KATHRYN CARD

 October 4, 1892

Kathryn Card was born as Catherine Sheehan in (or near) Butte, Montana, on October 4, 1892. She had a brother George and sisters Mary and Anna. 

She did radio roles in the late 1930s and films in the 1940s but is most famous for playing Mrs. McGillicuddy, Lucy Ricardo’s absent-minded mother on “I Love Lucy” in the 1950s.

Coincidentally, many years before Ball ever met Card or cast her as her mother, Ball claimed her birthplace was Butte, Montana, instead of Jamestown, New York.  Some sources say that Card was actually born in Havre, Montana, and picked Butte for its recognition factor, much like Lucille did. 

In 1930, Card appeared on Broadway in Room of Dreams at the Empire Theatre. 

Her first screen credit was in 1945 for her role as Louise in Kiss and Tell, starring Shirley Temple. She made her television debut in April 1951 with an episode of “The Bigelow Theatre” titled “The Big Hello” alongside Jimmy Cagney, Cesar Romero, and Raymond Burr.  

Although she joined the cast of “I Love Lucy” in 1954, it wasn’t as Mrs. McGillicuddy, Lucy’s mother, but as Minnie Finch, who Lucy believes may be having an affair with her husband – but quickly is quickly convinced of she is mistaken. “Fan Magazine Interview” (ILL S3;E17) is best remembered for its scandalous reference to Alfred Kinsey, who was then conducting surveys about sex. Card gets to deliver the line – and she does it flawlessly.  

Like Elizabeth Patterson and Irving Bacon, who both did one-off characters before being cast as Mrs. Trumbull and Ethel’s father Will Potter, Card earned a recurring role in the series as Lucy’s scatter-brained mother, Mrs. McGillicuddy. She made nine appearances on the series – and one on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,” but never had a first name! She constantly called her son-in-law Mickey instead of Ricky, although it was hard to tell if she did it on purpose or just couldn’t remember!  The character trait was also given to another famous mother-in-law, Endora on “Bewitched” (deliciously played by Agnes Moorehead), who consistently called Darin ‘Durwood’. 

Coincidentally, Card was born on the same date (October 4) as Mary Emery who played Mrs. Ricardo, Ricky’s mother, in two episodes!  Emery was four years younger. The two never shared any scenes together.

In “California Here We Come” (ILL S4;E13) in January 1955, Lucy’s mother suddenly shows up and wants to go to Hollywood, too! She says that she’s never been west of Youngstown, Ohio, and wants to take her book (“The Story of Our Family”) to Dore Schary. Instead of driving, Mrs. M flies there with Little Ricky, becoming his babysitter while the gang enjoy their Hollywood adventure. 

In “The Hedda Hopper Story” (ILL S4;E21) three months later (there must have been delays at the airport!), Mrs. M arrives in Hollywood.  It turns out that she didn’t realize that her seatmate was the one and only Hedda Hopper!

When “Don Juan is Shelved” (ILL S4;E22) a week later, Mrs. M constantly asks “Who’s Dore Schary?” despite being the first character to mention the MGM Producer in “California Here We Come”!  She also shares a scene with Little Ricky’s Teddy bear, a prop she carried out to the car when packing for the road trip. [The bears were being commercially sold and needed the air time! The prop also indicated that Little Ricky was just offstage, without trucking the child actor on set.]

In “Hollywood Anniversary” (ILL S4;E24), Lucy’s Mother and Bobby the Bellboy accompany Lucy to the Mocambo after she has a spat with Ricky on their wedding anniversary.  

“In Palm Springs” (ILL S4;E26), it is Mrs. M that watches Little Ricky, while Lucy and Ethel gab with Rock Hudson about Adele Sliff. 

Taking the train home in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5), Mother is charge of the baby while Lucy runs amok pulling the emergency brake while avoiding jewel thieves! 

From planes and trains to ships, Mrs McGillicuddy bids “Bon Voyage” (ILL S5;E13) to Lucy and Ricky on their European trip, but Lucy can’t help giving her son one last hug – and misses the boat!  

LUCY (on telephone): “Mother? This is Lucy. I’m calling from Florence.”
MRS. MCGILLICUDDY (sleepy): “Oh. Hello, Florence.”

The last time we see Mrs. McGillicuddy in the half-hour series (as well as the Mayer Twins) is when “Lucy Is Homesick in Italy” (ILL S5;E22) when Lucy makes a ‘longa-distanza telefono’ call to wish her son a happy birthday – forgetting all about the time difference. 

Mrs. McGillicuddy makes one last appearance, but this time on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour’s” penultimate episode, “The Ricardos Go To Japan” (1959). As usual, Mrs. M is left home to babysit Little Ricky, this time played by Keith Thibodeaux.  

CARD PLAYER FOR DESILU!

In 1955, Card played Mrs. Finch on “The Danny Thomas Show” filmed at Desilu Studios. The episode also featured Will Wright (Bent Fork Sheriff, left) and Sam Hearn (Lucy’s Doc Peterson). 

In 1955 and 1956, Card did episodes of Desilu’s “December Bride” with Jack Albertson and Joan Banks, who were also in episodes of “I Love Lucy” with her. In 1957, Executive Producer Desi Arnaz appeared on the series as himself.

In 1958 card was on the Desilu lot to film an episode of the short-lived “The Eve Arden Show”. Her episode also featured Shirley Mitchell (Marion Strong). 

Her final screen appearances was as Mrs. Wadlington in the movie musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown in 1964, which was released posthumously.   

“I’m told they drive UP and down the avenue…. as she shouts greetings to passers-by!” ~ Mrs. Wadlington about Molly Brown

She was married to Frank Sullivan (a radio performer) and had one daughter, Ada, by her first husband, surname Card, but first name unknown. Ada was raised mostly by Kathryn’s sister Anna. 

Kathryn Card died on March 1, 1964 after a heart attack. She was 71 years old.

In 2003, the TVLand Awards nominated Card as Favorite TV In-Law. She lost to Agnes Moorehead as Endora in “Bewitched.”