Wyatt was born on August 12, 1910, in Campgaw, a neighborhood in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and raised in Manhattan.[1] Her father, Christopher Billopp Wyatt, was a broker. Her mother was Euphemia Van Rensselaer Waddington, granddaughter of Henry Bell Van Rensselaer. [2] Wyatt had two sisters and a brother.[3]
Education
While in New York City, Wyatt attended Miss Chapin's School, where she had roles as Joan of Arc and as Shylock. She later attended two years of Barnard College.[4] After leaving Barnard, she joined the apprentice school of the Berkshire Playhouse at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where for six months she played a variety of roles.
One of her first jobs on Broadway was as understudy to Rose Hobart in a production of Trade Winds—a career move that cost her her listing in the New York Social Register (she later was relisted upon her marriage). Receiving favorable notices on Broadway and celebrated for her understated beauty, Wyatt made the transition from stage to screen and was placed under contract by Universal Pictures.
During the war, they cut out all the pacifist parts of the film—the High Lama talking about peace in the world. All that was cut because they were trying to inspire those G.I.'s to get out there and go "bang! bang! bang!" which sort of ruined the film.[6]
For many people, Wyatt is best remembered as Margaret Anderson on Father Knows Best, which aired from 1954 to 1960. She played opposite Robert Young as the devoted wife and mother of the Anderson family in the small town of Springfield. This role won consecutive Emmy Awards for her in 1958, 1959 and 1960 for best actress in a comedy series.[8] After Father Knows Best, Wyatt guest-starred in several other series.
On June 13, 1962, she was cast as the lead in "The Heather Mahoney Story" on NBC's Wagon Train. In 1963, she portrayed Kitty McMullen in "Don't Forget to Say Goodbye" on the ABC drama Going My Way, with Gene Kelly and Leo G. Carroll, a series about the Catholic priesthood in New York City. In 1964 Wyatt appeared as Mrs. Sarah Brynmar on The Virginian in the episode "The Secret of Brynmar Hall". In 1965, Wyatt was cast as Anne White in "The Monkey's Paw – A Retelling" on CBS's The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
In 1969, she made a guest appearance on Here Come the Brides, but did not have any scenes with Mark Lenard, who was starring on the show as sawmill owner Aaron Stemple.[citation needed] Also in 1969, Wyatt appeared as a concerned mother in the first episode of the ABC comedy anthology series Love, American Style in a segment titled "Love and the Pill."
In 1970, Wyatt guest-starred in the episode "Wedding Day?????" (the five question marks being part of the title) in the second season of the TV sitcom The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, which played on ABC (the first season having played on NBC). She portrayed Emily Williams, the mother of Mrs. Muir.[citation needed]
In 1976, she guest-starred in an episode of Gibbsville, and she appeared as Anna, mother of the Virgin Mary, in the 1978 television film The Nativity. Late in her career, she appeared in a recurring role in the 1980s medical drama St. Elsewhere, as Katherine Auschlander, wife of hospital administrator Dr. Daniel Auschlander (Norman Lloyd).[citation needed]
Personal life
Wyatt was married to investment broker Edgar Bethune Ward[4] from November 9, 1935, until his death on November 8, 2000. The couple met in the late 1920s when both were weekend houseguests of Franklin D. Roosevelt at Hyde Park, New York.[citation needed]
Ward later converted to the Catholic faith of his wife. Wyatt suffered a mild stroke in the 1990s but recovered well. She remained in relatively good health for the rest of her long life.[10]
Death
Wyatt died on October 20, 2006, at her home in Bel-Air, California, aged 96.[11] Wyatt's family included three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
^Longo, Rosalie. "Actress Invited to Write Memoirs on Her Native Campgaw", Herald News, July 26, 2001. Accessed March 30, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Jane Wyatt would be stunned if she returned to her childhood stomping grounds in North Jersey. When she romped through the apple orchards at her familys home years back, the Campgaw native encountered more deer; town, the actress could provide members of the Franklin Lakes Historical Society with a wealth of information about life in the borough years back, particularly when the sparsely populated, countrified community served as an oasis for city dwellers trying to escape the summer heat."
^ abMcManus, Margaret (October 19, 1958). "Television World". The San Bernardino County Sun. San Bernardino, California. p. 22. Retrieved May 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Jane Wyatt". web.engr.illinois.edu. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
^Katz, Ephraim (1979). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. Perigee Books. p. 1250. ISBN0-399-50601-2.
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