Catherine Proctor

Catherine Proctor
A young white woman with dark hair in a bouffant updo
Catherine Proctor, from a 1908 publication
BornNovember 12, 1878
New Edinburgh, Ontario, Canada
DiedAugust 24, 1967 (aged 88)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationActress

Louisa Catherine Proctor (November 12, 1878 – August 24, 1967) was a Canadian actress whose career included roles on Broadway, in silent films, and on radio and television. She was called "one of the authentic great ladies of the stage" in a Montreal newspaper in 1956.

Early life and education

Proctor was born in New Edinburgh, Ontario, one of the six children of William Proctor and Catherine McDonald Proctor. Her father worked in real estate and hotels, and died in 1892. She began performing as a dramatic reader while still a girl. She attended the Toronto College of Music, and appeared in college theatrical productions.

Career

Proctor had a busy stage career for over five decades. She toured with stock companies beginning in 1902. Her stage credits included roles in The Pretty Sister of José, The Other Girl, Peter Pan, A Midsummer Night's Dream (1906), Paid in Full, Society and the Bulldog (1908), The Concert (1910–1912), The Easiest Way (1912), The Governor's Lady (1913), Now and To-morrow (1915), Depths of Purity (1915), Out There (1917), The Wooing of Eve (1917), Happiness (1917–1918), The Matinee Hero (1918), The Mirage (1920–1921), Ambush (1921), The Wife with the Smile (1921), East of Suez (1922), Bristol Glass (1923), Macbeth (1924), The Steam Roller (1924), Ariadne (1925), The Importance of Being Earnest (1926), L'Aiglon (1927–1928), Electra (1928), Girl Trouble (1928), Sakura (1928), The Royal Box (1928–1929), The Ghost Parade (1929), Greater Love (1931), If Booth Had Missed (1932), Nine Pine Street (1933), Ah, Wilderness! (1935), The Puritan (1936), Howdy Stranger (1937), Reflected Glory (1937), Miss Quis (1937), Biography (1937), The Late George Apley (1944–1945), Arsenic and Old Lace (1943, 1950, 1956), Mistress of Jalna (1953), and Separate Tables (1958).

On radio, Proctor was in a 1934 production of a comedy Thursday Night. She appeared in several silent films, and had small roles in several more sound pictures. "Yes, I have seen myself in a film," she told a Toronto newspaper in 1915. "It feels most uncanny. Sometimes I thought, 'Surely I never looked as badly as that?'"

Filmography

Film

Television

Catherine Proctor television credits
YearTitleRoleNotes Ref.
1952Not for PublicationUnknown1 episode
1957On CameraMrs. Taylor1 episode
1958Johnny BelindaMrs. LutzTelevision film
1960Dow Hour of Great MysteriesMrs. Vesey1 episode
1960First PersonUnknown2 episodes
1954–1960EncounterEllen7 episodes
1961FestivalLady ClemEpisode: "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" (S1.E8)
1961FestivalThe Old LadyEpisode: "The Offbeats" (S1.E23)
1961QuestUnknown1 episode
1964PlaydateSophie1 episode
1965CBC Show of the WeekLittle Old Lady1 episode

