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Family
FATHER: Samuel Joseph Tomlinson. Minister.
MOTHER: Jennie Tomlinson.
BROTHER: Samuel Tomlinson.
Companion
HUSBAND: Stanley LeFevre Krebs. Doctor. Born c. 1864; married from December 1921 until his death in 1935.
Milestone
Began acting career with a stock company in Chautauqua; first role was reportedly Katherine in "The Taming of the Shrew"; billed as Mary Tomlinson
Moved to NYC to try to land parts on Broadway
Began appearing in vaudeville; adopted stage name of Marjorie Main
1935: Acted in the Broadway production of "Dead End"
1936: Appeared in "The Women"
1937: Brought to Hollywood to recreate stage role in film version of "Dead End"; played mother to Humphrey Bogart
1937: Cast as Barbara Stanwyck's mother in "Stella Dallas"
1938: Offered fine comic turn as the landlady in "Test Pilot"
1939: Recreated stage role of the proprietess of a ranch in film adaptation of "The Women"
1940: Played a lady blacksmith opposite Wallace Beery in "Wyoming"
1940: Signed to exclusive, long-term contract by MGM (October)
1941: Starred with Frank Morgan in "The Wild Man of Borneo"
1941: Reteamed with Beery for "Barnacle Bill"
1941: Portrayed a minister's wife in "Honky Tonk"
1943: On loanout to Fox, cast as a nouveau riche society doyenne in "Heaven Can Wait", directed by Ernst Lubitsch
1944: Had featured role as the cook in "Meet Me in St. Louis"; first of three films with Judy Garland
1945: Loaned to Paramount and cast as a hillbilly matriarch opposite Fred MacMurray in "Murder, He Says"
1946: Once again played a cook in a Garland musical in "The Harvey Girls"
1947: On loanout to Universal, earned a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination playing Ma Kettle in the film adaptation of "The Egg and I", starring MacMurray and Claudette Colbert
1947: Had rare lead role in Universal's "The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap" opposite Abbott and Costello
1948: Second film with Percy Kilbride, "Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'"
1949: Last of a total of seven films with Beery, "Big Jack"
1949: Reunited with Kilbride for "Ma and Pa Kettle"; subsequently made six additional Kettle films
1950: Final feature with Garland, "Summer Stock"
1952: Cast as the mother of a soldier killed in action in "It's a Big Country"
1954: Contract with MGM ended
1955: Final Kettle film with Kilbride, "Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki"
1956: Provided some comic relief in "Friendly Persuation", playing a widow with three unmarried daughters
1957: Last Kettle film, "The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm"
1958: Final acting role, a guest appearance on TV's "Wagon Train"
Education
Hamilton College - Kentucky
Hamilton College - Kentucky - drama
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