 1930s and 1940s. She is perhaps best remembered for her recurring role as Aunt Milly Forrest in fourteen of the sixteen Andy Hardy films, a part that showcased her talent for playing spinsterish, yet endearing relatives. Other notable credits include Captain January (1936), where she played a strict truant officer, and the beloved Our Gang short Come Back, Miss Pipps (1941), in which her character was unjustly dismissed. Haden also appeared in acclaimed features such as The Shop Around the Corner (1940), Woman of the Year (1942) and The Bishop's Wife (1947). On television she made guest appearances on series like Dr. Kildare, Bonanza and Perry Mason, extending her screen presence into the mid‑1960s. She married actor Richard Abbott in 1921; the marriage ended in divorce in 1948. Sara Haden died peacefully on September 15, 1981, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, at the age of eighty‑two.