References

  1. ↑ Louisa Catherine Proctor, birth record, in the Ontario, Canada Births, 1832-1917, via Ancestry.
  2. ↑ Morgan, Cecilia (2022-08-18). Sweet Canadian Girls Abroad: A Transnational History of Stage and Screen Actresses. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-2280-1327-3.
  3. ↑ "Distinguished Actress". The Sun Times. 1941-04-12. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Toronto Actress to Describe Talking to Unseen Audience". Star Weekly. 1922-05-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 O'Hearn, Walter (1956-06-11). "Arsenic, Old Lace, and Catherine Proctor". The Montreal Star. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Famous Actress, Catherine Proctor, Hopes More Canadians Turn to Stage". The Kingston Whig-Standard. 1950-01-18. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Leonard, John W. (1914). Woman's Who's who of America. American Commonwealth Company. p. 663.
  8. 1 2 "Mrs. C. Proctor Dies in Toronto". The Sun Times. 1935-03-04. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ↑ "Catherine Proctor Holidays in Toronto". The Toronto Star. 1928-07-07. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Browne, Walter; Koch, E. De Roy (1908). Who's who on the stage 1908; the dramatic reference book and biographical dictionary of the theatre. University of California Libraries. Dodge.
  11. ↑ "Who's Who in the Bonstelle Stock Company This Year". Star Weekly. 1914-05-09. p. 23. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "The Drama". Toronto Saturday Night. 19 (47): 14. September 29, 1906 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ↑ "'The Concert' at the Hollis". The Boston Globe. 1912-11-05. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Toronto Actress Gets a Big Role". The Toronto Star. 1913-11-15. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "In the Spotlight". The Theatre: 21. January 1916.
  16. ↑ "Bramhall Playhouse's New Season". The New York Times. November 6, 1915. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  17. ↑ "New Plays in New York". The Dramatic Mirror. 77 (1998): 7. April 7, 1917.
  18. ↑ "Mrs. Fiske to Go to Knickerbocker". The New York Times. December 21, 1917. p. 9. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  19. ↑ "Notable Stage Feat by Toronto Actress". The Toronto Star. 1922-05-18. p. 18. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ Kear, Lynn; Rossman, John (2016-03-30). The Complete Kay Francis Career Record: All Film, Stage, Radio and Television Appearances. McFarland. pp. 235–236. ISBN 978-1-4766-0287-5.
  21. 1 2 "Character Lead at Playhouse Explains Work". Burlington Daily News. 1937-07-17. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Gossip of the Rialto". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "L'Aiglon' in Preparation; Translation of Rostand Play to Be Produced Here Week of Dec. 26". The New York Times. November 12, 1927. p. 15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  24. 1 2 "Canadian Actress". The Calgary Albertan. 1928-07-16. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "Civil War Veterans Attend Play 'If Book Had Missed'". The Boston Globe. 1932-03-31. p. 22. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "Playhouse Presents 'Arsenic'". The Montreal Star. 1956-06-02. p. 22. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "Actress Claims Baltimore Has Its George Apleys, Too". The Baltimore Sun. 1945-11-26. p. 22. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Cissie Loftus Magnificent in 'Arsenic and Old Lace'". The Morning Union. 1943-02-04. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "Catherine Proctor to Head Cast of 'Arsenic and Old Lace' Here". The Kingston Whig-Standard. 1950-01-11. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ Karr, Jack (1953-09-22). "Showplace". The Toronto Star. p. 49. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ Durgin, Cyrus (1958-07-22). "Boston Summer Theater: 'Separate Tables' Well Done". The Boston Globe. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ "Famous Canadian Actress on Broadcast". The Toronto Star. 1934-03-16. p. 26. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. 1 2 "Toronto is Lionizing Talented Daughters; Miss Catherine Proctor and Mrs. Everard Cotes in Town". The Toronto Star. 1915-01-06. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ↑ Slide, Anthony (2004-09-10). American Racist: The Life and Films of Thomas Dixon. University Press of Kentucky. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-8131-7191-3.
  35. ↑ Roberts, Jerry (2003). The Great American Playwrights on the Screen: A Critical Guide to Film, Video, and DVD. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-55783-512-3.
  36. ↑ "Show Went On". Daily Gleaner. 1960-02-20. p. 38. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ↑ "Learns His Fate". Daily Gleaner. 1961-01-07. p. 18. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ "Festival - 1961-06-05 - The Offbeats". CBC Archive Sales. CBC / Société Radio Canada. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  39. ↑ "Playdate: 'No Sand for the Ostrich' (advertisement)". The Toronto Star. 1964-02-17. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.